Free Lost in Time (Forever and Always #20) by E. L. Todd Page B

I’m sorry.”
    “It’s okay, Cade.”
    He ate his rice and slumped his
shoulders.
    “I think you should talk to Flynn when he
gets back.”
    “You aren’t going to tell him?”
    “No. You should do it.”
    He nodded. “Thanks.”
    “Yeah.”
    We ate quietly for a while.
    “Flynn is really lucky to have you in his
life, Hazel. I wish I had a beautiful woman that missed me like
crazy when I wasn’t around. The only girls who seemed like they
cared about me cared about the money I had. I’ve never known love
like that. Honestly, I’m envious.”
    My eyes softened. “You’ll find someone
someday.”
    He shook his head quickly. “No woman is going
to want me. I’m penniless and have no job. I’m living with my
brother and his girlfriend. I’m a total loser.”
    “That’s why I said someday ,” I teased.
I gave him a smile. “You’ll get back on your feet, Cade. Don’t
worry about it. And don’t base all your worth and value on this one
incident. It doesn’t define you.”
    “But it’s all I’ve ever known,” he said
sadly. “Without my career and money, I’m no one. I don’t even know
what to do with myself…”
    “You’ll find your way. And I’m sure your
brother will help you.”
    “I don’t want him to stick out his neck for
me. I already have a bad reputation and I don’t want that to affect
my brother. He’s been so successful in his career. He’s so young
and he’s taken the world by storm. Honestly, I’ve never known
anyone so talented…even though I’ve never told him.”
    “Well, tell him when he gets back. I know
that would mean a lot to him.”
    He nodded then pushed his plate away. After a
moment of quiet brooding, he turned his gaze and looked at me.
“Thank you so much for everything…you really have no idea how much
you’ve both helped me, even if you don’t realize it.”
    “We’re family,” I whispered. “We’ll always
help.”
    He smiled. “I’m a lucky guy.”

Chapter 6
    Sean
    I hadn’t thought about Aris once since I
walked away from her at the restaurant. I didn’t tolerate sexual
harassment in my company, especially after what Scarlet had been
through, but now I had seen first-hand what it was like to be
blackmailed for sexual favors. I felt cheap, insignificant, and
disrespected. Years ago, I may have taken her up on her offer, but
now that I was a husband and almost a father, it made me sick to my
stomach.
    Losing that operating system was a loss for
the company but I didn’t give a damn. I refused to work with a
company that was so unethical. I could only imagine how they
treated their employees. And Aris clearly got away with anything
she wanted. I was a fool for respecting her when we first met. She
was one of the people I despised most in this world. Her personal
life was none of my business and so was her prerogative of sleeping
with married men, but when it started to affect me I hated her for
it.
    But life goes on. I refused to dwell on the
incident, and since Scarlet didn’t care what women did to me, I
didn’t tell her. There wasn’t any point. I went through my day at
the office, people constantly asking me about the operations
system. I told him it wasn’t happening but never explained why.
    “Mr. Preston, Ms. Augustine is here to see
you,” my assistant said over the intercom.
    What? Why the hell was she back?
    “Mr. Preston?” he repeated.
    I shook my head then responded. “Did she say
what she wanted?”
    “No, sir.”
    I had a feeling I was going to regret this.
“Send her in.”
    “Yes, sir.”
    I stood up then opened all the blinds to my
office so everyone could see inside. I didn’t want a single person
to wander what was happening between us. When Scarlet stopped by
the blinds were always closed. It was pretty obvious what we were
doing, but she was my wife and I really didn’t care what other
people thought. They could look for another job if they had a
problem with it.
    Aris walked inside, graceful in a peach