Free Elijah: The Boss's Gift by Sam Crescent

it.
    “We don’t know each other.”
    “You’d be surprised how much we know about each
other.”
    “You were married before, weren’t you?”
    “I was. She was nothing like you, and that’s a good
thing.”
    “Do you miss her?” Cherry asked.
    “Sometimes.”
    Since Cherry had entered his life, he’d not missed her
once. They finished off the dishes in silence. Elijah left her to go to his
study. He opened the drawer where he’d stored his wife’s picture. Bethan smiled
up at him. It was time to move on from her. It had been fifteen years since she
died.
    Putting her picture away, Elijah leaned back in his
chair. Staring down at the file on his desk, Elijah opened it up to see the
name of the next foster home Cherry had been part of. She spent a great deal of
time with this family, a full year when she was fifteen, but for some reason it
didn’t work out.
    He looked up to find Cherry standing in the doorway.
    “You’re looking at my file again,” she said.
    “Why did you stay with this family a year?” He pointed
down at the piece of paper. She entered the room, closing the door. “Don’t lie
to me, Cherry.”
    “What is your cover for your real business?” she
asked, taking a seat.
    “What?” He tilted his head to the side.
    “I want to know more about you. If the only way to get
information about you is to answer your questions, then I want mine answered.”
She tucked some hair behind her ear. “I’m interested in knowing the truth.”
    He leaned back in his chair, wondering what her game
was. In the month that he’d known Cherry, she didn’t play games. She was blunt
with him in all things. The one condition she’d set he’d stuck to until the
attraction had been too much for both of them.
    “Do you really think you’re in a position to question
me?” he asked.
    “Then you won’t get your answers.”
    She folded her arms over her chest to face him.
    “You’ve been quite the little survivor, haven’t you?”
he asked.
    “I’ve been what I needed to be to live to this moment,
yes.”
    “You don’t have to survive with me.”
    “Then what do I have to do?”
    “Live. That’s all you need to do with me. You don’t
have to fight for your place. I’ll take care of you in everything.” He turned
the file around for her to see. “I’m an investor. I invest a lot of my money
into companies that need it. I also work the stock markets. I’ve got one hell
of an accountant. I also invest with Caleb and Henry. You’ve met them.”
    “Neither of them are just club owners?” she asked.
    “No, they’re not. They own guns, drugs, and women.
They’re in the lifestyle with me. On paper, we’re all businessmen. Now tell me,
why did you stay with the Blooms for a year?”
    “They were good people, but they had a lot on their
plate.”
    “I see they had a son. Why did you leave such a good
home?” Elijah asked.
    “Their eldest son was diagnosed with leukemia. They needed
all the money they could get, and I was just an extra expense. I left them so
they could save him.”
    “Why? You were living a good life.”
    “Wouldn’t you make sacrifices for people you loved?”
Cherry asked.
    He thought about Mindy. Elijah would die for her, but
looking at the woman before him, he’d die for her, too.
    “Will you ever get married again?”
    Elijah took the file back and turned the page. “You
know you’ve got limited questions, right?”
    “I know what I want to ask.”
    “I don’t know.” He didn’t want to hurt her feelings.
The truth was, no other woman had even come close to being marriageable as none
of them lived up to Bethan.
    “That’s not an answer.”
    “No woman has ever appealed to me to spend a great
deal of time with.”
    “You’ve only been interested in sex?”
    “Yes, and that’s two questions.”
    She shook her head. “No, that is an extension of the
first one, just like this one. Will you consider marrying the right woman
again?”
    “Yes.”
    “You