Wash Over Me: A Billionaire Second Chance Romance Read online

  Wash Over Me

  Chole Morgan

  Contents

  Description

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Epilogue

  Want More?

  Come Swoon With Us

  About the Author

  Copyright

  Description

  I needed a break from my billion-dollar company.

  A small beach town called me on a much-needed vacation.

  And I never expected to see her there.

  Years had passed, and yet I thought about her all the time.

  She was my girl and still should be.

  Strategy isn’t just for the office.

  I’m going to win her heart.

  I came for myself, but I’m not leaving without her.

  Chapter 1

  Gram

  Nineteen Years Ago

  I came out of my bedroom right as the sun peeked through the window. Well, it wasn’t really my room; it depended on who got there first. Sometimes, Mommy crashed with me. But other times, she didn’t. I rolled over and saw she wasn’t there, so that meant she was on the couch.

  And the smell of alcohol in the small hallway told me what had happened.

  I sighed as I went into the living room. Mommy was there, and she looked safe. I checked for vomit and other things that might have signaled she wasn’t okay. My friend at school told me to do that. If Mommy ever came home drunk, then I needed to make sure she wasn’t pale, that she was breathing okay, and that she hadn’t thrown up or anything in her sleep.

  I put my hand underneath her nose and sighed with relief when I felt her breathing.

  She looked pretty pale, but that was normal for her nowadays. I didn’t worry about it too much. Instead, I had to get ready for school. I was going to be late otherwise. I walked into the kitchen and opened up the refrigerator. There wasn’t much in there. Two sixteen-can cases of beer for Mommy. Some sliced cheese that looked like it had green stuff on it. I pulled out the milk and opened it, then sniffed it just to be sure. It smelled just on the verge of sour, so I chanced it and took a long sip anyway.

  I hadn’t eaten since lunch at school yesterday.

  I choked it down and put it back. It might be good for tomorrow, if I stuck it in the back. I closed the fridge and went over to the pantry, then opened it up. There was a little more for me there. Some ramen noodles I didn’t have time to make. It would make a good dinner, though. There was some canned corn, but as I searched around, I couldn’t find the can opener.

  So, I grabbed a small bag of past-date cookies and hoped I wouldn’t get sick at school.

  I checked Mommy’s breath one last time before I set off. I’d worn my outfit for the past two days, and I hoped no one noticed. That was why I tried to stay in the back of the class, so people wouldn’t notice me. I didn’t want anyone taking me away from my mom. She needed me to keep her safe. My walk to school was rough, though. I passed gangs on the corners, leering at me and offering me food to come in and sit down and talk. My mouth always filled with spit when they told me that. A hot meal sounded so nice. But if there was one thing Mom always told me when she wasn’t sleeping, it was that I needed to stay far away from them.

  So I did.

  I didn’t want to disappoint Mom and break the only rule in the house.

  I walked into the neighborhood to my final destination. Well, not really. School was my final destination. But I always picked up Nia on the way there. Plus, she always had a snack for me and an extra lunch for me to share with her. She was really kind to me. I liked her.

  I didn’t like her father, though.

  I stood on the porch of her house and listened to her dad yell at her. I knew not to knock on the door. That would always make it worse.

  “What the hell are you doing, kid? Don’t grab for shit if I didn’t give you permission!”

  “What the fuck is all that food for?”

  “Come here. You sure as hell aren’t wearing that to school. You’re only ten!”

  “Get the hell over here, Nia.”

  I heard feet running across the floor before the door flew open. Nia closed the door quickly, her dress fluttering in the wind. She sniffled before she wiped at her eyes, and food protruded from her backpack: two brown paper bags and loose snacks it looked like she had shoved in there last minute.

  “Please don’t get in trouble for me,” I said.

  She drew in a deep breath before she turned around. And when I saw the swollen red eye she had, my blood boiled.

  “Can we just go, please?” Nia asked meekly.

  I heard her father storming through the house and cussing. I took Nia’s hand, and we leapt off the porch, then went running up the street. We passed Old Man Baker’s house. We passed the cat lady who owned more dogs than anything. They ran with us and barked at us before we turned the corner, coming face-to-face with my own house.

  I looked at the porch, hoping to see my mother outside.

  But she wasn’t.

  “Did she get home okay?” Nia asked.

  I grimaced at the question. “I guess. How’s your eye?”

  “Oh, it’s nothing. I’m more excited about what I got us for lunch,” she said.

  “You’re excited for lunch? After—”

  “Yep. I made us each two sandwiches and grabbed a bag of chips, some cookies, and an apple. Plus, I shoved some candy down in my backpack.”

  Nia cut me off, smiling brightly as if nothing had happened. I dropped her hand and the two of us walked to school, and I had to admit that the lunch sounded great. We stopped at a corner, and she passed me one of the brown paper bags, along with a handful of candy I shoved into my pocket.

  “You know, one day, I’m gonna get out of this town and make something of myself,” I said.

  “I hope I can do that, too. But I don’t have very good grades,” Nia said.

  “I’ll take you with me. We’ll go together.”

  “You don’t have to do that, Gram.”

  “Yes, I do. We have to protect each other. Always.”

  “Well, what do you think you’ll do?” she asked.

  I shrugged as we started walking across the main road that led to the school.

  “I don’t know. Something that pays a lot of money. So I can always have things I want. Like food and clothes and stuff,” I said.

  “That sounds nice. Maybe one day, I can buy all the things Daddy doesn’t let me wear,” she said.

  “He didn’t like your dress? I think it’s pretty.”

  “He doesn’t like anything that shows my legs. Says I’ll whore around like Mom one day.”

  I furrowed my brow. “Do you know what that means?”

  Nia shrugged. “It’s probably bad. It’s always bad when he talks about her.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “I’m not. I’m ready for lunch, though,” she said, grinning.

  It was insane to me how Nia could brush off her family problems like that. Mine haunted me, always. I really liked that about her. How she could always stay positive, even when her father was being a douchebag.

  We walked up to the entrance of the school.

  “Meet h
ere after school?” I asked.

  “If you want me to, sure,” Nia said.

  “I do. I’m going to walk you home, okay? We’re in the same school again, so I can do that again. I’ll protect you. Okay?”

  Nia smiled softly at me before she launched at me, giving me a massive hug.

  “Deal,” she said.

  Chapter 2

  Nia

  I kept my eyes on the clock in my classroom. Lunch was fun. Gram and me ate together, and I liked it when he complimented me on my food. Daddy never did. I’d try making things for him, like bologna sandwiches with apple slices. But he’d always yell at me for cutting my finger open and messing up his kitchen. It didn’t matter, though. Gram always ate every last bite and thanked me for it afterward.

  I liked spending time with Gram.

  I knew when I graduated into middle school that we’d be in the same school again. Me in sixth grade and him in eighth. When he left elementary school, it made me sad. I had to walk home alone and meet my father and the back of his hand by myself. I didn’t like it at all. But now that we were in the same school again, he was with me again.

  I liked that.

  I watched the clock count down until school was over. The classes passed me by, and I barely noticed. I’d never been good in school. I was always distracted or too scared to interact with my teachers. Gram tried helping me with that in elementary school, but he could only do so much. I knew I had to try and do some things on my own. So, that’s what I did. I raised my hand and tried answering questions, but it was always embarrassing when I got them wrong. The kids in class would snicker and giggle. The teacher would always give me this pitiful look. I hated it. I hated all of it.

  But I didn’t hate the fact that I’d be able to spend more time with Gram.

  The school bell rang, and I was itching to get out the door. I lined up with the kids whose parents picked them up in cars and then walked outside. I saw Gram standing there, smiling and waiting for me. I rushed toward him and wrapped him up in a hug, giggling as he picked me up.

  “Guess what?” he murmured.

  “What?” I asked as he put me down.

  “I found five dollars in the boys’ bathroom today. I can get us some ice cream.”

  “Oh, that sounds really good. But can we really go now? Daddy knows when I’m supposed to be home.”

  “I’ll make sure you get home. And I’ll be there to give an explanation if he needs one,” he said.

  My father never needed those, though. I knew Gram was simply trying to comfort me. My father didn’t need any reason to be mad with me. Sometimes, he just was. It was why I tried not to let things get to me. It was why I tried not to be so scared of him. Because whether or not we got ice cream, I knew he’d find a reason to be angry with me the second I got home.

  Like it was every morning.

  “Come on. I know where the ice cream stand is today. We can each get a really big cone this time,” Gram said.

  “With two scoops?” I asked.

  “Three,” he said, grinning.

  I took his hand with lots of happiness rushing through me, and we took off. I followed Gram as he ran, holding my hand and not letting me go. I always liked being around him. Being around his smile and how awesome he was. We ran down the street and around the corner. And sure enough, the small ice cream stand that sat outside of the three schools on the corner was there. Gram pulled me up to the front window and handed the man the five dollars, then looked at me.

  “You order first,” he said.

  “Um… could I get a regular cone with—”

  “A waffle cone. For both of us,” he said.

  I looked at him and scoffed as he nodded his head.

  “Now you can go,” he said, smiling.

  “Okay. Three scoops of rainbow ice cream, please,” I said.

  “And fill my cone with whatever that money will get us,” Gram said.

  “Wait, you can’t get three scoops, too?”

  I looked up at the ice cream man and went to change my order, but he held up his hand.

  “Two waffle cones with three scoops, coming up,” the man said.

  “Can I have chocolate instead of rainbow?” Gram asked.

  “Of course. Anything else?” the man asked.

  “Nope,” I said.

  “No, sir,” Gram said.

  The two of us slowly walked home, eating our ice cream and sticking close to one another. Some of the places we walked by weren’t nice. There were older boys that jumped out at me sometimes, and Gram always stood in front of me. Sometimes, dogs got loose and Gram had to fight them off. There were even times when people would surround us and follow us all the way to the entrance of our neighborhood. And every time, Gram made sure I was okay.

  He was really nice to me.

  I licked my ice cream cone. “Are you serious about getting out of here someday?”

  Gram nodded. “Mhm.”

  “Well, I want to go to a beach when we leave. I always wanted to see the ocean.”

  “I’ll make that happen. Whatever you want.”

  “Can we play in it, too?” I asked.

  “All day, if you want. We’ll pack a picnic and go,” he said.

  I smiled as the two of us finished our ice cream cones. We ate them up completely, then wiped our mouths and found a sewer to throw the napkins down into. I knew I was already late. I could tell by the way the sun peeked through the trees. I knew where the sun had to be exactly for my father not to get mad at me that I was late.

  The sun was much lower than it needed to be.

  “I’m right here,” Gram said.

  I felt him take my hand as we stopped at the curb of my house.

  “Thanks for walking me home,” I said.

  “Do you need anything?” he asked.

  I needed him to be serious about his word. I needed him to be truthful about what he wanted to do. Because if he was really gonna take me with him, then that dream was the only thing I had to get through my father’s anger. It wouldn’t protect me from his anger tonight. Not with being so late home from school. But it would give me something to dream about at night.

  Something to make all the bruises worth it.

  I let go of Gram’s hand and started for my porch. I looked back before I reached for the doorknob, opening the front door to my fate. I heard my father growling from the couch. I heard him stand up. I slipped inside and closed the door, my eyes finding Gram’s one last time.

  “Where the hell have you been, you spoiled brat?” my father asked.

  And when his hand gripped the collar of my dress, I closed my eyes and prayed.

  Please get us out of here, Gram. Please be my rock.

  Chapter 3

  Gram

  Present Day

  “And you’re sure these numbers are correct?” I asked.

  I slipped my glasses off my face and leaned back, taking in Vince. He was my right-hand man at the investment firm I’d built for myself. I pulled him out of the slop of our hometown and brought that brain of his into my company. He had a knack for numbers unlike anything I’d ever seen. It was because of him that I even got through high school mathematics, and he was the only man I trusted.

  At all.

  “I’m sure these numbers are real and accurate, Gram. I ran them three times myself. Oden Investment has exceeded its projections for the past three quarters. This is our year; this is when we make our mark,” Vince said.

  “We’ll turn our first five-million dollar profit this year with these numbers.”

  “I know. It’s why I burst into your office the second I ran them for the third time. It took you a while to come into your own mathematical mind, but I knew if I’d missed anything, you’d catch it.”

  I chuckled. “Still holding high school algebra over my head?”

  “Always. I’ll never forget the day you came up and asked me what a damn integer was. It was a week before the fucking final. I almost thought you were going
to fail and be held back.”

  “I work better under pressure anyway,” I said, grinning.

  “And it shows in this company’s growth,” he said.

  I looked over the numbers, shaking my head at them. Never in my life did I ever think I’d be running any investment business of my own, much less the premier fucking investment firm in the United States. I sat back in my chair and pinched the bridge of my nose as memory after memory assaulted me.

  “You good?” Vince asked.

  “Yeah. Just… thinking about things,” I said.

  “Ah.”

  Yeah. Vince knew what I meant.

  “Did you ever think we’d be here after the way we grew up?” Vince asked.

  “Hell fucking no. But poverty has a funny way of pushing people into a corner,” I said.

  “One they can either fight out of or succumb to.”

  “I chose to fight, and I’m glad you did, too.”

  “Honestly, Gram. Had you not pulled me into school with you, I’m not sure I would have,” he said.

  “You would have, Vince. You’re a damn fighter, just like I am,” I said.

  “I didn’t feel like it back then. Back when my mother was stripping and my father was selling meth out of our damn basement.”

  “Sounds like you need to look at this again and remind yourself of where we are,” I said, grinning.

  I slid the documents over to him, and Vince snickered.

  “You know me too well,” he said as he picked them up.

  I watched my best friend revel in our accomplishments. I’d been there for every fucking mile marker in his life. The first time he bought himself his own meal. The first time he bought himself his own suit. The day we both graduated, and the day we paid off the student loans we had to forge our parents’ signatures on to take out. I was there at his side the first day we opened and through our first client. I was there to celebrate with him when he bought his first home.