“Thanks, Connor.” He smiled. “How are Ellery and Julia?”

“They’re good. I need to talk to you about a situation and something that’s going on over at Black Enterprises.” I sighed as I sat down in the chair across from him.

Denny had always been like a father to me. He’d done things for me in my younger days that my father would’ve killed me for if he knew. He’d always had my back and was there when I needed him; a strong-willed man and a person who would give you the shirt off his back if you asked him for it. Nobody in this world, except Ellery, knew how important Denny was to me and that was because he’d become a father figure to her as well. We talked for over an hour, and as I explained the situation to him, he was shocked, just like Paul, my father, and I were.

“You know what you have to do, Connor. You better be careful and, if I was strong enough, I would help you.”

“You aren’t doing a thing. I can take care of this. I need you to get better because driving in that New York City traffic is killing me.”

“Why don’t you hire another driver until I can come back?” he asked.

“I don’t want another driver, Denny.” I smiled. “I need to get home to my wife and daughter. Enjoy the bourbon, and I’ll see you soon,” I said as I walked out the door.

The drive home was terrible. As I stepped off the elevator and into the penthouse, I heard Ellery’s sweet voice singing to Julia. When I walked into the living room, I stood in the archway and watched as Ellery danced around the room with Julia. As I leaned up against the wall, Ellery saw me and smiled.

“Look, Julia, your daddy’s home,” she said as she turned so Julia could see me.

Julia screeched so loud that it was enough to pierce anyone’s eardrums. Ellery danced over to me and I took Julia from her.

“You are awfully loud, little girl.” I smiled as I held her up in the air. She continued to screech as drool came from her mouth and onto my face.

Ellery laughed as she handed me a cloth diaper. “You know she drools a lot when she’s teething.”

I didn’t want to ruin the moment, but I had to ask her. “Did you get any more texts today?”

Ellery nodded her head as she walked over to the table and grabbed her phone. I took the phone from her hand and handed Julia back to her. I stood, outraged, as I read the messages.

“Dearest Ellery, I want you on your knees, in front of me, sucking me off until I explode inside your mouth.”

“You have no idea what a sexual creature you are to me, Ellery. You don’t know what it’s like to crave something you can’t have.”

“I want to tie you up and whip you until you bleed. Then I’ll make your wounds better with my tongue as you come from the pleasure you’re going to feel.”

My skin grew hot and my pulse started racing, but I stayed calm, for Ellery’s sake. She looked at me with tears in her eyes as I handed her the phone back. I took Julia from her arms and set her amongst her toys on the floor. When I turned around, I wrapped my arms around her and held her tightly.

“You’re a rock. You have more strength over this than I do, and I’m so proud of you, baby.”

“You and Julia keep me strong,” she whispered.

As I broke our embrace, I told Ellery that I needed to talk to her as we sat down on the couch.

“I need to take a business trip, and I need to leave tomorrow. It’s something urgent that came up with the Chicago office and I need to be there to straighten it out.”

“I’ll go with you.”

“As much as I want you to, you’ll be safer here. I’ll be tied up in meetings and I won’t be able to keep an eye on you. I won’t be gone long, only a couple of days.”

“But I’ll miss you,” she said.

“I’ll miss you too, baby. It’s only one night.” I hated leaving her, but I had no choice.

As I packed Julia’s diaper bag, Connor walked into the nursery, holding her.

“I can’t believe you and my baby aren’t going to be here tonight.” I pouted.

“Just think of the fun you and Peyton will have. You can watch scary movies, make popcorn, and do whatever it is you women do,” Connor said.

“I guess,” I sighed as I handed him the diaper bag.

Mason was downstairs and eagerly waiting for Connor to hand over Julia. “Come here, princess. We’re going to have so much fun! Ellery, don’t worry about her. You and Peyton have a fabulous time tonight,” he said as he took the diaper bag, kissed me on the cheek, and stepped into the elevator with Julia.

I kissed her goodbye and, as soon as they left, I said my goodbyes to Connor. “Have a safe trip, darling.”

“I will. You behave yourself while I’m gone and don’t forget that Justin will be outside the door.”

“I’ll try.” I winked.

When the elevator came back up, Connor stepped into it and pushed the button. Just before the doors were about to close, he stopped them.

“I forgot to tell you that Phil is stopping by tonight to drop off some papers.”

“Okay. I’ll set them in your office.”

As Connor let go of the doors and they started to close, he stuck his hand in between them to stop them from closing, stepped out, and hugged me.

“I don’t want to go, Ellery.”

“Honey, it’s only for one night. You said yourself not to worry. What’s going on?”

“Nothing. I just hate being away from you,” he said as he kissed my head.

“I hate being away from you too, but you have to go. Now come on. Put your big boy pants on and go; you’re making things harder,” I said as I broke our embrace and patted him on the chest.

“No, Elle, you’re the one making things harder.” He winked as he looked down at the bulge in his pants.

“Get out of here, Black.” I laughed as he stepped onto the elevator.

A couple of hours had passed, and I took a nap. It had been forever since I took a nap without having to worry if Julia was going to wake up. I took the stairs down to the kitchen and opened the refrigerator for a bottle of water. After checking my phone to see if I had any messages, I walked into the living room, turned on the fireplace, and sat down on the couch with a magazine. Being alone and not knowing what to do wasn’t sitting right with me, so I grabbed my keys and headed to my studio. When I stepped out the door, I told Justin that I was going down to my art studio. He nodded his head and followed me.

I set a blank canvas on the easel, took out my paints and brush, and started painting how I saw my alternate world. Each brush stroke helped me escape the dark reality of what was happening in my life. I looked at the clock and I’d been painting for two hours. It suddenly hit me that Phil was coming over to drop off some papers. I put my brush down and stepped outside the apartment. Justin wasn’t at the door, and I didn’t have time to look for him. I took the elevator up to the penthouse and as I unlocked the door, Phil walked up and startled me.

“I’m sorry, Ellery. Did I startle you?” he asked.

“Just a bit.” I laughed. “Come on in. I’m just going to go to the kitchen and wash up. I was painting.”

“Oh, that’s fine. Please take your time.”

I walked into the kitchen and, as I was washing my hands, Phil walked in. “So, do you have the place to yourself tonight?” he asked.

“Yeah. Connor’s on that business trip and Julia is spending the night at Mason’s. My friend Peyton is coming over and we’re having a girl’s night,” I said as I dried off my hands.

“Sounds like you’ll have a great night. When is Peyton coming over?”

A strange look overtook my face, as I couldn’t imagine why he’d ask or even care. “She’ll be here soon. Do you have those papers for Connor?” I asked.

“Oh, I left—umm—they’re in the living room,” he said nervously.

“Okay. Well, thank you for dropping them off, Phil. Peyton’s going to be here shortly, so I better get ready,” I said uneasily.