Chapter 23

Eve made her way back to the hotel after having lunch with Grace and found Adam napping on the bed. She hopped on the bed and started jumping up and down.

"Wake up, sleepyhead!"

Adam rolled over, rubbing his eyes, as Eve straddled his waist, grabbing his face and kissing him hard.

"I did it! I got the job!"

He laughed. "Congrats, babe. Thanks for waking me up, Miss Perky. I was having a good dream. I'm going back to sleep. Unless you want to make my dream a reality." He threw a pillow over his face.

Eve grabbed it away and kissed his face over-and-over. "Sleep when you die. Life is too short to sleep it away. Wake up! Let's go do something fun and adventurous."

Adam laughed, rolling her over and pinning her to the bed, kissing her neck. "How adventurous, sexy mama?"

"Not that kind of adventurous. I mean like surfing or… Oh! I know! Let's go feed and pet the manatee." She pushed him off her and dragged him from the bed. "Come on. Let's go."

"Okay. Let me just grab my shoes." Adam put on his shoes and went over to her, pulling her in for a hug. "Congrats on the job, babe. You really do deserve it."

"Hunter was really great. So was Grace. I had lunch with her and she is so funny and nice. We really hit it off. I start work on Monday. Greg is moving to his new place this weekend, so it's perfect timing. You said you were going to be here a lot with your father, so it's all perfect, don't you think?"

Adam's brows threaded looking down at her, looking very displeased. "Hunter?"

"Yep. He's my new boss."

Adam backed away, grabbing his wallet. With an annoyed tone, he growled, "Just great."

"What? Something wrong?"

"Come on, Eve. You can't be that naïve. You know the stories about Hunter. He's a playboy. A womanizer. He cheated on his wife. I don't like you being around him."

Eve crossed her arms. "And? What does that have to do with me? I'm working for him as his personal assistant. That's all."

"Until he hits on you. I have seen how you light up every time his name comes up." Adam looked her in the eye. "Promise me." He grabbed her arm hard.

Eve pulled back, unable to break his hold. "Ouch! Stop. You're hurting me. Promise what?"

"You won't leave me for that asshole and his fake ass charm. He might be my brother, but he's a jerk." Adam wasn't backing down. The relaxed Adam was gone again and the angry Adam was almost terrifying. "Promise me dammit!"

"Okay. I promise. You're my boyfriend. I wouldn't be with you if I didn't want to be. Now. If you don't let go of my arm, you are going to have bigger problems than worrying about your stupid jealousy. I'm going to knee you in the balls so hard your great grandchildren will feel it." Eve snarled, yanking her arm away, "Never touch me like that again."

Adam let go of her arms, looking down, noticing the red fingerprints that he left. "I'm so sorry, Eve. I didn't mean it. I… I just don't want to lose you. You…" He took a deep breath to calm himself. "You are the only good thing in my life."

Eve took his hand. "Then stop acting like a jealous idiot. I would never hurt you. I care about you. Now, let's go celebrate my new job by having some fun. Okay?"

"All right. I'm sorry. Let's go have some fun. Race you to the car!" Adam ran out and Eve grabbed her purse, trying to catch up. Half way down the hall, she caught up shoving him out of the way.

"See you in the car!" Eve yelled, running past Adam, who gave chase.

Once they reached the car, he pinned her to the door, kissing her while laughing and tickling her ribs.

"Tag. You're it!"

Eve pushed him back, slapping his bottom hard. "Now you're it. I won, by the way. So, frozen yogurt is on you."

"Deal," he said as his phone rang.

Rushing to get Eve in the car, he looked down to see who was calling. Once she was settled in, he answered his phone. As always, he instantly shut her out.

Going to the back of the car, he answered to avoid Eve overhearing him. "Hello?"

"Darling. I miss you. When are you coming back to LA?"

"Soon, Sylvia. How's Drew?"

"Fine. He's in the treatment center. Stupid fool is going to ruin all our plans."

Adam looked up, seeing Eve looking over her shoulder at him, waving for him to hurry up. "Listen. I'm going to see the old man tomorrow. So don't worry about anything. If tomorrow goes well, we may be able to speed things up."

"So, that means we will get the deal, right?"

"We'll see. I can't promise anything. Just don't go spending any more money, okay?"

Sylvia rolled her eyes. "Don't worry. I just made my own little side deal from some loser who thinks I'm his new arm candy."

"Another sugar daddy? Sylvia, you better watch out. Those old guys are not just looking for friendship and you know it. When they give you cash and gifts, they want something in return."

"It's all about the hustle, baby. I know how to work with these rich old guys. They just want to have a pretty young thing on their arm. I give them that. Make this deal work and I won't have to do it anymore. Once you get the cash from the Ashfords, then I can start living the way I'm meant to. The way it used to be. Get my money, Adam. Don't screw this up again. Don't get all soft on me either. Be a man for once in your damn life."

"The way we used to be? You mean the life I had before you and my brother spent all my family's money on your damn foolishness. Partying and living the high life while I bust my ass to make ends meet, while I make up for you, wasting away our financial future. I lost the horse farm because of you idiots. Stop fooling around and get your shit together. When I get back to LA, this shit needs to stop. Once we make this deal, I want everything looking squeaky clean. Got it! This deal could actually turn things around."

"Fine. Jeez. Calm down. You need to relax. Oh! By the way, I saw some photos of you with some girl online. Who is she?"

"Never mind that. Just focus on Drew and keep out of trouble for once. I got to go."

Adam hung up, annoyed with his whole life. What he said to Eve was true. She was the only good in his life. He blamed himself for allowing it to go on for far too long. This deal was going to change his life. He just hoped Eve would be part of it.

He got in the car, trying to calm down, tapping away at the steering wheel.

"Everything okay?"

He looked over at Eve, who seemed worried. Leaning over, kissing her, he said softly, "Fine now, babe. As long as I have you, everything is going to be just fine."