Trusting Fate Read online

  Trusting Fate

  H.M. Waitrovich

  Copyright H.M. Waitrovich 2016

  Published by DigiTerra Publishing, Publishing at Smashwords

  www.blackrosewriting.com/digiterra-publishing

  © 2016 by H.M. Waitrovich

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publishers, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review to be printed in a newspaper, magazine or journal.

  The final approval for this literary material is granted by the author.

  First digital version

  All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

  PUBLISHED BY DIGITERRA PUBLISHING

  www.blackrosewriting.com/digiterra-publishing

  Print edition produced in the United States of America

  I want to dedicate this Book which caused me many sleepless nights to my amazing husband and my two beautiful daughters. When I came to my husband a few years ago and told him that I have been writing in my spare time for a while I don’t think he had any idea what I wanted to do with it. He was supportive and said do what you love, and when I decided to make it official and become an author he was always supporting me, and to my sweet girls Audrey and Madi who always went to bed on time so Mommy could get to work writing to all hours of the night, I love you girls to the Moon and back. To my parents who have always supported any crazy idea I ever had and never questioned it with more than an eye roll, I love you both.

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Prologue

  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

  Epilogue

  About the Author

  Prologue

  If someone would have told me five years ago that I would be living the life I am today, I probably would have died of laughter. Living it up and partying every night of the week was my thing. My best friend Taylor and I, thought it was called living it up, and every young girl does it, right? Well I made a lifestyle out of it. Sleeping around and drinking binges were an easy way to pass the time. It’s what I did, and I enjoyed it. I stayed out until all hours of the night and slept all day until I went to work. I was a bartender at a very busy and happening night club in New Orleans. I made plenty of money, and Taylor and I rented an apartment right outside the French Quarter. It was my dream. I wasn’t always so rebellious, but growing up in a very religious home stirred me in the wrong direction. My parents did not know what to do with me and to be honest, I didn’t care.

  Once I graduated from high school, I was gone, Tay and I left and never looked back. I had not spoken to my parents in almost three years when my life changed forever. Taylor was always like me, we both grew up in the same small town in Florida and knew that there had to be much more to life than the Sunday school and bible studies our parents made us go to. In school, I was always the slut or the girl who “got around”. I slept with my first boyfriend at the age of fourteen. Ok, I get it, I sound awful. I promise you I am not as bad as I sound. Recently my life has changed and it has definitely been for the better.

  Chapter 1

  My name is Gabriella Thomas and I cannot tell you how many times I have looked back on my past and wished that I could have done it all differently. It cannot be changed and I know that…but it doesn’t make it any easier to endure the mess I have made of my life. I was irresponsible and careless, but I also learned a lot about the world and about myself. Three years ago I found out that I was pregnant. Tay freaked out because a baby would totally ruin our fun time. I have to admit, at first I was thinking the same thing, but as time went on I knew that as much as I hated my roots, they were still embedded into my skull, and the only logical thing for me to do was to keep the baby and change my life.

  I did just that. I got a daytime, grown-up job at an insurance firm, and moved myself out of the apartment that I shared with Taylor and into a two bedroom apartment a few miles away. She didn’t understand, but I told her that I needed some time to myself to get my life in order. I had gotten real lucky landing this job because it was paying me enough money that I could afford to furnish the apartment including the baby’s room Once it was all said and done I felt as if I could breathe easier, like the way I had been living was sucking the life right out of me and now things seemed more normal.

  I reconnected with my parents and they quickly forgave me, although it would take me years, if not decades, to forgive myself. I had no idea who the father of my child was because honestly, I don’t even remember half of the men I slept with. They never stuck around to chat the next morning and that was how I liked it. It is probably better that I don’t know, to be honest; he wouldn’t like me if he really knew me anyways, but I grew up and that was how things were going to be. I was happy with my decisions and I would face my new fate in life with open arms and ready to take on the world.

  To say that it has been a difficult three years would be the understatement of a lifetime. I had a rough pregnancy and an even rougher delivery. My parents, and even Tay, showed to support me though. Tay tried to help in her own way the entire time I was pregnant. I tried to keep a distance from her but Tay was my family and she needed me almost as much as I truly needed her. After twenty hours of horrific labor, I gave birth to the most beautiful little boy I had ever seen. Theodore Michael Thomas weighed 6 pounds 2 ounces and was so cute there were no words. People stop me all the time and compliment me on how adorable he is. I cannot take any credit though because he looks nothing like me. I assume he looks like his father; it makes my stomach turn at the thought that I will never know. I have come to terms and made peace with my past as best as I can for now. I had to let it all go for my son’s sake. I would say that things are going pretty well for us. Theo started a new daycare last week and I got a promotion at work. I will be able to finally move us out of our tiny apartment and into a house that I have had my eye on renting for months. It has a fenced in yard and it is away from the city but only about thirty minutes from work and Theo’s preschool. It is perfect.

  I pulled up to my office building in my hand-me-down SUV my father had given me before I had Theo. He said I had to have something reliable and he was going to be getting a new car soon. I was grateful to my parents; after everything I had put them through, they found it in their hearts to forgive me and help me out. Parking the car, I quickly checked my reflection in the mirror and added some lip gloss to my look. I got out of the car and opened the back hatch to grab my laptop bag and briefcase. I must have turned too fast because I was almost run down by a driver who was in a huge hurry. When I jumped backwards, my bags fell to the ground and I tumbled backwards into my car.

  I was trying to straighten my pencil skirt and fix my blouse when I noticed a man walking toward me, he was dressed in a very expens
ive dark blue suit with a white button-down collared shirt and no tie. His hair was slicked back and he had an incredible grin on his face. He was the kind of man I would have been all over three years ago.

  “Are you ok miss? He asked.” I stood there staring at him like I was mute or something. The man spoke again. “Miss, do you need medical attention?”

  Snap out of it Gabby. “Oh no, no I am sorry. It’s been a long morning already. That just caught me off guard. But thank you, I will survive,” I said with a smile.

  “Ok, have a nice day and try to not get run over, alright?” he said as he flashed his wickedly awesome smile once more. I nodded my head and he left. I picked up my things and headed into work. Checking my watch, I realized I was now eight minutes late on the first day of my new promotion. Awesome. Let’s get this day over with already.

  Sitting down at my desk, I logged into my email and saw that I had a new message from Becca, the office coordinator, telling me that I have an impromptu meeting this morning with the new owner and CEO. Crap. What gives today? I feel like I am on an episode of Pranked or something. Coffee, I need coffee. I grabbed my mug and headed into the kitchen to get a cup.

  On my way, my mind drifted back to the man in the parking lot. He didn’t look much older than me and I felt like the more I thought about him the more I wondered why the man made me so nervous. I felt as if I had seen him somewhere before. Probably not in the kind of places I used to hang around, from the looks of him. I quickly distracted myself with my coffee, because he was literally the most beautiful man I had ever lain eyes on. Once I got back to my desk, I knew I was limited on time before the meeting. I had about a half hour to get some work done and get my mind right. Taking a deep breath, I started my day.

  I was sitting in the conference room waiting for the meeting to start, listening to the women in my office drool and talk about the new CEO.

  “Oh my gosh, you have no idea how good-looking this man is. He can’t be more than thirty years old; he can totally make a cougar out of me,” one woman said.

  I didn’t socialize much at work because I didn’t like to gossip and that was all the women in my office did. I kept to myself and did my work and that is how I got my promotion. I went from being a secretary to an executive assistant, and I was really proud of myself. I worked really hard to get where I am for my son and for myself.

  The entire room went silent when the door swung open. I picked up my pen and pad of paper and looked to my left, and about fell out of my chair. In walked the man from the parking lot who literally took my breath away. Great. Just friggin’ great.

  Chapter 2

  I could feel how red my skin was and I was thanking God that I was in the back of the room so no one would notice.

  “Good morning everyone, my name is Jace Greene and I am the new CEO of Greene Incorporated. Yes, I am related to the Greene family. My grandfather founded this company and I am now left in charge. I want to thank you all for coming to this meeting on such short notice,” he said.

  Geez the man was flawless, his facial features looked like he just stepped out of a GQ magazine.

  All of the women in the room were swooning during the meeting, which would normally make me roll my eyes except that I was swooning as well. This is ridiculous Gabby, get a grip; the man is now your boss. I had to admit that made things even hotter for me, but that was beside the point. He is now my boss. If I keep saying it, maybe I will stop blushing every time he looks this way.

  “In the next few weeks I’m afraid you are going to see some dramatic changes in this company. I apologize in advance, but my grandfather and his other colleagues did a horrible job of running things. I am going to see to it that this company gets cleaned up. We make too much damn money around here and are too important to go under for bad management problems. No one will lose their jobs unless they do not adapt to the changes. I have been fully informed of who does what around here, and I intend to fix the system,” he grinned.

  Honestly, nothing of what he just said scared me at all. I did my job and I did it well. I wish I could say the same for most of the people around here but I cannot. Maybe this will scare them enough to get them going.

  Once the meeting was over, I was packing up my stuff in the conference room and was surprised at how fast everyone scattered out of there. I looked up to find Mr. Greene himself staring at me from his chair. Crap, we’re all alone in here

  “Is there something that I can help you with, Mr. Greene?” I asked sternly. I was no stranger to an attitude problem, but I was uncomfortable with how he was staring at me.

  He smiled and said, “No, Miss…I believe we met earlier and I didn’t catch your name.”

  That’s because I didn’t tell you my name; I was too busy drooling all over myself. “I’m Gabriella Thomas, but everyone calls me Gabby,” I said.

  He immediately flashed his million dollar grin. That grin would be the death of me. “Well Gabriella, it’s a pleasure to meet you again. How long have you worked here?” he asked.

  “I have been here almost four years,” I said quickly. He was eyeing my every move, it seemed.

  “Well Gabriella, it’s a pleasure to have you on board here. I understand that you have recently been given a promotion?” I nodded my head.

  “Good, well I am in need of an assistant and to be honest, you are the only one here who has a clean file, and also the only one who wasn’t snickering at every word I said during the meeting. I would raise your pay by $10,000 per year and you would get an office outside of mine,” he said, smiling.

  Holy crap, did I just hallucinate? He must have seen that I am a single mother in my file or something. He feels sorry for me, or maybe he is hitting on me? Well my days of sleeping with complete strangers are over. No way is this guy buying me. “I appreciate the offer but I am happy with what I am doing now,” I smiled kindly. He must think I am an idiot. I grabbed my things and headed for the door.

  I was almost to the conference room door when he reached his arm out to me. “Miss Thomas, please, I am sorry if I have offended you in some way. I really did not mean to. I was trying to be polite and offer you a life-changing opportunity,” he said.

  It felt like he had read a lot about me and I did not like it. Boss or not. “Mr. Greene, I really do appreciate the offer, but if you are looking for an office fling I am not your girl, and if you are feeling sorry for me because I have a son, then please spare me. I have a lifetime of regret and this job is the only thing besides my son that keeps me going most days,” I said sternly. Holy crap, way to spill your life story to him, Gabby. You may as well have told him the whole thing.

  His eyes narrowed, as if he wasn’t sure what I just said. “Gabriella, I am sorry for wasting your time. I see you have made up your mind.” With that, he waved his hand in front of him, letting me leave.

  My face turned bright red and I reached for the door handle. As I was walking out of the room I could have sworn I heard him sigh and say, “You will come around,” or something of the sort. I quickly brushed it off and went back to work.

  I had been working all day and skipped my lunch so that I could get this horrendous day over with. So to see that the clock said 4 p.m. made me so happy. I turned off my computer, grabbed my stuff, and headed out the door.

  Chapter 3

  Jace

  I watched her pack up her desk to leave for the day and I swear I wanted to call her into my office and not take no for an answer to work for me, but I just watched as she walked to the elevators and left. I never got to watch her leave the last time I saw her. I will never forget the way she looked that night in the bar by my college. I had just graduated and was desperately trying to avoid my future of taking over the family business. Getting drunk and for
getting my name was in the plan for the evening but when I saw her dancing with her friend across the bar, I could not help myself. I had to know her, and I had to do it with my mind clear. She was a beautiful blonde, with the greenest eyes I had ever seen. She smiled and it lit up the room. I was not used to being so drawn to a woman before and it made me nervous but I liked it.

  We ended up talking the entire night and I took her home with me. Needless to say, it was a great night, but when I woke up the next day she was gone, leaving me with nothing but her name. Gabriella. No last name and no history of her whatsoever. But I would never forget that face or that smile as long as I lived. I tried going back to the bar where we met to ask around about her but no one claimed to know her. I gave up eventually and moved on with my life, but this morning when I saw her in the parking lot of my new company, I thought I was going to drop dead on the concrete.

  Three year later and here she is, in the same town we met in, and I never found her until now. She has no idea who I am and I have to say, as much as that stings slightly, I will let it go. She was drinking pretty heavily that night and I almost felt guilty taking her home with me because of the state she was in, but she was acting normal, like she knew what she was doing. I'd had my share of one-night stands but something about her was different. Seeing her again reminded me of how right I was; she was different, and this time I was not about to let her go. Not without a fight. She may not remember me now, but she will sooner or later. I do not remember her mentioning to me that night that she had a son, and the way she was behaving did not remind me of the way a mother would behave, but now she has a child. That may or may not complicate things.