2022-01-19 00:35:17*** Jessica’s POV
Jessica looking across the table at Nyman. “I am glad we were able to get lunch together.”
“Of course! I would do anything for you!” Nyman said, holding her hand across the table.
Jessica jumped a bit when her phone suddenly rang. “Sorry I thought I turned that off.”
“It’s ok, it could be important.”
Jessica looked down to see her mother calling, “Mom?” she answered.
“You will not believe who dared show his face at the mall today.”
“What? Who?”
“That bastard, Brantley. He had some harlet with him. I told you he was no good.”
“Mom, leave the poor man alone. He signed the divorce. He is allowed to move on. I have.” She smiled at Nyman, who mouthed, ‘Conor?’ She nodded at him.
“That bastard tried to ruin us and ruin you! You are lucky Nyman was willing to take you in. Jess, I don’t want him to ever work in this town again. I told him as much. You should ask Nyman to ma
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Rejected Billionaire Chapter 133: The Announcement
Jinstain, Jessica’s POV Tuesday morning Jessica awoke to a brilliant sunrise over the ocean. She slid out of bed and found a robe, donning the silky fabric as she wondered through the room. Nyman was in the kitchen and walked out a moment later with a cup of coffee for her. They stood at the balcony watching the waves crash across the sandy beach below. Jessica rested her head on his shoulder. “This is nice. I never got to do anything like this before.” “I thought your family had vacations on the islands.” “Sure, family vacations, but I didn’t exactly get to bring a guy along on those. Once Conor was in the picture, we spent all our money on his shop and then dealing with the aftermath.” “Ah. Well, why don’t you go get dressed for a swim and we will test the hot tub out.” Nyman said with a grin. “I don’t really need to get dressed for that.” she whispered. “but, give me a minute and I will meet you there.” Jessica went to the b
Rejected Billionaire Part 2 - Chapter 1 : Lunch on High Street
Kerrigan stepped away from the podium and wrapped her arm in Conor’s. She couldn’t help but smile as he tipped his fedora to cover his face while the press desperately tried to snap pictures of them. Let them speculate on who he was. It would throw all sorts of fun gossip into the media for days, giving both Dragon Corporation and Vokrizin free exposure. “Well, I think that went well.” She commented to Conor as she took his arm. “You did quite well. I think that should stir the town up for a while,” Conor chuckled. He glanced over at her and asked, “shall we get some lunch?” “Are you buying?” “After you saved me from having to face the media, I suppose I could treat you to lunch. Your choice. Anywhere you would like to go.” Conor offered cheerfully. Kerrigan thought about it, “I honestly am not all that familiar with the finer establishments in town. I spent so much of the past few weeks having food brought in.” “Well, there is a bar I know of on High Street that is supposed to
Rejected Billionaire Part 2 - Chapter 2: CODE BLACK!
Conor spun and jumped back just as a large black vehicle slammed into the curb and stopped inches from Conor, nearly pinning him to the low brick wall surrounding the outdoor eating area. “What the hell mates?” Conor yelled, slamming his hands on the hood. Five men in masks jumped out, each brandishing daggers. “Shit,” Conor said, backing to where Kerrigan and Reilynn were. “Out the back?” Kerrigan asked, just as the door to the store slammed shut and the lock click into place. “Guess that is not an option,” Conor said, grabbing a fork and butter knife off a table. Kerrigan reached down and pulled a small blade from her boot. “Back to back?” Reilynn stepped forward as the first attacker ran up, “Triad, I am the point.” She pulled two extendable batons and flicked them to full length. “We push to the road; Parker will be here momentarily. He will form the quad.” The attackers were hindered by their vehicle blocking the narrow entrance in the brick, so two hopped over the wall wh
Rejected Billionaire Part 2 - Chapter 3: Meeting Mr. Nuri
Kerrigan and Conor arrived at Vokrizin twenty minutes later. Kerrigan noticed that there were even more guards at the front and throughout the halls than even when she had first arrived. Apparently, Eli was not taking chances and had called everyone up from their time off for duty. When they arrived at the conference room, Mr. Nuri was there with Jared. They had several document packets laid out for each of them. “Please come in and sit. I was heartened to hear you both are ok. I am sorry about Reilynn.” “Thank you for your concern, Mr. Nuri. Now, what is this all about?” Kerrigan asked. Mr. Nuri had a stern look when he clicked on a recording of the news and let the announcer talk about the changes at Dragon Corporation. When the newscast was over, he simply said, “It looks like Prima Zadok and Mr. Benedict have been busy.” “That bastard. I would bet anything that it was him that tried to have us killed today. If I am gone, he and Zadok will have free reign of Dragon Corporation!
Rejected Billionaire Part 2 - Chapter 4: Facing New Realities
As they were about to leave, Conor turned back to Mr. Nuri, “Oh, can you please have Miss. Brooks get in touch with commander Eli about finding Kerrigan and her guards a house? Perhaps one of those gated communities.” “Of course. I will make sure she has a few agents start working on that right away.” Kerrigan stopped as she realized something, “Mr. Nuri, I am not sure how much control I will have over Dragon Corporation funds after this morning.” she said a bit sheepishly. “Never fear about that. Real Estate is one asset that the Dovajun’s coffers never mind adding to the horde.” Mr. Nuri said with a smile. Just outside the door, Conor turned to Kerrigan, “I know neither of us wants to work with Kelan, but perhaps it is best to do so for now. We don’t know to what extent the board will trust him, and I suspect that many of your key staff are not loyal to him. It might be best to just play along for now. Let's get through the Gala for Celia’s blessing. After that, we will have som
Rejected Billionaire Part 2 - Chapter 5: Confrontation with Dragon Corporation's Board
Two hours later, Kerrigan sat in the large conference room staring at a screen with the Dragon Corporation board. Thankfully, Zadok and Kelan were not present. Natalie had made sure both were occupied with other meetings to ensure they would not have time for what they would consider a trivial meeting. Mr. Nuri and a lady in her early twenties sat behind the camera, out of view of the board members. Mr. Nuri had introduced his new paralegal as Quinley Rose. Quinley sat tall in her seat, attentive to everything around her. Her dark brown hair was neatly tied back in a short ponytail. Her hazel eyes flashed with pleasure as Kerrigan nodded in her direction. “Good morning, Gentlemen,” Kerrigan began. “Miss Lokir, it is good to actually see you and confirm you are alive. I must admit, you gave us a bit of a shock showing up on TV without having heard from you in some time,” the chairman said. “Please forgive my absence. While I have been away from the office, I have remained in contact
Rejected Billionaire Part 2 - Chapter 6: a Chat with Jonathan
The next morning Conor knocked on the door of his old office. Kerrigan was already waiting but said, “I just need to grab something,” She darted into the hidden suite while Conor texted Parker to finish readying the team. A minute later, Kerrigan was back, clutching her violin case. “Ready.” “Planning to play some with the kids?” Conor asked, nodding towards the violin case as they headed down the hall. “I promised the violin shop owner that I would practice. The community center, as broken down as it is, has some amazing acoustics,” she replied simply. Parker, Evelynn, and Gabriella met them outside and loaded up into the SUV. “Eli will have a small contingent waiting at the center,” Parker explained as they headed out. At the Community center, Conor started to follow Kerrigan as she made her way through the main gym and down to where several large rooms were, but Kerrigan shooed him away stating she was fine alone and that he didn’t need to babysit her. She turned away with a smi
Rejected Billionaire Part 2 - Chapter 7: Detective Troubles
Conor sat in the back of the SUV while Parker drove. Eli had sent another whole team with them to secure the community center, so he was not worried about Kerrigan. As Parker pulled into Vokrizin, another guard stepped up to open the door for Conor. Blue lights flashed and several police vehicles rushed in, attempting to block them from all sides. Guards poured out of the building with guns drawn and surrounded Conor, ushering him inside. “Go, Go, Go.” “Freeze! No one move!” came a voice over a loudspeaker from one of the police units. Conor was pulled inside the building and passed Mr. Nuri, who was heading out to deal with the situation. “Never fear, Mr. Brantley. I will deal with the police.” Conor was taken to the secure suite, and he pulled up the bank of monitors. He did his best to ignore the clothes and other items in the room that made it clear this was no longer his space and focused on the situation outside. Mr. Nuri was talking with one of the officers. “This warrant
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S3 Chapter 22: Train rides
Monday morning broke with a cool spring breeze showing the last vestiges of winter before summer’s heat. Conor tossed his suitcase into the back of the SUV and hopped into the passenger seat.Parker drove them to Kerrigan’s house, pausing briefly to acknowledge the gate guard. Conor recognized him as one of Colonel Eli’s men he had seen around Vokrizin.“Jamison is a good man. He will make sure nothing happens to Miss Lokir’s house while you all are away,” Parker said.Conor just nodded.They pulled up to Kerrigan’s house and Parker honked twice.Conor jumped out when he saw the four ladies exit with several bags each. He and Parker quickly moved to help and filled the back of the SUV with bags, nearly completely blocking any hope of looking out the back window.“Guess you are moving out. No plans to return?” Conor asked.Kerrigan replied smoothly, “I am sure I will be back. This isn’t a fraction of what is in that house.”Parker closed the trunk and addressed everyone, “The Colonel do
S3 Chapter 21: Kelan
Targu Province. Saturday night “A toast! To our good brother Kelan, for without him, many of us would still be scrapping the bottom of the barrel here in Velyki!” declared Darren Krellis. “Here, here!” chorused the room. "My family thanks you for letting us take over this place and turn it into the exclusive club Velykie can be proud of!" Darren declared. Kelan Benedict stood and saluted the room with his wine glass and took a swig. “Brothers and lovely guests,” he began, eyeing the ladies around the room dressed in tight-fitting evening gowns. “Tonight, I thank you for this gracious meal. Hopefully, the future will bring mutual benefit as the Benedict family begins its absorption of Velyki and then Targu!” There was a round of cheers and Kelan slumped back into his seat, wrapping his arm around Clarise, a tall attractive blonde dressed in a red dress that did wonders for her figure. “Brother Kelan,” came a grading voice beside him as someone sat down on the couch. Kelan took h
S3 Chapter 20 : Visiting the Spice Emporium
“That was crazy,” Conor said as they headed across the street. Kerrigan slipped up beside him, slipping her hand into his, “I get the feeling that our lives will always attract crazy.” Conor sighed, “It does seem that way. Let’s see how Mr. Arroz is doing.” Conor gave Kerrigan’s hand a gentle squeeze as they crossed the street and stepped into the spice shop. A small bell sounded as they walked in. “Be right up!” came the bellow from the back room. Conor pointed to the glass case that protected the world from the hottest spice known, Abrasax’s wrath. “Now, any idea how we can get Kelan and perhaps Nyman to swallow that whole jar?” Kerrigan giggled, “I have a few I would like to feed it to. Think Mr. Arroz will part with the whole jar?” “Depends if he thinks he can replace it,” Conor said as Faolon brushed past him. “Hey, Faolan! Sit! PRALL!” Faolan came back and sat at his feet. Kerrigan looked up at him, “She just wants to sniff. This whole place is full of new smells.” “I k
S3 Ch19: Entitlement
Conor and Kerrigan rode in companionable silence for most of the trip back to town, content to rest from the day’s climbing. They sat, each leaning against opposing car windows, but their legs met, touching from knee to heel. Conor felt their fingers brush and gently laced his with hers, enjoying how her hand fit so perfectly with his.It was near dinner time when they finally turned onto the street near the Spice Emporium. As Parker pulled into a parking space at the far end of the street, Conor noticed the Grizlehut. It had been a long time since he had thought about his old job. While his condominium home was at the far end of the street, he never come down this way anymore. Too often, Parker would be waiting for him, and they would simply drive the other direction to get to Vokrizin.Conor reached for the door and realized Kerrigan was completely passed out against her window. He leaned over and gently shook her shoulder. As she came awake, Conor saw a flash of panic cross her face
S3 Ch 18: Trust building
He changed his hand position and reached, finding the quickdraw dangling from its anchor. He clipped the rope in and began his attempt to crest the bulge in the rock. As he pivoted, he realized the angle he was moving to would erase any grip he had on that hold. As he thought this, he felt a weightless sensation as he began to fall away from the rock. The rope went taught and jerked him mid-air as Kerrigan was pulled off her feet, flying fifteen feet in the air. She managed to hold the rope in its breaking position but her head was dangerously close to his feet. When he had caught his breath, Conor looked down into Kerrigan’s terrified green eyes. “Fancy meeting you up here. Think we could meet up again, once we are safely on the ground?” Kerrigan gawked at him for a second before smiling, “I suppose I could let you down, but You are at my mercy. I might just have to leave you up here like a pinata.” Conor chuckled as he watched her slowly release tension, lowering herself back dow
S3 Ch 17: Rock climbing
“OK, now it's time for you to try. Who is up first?” Conor volunteered. “Fine, Kerrigan, you are on belay. I will back you up and walk you through each step. I want you both to understand, Lead climbing like this places your life in the hands of your partner. If you don’t trust each other and learn not only to communicate but to anticipate each other’s needs, you will fail and likely hurt each other.” Kerrigan looked dubiously at Parker. “Conor is easily 50 pounds heavier than me!” Parker eyed Conor’s muscular but toned form, “You are what? 200 or 210 pounds these days?” “Last I checked, yea, right at 205.” “Should be fine. Kerrigan, you just have to learn to brace yourself correctly. You could go for a ride but if you use the skills I taught you earlier you could even belay me, and I am 230 pounds these days. Climbing is about technique as much as it is about skill. Now, let's get Conor tied in.” Parker tied the end of the climbing rope to Conor’s harness and showed Kerrigan.
S3 Ch16:
Conor leaned against the SUV with Parker standing across from him checking through a few bags of gear. “We have three ropes, harnesses for everyone, belay devices, and four full sets of quickdraws. I am also bringing a few crash pads. I don’t plan on you needing to use them but we will put them along the base just in case. Here, try these on.” Parker tossed a pair of strange shoes to him. Conor looked at the shoes that had a sharp curve to the toe and the sole was a flat rubber that followed the arch curve. The tan material seemed to be some sort of soft doeskin or very supple leather. Conor tried to pull the shoe on but his toes cramped and they were shoved into the tight shoes. “Umm, I think these are too small.” Parker walked over and check them. “your heal fits right?” “Yea, but my toes are all curled” “Painfully curled or just uncomfortably curled?” Conor considered before finally replying, “just uncomfortable. My shoes are normally a bit loose.” “Then they fit perfectly.
S3 Ch 15: Issues at home
Kerrigan spent the next day walking around the property at her house with Faolan. It had been a while since they had been able to just play, and she took this opportunity to play fetch. Thankfully her right arm still functioned, though being it was her off-hand, it was a bit awkward to throw. She figured this was good training for anything that might injure her dominant arm. Mercifully she had awoken almost entirely pain-free. The pills the Colonel had given her had truly worked wonders overnight and she had to admit, she was looking forward to being able to learn to climb the sheer rock faces near the waterfall tomorrow. The day passed rather uneventfully, and as the sun set Kerrigan found herself curled up on the back porch on one of their outdoor couches, with Faolan warming her feet with her furry mass. Reilynn stepped out a few minutes later with two glasses of wine and handed one to Kerrigan as Gabriella come out behind her. the girls each sank into chairs and leaned back, look
S3 Ch 14: Kerrigan's Family revelations
The next morning Kerrigan arrived on the roof of Vokrizin for their daily training session. Colonel Eli strode over to her but before he could start setting her to drills she decided to interject, “I actually wanted to talk to you.” “Oh?” “two things really. First, do you think tomorrow I could take the girls climbing? Perhaps Conor will join us?” The Colonel glanced to where Parker was sparing with Conor, “I don’t see why that should be a problem.” He looked to Reilynn, “You feel confident in training them?” “Yes, sis.” “Fine, I will requisition the gear. What size shoe do you were, Miss Lokir?” “Umm about 23.5 cm.” “Hmm ok. I will make sure to get you and Conor some. Be warned, they will be tight. These are not meant for walking, they are designed for grip. Don’t be surprised if they feel a size or two smaller than is comfortable. What was the other thing?” “I am returning to Dragon Corporation at the end of the week.” “Ah, I see. I will begin redeploying a detail. We still
