Ava

  By Elizabeth Lennox

  Register for free stories at http://www.elizabethlennox.com/subscribe

  Follow me on Facebook: www.facebook.com/Author.Elizabeth.Lennox

  Or on Twitter: www.twitter.com/ElizabethLenno1

  Copyright 2023

  ISBN13: 9781950451739

  All rights reserved

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. Any duplication of this material, either electronic or any other format, either currently in use or a future invention, is strictly prohibited, unless you have the direct consent of the author.

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Epilogue

  Excerpt from “Felix”

  Chapter 1

  “I don’t want his help!” Ava hissed, pacing across the lush courtyard filled with trees and flowering bushes.

  And yet, she turned, pressing her hands against her eyes and forehead in a futile effort to find another solution. “There has to be another way!”

  “Perhaps, if you asked nicely, I could offer an alternative.”

  The deep, harsh voice and clipped tones stopped her in her tracks. In fact, the sound stopped her heart. Before she spun around, Ava prayed that the familiar voice didn’t belong to him! But when she turned, it was clear her prayers had been ignored.

  “Grant!” Ava whispered, blue eyes wide as she took in the man’s broad shoulders and towering height. Her two older brothers were several inches over six feet in height, but for some reason, Grant Hanover intimidated her in ways her brothers never had.

  A dark eyebrow lifted as he gazed at her, hands tucked in the pockets of his immaculate, charcoal grey suit. “You’re surprised to see me?” he asked, tilting his head slightly. “Did you fly twenty-three hundred miles to meet someone else?”

  His features were rougher now, she suddenly realized. Better defined. His nose was sharper and it had clearly been broken at some point. His chin had been hidden under a rough beard when she’d last seen him, but he was clean shaven now. There had always been an aura of intensity, of power, about Grant. With an unexpected shiver, Ava noticed that it was still there, but it was tempered by…patience? Intelligence? Or perhaps it was merely the absolute conviction that he had the ability to crush anyone who dared to put an obstacle in his path?

  Focus, she mentally admonished. Blinking, Ava smoothed a hand down over her outfit, even though she couldn’t remember what she’d donned this morning. Lifting her chin, she tried to pretend a level of confidence she didn’t feel.

  “I came here to...,” Ava swallowed hard, then abruptly stopped fidgeting. Staring into his uncompromising features, she wondered if she should admit anything now that she was face to face with him.

  That ominous dark eyebrow lowered, but the sharply intelligent, green gaze narrowed. Something in his body language subtly shifted, but Ava couldn’t quite define what had changed. However, his voice was gentler, gruff, but softer as he stated, “You came here to speak with me. To ask me for help.”

  Ava was startled by his calmly worded statement and almost stepped back. How in the world could he know that? Ava looked around, searching for the hidden cameras.

  “They aren’t there. I was arriving just as you walked into the building and I followed you here. I’ve been listening to you argue with the tree for the past five minutes.”

  Ava swallowed again, feeling more than a little foolish. “It’s a nice tree,” she replied, then barely restrained herself from rolling her eyes at herself.

  “Is it?” he asked, looking up at the tree with sudden interest. It was a ficus and very leafy, but other than that, there wasn’t anything special about it. “I’ll mention to my gardener that he’s doing a good job, then.”

  His teasing tone reminded her of…too many things. The memories came rushing back to her and she…Ava sighed heavily, her too-slender shoulders slumping. “This was a seriously bad idea,” she muttered. “I’ll head home now.” She’d lost weight over the past few weeks. The stress of trying to resolve this problem, and not coming up with any possible solutions, defeated her.

  Before she could reach the exit, his voice stopped her. “How is Pierce?” he asked, referring to Ava’s oldest brother.

  Confused, she turned back, tilting her head slightly. “Pierce?” she parroted, confused. She lifted a shoulder and shook her head slightly. “He’s…fine, I guess.”

  Grant nodded slightly. There was an awkward pause. “He’s still running Halliday Hotels?”

  Ava nodded, crossing her arms over her stomach. “Yes. We’re up to three hundred hotels and we’re international now.”

  “That’s good.” He nodded slowly, as if that information was somehow profound. “Your family had just the one hotel outside of Seattle when we met, correct?”

  Instantly, more of those memories flashed through her mind. The lake and the forests, the terror of those years after everyone left. One by one, the people in her life had left her. Her mother had died of cancer. Pierce had gone to Harvard. Felix…he’d joined the Navy. And Grant. “Yes,” she nodded, her body stiffening with the pain lashing at her from those memories. “Just the one. Originally.”

  More nodding, but this time, he added a slight uplift of one side of his mouth. “Impressive. Your brother had just returned from Harvard at the time, correct?”

  She nodded again, gripping her elbows tightly. “Yes.” She swallowed and, because he just kept standing there, his hands still shoved in his pockets, she added reluctantly, “That was the reason I couldn’t go with you. Eight years ago.” She squinted slightly as the sunshine suddenly slipped out from behind a cloud. “I had to help.” When he didn’t react, she continued but her tone sounded defensive now. “We were all struggling back then.”

  He nodded once more, a slow, almost disbelieving gesture. Had his lips tightened? Ava stared hard, but…he was such a mystery!

  “Yes. I remember that’s the excuse you gave me.”

  Instantaneous anger flared and she stepped forward, her hands dropping as her hands fisted by her sides. Ava wished she could poke him in the middle of his broad, muscular chest. But she wasn’t brave enough to touch him, so she aimed for the air in front of him. Daring? No. However, Ava was painfully conscious of what used to happen whenever they touched years ago.

  “It wasn’t an ‘excuse’, Grant!” she snapped. “It was the truth!” She huffed a bit, then paced for two steps before coming back to glare up at him, needing to make Grant understand. “Pierce had just graduated. Jenna and I were barely making a profit at that small, roadside hotel when he came back and started helping with the business.” And then, “I couldn’t leave then!”

  He didn’t nod this time. He merely stared down at her. Ava had always hated the fact that she was the shortest in her family. But that fact was never so irritating as it was now. Not even her four inch, red heels helped. At five feet, four inches tall, her heels only brought her up to five-eight. Grant was still seven or eight inches taller than she was. Add in the broad muscular shoulders and lean hips, flat stomach and….

  Ava remembered how stubborn…determined…Grant could be. She remembered that final argument and the desperation she’d felt when Grant hadn’t understood. He’d never understood her. Not really. He’d come the closest to “getting” her. But in the end, he’d still left. Ava hadn’t been enough for him and he’d walked away from her. From them!

  Clearing her throat, she stepped back. “I’m sorry for wasting your time.” She tried to step around him, but he was too big. Too broad. The dratted man took up too much space! She could either stomp on the flowers and possibly mess up her favorite red heels or she could stand here glaring at him!

  She seriously considered stepping on the flowers, but before she could fully process that thought, he grabbed her upper arm and guided her towards the door.

  “We’ll talk,” he snapped, yanking open the glass doors. He didn’t lead her towards the bank of elevators. Instead, he pulled her towards a private elevator that pinged as soon as he pressed the button. They were inside and being lifted to the top floor before she thought to protest. Thankfully, he dropped her arm as soon as the elevator started moving, allowing Ava to step back.

  “Nice to have a private lift,” she grumbled, backing into a corner. But there wasn’t enough space. Twenty-three hundred miles hadn’t been enough space, she corrected. She’d dreamed about this man for eight years! A few extra feet in an elevator wasn’t enough!

  They’d both been staring up at the circles that lit up as the elevator rose through the floors. But at her grumbling comment, he turned his head, looking down at her with amused disbelief. “And you don’t enjoy the luxuries your success allows?” he asked, lifting a dark eyebrow as he waited for her answer.

  He had a point. The shoes she’d chosen for this meeting had cost over seven hundred dollars. They weren’t even the most expensive in her wardrobe. They were just her favorites.

  “You’re right,” she replied, but

the anger in her tone diminished. “I apologize.”

  His eyes sparkled with amusement, although his lips remained stiff and resolute. “Old habits die hard, eh?”

  The elevator doors opened, sparing her the need to respond. Not that she could, Ava thought and stepped out of the elevator, then waited for him to tell her which direction to go. He didn’t tell her, he put a hand to the small of her back, guiding her down a long, luxuriously carpeted hallway. “Where are we going?” she asked, noticing the people in the offices along the way. Everyone seemed hard at work. But perhaps this was what it was like in the executive offices of Halliday Hotels. Pierce didn’t allow slacking off. He worked extremely hard and expected his staff to work just as diligently. Apparently, Grant didn’t allow idlers either.

  Ava pushed herself to achieve the same measure of efficiency as the rest of her siblings, needing to prove to them that she could help, that her efforts were worthy of the outrageous amount of money she earned as part owner of Halliday Hotels.

  The snick of the door closing behind her pulled her out of her thoughts again, reminding her that she needed to be aware of everything around Grant. He was insanely smart and knew how to take advantage of any show of weakness. It was one of the reasons he was disgustingly wealthy now.

  “Have a seat,” he ordered as he walked over to the bar. “What would you like to drink?”

  “I’m fine,” she replied flatly. She stood awkwardly in the middle of his office, wondering what to do with her hands. Several possibilities popped into her head, but she banished the erotic thoughts. She wasn’t here to get back together with Grant. She’d come to…to…! To ask for help. But that had been a stupid impulse. She realized that now. So she was not going to ask!

  Unaware of her mental machinations, Grant poured himself a portion of scotch and tossed it back in one gulp. She watched, fascinated, as he waited for the heat to hit him, then hissed as the smooth liquor warmed his chest. He glanced at her, and poured himself another before coming over to stand in front of her. “Stubborn as always, eh?” he asked.

  Ava shuffled her feet uncomfortably. “I don’t need to talk to you, Grant,” she told him. “I’ve changed my mind.” She stuffed her red leather clutch between her arm and her side, wishing she’d…what? Not come here? Not seen how incredibly handsome he still was?

  No, that wasn’t an accurate statement. Grant was even more attractive now than he’d been at twenty-five. Eight years had added depth to his character, smoothed out the rough edges. Money and power had added an additional layer of eye-catching complexity to his demeanor that couldn’t be faked. He’d already been well on his way to success before. But now…now Grant was a terrifyingly powerful man!

  And…goodness, he was hot!

  Clearing her throat, she turned, suddenly desperate to leave. “I apologize for interrupting your day.”

  “What kind of help do you need?” he demanded. That stopped her progress, bringing back the previous tension.

  She bowed her head, frustration and defeat tumbling around in her mind to create a bitter taste on her tongue.

  Sometimes, life really sucked!

  Slowly, she turned to face him again, but backed away several more steps, needing space to think. Despite her best efforts, Ava had to admit she was intimidated. “I don’t require your help, Grant. I’ll figure it out on my own.”

  His lips quirked at her declaration. “Obviously, you’ve gone through every scenario and already tried several ways to fix whatever is happening in your life. If you’re here in Houston, prepared to ask me for help, then you’re at rock bottom.” He sat down on the sofa, spreading his arms wide along the back as he stretched his legs out in front of him. Ava watched, unable to pull her eyes away as he relaxed against the expensive leather. The man wasn’t just hot, he was…well, outrageously sexy!

  Ava turned her back to move over to the windows, looking out at the city below her. Houston was an enormous, high energy city. Grant had done extremely well for himself. She knew that he bought struggling businesses, fixed them, and then sold them for an outrageous profit. The business world trembled when he started looking into a company.

  Yeah, she’d kept up with his success over the years. She’d tried to avoid looking for news of his success over the years. But Ava acknowledged a huge amount of pride in his success.

  He wasn’t just powerful. When Grant’s attention turned to a company, investors knew it was in trouble. If he didn’t take control of a floundering business, then the assumption was that it was too far gone and couldn’t be saved. If he took control, the employees quaked in their boots. Because he always pruned the dead weight, changed things around, and pushed everyone to become more efficient and profitable.

  He was an uncompromising and dangerous man.

  Which was exactly why she’d come here to ask him for help. But seeing him again, she knew that this trip had been a mistake.

  Grant clenched his teeth as Ava gazed out the window. In a way, her perusal of the city was a relief. Those stunning blue eyes of hers were no longer peering into his soul and, from this angle, he couldn’t see her lush, perfect breasts and tiny waist, her slender hips and long legs. Had she worn those red heels because she remembered it was his favorite color?

  She still had a great ass, he thought. His hands itched to cup that ass, to feel her squirm against him just like she used to all those years ago. Ava had been such an innocent when they first met. But he’d enticed her, taught her about her body, and shown her how to truly live. He’d helped her realize that she was a vibrant, amazing woman.

  And then she’d discarded him like yesterday’s trash.

  So, what the hell was going on that was bad enough to bring her here?

  “How is your sister?” he asked, breaking the silence.

  She spun around, not quite making eye contact. He noticed how long and dark her eyelashes were. Hell!

  She kept her arms locked, ostensibly to keep her purse securely tucked against her body. But he knew Ava. Her body language was all protectiveness.

  “She’s fine. Jenna is still…perfect.”

  Grant easily recalled the tension between the sisters. Ava hadn’t ever felt like she could live up to Jenna’s standards, but Grant knew Ava had made a significant contribution to the success of their hotels. Did Ava realize how much her designs were talked about within the industry? Probably not.

  “And your other brother?”

  Had she relaxed slightly? “Felix?”

  Grant tilted his head slightly. “He survived the Navy then? Eight years ago, you were so certain that he was going to end up dead after he was selected into the Special Forces.”

  She shrugged, one finger tapping nervously against her arm, but the pride was clear in her tone when she talked about her second oldest brother. “He was a good SEAL. He spent several years doing…things…around the world. And yes, he’s back. He’s in charge of building the new hotels and renovating the new acquisitions.”

  “I thought Pierce bought up previously established hotels and converted them to the Halliday methods.”

  The finger stopped tapping and she smile faintly. “He does. But we also build when there isn’t a hotel in a specific market.” She smiled more broadly now, thinking of her brothers. “Pierce excels at finding cities that need additional hotel space.”

  Grant nodded, watching her carefully. His protective instincts were screaming right now. Something was seriously wrong in her world. But if Ava needed a bit of conversation to help her relax, then he’d chat. “So I’ve read. He’s quite the terror in the hospitality industry.”

  She laughed and the sound not only brightened his soul, it lightened her features, turning her from stunning to achingly beautiful. “That sounds a bit contradictory, don’t you think?”

  He frowned uncomprehendingly and she explained. “Terror and hospitality don’t exactly go hand in hand.”

  Grant chuckled at her statement, then shrugged slightly. “They do when referring to your brother. I’ve invested a great deal of money in Halliday Hotels. He’s incredibly good.” He sighed and sipped his drink. “So, Pierce gobbles up ailing hotels and Felix builds new ones. What does Jenna do?”

 

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13