Page 13 of Grave Kisses (Graveyard of Hearts Collection #1)
Kendra
Two Days Later
All day yesterday, I was quiet and managed to stay on my laptop most of the time.
I made up excuses about deadlines and bugs to work out of a system update.
I did work, but only on future projects that I have yet to introduce.
They gave me space and just let me wallow in my own self-pity.
Only, they don’t know I am breaking apart at the seams. I plaster the fake smile on my face that I mastered years ago and pretend, despite feeling like my soul is in agony.
When we got to the office today, I went straight to my office to be alone.
I know Julie will suspect something, but this is my problem.
Archer is after me, not them. I have to do what I can to keep this company safe so that when he does kill me, Alan’s legacy stays intact.
I am planning to talk to Jesse today about a will.
When I die, I am making sure that Marcus and Bellamy get everything.
It will be split evenly, so they won’t have to worry about bringing anyone else in.
My plan is simple. I want to draft the will and finish the project I am working on, then when it launches, I will go to Archer.
I refuse to play this game of cat and mouse.
I’m going to handle my shit and face the music, so to speak.
Realistically, I can fix everything within the next month.
So long as I am alive and I am near them, they are in danger.
Everyone who gets close to me dies, and I refuse to let any of them die for my selfishness.
My birth parents and Alan died, but luckily Martin survived his heart attack a few years ago.
They didn’t think he would live through it for a second.
Having seen Alan meet his demise, it’s best that I get away from everyone before I am their downfall as well.
One of the more selfish reasons I am doing this is that I simply cannot lose another person.
Finding the only father I’ve ever known dead on his couch broke something inside of me that is irreparable.
In the meantime, I am going to avoid contact with Marcus and Bellamy.
I don’t want to lead them to believe I can be anything more than a business partner.
It’s going to break my fucking heart, but I’ll just have to lie.
I’ll get a hotel room and only have what I need to get through the month.
I have everything Noel got for me in my vehicle, so that is handled at least. On the off chance the cops find Archer first, I’ll just sign everything over to the guys like they wanted and move.
“Morning,” Julie says cheerfully as she walks into the office.
“Morning,” I say simply as I continue working.
“How was your weekend?”
“It was fine,” I say. “Yours?”
“I just watched Netflix all day yesterday. Where are the guys?”
“No clue,” I say. “Probably in their office. We have a meeting in a bit.”
“Oh, okay… Are you alright?”
“Yeah. Just thinking about the apartment fire,” I lie.
“Yeah. Shit is crazy,” she says. “Well, let me know if you need anything. You don’t have to face anything alone, hun.”
“I know,” I say as I look up at her with a fake smile. “I appreciate that.”
“Morning, ladies,” Martin says as he walks into my office.
“Morning,” Julie says with a smile.
“Hey,” I say, glancing up at him.
“Julie, I’ll walk with her to the meeting. You go on ahead,” Martin says.
“Okay. See you there,” Julie says before leaving the office.
“What do you want?” I ask Martin.
“What’s wrong?” he asks me.
“Well, my rapist blew up my home,” I say, sitting back and looking at him. “My dad died. I have an entire company to look after. And now… I have you in here interrupting me.”
“Do I look stupid to you?” Martin asks seriously.
“That’s not my problem. I can walk alone,” I say as I stand up.
“Kendra. Will you just talk to me?” Martin asks with a sigh.
“There’s nothing to talk about,” I snap and snatch my tablet up from the desk. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a meeting to go to.”
I storm past Martin and take the stairs.
My ankle still hurts, but I am not about to be trapped in an elevator with him.
I take careful steps down, but I am in so much pain by the time I get to the conference room.
I grab the wall and drop my head for a second to breathe before straightening up and walking into the meeting.
I hold my breath until I get seated to power through the pain in order to not limp too noticeably.
“Good morning,” Marcus says simply.
“Morning,” I say, not meeting his eyes. Instead, I turn to Julie. “Do you usually take notes?”
“Yeah. You just do your thing, and I’ll keep track,” she says sweetly. I nod once and look down at my tablet.
“Alright,” I say, looking up at everyone.
“Last week, you all voted and decided that I needed to speak up about who I am… So, I am Alan’s foster daughter but recently adopted daughter.
Archer kidnapped, raped, and tortured me when I was fifteen.
That’s why his relationship was cut off because it wasn’t the first time he had done something like that.
Alan took custody of me and respected that I wanted to stay in the shadows.
I was afraid of people thinking that I intentionally ruined his relationship with his son.
Up until right before he passed, I would not sign adoption papers for that reason.
Ultimately, I did, and I am his legal daughter, but even so, he had everything go to me because he was not confident in leaving anything to Archer.
He knew I would give him his trust fund money, and I did…
But... Friday night, there was a fire and an explosion at an apartment building in town.
That apartment building was mine, and there were propane tanks in my apartment.
Ultimately, it was ruled arson, and he is the main suspect.
The police also have security camera footage of my rape when I was fifteen.
So… I assume there is or will be a warrant for his arrest soon. ”
“I’m sorry that happened to you. Alan was a good man,” Bradley says.
“It honestly doesn’t surprise me,” Jerry says with a sigh. “Where are you staying now?”
“I stayed with Marcus and Bellamy over the weekend, but I am going to a hotel today,” I say simply. “I’ll do my update first since I’m already talking.”
“Let’s hear it,” Richard says, sitting back to listen. Marcus and Bellamy look fucking heartbroken, and it hurts. A lot.
“Uh. Right. So, Alan and I had a few projects going. Over the next week, those projects will end. I have been working on a separate project for a new system. It is a pretty major change, so I will email everyone a detailed document about this. I should have it completed within the next month. Otherwise, everything is on track.”
“Simple enough,” Jerry says. “I’m looking forward to seeing the new project.”
I sit back and focus on my tablet as everyone else takes their turn to speak.
Just as Bellamy is about to give an update, I pretend I have a call.
“I’ll be back,” I say quietly to Julie. She nods, and I slip out of the room.
Once the door is shut, I hurriedly hobble over to the elevator with my tablet in hand to get up to my office.
Jesse is waiting for me, and I want to get this done before the meeting is over.
“Hey,” Jesse says when I walk in. “You okay?”
“Yeah. I just twisted my ankle on Saturday,” I say dismissively as I sit. “Okay. So, I want to draft a will. I want it finalized today, though.”
“Oookay…” she says. “What are you wanting to do?”
“If I die, I want everything regarding the company to be split evenly between Marcus and Bellamy. Everything else can be split between you and Julie,” I say. “That’s it.”
“Is everything okay?” Jesse asks as she types.
“Yeah. The apartment thing freaked me out a bit. I just want to make sure the company is protected,” I say. “And this stays between us. Okay?”
“Okay,” she says. “You know you can talk to me, right? Like, about anything.”
“I know. Thank you,” I say with a fake smile.
“I’ll email you a digital copy to sign in a few hours,” she says as she stands. “Ice your ankle. It looks bad,” she says, pointing to my leg.
“I will,” I lie. When she leaves my office, I look at my ankle, and it’s a gross shade of black and purple while also being incredibly swollen.
If I didn’t know any better, I’d say I probably broke something important.
I suppose it won’t matter soon, considering I’ll be dead.
I’ll make do for the time being and do what I need to do.