Page 3 of Grave Kisses (Graveyard of Hearts Collection #1)

Kendra

Marcus has no idea who I am, despite the fact his father has known me for thirteen years. I’m really starting to kick myself right now for being so reclusive. I know plenty about him and everyone who works at the office. I practically have the staff list memorized.

I follow Jesse into the conference room and stop dead in my tracks when I see him. Archer Barnes.

“Why the fuck is she here?” Archer barks, standing up so fast that the chair nearly topples over.

“I could ask you the same question, Archer,” Jesse says simply.

“Hey, man,” Marcus says, shaking Archer’s hand. “How was the funeral?”

“I wasn’t invited,” he snaps, glaring at me.

“Oh, fuck you,” I say. Archer moves to come around the table, and Jesse reacts first.

“Sit down,” she booms. “You are not going to come in here and act like a fucking child. You weren’t invited because I didn’t let her invite you. You weren’t even invited here.”

“He was my father. His company belongs—” Archer starts to growl.

“Sit down or get out,” she says firmly.

Archer tightens his fists but sits down. I sit closer to her while Marcus and the man with him also sit.

“Alright,” Jesse says. “Kendra, this is Martin’s son, Marcus Vanderbilt. With him is Bellamy Teller. He owns Teller Security… Bellamy and Marcus, this is Kendra Lennon.”

“Girlfriend?” Marcus asks, making Archer chuckle.

“No,” I say through gritted teeth.

“Then who the fuck are you?” Marcus follows up. I sigh heavily and look at Jesse.

“Kendra has known Alan for thirteen years,” Jesse says simply. “The will is as follows…”

“I swear to God, if he…” Archer starts to say.

“Kendra, Alan has left everything to you. Assets, stocks, property, vehicles, belongings… and CyberSafe Incorporated,” Jesse says.

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding. This whore gets everything?” Archer yells.

“Now,” Jesse continues, ignoring him. Marcus looks like he is about to murder me at any second. “Alan still has the trust meant for Archer. You have control of that now.”

Archer shuts up immediately, and Bellamy chuckles. “What would he want?” I ask.

“He would want what you would want,” Jesse says, patting my hand.

“Jess,” I sigh. “Fine. Okay. If he kept it for this long, clearly he intended for it to stay as his, so I will just sign it over.”

“There is four million dollars in that trust,” Jesse tells me.

“He would have gotten it last year anyway. It’s fine,” I say. “I have a handle on CyberSafe, so that’s not an issue. I made a point to stay hidden, so I’m not sure what all that entails when it comes to being a subsidiary of Vanderbilt.”

“You own thirty percent,” Jesse says, and my mouth falls open. “And before Marcus tries to trick you into selling it, we both know Alan put that in the will for a reason.”

“I know. He was meticulous,” I sigh.

“What will it take for you to sell me fifteen percent?” Marcus asks me.

“The bitch isn’t going to give it up. She’s worked too hard conning Dad out of it,” Archer bites.

“Do you need anything from me?” I ask Jesse.

“Just sign the bottom, and I’ll get everything taken care of,” she says, sliding a paper over in front of me. I sign my name and stand up.

“I am going to the office. I’ve already called a meeting, so they’ll be expecting me,” I say.

“What do you know about CyberSafe?” Bellamy asks.

“I am the lead computer engineer. I do… everything,” I say. “Alan had me take over about a year ago, and he just handled the business side of things but taught me what I needed to know. You won’t have to worry about it. Nothing will change.”

“Then I’ve emailed with you before,” he says. “You do excellent work.”

“Really?” Marcus deadpans.

“Anyway,” I say. “I’m leaving. Jesse, I believe you and Alan had a prearranged meeting set up for tomorrow. I’ll be taking over his meetings, so I’ll see you then.”

“Okay,” Jesse says with a sweet smile as she stands and hugs me. “I’ll come by for lunch and bring you everything.”

“Okay. Thank you,” I say. I pick up my bag, and Marcus is glaring at me. I ignore him and walk out of the room and out to my car. Once I am locked inside, the tears break free, and I cry.

I hate this. I’d rather have Alan than any of his stuff.

I don’t want his money or company, but I promised him I’d take care of what he built.

No matter what happens, I will keep my promise.

I wish Martin hadn’t bailed, though. I could have used him with his asshole son.

Although I don’t blame him for being worried.

He has no fucking idea who I am. I know everyone by their login, so I’m sure we’ve emailed before.

By the time I get to the office, I am calm again. I park in Alan’s spot so I can be closer to unload. I feel fucking awful for taking over his office, but I don’t have much choice. I need the room so I can set up my computer and still have his.

When I walk in, Julie nearly tackles me with a hug. “Hey. How are you? Did you see him? God, I hate him. Oh, Marcus Vanderbuilt was texting, asking what was going on with Alan’s stuff, but I told him to shove it… Well… Nicely,” she rambles.

“Breathe, Jul,” I laugh. “I did see him. I am okay right now. He’s a dickhead, so he said dickhead things. Bellamy is nice, I think, but Marcus looked like he was going to choke me.”

“Oh… Yeah, Marcus is kind of an ass,” she says. “He will be okay.”

“I am going to set my shit down and try not to sob my eyes out in his office, and then I will be down for the meeting,” I say.

“I have everything taken care of until after the meeting… And then you have a meeting with Bellamy and Marcus… Then the board.”

“Wonderful. Right into the deep end I go.”

“I got you, babe. I’ll be stuck to you like glue and keep you on track. Alan made sure that if the time ever came, that I could help hold you up until you could get a handle on things.”

“You are a saint, Julie. I’ll be down soon.”

I take the elevator up and make it all of the way to the door of his office before I choke on my tears and stop. I don’t want to do this, but I have to. I force myself to unlock the door with his keys and step in.

“Hey, baby girl,” Alan says with a sweet smile as he stands to greet me. “How’s my girl?”

“Good. Sorry, I’m late. I got caught in traffic,” I say as he wraps me in his arms. He kisses the top of my head, and I sigh.

“What’s wrong?” he asks, pulling back to look at me.

“I just feel bad that I don’t see you as much as I’d like to,” I say. “I spend entirely too much time at home.”

“I know, hun. But you’ve done amazing. You’ve come a long way,” he says.

“ Yeah. That’s true,” I agree.

“You could try coming to the office once a week,” he suggests. “I could start working on you taking over one day.”

“Why would I take over if you aren’t going to retire right now?” I ask.

“You never know, sweetie. Anything can happen,” he says nonchalantly.

I am sobbing as I stand in his office. This is the last place I saw him.

He asked me to come over for dinner the following day, but he was dead when I got there.

He was cold but looked like he was napping peacefully on the couch.

What if I had questioned him more about what he meant when he said anything could happen?

Did he know? He seemed tired, but… It’s hard to think that he knew beforehand.

Why didn’t he get help? Did he feel it coming and lie down?

I have so many questions, but he isn’t here to answer them.

I wish I could just wake up and find that it’s all been a bad dream.

I force myself to sit down and do what I need to do to prepare. By the time I have everything ready, Julie is at the door. “Hey,” she says softly.

“I look like a mess,” I say, tearing up again.

“Everyone here is a mess, baby. It’s okay,” she says as she walks over and hugs me. “Let’s do this.”

I nod and grab my tablet. The best purchase I ever made was a smart pen. It’s so convenient and portable. When the elevator opens, I see Marcus and Bellamy standing with everyone. “Wonderful,” I sigh.

“Just ignore them,” Julie says.

We walk to the front of the group, and I set my tablet down on the table next to me.

Everyone stops talking almost immediately when they see me.

“Good morning, everyone,” I say. “First, I want to say that I know right now is hard for everyone. I appreciate each of you being here. Alan loved this place and all of you so much. Work was never just work; it was his life. He put everything he had into growing this company into what it is… Most of you do not know me, but most of you have talked to me through email. I am Kendra Lennox. I started as an intern when I was sixteen and moved into a position of lead computer engineer. I’ve been essentially running everything, aside from paperwork, for a year, so you're all familiar with my work…

Today, I was named the new owner of CyberSafe as I inherited everything of Alan's… I know there will be a lot of confusion and several questions. I fully intend on explaining, but I need time…”

“How much time?” Marcus asks coldly.

“As long as it takes,” I snap and turn back to everyone else. “I am moving from working remotely to the office, so I will be here every day. Julie is going to be the point of contact until I can get situated.”

“Will you be in Alan’s office?” A man asks. I believe his name is Todd.

“Todd Arnold, yes?” I ask, and he nods. “Uh… yeah. He had a system in place, and I don’t want to disrupt what he already had going. I have a pretty significant setup, so it’s going to take me some time to get everything moved and running.”

“I mean, you already took his parking spot. Why not?” Marcus says coldly. I grit my teeth and take a deep breath so I don’t scream at him.

“If you need any help, just let me know,” Bellamy says, earning a glare from Marcus.

“I plan on getting everything here tomorrow. From there, it’s just setting up and praying there isn’t an issue. I've never had to move it before, so I might. I’ll get it here and go from there,” I reply.

“I’ll swing by and help you unload,” Bellamy says.

“I appreciate that,” I say before turning to everyone else. “Does anyone have any questions?”

“Who were you to Alan?” Marcus asks.

“Anyone else?” I ask.

“How did he die?” A woman asks softly.

“Uh… He had a massive heart attack,” I say.

“I was the one who found him. He was lying on his couch, and from what I was told, it seems as though he laid down to take a nap and passed in his sleep. I was not aware of any preexisting health concerns, but anyone who knew Alan knows he would have never admitted it.”

“I threatened to fire him if he didn’t go home when he had the flu once,” Julie says with a tearful chuckle.

“Ah, shit. Don’t do that to me,” I say as I close my eyes and take a deep breath.

When I open my eyes, others are sniffling.

“He passed without pain. He looked like he was at peace… Alan was in my life for thirteen years… When I find my way through some things, I will explain more. For now, just know that I have no intention of changing anything. Everything I do will be things we had already discussed and will be in his honor… We do have some deadlines coming up, though, so let’s focus the best we can and push forward… ”

“Team leads, if everyone could email me payroll, I will get that submitted,” Julie says. Everyone disperses, and I turn to Marcus.

“Office. Now,” I say through gritted teeth before turning to the elevator. Julie gets in with me, but I make a point to shut the doors before he can get in. I flip him off at the last second, and Julie laughs. “Fucking asshole,” I grumble.

“He’s definitely a pain,” she says.

When the doors open, he is stepping out of the stairwell.

I scowl at him as I walk to Alan’s office.

Julie goes to her desk, and I go in and set my stuff down, only to turn and lash out at Marcus.

“Don’t you ever question me around them again.

Who in the fuck do you think you are coming in here acting like a goddamn child?

You are a grown man, Marcus. Fucking act like it.

If you have an issue, open your fucking mouth and talk to me. ”

Marcus steps closer to me, going toe-to-toe with this giant man should scare me, but it doesn’t.

I am a mere five feet three, and he is at least a foot taller.

His body is wrapped in thick muscles, and you can feel the strength radiating off him with his every move.

He stares down at me, and he looks angry.

I stand my ground and keep my head held high.

“Okay, Kendra , I think you conned him and took everything from Archer. He should be the one running this company. You will run this place into the ground because you have no fucking idea what it takes,” Marcus growls. “What were you to him, hmm? Girlfriend?”

“Naturally, you go there,” I laugh dryly.

“Then who the fuck are you?” Marcus says, louder.

“Get the fuck out of my face,” I snap and shove him back a step.

“If you think for a fucking second I’m going to tell you anything when you are having a tantrum like a goddamn child, you are a fucking idiot.

I will tell you if and when I fucking feel like it.

If you think you can intimidate me, you’ve got another thing coming. ”

“You think I should be afraid of you, whore?” He says with an eerily calm tone when he steps closer, and I instinctively back up but run into the desk. “I will get rid of you, so you may as well sell me your shares now.”

“Go fuck yourself,” I laugh.

“Why would I fuck myself when I could just fuck you, hmm? That’s how you get what you want, right? Why not be a good little whore and bend over Alan’s desk now? I’m sure he’s put you there plenty of—” I surprise him and myself when I suddenly rear back and slap him across the face.

“Out,” I yell. “Get out.”

“Come on,” Bellamy says to Marcus in a rough tone. “Kendra, we will reschedule our meeting, but I’ll be here tomorrow morning to help.”

“Okay,” I say curtly. “Don’t bring the man-child unless he can act like a big boy.”

“Oh, fuck you,” Marcus barks.

“Well, bend over and I will, asshole,” I retort. “Get the fuck out of my office.”

“Your office?!” he yells. “That man was like my fucking uncle. Don’t you dare come in here and—”

“Get out!” I scream at him, prompting Julie to push the door open, slamming it into the wall. “I’m fine.”

“What happened?” she asks me.

“I’m fine,” I repeat. “Everyone out. Now.”

Bellamy pushes a very angry Marcus out of the office, and Julie stops for a second to give me a half-hearted smile. When she shuts the door, I break down and start crying.

I miss Alan so badly. His hugs were like being surrounded by pure comfort, and I need that. I wish I could get that one last time. What I wouldn’t give to get to say goodbye.