All Our Tomorrows (The Heirs Book 1)

Sometimes changes in life happen gradually, like growing out a bad haircut or saving the money to buy a home. While others slam into your world like an unexpected windstorm that carries you up in the air, and all you can do is look around and enjoy the view.

Chase was the windstorm.

They woke in her bed Sunday morning and spent the day together. It was after seven when she pushed him out her door so she could get to bed early for her work week.

On Monday, he called her twice from his other office to ask her about her day. And when she arrived home that night, on her porch were two large boxes. Written on both of them was a note that said, Open the boxes outside and make a few trips.

Piper nudged the boxes with her foot, determined they were rather heavy, and followed the instructions.

Inside one box were several smaller bags of Kit’s food. In the second box was a similar theme, but this one carried small containers of the laundry detergent and fabric softener she preferred.

She didn’t need a note to know who sent her the boxes.

On the phone that night, she told Chase that he didn’t have to do those kinds of things. And his reply was a question. “What kinds of things?” And then he promptly changed the subject.

The next day, Piper was standing beside Dee’s desk, going over a project she was working on, when Chase arrived in the office.

“Good morning, ladies.” His smile was casual . . . his eyes, not so much.

“Good morning, Mr. Stone.”

He lifted a single eyebrow.

Piper caught her smile by biting down on her lower lip.

Chase cleared his throat.

“Is my sister here?”

“No. I’m expecting her around ten.”

He nodded toward the office. “If you have a few minutes, Miss Maddox. We need to go over my schedule.”

“Of course.”

He walked away.

Piper gave a final instruction to Dee and then grabbed the calendar.

Chase leaned against the desk and motioned for her to close the door once she was inside.

As soon as the door clicked, he was off the desk and had her pinned against the back of it, his lips on hers.

He swallowed her whole.

Piper couldn’t get enough.

His hand reached for her hair, and she pulled it away. “Not the hair.”

He nodded, kissed her again. Tongues dancing, breathing erratic.

One of them came to their senses and put space between them. “So, this is how it’s going to be,” she whispered.

“If I don’t get that out of my system now, I won’t make it through the day.” He swiped a finger over her lips. “Soft colors when you know I’m coming to work.”

Piper dabbed at his lips, too. Her lipstick leaving a mark. “Are you telling me what to wear, Mr. Stone?”

“Just a suggestion. I personally like the swollen lips and just been ravaged look on your face.”

She pressed a hand against her warm cheek. “Soft color makes sense.”

He kissed her again before letting her slip out of his arms. She used the office bathroom to fix her makeup and wash her hands.

Back in the office, Chase handed her the calendar that dropped to the floor the second he touched her. “We can go over this when Alex gets here.”

“Okay.”

He ran a hand down her blouse, tracing her breasts through her clothing and tugging her shirt in place. “Now . . . how much gas do you have in your car?”

She was still short-circuiting on his touch when his question registered. “That’s random.”

“How much?”

“About a quarter of a tank, I think.”

He looked her in the eye. “I need your car keys.”

“What?”

“It isn’t safe for you to be pumping your own gas. For you or the baby. I need your car keys.”

She rolled her eyes. “Oh, please.”

Chase put a finger under her chin, his eyes pulled her in. “You can argue with me about many things and I’ll likely cave. But when it comes to your health and safety, I won’t budge. Car keys, Piper.”

The seriousness of his tone captured her next words and kept them from coming out. “Okay.”

“Good.” He patted her ass before opening the office door.

For two weeks they managed to keep their situation private until a picture of them holding hands and walking Kit in the park showed up in a gossip magazine.

Piper learned about it when Julia slapped it on her desk, arms folded over her body, toe tapping, waiting for an explanation.

“I suppose this is photoshopped, too.”

Piper stared at the image in surprise. It was captioned . . . Is the newest billionaire on the block already off the market? “Dammit.”

“I’m waiting.”

Piper grabbed the paper and pulled Julia away from her work area and into a conference room that wasn’t being used.

“Okay, fine. We’re dating.”

Julia went from annoyed to smiling in two seconds. “I knew it!” She grasped Piper’s shoulders and hugged her hard. “Oh my God, Piper . . . I’m so happy for you.”

“I am, too.”

“No wonder you haven’t been jumping on girls’ night out.”

That was for an entirely different reason. But one secret reveal at a time. “I’m worried about what people will say around here.”

“Who cares. You’re dating Chase Stone,” Julia squealed. “Is he good in bed? I bet he’s amazing in bed.”

Yeah, that was not what Piper was ready to share. “We need to get you a boyfriend,” Piper said instead of answering the question.

“Tell me about it. Let’s grab lunch today and you can give me all the sexy details.”

“I’m craving street tacos,” Piper suggested.

“You’re on.”

Before Julia walked away, Piper said, “Do me a favor.”

“Yeah?”

“Let me know what people are saying.”

Julia rolled her eyes. “You can’t date someone as important as Chase Stone and not have haters. Jealousy will be out there. Who cares?”

She didn’t want to care. God knew, Piper wanted not to care.

But she did.

“I still want to know who the haters are. Lots of people smile in your face and stab you in the back.”

“I got ya covered. Tacos and trash talk.”

Back at her desk, Piper sent a text to Chase, who was working at the other office. Her text started with a picture of their images in the magazine. I came clean with Julia.

It took twenty minutes for Chase to respond. Why do they always get my bad side?

You don’t have a bad side, she texted back with a devil-smiling emoji.

You good?

I am, actually.

If anyone gives you a hard time, I need you to tell me.

This was where things felt sticky. I’m not going to be responsible for someone getting fired.

Three dots flashed for some time.

Then her phone rang.

“Hello, Mr. Stone.”

“We need to find a compromise,” was how Chase opened the conversation.

“I’m listening.”

“Your safety and happiness are my priority.”

There really wasn’t a downside to Chase repeating those words. Piper loved to hear them, but more . . . loved to feel them in his actions.

“If something feels unsafe, I’ll tell you.” The second the words were out of her mouth, she remembered Gatlin cornering her on the third floor. That was a while ago, and before she and Chase were officially dating, so she figured that was a pass.

Unless it happened again.

Then . . .

“I can’t have you unhappy at work.”

Okay, that made Piper giggle. “In that case, I need a new chair, this one is bugging my back . . . and an office with a view.”

“Piper!”

“Do you see how impossible that is? Some people aren’t going to like this, we know that. I can handle the water-cooler buzz. Besides”—she lowered her voice—“I’m not exactly a stable barometer on my emotions these days . . . considering.” She found herself crying during commercials. It was annoying.

“Piper!”

“That voice isn’t going to work this time. You said compromise. If something gets ugly, I’ll deal with it. If it interferes with me doing my job, I’ll bring you in. Fair?”

“Fine.”

She smiled. That was not a “fine” voice.

“And you can’t fire them,” she said in conclusion.

“Now, wait up.”

“Nope. You need to do all the things. Bring in HR, do the review . . . and no extra commentary on the back of a pink slip.” They both knew what that referred to.

“I accept that with one exception.”

“This is a negotiation . . . What?”

“If your safety is threatened. HR can fuck off, and I get what I want.”

It wasn’t often that Chase tossed out an f-bomb. It said this was a hard line.

“Your sister has to agree.”

“Piper.”

“Hear me out. Someone says something that feels threatening. It hits me the wrong way or at the wrong time, and I tell you. You kick them to the curb, and they take you to court. Cuz maybe it’s an executive or a manager.” She saw Floyd in her head. “They don’t go out without a fight.” Floyd would kick, scream, and call lawyers. “If you had another person looking at the situation that agreed it was threatening, you have a much better chance of beating them.”

He blew out a breath.

“You know I’m right.”

“Why do I feel like you took three points in this negotiation, and I only took one?”

Because that was how it turned out.

“Now that we have that out of the way, I’ve been told that the new striping on the first level of the garage is happening on Thursday.” Piper changed the subject.

“Good.”

“And I have my doctor’s appointment on Thursday at four. I need to leave here by three thirty.”

“The baby doctor?”

Piper looked around her. “Yes,” she whispered.

“I want to come with you.”

She paused.

“Are you still there?” he asked.

“Why?”

“What do you mean why? My girlfriend is pregnant, and I want to be with her when she goes to the baby doctor.”

“But—”

“No, no buts.”

“We can’t negotiate?”

“Sure. We can drive my car. We can drive your car . . . or we can drive separate cars. I want to be there. You’re not doing this alone, not as long as you want me in your life.”

Cue the tears.

She sniffled.

“Please, Piper. Let me hold your hand.”

She grabbed her chest and felt a flood of emotion roll over her. “Okay.” She sniffled.

“Are you crying?”

“I’m just . . . I’m . . . I need chocolate.”

Chase started to laugh.

An hour later, a delivery of Godiva chocolates arrived at her desk. It came with a card that said, We’ll take my car. It was signed with a C.