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Fairy Tales by Mary Eason

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Sample Chapter For FAIRY TALES by Mary Eason
Since I was thirteen years old, I’ve wanted only one thing from life. To become an attorney. I didn’t have any interest in fairy tales or love stories. I only wanted the dream, and I was determined to make it happen no matter the cost.

Of course, Genna and Serena, my two best friends since grade school, still held out hope for me. They believed with every new boyfriend, I would find someone who was going to knock me off my feet and change my plans. When Ben Riley came into my life, they were certain of it. I didn’t have the heart to tell them it was impossible. Not even with Ben.

My future was the law.

Unfortunately, Ben had a slightly different opinion of where our relationship was heading, in spite of my attempts at getting him to see the truth. Friendship was all there could ever be between us.

Of course, Ben’s outlook on life was a wee bit desperate due to the fact his Uncle Jackson was forcing him to learn the finer points of his company’s business by sending Ben off to the further most reaches of the world. Paris of all places! Since his uncle announced this piece of news, Ben had been working overtime trying to find a way out of going. Jackson was the epitome of ‘evil uncle’ in Ben’s eyes.

“Maggie, my uncle wants to meet you tonight.” Ben, in his usual fashion simply showed up at my apartment unannounced. I had no desire to meet his uncle and I really didn’t want to give Ben any more ammunition for his cause.

“Ben, I’m sorry but I can’t. I have to study.” Never mind it was Friday night and I hadn’t been studying when Ben knocked on my door. I’d been immersed in one of those little romance novels I would have denied right up to the death of ever possessing much less actually enjoying.

“Maggie this is important! Can’t you take a break just this once for me? I really want him to meet you. I’m certain once he does he’ll understand why I can’t go to Paris. Please—it’s important.”

When Ben looked at me with those sad eyes, I could almost forget that little uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach that was always there in the face of Ben’s determination to make more of our relationship than friendship.

“Okay, okay. But only for a little while and I’m not changing.” Too late, I remembered I was dressed in faded jeans and a plain white t-shirt. I probably wasn’t going to help Ben’s cause out all that much.

When Ben stopped the car in front of Standards, one of the most exclusive restaurants in town, I turned to him in shock. Standards clientele consisted of all the ultra rich people in Austin.

“Ben, I can’t go in there! Not dressed like this!” I added, while vehemently shaking my head. Ben simply smiled back at me and my stomach did another uneasy flip.

“Are you kidding? You look wonderful, and you’re with me. And I’m with my uncle. So relax.” At this point, my panic turned into all out alarm. “Come on, Maggie, stop worrying. You’ll be fine.” He gave the hostess our name. “Right this way, Sir. Mr. Riley and his guest are seated already.” The uneasiness in the pit of my stomach threatened to force me to turn right back around and run as fast as I could. Ben sensed all of this as well because he took my hand and didn’t let go of it.

“Ben, why didn’t you tell me we were coming here tonight and which one is your uncle anyway?”

“I didn’t tell you because I knew you’d refuse. He’s the one over there with that stunning brunette.”

Over there, seated next to a stunning brunette indeed was not the uncle I’d pictured so many times in the past. At least, not from everything Ben had told me about Jackson Riley. This man wasn’t at all old, not old like I’d imagined. I was expecting someone seventy, possibly eighty. Jackson Riley looked anything but. In fact, he couldn’t have been more than thirty-five.

“He’s not old and decrepit?” I blurted out before I could stop myself. The moment Jackson looked my way I knew he’d heard everything.

The most amazing blue eyes slid over me, assessing me from my clothing to my words. I stopped dead in my tracks from sheer reaction to those eyes! Ben turned back to me, smiling with a somewhat uncertain expression on his face.

“Maggie, I never said any of those things. Come on, my uncle is waiting on us. It won’t be so bad,” he whispered for my ears only.

Jackson Riley stood as I came to a halt next to his table. From the amusement in his eyes, I knew he was enjoying my little show. It was going to be a very long evening for me.

“Uncle, this is Maggie Monroe, the girl I’ve told you so much about. Maggie this is my uncle, Jackson Riley.”

Jackson took my hand in his and held it for a moment. From the second I looked into his eyes, I knew my life was never going to be the same again. Just like that, just as I knew the sky was blue and Texas was hot.

This man was going to be nothing but trouble for me, for my future, for everything I held dear. If I were smart, I would walk right out of the restaurant without ever meeting his date.

“Sorry to disappoint you, Miss Monroe, but although I may be old, I can assure you I’m not decrepit—or deaf for that matter.”

Not only was Jackson Riley not decrepit or anything like what I’d pictured him to be, he looked nothing like his nephew! Ben was blond like me, and somewhat classically handsome. Jackson was just the opposite.

His dark brown hair held just a hint of highlights. I told myself he’d probably gotten them from some expensive salon in town.

Where Ben was medium in both height and build, Jackson was tall, very tall in fact. Well over six feet, he certainly didn’t look like someone who sat behind a desk throwing orders out to the humble masses all day long.

I decided either Ben was adopted or his mother had been having an affair.

“Miss Monroe, I’d like you to meet my friend, Jessica Cartwright.” I took the hand of the gorgeous brunette while wondering about the extent of their relationship.

“I’m sorry to keep you waiting, Uncle. It took some convincing to get Maggie to come.”

“I see.” Blue eyes swept over me once more. Suddenly, it felt as if it were just the two of us alone. If I didn’t know any better, I could have almost sworn the great and powerful Jackson Riley was flirting with me. No way! I was way beneath his standards. Not one of the richest men in Austin.

“And what is it you do, Maggie?” Jackson asked me. The look in his eyes told me he knew this and probably a whole lot more already.

“I’m a student. I attend the University of Texas.”

“Maggie’s studying to become an attorney. She’s got six months left before getting her degree at UT. Then she’s going home to become a partner in a family law firm. Isn’t that right, Maggie?”

I had no idea why Ben was telling his uncle these things. The last thing I wanted to do was prolong this awkward dinner by answering questions about me.

“I see. Well, that’s certainly an honorable goal, but where do you fit into all of this, Ben?” To Jackson’s credit, he was trying to get his nephew to face the truth.

“Oh, I think there will always be room in Maggie’s life for me. Won’t there, Maggie?”

I couldn’t answer. I didn’t need to. Jackson had seen my feelings before I could hide them. He knew there was no future for Ben and me.

When at last this excruciating evening started to show signs of coming to an end, I was only too happy to forgo any desert offer, in order to hasten its end. I was hoping for a painless escape. I was not to be so lucky.

As we stood outside the restaurant waiting for the valet to bring our vehicles, Jackson hailed a cab for Miss Cartwright who didn’t seem too happy he was shuffling her off. I could only assume she would be hurrying home to warm up her bed since she’d been practically purring all evening. At least that’s what I thought until Jackson proved me wrong.

“Ben, I’ll make sure Maggie gets safely home. You have a conference call with our Asia Pacific client in less than an hour.”

This was definitely not what I wanted to hear after trying to escape Jackson’s disturbing presence for what felt like hours. I turned to Ben for help. He simply agreed with his uncle.

Jackson opened the car door for me while I refused to appear impressed by the expensive vehicle he drove. Just before the door closed on my fate, Ben did the worst possible thing he could have done under the circumstances and probably sealed his future in Paris in an instant. He leaned in close and kissed me square on the lips. I just caught Jackson’s reaction, which told me there would be hell to pay for this little move.

But he was in no rush to have me pay up and apparently no hurry to get me home either. He drove around the streets of the city for so long that I was starting to envision my lifeless body lying in a ditch somewhere. The image of my grandmother having to identify what was left of me finally gave me the courage to speak up.

“What are you doing? I thought you were going to take me home?” Those words would probably have had more of an impact if my voice weren’t shaking like a leaf. But I couldn’t seem to help it. This guy scared me. I knew he was powerful—after all, Ben had been telling me about that power for quite some time now. How the great Jackson Riley had everyone around him falling all over themselves trying to fulfill his every little wish.

But it wasn’t just that he was a powerful man that had me trembling. This guy was quite possibly dangerous to me for far more disturbing reasons.

“Relax, Maggie, it’s still early yet. Don’t worry I’ll have you back home before my nephew has time to miss you. It will be hours before he’s finished with that call. This will give us time to get better acquainted.”

That was the last thing I wanted to do. There was absolutely nothing else about Jackson I needed to know. I knew how ruthless and controlling he was to Ben and exactly what his opinion was of me.

I wanted to ask him how long he intended on keeping Miss Gorgeous waiting, but for some reason I believed he would tell me the truth and I wasn’t sure I was ready for all the details of the guy’s personal life just yet.

“What’s the matter, little bit? You’re not so tough after all without Ben around to protect you?”

That sounded entirely too much like the threat I’d been expecting from him to keep me quietly seated beside him.

When the car came to a stop at the next red light I was reaching for the door handle and almost able to make my escape had Jackson not been a little too fast for me. The guy was definitely in better shape than I wanted to give him credit for and certainly faster than I thought.

“Nice try, but I’m not as decrepit as you thought, am I? Just calm down. Why don’t we stop somewhere for a drink? Maybe that will help you relax?”

Was he crazy? I didn’t want to stop anywhere with him. I wanted to run as fast as I could before the inevitable happened. Before the disaster that I knew was only a word away hit me.

“I don’t drink and I have to go to work so—do you mind?” I tried to stare him down, but the second his eyes made contact with mine, I knew I didn’t stand a chance. I was looking away and blushing again so much so that he was all but laughing at me.

“I happen to know this is your night off. You don’t work Friday nights at Rosario’s.” How Jackson Riley knew so much about me I didn’t really have to guess. What else had Ben told his uncle besides the fact that I worked evenings at the small Italian restaurant to support myself?

“I know quite a lot about you Maggie…” Jackson said in answer to the question I couldn’t ask. “Probably more than you’d like at the moment, judging from your expression, but not from Ben. Ben has been almost too quiet about you, which definitely has me curious. Trust me, I have other ways.” After what felt like a lifetime of staring into those blue eyes, he added, “You know you’re a liability to me, don’t you? I can’t have you messing with Ben’s mind right now. And you are definitely doing that for reasons I can certainly understand. But I’m not prepared to allow it to continue. I need Ben to concentrate on the business, not follow you around like a puppy. Do I make myself clear?”

To my great relief I realized that he was in fact taking me home after all. We were just pulling into my parking lot as he said those words. I was almost home free.

I decided that I had no intention of answering any more of his questions tonight or ever for that matter, if I had anything to say about it. I jumped out of the car the second it came to a stop, ignored all of his angry, not-very-nice words, and ran. Fast.

Somehow, I managed to unlock the door to my apartment with fingers that were literally shaking from fright, while looking back over my shoulder half expecting him to have followed me.

I slammed the door and leaned against it, but even after all the locks were in place I was still trembling. I didn’t dare turn on the lights. This guy scared the daylights out of me. He was dangerous all right, just like I’d thought. I was lucky to get away unscathed, but I wasn’t naïve. I knew I hadn’t seen the last of him. Not by a long shot.

Just when I was feeling safe enough to step away from the door, I heard the unwelcome knock that told me Jackson wasn’t letting me get away that easily. I had no intention of opening my door to him. No way.

“Open up, Maggie. I can wait all night—I’m not going anywhere.” Part of me wanted to scream at him, part of me wanted to laugh at just how ridiculous this situation had gotten, especially when I had no real interest in Ben in the first place, and a small part of me wanted to know all about his relationship with Miss Gorgeous.

At the sound of his second, less patient knock, I decided he wasn’t leaving no matter which decision I made. Slowly I unlocked the door, keeping my hands behind my back to keep from showing him just how scared I truly was of him.

Jackson Riley stood looking down at me with an expression in those very disturbing blue eyes of his that made me want to slam the door in his face.

I think he anticipated that little move because he came inside, forcing me back away from the door and as far away from him as possible against the opposite wall.

“I want you to break it off with Ben and I want you to do it now. Tonight. Do you understand?”

“No…I don’t. Why should I? What business is our relationship to you anyway?”

The second those words were out, he was coming toward me and I was shrinking further against the wall until I could no longer move. I stood, trying not to look frightened when he took me by surprise and held me in his arms.

And then Jackson Riley kissed me. I couldn’t ever remember being kissed like that before. I was lost the second his lips touched mine. The fight was over. I didn’t stand a chance against him. I just caught the triumph in his eyes before I closed mine tight. I hated him more than I’ve ever hated another human being before in my life.

“Now do you understand?”

When I could bring myself to open my eyes again he was gone. But he was wrong. I didn’t understand—not at all. I didn’t understand one single thing about what he’d been trying to tell me this night, or about Jackson Riley for that matter. I only knew that everything about him scared me to death including my reaction to him.

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