Forging Splendor Read online

  Actually, there was very little similar about the two brothers. Pretty much just the shapes of their noses and lips. Maybe their muscular build, but even that was different. Cayden was lean and long, like a fighter build mixed with a bit of bodybuilder. He did too much martial arts training to get super bulky, but he was extremely cut and loved to prove it by pushing his sleeves up and going shirtless when he could get away with it.

  Ethan had thicker muscles and a barrel chest. He just naturally had bulkier muscles, but his occupation as a blacksmith and artist continued to build them even bigger. His longish hair and full, dark beard made him look half-wild, whereas his brother wore sophistication like a piece of armor, keeping his blond hair perfectly trimmed and his face smooth. Cayden liked to show off and win people’s attention.

  But comparing the two wasn’t helping me calm down, so I pushed it out of my mind.

  Sighing, I opened the door and walked in. I’d never do that normally, but Ethan was the type to believe it was better to ask forgiveness than permission. Also, he was stubborn as a mule and wouldn’t answer the door again, no matter how long I knocked.

  “You asked for a PA,” I said when I found him in the kitchen. I leaned against the counter and watched as he finished cleaning up his dishes from lunch.

  “Who really sent you? It was JJ, wasn’t it? What does the witch want now? Hasn’t she ruined my life enough as it is, does she really need to send a spy?”

  I snorted and grabbed the spatula he was quickly bending out of shape. “Let me. You don’t want to have to remake it. It won’t be as strong. And no, JJ didn’t send me. I stopped working for her three days before the divorce went through. It took two months to find her a replacement and another to get the woman trained properly.”

  “Then why are you here?” he bellowed.

  I blinked and relaxed. When he made noise, it was good. It meant he wasn’t bottling things up. Bottling led to bigger blowups.

  “You called your father and asked for a PA. He sent me.” Ethan snorted and started to speak, but I continued before he could. “And, just so you know, JJ didn’t send me to spy on you. Your father did.”

  That seemed to stop him in his tracks. “What?”

  I sighed and finished drying the poor, bent spatula before turning to face him. “He was charming and personable and looked oh so concerned about his son’s mental health. Honestly, I think he forgot just how well I knew the family. Your father is many things, but caring and concerned are not part of them.” I paused and thought about it. “Slimy and manipulative, now those are good adjectives for him.”

  Ethan laughed in spite of himself, but then he grew quiet. “It doesn’t make sense. Why would he want me spied on?”

  It was my turn to laugh. “Are you kidding? Why would Neil Montgomery want a spy place close to you? The only child of his that he has no leverage with? Heck, even your half-brother, Giles, has a stronger connection with the man, if only because of his love for his little sisters.”

  He grunted. “Geo. He hates being called ‘Giles’. And he always wants leverage. But why send such a poor spy?”

  “He wants control. The man can’t control you and it drives him crazy. He probably thought I bought his malarkey and wanted to unsettle you with my presence.”

  His eyes narrowed again. “How do you know? And why are you telling me this?”

  “For one thing, JJ may have been the worst wife of all time, but she loved to kiss up to the relatives. I had to listen to her rundown of every member of your family while she figured out how to make them love her.” I rolled my eyes. “God forbid that someone who could do something for her disliked the spoiled brat. Anyway, she was quite clear that Neil was more interested in having control over his family than anything else. He was using her to try and pull you back into the fold but realized quickly that that wasn’t going to work like he’d thought.

  “And as for why I’m telling you? Because you need to know. I know that you don’t have a delicate mental state, or, if you do, it isn’t something your father would ever concern himself with. The next girl he sends might not be so aware. She would probably be seduced by him and you don’t deserve his interference in your life. If he actually cared, that would be one thing, but that man is nothing if not self-interested and, again, controlling. Heck, he regularly annoys the department heads because he swings between not caring to micromanaging. Everyone in the office dreads when he starts paying attention again.”

  Ethan stared at me, working through things if the drumming of his fingers was any indication.

  “So what am I supposed to do with this information?”

  I shrugged. “That’s up to you. I can still be your PA. I mailed in my resignation this morning and am officially out of a job, so they can’t order me to do anything. I’m not on his payroll anymore.”

  “Absolutely not! There is no way I’m hiring my ex-wife’s old assistant!”

  They shouldn’t have, but his words stung. I’d always hoped that Ethan and I could become friends, as he was an amazing artist and a wonderful man, but his pronouncement destroyed any last thoughts that that might happen.

  Still, I was in a pickle and needed somewhere to stay and get the lay of the land.

  “Then can I stay until I get another job lined up?” He looked about to refuse, so I pulled out the big guns. “I did lose my job so I could help you out.”

  Never underestimate the power of the guilt trip. It has magical powers that should only be used for emergencies.

  Ethan sighed and squeezed the bridge of his nose. He always did that when he was trying to fight against his better nature. It rarely worked. “Fine. But I don’t want to see you, hear you, nothing!”

  I nodded. I knew what he wasn’t saying. I brought up too many bad memories. I’d started working for JJ right after they got married, so I’d seen most of their highs and lows. And there were a lot of lows. No one wanted to be reminded of their failed relationships whenever they turned around.

  “Absolutely. I’ll stay out of your way and you won’t have to deal with me.”

  He grunted and left the room, heading out the back door and into the forge. That was the last I would see of him that day.

  I sighed in relief. I had a place to stay until I could figure out what I was going to do! It probably still involved moving home, but at least I could go with a job guaranteed instead of being a leech on my relatives!

  Since he was busy with work, I idly wandered through the Spanish style mansion, enjoying the beautiful architecture. There were barrel ceilings in the hall, Ethan’s beautiful irons work decorated the stairway and the veranda, and there were fantastic views of the coast or the mountains depending on which window you looked out.

  Then I passed the door to his home office and cringed. It was an absolute disaster! There were papers all over the place, files stacked in odd locations, and his calendar was 6 months out of date. Which meant it was last year’s! How had he not noticed? How did he keep up with his business if his paperwork was in such disarray?

  It was at that point that I made a huge decision. I was going to use my extra time to get the office in working order! He would be a stable position when I left. It was the least I could do, since he’d been forced to let me stay and had given up on the idea of an assistant.

  I frowned while looking at the mess. It was probably going to take me at least a month, so I needed to get things squared away with the guesthouse quickly.

  Time to unpack so I can get to work!

  CHAPTER 3: THE IDEAL HOUSEGUEST

  I LOOKED AROUND the cottage and sighed in relief. It was just as beautiful as I remembered. Originally it had been built for the gardener, but that just meant that they had gotten it up quickly and added the special details later. The hardwood floors and gorgeous tile work on the backsplash in the kitchen were a testament to Ethan’s drive to create beauty in every area of his life. Not even the guesthouse he didn’t really need was overlooked.

  Honestly, it
belonged in a Sunset Magazine issue! It made it easy to move into and harder to think about moving out of.

  I set up some music on the Bluetooth speakers hidden throughout the structure and began to unload my car. Nothing like a little Ed Sheeran to help you feel enthusiastic about a task.

  It actually went really quick. Because I knew that wherever I moved would already be furnished, I’d left all my larger pieces of furniture with my sisters. Joy was a bit crazy about everything being in place in her kitchen. Bloom was the same way about the rest of the apartment. It made it difficult to get attached to anything because I knew that it was already spoken for. The contents of my room would fill the cottage nicely though. It always amazed me, how much stuff can be hidden in a relatively small area.

  And, despite me calling it a ‘cottage’ and a ‘guesthouse’, it was actually a two bedroom home. There was a full kitchen, a breakfast nook, living/family room, master bath, and guest bath.

  Ethan never did anything by halves.

  The set up was actually perfect for me because it gave me space to set up a little studio. He’d never gotten around to furnishing the second room, so all I had to do was rearrange a few side tables and a pullout couch. He’d probably figured it wasn’t necessary. Ethan Black wasn’t known for having a lot of guests over or being especially friendly. Either way, it gave me ample room to set up my art supplies.

  That was the real reason I’d moved to the city. I was an artist and when my sisters decided to settle there, I followed along so I could try and get my paintings shown in galleries.

  Actually, I majored in business and minored in art in college specifically to enable me to pursue my dream. I knew that in order to be successful, I needed to know how to think and act like an entrepreneur. I took as many small business classes as possible and got a job at Montgomery and Sons to make ends meet until I could get things off the ground. Unfortunately, they never did.

  Almost as soon as I was hired, I was transferred to JJ’s division. And yes, that was how they referred to it when I was told. ‘JJ’s division’. What a joke. ‘JJ’s kingdom’ would’ve been a more accurate description. She was an absolute menace as a boss and had no regard for any schedule but her own. She made me work overtime every single day and ignored my requests for time off. Or weekends. Or sleep, some days. Normally I wouldn’t complain, but I had a degree in business, not in lingerie shopping.

  Oh, didn’t I mention? JJ was a model. Sill is, actually, though not like she was before. She was an angel for years until they got fed up with her attitude. Then she had to figure out her career with a huge black mark against her. That was about the same time she married Ethan. Suspicious, no?

  Anyway, she was a leech in every way that mattered. Anytime I asked for time off so I could go to an art show or work or take a freaking bath? Yeah, she suddenly had something really important that she needed me for. There was no way for her to do without me. She wouldn’t be able to survive.

  I snorted as I organized my paints and pencils. Most of her excuses had been just that. Excuses. I felt like some lame Cinderella substitute in a made-for-TV movie. It was pathetic. The only reason I stuck with it was she was regularly using my sister’s party planning company for her little soirees. My business may not have been up and running, but that was no reason to hold theirs back.

  Well, that and it became my goal to try and mitigate how much damage JJ was doing to Ethan.

  Which totally sounds like I had a thing for him. I didn’t. I would never become emotionally attached to someone else’s husband. I just… he needed someone to take care of him and I am a sucker for those types. Heck, that’s why I ended up working as a secretary. I know I can’t fix it, whatever it is that’s wrong, but I can at least help. And it worked, for a little while. I kept her from ruining his life, or anyone else’s, and helped my sisters business outgrow JJ, and helped JJ avoid completely self-destructing and taking the closest stylist or store clerk with her when she did. And then I stopped…

  Anyway, that was a lot of introspection for moving in. I probably needed a more upbeat song.

  ‘What Do I Know’ helped me let the memories go a little more. There was only so much you could do by dwelling on the past and if you weren’t going to learn from it, there was no real reason to think about it.

  I finished putting my clothes in their drawers and went to the fridge to see what I needed to buy.

  Most of the time when you move into a new home, you have to buy a bunch of groceries, right? Well, not in Rosa’s home. Rosa was Ethan’s housekeeper. She was a good friend of his/surrogate aunt. She ruled the estate while only coming by twice a week. He’d obviously told her someone would be staying in the guesthouse because it was clean, so I was betting that she’d bought a bunch of basics.

  And I was right. Plus a casserole dish full of chicken enchiladas! Hallelujah, I didn’t have to cook dinner that night!

  I grabbed the casserole and popped it in the oven to reheat, smiling as I did. After all, Rosa made the best food! What was there to be upset about?

  ~

  The next day involved a lot of organizing. Not that it looked any more organized. Honestly, it looked a lot like I was moving papers into new and different piles than they had been before. It was clear that at least one of the stacks in his office had collapsed at some point and taken another with it before they were pushed back into some semblance of their original shape. That meant that what little system had been in place was completely messed up and it made things more confusing than ever!

  Luckily, he hadn’t changed the computer’s password, so I had access to his calendar of events. I’d needed it before to coordinate his and JJ’s appearances. Ethan was notoriously bad with paperwork, so he forced himself to put everything into a calendar on his phone and it automatically updated his computer every few hours. That way, he could put it in while he still remembered and not have to worry about it until his phone alerted him. Unfortunately, it was the PA’s job to remind him when things were coming up and to keep him on track of what was due.

  It was also her job to keep in touch with the customer’s and give them an update on the projected completion date. And there was one due that day. Fantastic.

  It took me about 20 minutes to dig through the electronic craziness and find out that there was a truck coming that day to pick the piece up and deliver it. I updated his calendar so it would let him know when the truck would arrive and then sent a message to the customer to let them know when it would arrive. One email sent and that was off my plate.

  Around lunchtime, I decided to take a break and go grab some food. I remembered Ethan eating later than most people, so I knew I wouldn’t run into him right then. Plus, after managing to get his correspondence almost completely caught up, I deserved an hour to paint!

  ~

  He watched her walk into the cottage and waited until the door was completely shut before he left the forge and headed for his house to eat.

  Ethan didn’t want to see Agatha, but he knew he couldn’t confine her to the guesthouse. That would be cruel. She had clearly thought he was on the same schedule as before. Things had changed though.

  When she knew him before, he had altered his schedule to make JJ happy. She was the type to eat at 2 or 3 in the afternoon, probably a result of waking up late and having her whole day start later than necessary. Ethan only stayed up late once or twice a month. Generally, though, he was a morning person and lived a very regimented life.

  He’d found a long time ago that his creativity thrived when paired with structure. It meant he kept his time well managed and was careful to keep to a schedule. When he went off schedule, he didn’t think as clearly. If his life got too shaken up, he often lost all inspiration until his life settled again. Or, he became hyper focused and whatever he made was complete crap.

  His divorce was actually much easier on him than anyone expected. It was the fallout from the video release that was damaging to his workflow and mental health. Then again
, who really ends a relationship without damage to their mental health? If they did, then they weren’t really in it. Intimacy always leaves a mark. It doesn’t tend to leave such a public mark though. The worst part was that Ethan had always done his best to stay out of the news, but the film had ensured that his face was splashed across every news outlet in the country as well as several international ones. And he had to be sure to keep quiet or they would have dug into his background and started bothering his family.

  He hated that idea above all others.

  Ethan shook his head and got back to his original train of thought. He didn’t know what he was going to do about Agatha, but he knew he needed to do something. She was living in the house that his new PA had been promised. Yes, she was technically the woman it had been prepared for, but that was beside the point.

  He sighed and leaned against the kitchen counter, considering their earlier conversation. She had looked beautiful, standing there defending herself. Agatha had always reminded him of a softer version of JJ. She didn’t have the sharp features or polished beauty. Instead, she was round faced, had ample curves, a thicker waist and a natural loveliness that seemed to defy convention.

  She was pretty, and there was no denying it. It simply was. Her beauty wasn’t overwhelming or intimidating. JJ, she’d always been too… too everything. Too beautiful, too perfect, too practiced, too careful, and too conscious of how she looked at any given moment. And above all, too dramatic. She seemed to think that her appearance would make people ignore or forget her horrible personality. The sad thing is, she was right most of the time.