Vested Interest Box Set Books 4-7 Read online

  Vested Interest Box Set Books 4-7

  Melanie Moreland

  Dear Reader,

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  Melanie

  Also by Melanie Moreland

  The Contract Series

  The Contract (The Contract #1)

  The Baby Clause (The Contract #2)

  The Amendment (The Contract #3)

  Vested Interest Series

  BAM - The Beginning (Prequel)

  Bentley (Vested Interest #1)

  Aiden (Vested Interest #2)

  Maddox (Vested Interest #3)

  Reid (Vested Interest #4)

  Van (Vested Interest #5)

  Halton (Vested Interest #6)

  Sandy (Vested Interest #7)

  Vested Interest/ABC Crossover

  A Merry Vested Wedding

  ABC Series

  My Saving Grace (ABC Corp #1)

  Insta-Spark Collection

  It Started with a Kiss

  Christmas Sugar

  An Instant Connection

  An Unexpected Gift

  Mission Cove

  The Summer of Us Book 1

  Standalones

  Into the Storm

  Beneath the Scars

  Over the Fence

  My Image of You (Random House/Loveswept)

  Changing Roles

  Happily Ever After Collection

  Revved to the Maxx

  Heart Strings

  The Boss

  Contents

  Reid

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Epilogue

  Dear Reader

  Van

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Epilogue

  Halton

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Epilogue

  Sandy

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Epilogue

  Bonus Content

  Girl’s Night for Shopping

  First Date: Colin and Miranda

  You’ve met the Vested Interest family

  Books By Melanie Moreland

  About the Author

  Reid—Vested Interest #4 by Melanie Moreland

  Copyright © 2018 Moreland Books Inc.

  Registration # 1150618

  All rights reserved

  ISBN: 978–1-988610–15–3

  Print ISBN: 978-1988610146

  Edited by:

  D. Beck

  Lisa Hollett, Silently Correcting Your Grammar

  Cover design by:

  Melissa Ringuette, Monark Design Services

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

  This book is a work of fiction. The characters, events, and places portrayed in this book are products of the author's imagination and are either fictitious or are used fictitiously. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.

  Family isn’t always about blood. It’s about love.

  To my dear Mum-in-law, Valerie,

  and my adopted sisters, Megan and Kay-

  Thank you for being part of my life and making me part of your family.

  Your love and support mean so much.

  And Matthew—always. Forever.

  Reid

  I liked lists. I always had, even as a kid. They helped me focus. Even in the worst of places I lived, I could find a few scraps of paper and a pencil.

  I would write out a list, then number what to do in priority. It gave me a sense of accomplishment when I could run a thick line through an item when it was completed. If I was lucky enough to have more paper, I could rewrite the list—smaller and more organized until I’d finished it.

  Now, as an adult, I still liked lists. But with today’s technology, I used my computer instead of paper, my keyboard instead of the stub of a pencil. With the click of my mouse, I could sort, organize, remove, and reprioritize my items.

  I stared at my computer, looking over my latest list. I called it Project B.

  Learn to talk to Becca like a man instead of a stuttering idiot

  Get Becca to notice me as a man—not as the company IT boy

  Finish the new program I developed for Becca so she falls in love with me

  Ask Becca out on a date

  Send Becca flowers

  Buy Becca coffee

  Kiss Becca

  Lose my virginity to Becca

  I pursed my lips and moved buying Becca coffee into second place. I wondered if I should send her flowers before or after the program installation. Once she saw what it could do for her, she might be the one sending me flowers. Perhaps she’d throw in a kiss or two. I was certain she’d say yes to a date.

  I wasn’t sure she’d go for the helping me lose my virginity thing. I probably had to work up to that idea.

  I saved the file to my private drive, knowing I needed to concentrate on Bentley’s latest request. I would return to my list once I had his requests done.

  I tugged off my glasses and rubbed my tired eyes. I had pulled another all-nighter. Between all the ideas for Ridge Towers, the new programs I was working on for control freak Maddox, ensuring the security protocols were current for big-ass Aiden, and our systems were safe and impene
trable for overanxious Bentley, my days were full.

  On top of that, I had to add in Becca detail. She sat less than twenty feet away from me, separated solely by a wall, yet it might as well have been twenty miles.

  From the moment I had rushed into the boardroom, late and disheveled, planning simply to give my excuses and leave, I was entranced.

  She sat in my usual spot at the boardroom table, a small intruder in my space. She gazed at me, her eyes wide with surprise. I knew I looked worse than usual and I should leave, but my feet carried me forward, and I sat across from her.

  She was the prettiest woman I had ever seen—rich, dark brown hair, creamy skin, and brilliant blue eyes that captured my attention. She was dressed in a business suit, her hair perfect, understated makeup, and her small laptop open, a notebook and pen at the ready, a professional woman prepared to do business. Yet, there was a softness to her gaze, and her smile was warm, even a touch shy.

  She was incredibly sexy.

  So sexy, I almost missed my chair when I sat down. I was lucky Aiden saved me from that embarrassment. I was doing well enough on my own in that department. I couldn’t tear my eyes away from her. More than once, I had to adjust myself discreetly under the table, grateful Bentley preferred wood to glass. My dick liked what he saw—more than liked.

  That day, he decided she was what we had been waiting for all my life.

  As I discovered, talking business with her was easy. She was intelligent, understood computers and the lingo. She asked smart questions, made notes she often referred to, listened carefully to my replies. But it was when business was done and she became Becca, the girl, I became Reid, the loser.

  I had so much I wanted to say to her, but I found I couldn’t say anything. There was this disconnect between my brain and my mouth. I could barely form a sentence in her presence.

  I ran a hand over my face. My behavior hadn’t changed much since she arrived. The only smooth interactions we had together were business-related. In meetings, we were on the same page. When she came to my office to ask a question, I could answer her without hesitation. Yesterday, she had told me about her dream report.

  “One where I could have all the information about a campaign in the same place,” she mused. “It would make my life so much easier.”

  My ears perked up. Anything to make her life easier was something I was interested in. I grabbed a piece of paper. “Tell me.”

  “I have to go to every site, and collect the click rates, follow-throughs, page views, etc. For print, I have to wait for the numbers to be sent and then download them. I would love something that took all that information and put it in one place. Then I could compare and analyze things so much faster.”

  I jotted down notes, my mind already working. “Can you send me examples?”

  Her eyes glowed. “Really? You could do that?”’

  It was going to take a huge amount of work.

  I met her gaze. “For you, yes.”

  Her smile was brilliant. I felt as if I had won the lottery.

  But once the conversation was over, as usual, my throat dried up, and all I could do was to stare at her.

  Wanting. Longing. Silent.

  She smiled and left before the right words hit me. But it was too late.

  I was always too fucking late.

  I flipped open the cover of the thick file folder on my desk. I had been working on breaking down Bentley’s notes, making my own list so I could ensure it all happened for him in the timeframe he wanted and the order he needed it done.

  I clicked the icon for his list, scanning what I had typed earlier. Heavy footsteps made me glance toward the sound. Aiden stood in the doorway, his massive shoulders filling the space. He looked as if he was on the borderline of losing it. I stiffened at his words.

  “Got a minute?”

  Aiden was never that polite, not unless there was something wrong. “Yeah.”

  He entered and closed the door, ramping up my anxiety. He never shut the door.

  He sat across from me, silent for a moment.

  “What’s up?”

  He swallowed, meeting my eyes. “So Bentley asked me to come and talk to you.”

  “About?”

  “You, ah, well . . .”

  My stomach fell. “Are you firing me?”

  “No. Absolutely not,” he responded vehemently. “Not a chance.”

  I relaxed somewhat. “Okay, what’s up?”

  He lost it and bent forward, burying his face in his hands, his shoulders shaking with laughter.

  I stared at him, unsure what the hell was so funny.

  He leaned back, wiping his face. “Reid, dude. You need to get out of this office. Get some sleep. You were here all night again, weren’t you?”

  “Yeah. Why?”

  He began to chuckle again. “Maddox and I were meeting with Bent. We all got a notice about a new checklist.”

  I glanced at my screen with a frown. “I wasn’t finished with Bentley’s file—I didn’t send . . .” My voice trailed off as realization hit me. “Oh, holy fuck.”

  “As much as we appreciate being kept in the loop on your personal endeavors, Bent really doesn’t want to know about your plans to have Becca punch your V-card.”

  I shut my eyes, actually embarrassed—which was a rare occurrence for me. Instead of saving my list privately, I had shared it on the drive with my bosses—all three of them.

  “How angry is Bentley?” I asked, unable to look at Aiden.

  Bentley’s temper didn’t explode often, but when it did, it was like a volcano erupting. You got out of the way as fast as possible.

  “You know that sound he makes when he can’t speak? The odd choking noise in his throat? The way his eye starts to twitch a little?”

  I nodded, unable to speak myself.

  “He did that. Twice.”

  “Fuck,” I repeated.

  “Well, obviously that’s your end game, but Reid, dude . . . a list?”

  “It’s how I plan. I write shit out.” I sucked in a big breath. “And get myself fired, it would seem.”

  Aiden chuckled. “Nah, you’re good. We were all a little stunned, until Maddox started to laugh. I was so entertained, I fell out of my chair. Bentley saw the humor, and we all howled. However, he lectured me about your irresponsible behavior and sent me in here to ‘sort you out,’ even though he was still laughing when I left his office.”

  I exhaled hard. I had dodged a bullet there. I met Aiden’s gaze. He was relaxed but serious.

  “He was rather amused but also relieved you didn’t save it on the company’s shared drive. Our conversation would have been vastly different, and I would have had HR in here with me. He wants you to erase the list, immediately, and is requesting any further personal item lists like that be made in the privacy of your own home.”

  My heart stuttered at the thought that Becca would have seen it. Everyone would have seen it. My exhaustion was making me careless. And yes, irresponsible.

  “Holy shit,” I breathed out. “That would have been a disaster.” I pulled my laptop close, my fingers a blur as I typed away. “Okay. It’s in my private drive. I removed it from our shared one.”

  “Good.”

  “It won’t happen again.”

  He smiled in understanding. “I know, Reid.” He studied me. “If you’re serious about Becca, you need to step it up.”

  “I’m trying.”

  “She’s just a girl. Talk to her. Ask her for coffee.”

  I shook my head. “She’s not just a girl, Aiden. I think she’s the one.”

  His brow furrowed. “The one to be your first, or the one to be your last?”

  “All of it.”

  He reclined in his chair, crossing his leg over his knee. “That’s a pretty huge statement considering you can’t talk to her unless it’s work-related.”

  “She boggles my mind. It’s as if I freeze.”

  “So, find common ground besides work. Drop into her
office to say hi. Take her a coffee. Tell her how much you like her cookies. Offer to show her Toronto the way you wanted to when you found out she was moving here. Make a move.”

  “I know it sounds easy. It’s only . . .”

  “Only?” he prompted.

  “I’m-I’m not sure I’m good enough for her.”

  “Because of your past?”

  “I’m an ex-con. It makes life difficult. I have no family, nothing really to offer her except a great comic book collection and some vintage T-shirts. She deserves better.”

  He shook his head, his frustration evident. “Why don’t you let her decide what she deserves? Let her get to know you, and you her. Stop looking at your endgame and take it a step at a time. You’re putting unnecessary pressure on yourself. Live in the moment.”