What do you get when lust, greed, and unbridled passion collide in a force that two people can't ignore or will away? You get to live vicariously the uninhibited tale of intertwined lives of Phoenix Stone, entrepreneur extraordinaire, and Juniper Wells, serious socialite and savvy interior designer.
Born to wealthy parents, Juniper learns early in life not to trust anyone...ever, until she meets Phoenix Stone, one of four brothers and principle owners of Stone Industries, a real estate conglomerate. Trouble is both of them have rather insatiable sexual appetites which lead to confusion, chaos, and crushing disappointment.
Will the explosive energy between them be enough to guide them towards love or push them further apart...
1 Month Ago, January 16, 2020
I am standing in the foyer of this huge house I just bought, looking around and wondering what the fuck I’ve gotten myself into. I don’t purchase estate houses; I don’t purchase any houses period. I purchase companies that are on their last leg and either I break them down to sell for huge profit or restructure them for an even bigger profit. “What was I thinking? That’s right. I wasn’t!” I say aloud to myself.
While I was driving by on one of my many “clear my head moments” I saw a sign for the estate sale at the beginning of the long, winding driveway to the mansion. The next thing I knew I was standing in front of this house shaking hands with the realtor to close the deal. Don’t get me wrong, I got a great fucking deal on the place, but seriously, what am I going to do with this much house when I live by myself? Well, I can fix it up with North, my brother’s help, of course, and then sell it for a great profit like I do with everything else, I guess. And I will have my assistant Susannah Winters overlook the whole project, so I don’t have to deal with any of the petty bullshit. “Yeah, that’s what I’ll do,” I say to myself as I lock up.
I arrive back at work and ask Susannah to get me coffee then to meet me in my office afterwards. I’m pacing back and forth in front of the wall of windows which overlook Seattle’s skyline behind my desk. I’m so immune to the panoramic vista that I don’t even seem to see any of it anymore.
“I have a project I need you to manage for me,” I state as soon as she walks in and before she can even place my coffee onto my desk.
Taken back by my tone Susannah’s eyes jump to mine, however; being ever the professional, she answers, “Certainly sir. What does this project entail?”
“I’ve closed a deal on an estate in Broadmoor. Even though this is not my typical business investment, I would like you to take control of finding the correct companies to move forward on this project, from start to finish please.”
“Is there a certain direction you want the design of the estate to go in, because I assume this will eventually be your personal residence afterwards?” she asks.
“No, it will be going back onto the market once completed. I’m not in need of a new residence, but it was a hell of a deal and you know how I don’t pass those up,” I say with a smug grin on my face.
She smiles in understanding because she knows how competitive I can be, especially anything to do with business ventures.
As I pass her the papers that give a detailed description along with pictures of the layout, I say, “I trust whichever company you will pick for the re-designing of the house. Just as long as they know they will be using my brother North’s construction company for any of the labor.”
North is one of my three brothers. He and River are fraternal twins, aged 28, and couldn’t be more opposite in personality or appearances. North is a bulky 6’4” man with dirty blond hair and green eyes like mine and our moms. While River is 6’4”, has blue eyes and dark hair like our dads. Then there is Mackenzie who at 26 is the youngest. He is 6’5”and has dirty blonde hair and blue eyes like dads and River.
River and I co-own Stone Industries which we took over from dad five years ago. North owns Stone Development, and Mackenzie has a company called Stone Marketing which does marketing for everything from branding to design at his large firm. If there is a project where we need construction or marketing services, I always turn to my brother’s companies first before hiring outsiders. They’re not only my brothers, but they’re also my best friends and I will always be there for any of them no matter what.
I look up to find Susannah still standing at the end of my desk waiting for an answer. Shit, I spaced out again. What the hell is happening to me lately? “Excuse me?” I ask.
Susannah says again, “Of course, sir. Will there be anything else?”
“No thanks, Susannah. That will be all.”
I don’t know what it is about Broadmoor Estate that’s making me anxious, unless it is the thought of having a family house, (heavy emphasis on the “family” part). Maybe it’s the bachelor in me scared of settling down; not like that’s ever going to happen anyway.
Now that the delegation of the grunt work on the estate has been taken care of, I try to concentrate back on my work. I come around my desk and remove my jacket, hanging it on the back of my chair. Just as I finish booting up my computer, Susannah re-enters placing the files on my desk that I will need for today’s meetings.
And that’s why I’ve kept her around all this time, I think to myself, because she keeps me organized and can tell what I need or want just by looking at me. Well, that and she is a married 40-something brunette that I know I can keep my hands off.
Brunettes aren’t my typical type at all. Blonds are my greatest weakness if I were to have a weakness, that is. Short, tall, curvy, or slim, I want them all, and I don’t keep myself from getting what I want. But I never sleep with a married woman, that is rule number one for me. No fucking way am I ruining somebody else’s life over a piece of ass. I do that to my own as it is. Well, to my personal life, anyway; no need to screw up someone else’s as well just because I want to get laid.
I turn my chair to stare out over the city skyline and wonder what could possibly be missing in my life. “Fucking nothing. My life is fantastic,” I think to myself. It’s been awhile since I hooked up with someone though. Maybe I just need to burn some extra energy by getting laid. I’ll give Cade a quick text and to see if he is up to head out tonight for drinks. Together we can search for some easy women for the night.
Cade Munroe has been my best friend since we were ten years old. We have been through everything, including his divorce that he is currently embroiled in now. Actually, the divorce is straight forward because he had a prenup, thank God, and because his soon-to-be-ex-wife was cheating on him. No, it’s the custody battle for his daughter Suzy that the bitch is giving him trouble with. She doesn’t even care about her daughter, but she knows that he does and is using it against him to try and hurt him because he asked for a divorce. He’ll probably need someone to get his mind off of things too, I think to myself as I send him a text.
Juniper
I smile at my reflection in the mirror as Cross’s laughter fills my bedroom. I can’t believe how blessed I am to have him. Looking back over the last couple of years, I know it has been a lot of hard work to get where we are now, but I wouldn’t change one ounce of it for anything.
After finding out I was pregnant with him I had to make some serious decisions about the direction I wanted my life to go, because living a life of having random hookups with strangers couldn’t continue anymore. So, the first decision I made was to admit myself into intense grief counseling therapy; basically, a rehab center for a month, so I could finally come to terms with mourning the loss of my parents.
Well’s Wine, my dad’s company, well mine now, was another decision I had to deal with at that time. Thankfully, I was able to leave the reins in the capable hands of a great CEO, Margo Fields, allowing me not to worry about that business except for minor inquiries once in a blue moon.
I also decided to move from California to Seattle, Washington to start my life on my own terms. This is where my interior design business called Juniper Designs was born and is now flourishing. It was rough at the beginning juggling motherhood and a new business. However, having Mrs. Mary Phillips as my housekeeper and live-in nanny was the best investment I made at that time and still is.
Even though she has been with me for a little over two years she still prefers for me to call her Mrs. Phillips instead of Mary. She says, “It’s just proper this way.” And even though she is more like a mother figure to me than a housekeeper, I want to respect her wishes on this, so I try not to call her by her first name.
When it comes to my business, money has never been an issue for me, especially since I was an only child and inherited everything from my parent’s estate when they died. This allows me to be more selective when choosing clients to design for, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to be known as the best interior designer in the area and create a stellar name for myself. What it does mean is that I can focus on one client at a time from beginning to end without the worry of finding another client or juggling more than one at a time.
“Juniper, your phone is ringing,” Mrs. Phillips calls out to me from downstairs. I run down and answer it, a little out of breath. “Hello. Juniper Designs.”
“Hi. This is Susannah Winters. I’m calling on behalf of Stone Industries and was wondering if you would be able to prepare a quote for a project that I am overseeing for Mr. Phoenix Stone?” the woman says after her initial greeting.
“I certainly can do that for you. When would you like to meet so I can tour the property?” I ask.
“How does 11 o’clock today sound?”
“That would be fine. Can you please forward the details to my email address and I will meet you there?” I say eagerly.
“I look forward to our meeting at Broadmoor Estate. See you at 11:00 o’clock,” she says before saying good-bye.
After she hangs up, I stand there holding the receiver, frozen to the spot listening to the dial tone. I’m stunned that I had just received this call. Finally, I hang up and turn to Mrs. Phillips saying, “You are not going to believe what client I have a chance of landing!” I screech excitedly at her.
She looks at me expectantly with a huge smile on her face waiting for my reply. She has always believed in me and said someday I would make it big with my design company. “Phoenix Stone, as of Stone Industries!” I yell.
Her smile disappears from her face. “Are you sure you want to take a job for a man with his reputation?” she asks.
Phoenix Storm is the CEO and co-owner of Storm Industries. He is known for being a cold, ruthless, business genius and one of the biggest players around. Phoenix and one of his brothers took over the company after his father retired five years ago and are known for doubling the profits in just their first year.
He is, of course, tall, dark, and beyond gorgeous, but I learned a long time ago to steer clear of these types of men. And if this opportunity weren’t going to be the highlight of my business, skyrocketing it onto everyone’s “go to” list for designers, I wouldn’t even think of taking him on as a client. But this project will showcase my talent and I can’t pass up that kind of opportunity. Plus, I will be dealing with Susannah, his assistant, so I probably won’t have to even deal with the renowned playboy in person.
“I will actually be meeting Susannah, not Mr. Stone, and she said she is overseeing the entire project. I’m not worried and neither should you,” I state, as I give her a large hug. “But thank you for worrying about me.”
I know she is thinking of my mistakes from my past because I disclosed everything to Mrs. Phillips when I hired her. And she knows the hell that I have gone through since and because of this she often worries about me. But I know now that I am strong enough on my own to never need a sweet talking, handsome unknown face in my life again.
“I’m just looking out for you, Juniper,” she says.
“I understand and I don’t know what Cross and I would do without you. Thank you again for all you do for us. You know I’m truly grateful,” I reiterate.
Striding through the foyer, I enter my office, walk over to the computer, and pull up the email with the details of the project, address of the house, and prepare myself to meet Susannah. Hopefully, I’ll be able to land this new high-profile client which will cement my reputation as a superior interior designer.
Broadmoor Estate
“Okay, Juniper, you can do this,” I tell myself as I drive up the longest driveway I’ve ever seen. Seriously. Who needs a driveway this long?! It’s like the length of three football fields.
Inside my head a little voice keeps saying, “This could put your business on the map.” Yes, I know I’m talking to myself and sometimes I even answer. Why, you might ask, am I talking to myself? Because my therapist believes it will help boost my self-worth if I voice aloud my concerns. I must be mindful as to where I am when I have these full conversations. I have come off as a little crazy more than once in the past when someone has overheard me talking and answering myself.
I drive around a fountain and pull up to the large main entrance of the house. Well, house is not quite the adequate word to describe this place; it’s more like small castle or mansion. The mansion is four stories’ high, with a row of five huge beautiful windows and all of them are encased by different shades of grey granite stone. This will be a true feather in my cap so to speak if I gain the opportunity to redesign and redecorate Phoenix Storm’s estate house. “Wow,” I whisper in awe.
A tall, slim brunette who looks to be in her forties, is waiting for me when I get out of my car. She is well dressed in a pale ice blue custom-made pant suit and killer Louboutin heels. This must be Susannah Winters.
“Susannah,” she says holding out her hand for me to shake.
“Juniper,” I reply while grasping it.
“If you will accompany me inside, we can go over the particulars of the house and some of the requirements that Mr. Stone has requested,” she states all the while climbing the beautiful staircase that leads to the eight foot wooden double front doors.
We spend the next two hours touring the home while I jot down all the key points that Susannah brings to my attention. Mr. Stone only has one real requirement and that is that Stone Development does all the labor for the project of the house, which I am in total agreement. However, I always hire Sammy Blackmore as a carpenter on all my jobs because she is one of the best around and has made a name for herself. As an added plus she is like a sister to me and we get along famously.
Samantha Hart, known as Sammy Blackmore now, has been my best friend since childhood. We befriended each other the first day of private school and have been in each other’s lives ever since that day. She can do things with wood like I have never seen anybody else do, except her grandfather. Carpentry is in her blood and you can see the love she has for what she does from every finished product that she puts her hands on.
Susannah informs me that if I land this opportunity, I will have to speak with North Stone about hiring Sammy on as a private contractor.
Finishing up the tour back at the foyer, I let Susannah know that I can have a rough copy of the design presentation for her by the end of next week. She agrees with this time frame and as I leave Broadmoor Estate, I have a rush of ideas already flowing through my mind. If I snag this project, it will become the crown jewel of my portfolio for Juniper Designs. That nagging little voice in my head crows, “Well, you’d better not screw this up then, right Juniper?”