The Guy Next Door (Forbidden Love Book 1) Read online

  The Guy Next Door

  Forbidden Love Book 1

  Kelly Myers

  Copyright © 2021 by Kelly Myers

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Created with Vellum

  Also by Kelly Myers

  Daddy Knows Best Series:

  My Secret Daddy || Yes Daddy || Forbidden Daddy || Billionaire Daddy

  Platinum Security Series:

  Dark Kisses || Dark Riches || Dark Sins || Dark Secrets

  Forbidden Love Series:

  The Guy Next Door

  Searching for Love Series:

  Frenemies with Benefits || Breaking All The Rules || Fake Heartbreak || Against All Odds

  Standalone’s:

  Ruthless

  Contents

  Also by Kelly Myers

  Blurb

  1. Crystal

  2. Zack

  3. Crystal

  4. Zack

  5. Crystal

  6. Zack

  7. Crystal

  8. Zack

  9. Crystal

  10. Crystal

  11. Zack

  12. Crystal

  13. Zack

  14. Crystal

  15. Zack

  16. Crystal

  17. Zack

  18. Crystal

  19. Zack

  20. Crystal

  21. Zack

  22. Crystal

  23. Zack

  24. Crystal

  25. Zack

  26. Crystal

  27. Zack

  28. Crystal

  29. Zack

  30. Crystal

  31. Epilogue: Zack

  Excerpt: My Secret Daddy

  Exclusive Limited time deal

  Invitation to join Kelly’s Newsletter

  Blurb

  My hot neighbor is my new boss. What could possibly go wrong? How about a baby…

  Getting dumped is the pits.

  At least I still have my job.

  Until the hot guy next door becomes my new boss and lays me off.

  Thankfully, he gives me a new job as a favor and only asks one thing in return…

  A date.

  Only the fake date leads to something very real happening…in bed.

  Zack Noble is every bit as confident between the sheets as he is in the boardroom.

  I’m helpless to resist him.

  I know office relationships are forbidden.

  Yet the sneaking around makes what’s happening between us even hotter.

  Until our secret is discovered…

  But I have one of my own—a little munchkin with same blue eyes as his dad.

  When the truth finally comes out, will I lose Zack forever, or will we have our second chance at love?

  1

  Crystal

  If I opened that door, it meant my life would go on. Walking out into the world and dragging myself to work would mean that the trauma of the past few hours would be behind me. I could move on and stop feeling so miserable. I stared at the doorknob. A simple turn, I’d be outside, and I could get on with forgetting about Chase.

  I took a deep breath and shoved my sunglasses onto my nose. I opened the door.

  “Oh hi, Crystal.” The hot new neighbor directly across from our— not our, mine, there was no ‘our’ anymore— apartment wrestled his bike out of his front door. He must have opened his door seconds before I opened mine. A messenger bag slung over his shoulder and a bike helmet perched, unsecured, on top of his head. Any other day and I would have appreciated the smile he gave me. Any other day and we wouldn’t have opened our front doors at the same time.

  “Hi.” Damn, had he heard us fighting? “Biking in? New job? I thought you were a suit and tie guy.”

  “No, same job. The suit portion is over for a bit,” he explained as he fastened his helmet. “I’m finally able to get to the real work, and into my new office.” He swung a long leg over the seat and mounted the bike. “See you ’round. Have a nice day.”

  I should have waited. Then again, if I had I wouldn’t have experienced the lovely view of his backside as he rode away in those bike shorts.

  Without a ride to the commuter rail, I had to walk. The walk to the station felt longer than the walk home from it. I didn’t have to wait long before a train arrived, and I was whisked away a few stops to a transfer station, where I jumped on the light rail, and eventually hiked another block to the office.

  My morning commute did not magically wipe away my woes as I had hoped. I followed a few other commuters into the Shingle Click building. Grunting in thanks to the person in front of me who held the door long enough so that I could catch it; I did the same for the next person. Unlike the others who fished their ID tags from the ends of lanyards, I paused at the front desk.

  “Hey, wifey!” I was greeted by a big toothy smile, a mop of orange hair, and a face that was genuinely happy to see me.

  Damn, I started crying again.

  Charline took one look at my face and ran around from the back of the long desk she shared; arms extended. She pulled me into a warm hug. The comfort of my best friend was much needed.

  “What’s the matter, Crystal? Did you hear anything about more layoffs?” Her lilting Texas drawl gave a soothing quality to her words.

  I shook my head, unable to speak without sobbing. I wanted to be done with crying.

  “Hey Sherryl, I’m gonna walk Crystal on back,” she announced to the other receptionist as she looped her arm through mine. Using her card key, she swiped us through, and into cubicle land.

  “I told you there’s nothing to worry about,” she said as we walked. “They always keep the receptionists and interns. They need people to answer the phones and low-paid people who will do the work to prove themselves. You and me kid, we’re safe as houses.”

  I took a deep breath. “It’s not that…” I clamped my mouth shut. I wasn’t going to cry at work. I refused. “I’ll tell you later, okay?”

  Charline butted shoulders with me as we stopped at my cube.

  “Of course, Sugar. The new head honcho already arrived today. I got a glimpse of him. He is not hard on the eyes. Too bad he’s so hard on everything else. Come find me during the big meeting.”

  “What big meeting?”

  “Check your messages. Didn’t you see the stage they were setting up in the parking lot? It’s all last minute. Glad I’m not paying the rush fees. I’ll see ya later.” With a twinkling wave of her fingers, she left me to settle in for the day.

  “Good morning, Henry,” I greeted my plant. After watering Henry, I put my bag in a drawer and entered my computer password.

  I opened the team chat. It took up half of one monitor. A different chat program the company sent corporate-wide announcements on took up the other half of the monitor. Even though it only took seconds for those apps to calibrate and display their contents, I had already switched my focus to a larger monitor. I opened my email and the drafting program where I would spend the majority of my time.

  Once everything was turned on, I typically would hit the break room to grab a quick cup of coffee before returning to my desk and start working. But not today, in both chat windows, messages were scrolling past faster than I could read. People were freaking out.

  “I can’t afford to get laid off!”

  “Are they shutting Shingle Click down?”

  “What a mess! All because Jameson couldn’t keep it in his pants.”
>
  The tension at work had been palpable for weeks now. We already lost the accounting department because of the transgressions of the former CEO. People were stressed. Me included. The bullshit Chase dumped on me last night didn’t help.

  I scrolled back on the corporate message board to see what prompted the panic. There it was: company-wide meeting in the parking lot just after lunch. We would be introduced to our new CEO, who people already didn’t like after the hatchet job he did on accounting. And we would learn about the new and exciting direction Shingle Click was headed.

  I slumped back in my chair. Yep, that didn’t sound good. I tried to inhale deeply, but the hitch in my breathing let me know that tears were close. I adjusted my sunglasses, still on because my eyes were red and puffy from a sleepless night of crying. I was not fit for human consumption, and being at work meant people would see.

  In the washroom, the cool water on my face felt good, but I don’t think it helped anything. My skin was a splotchy mess of light tan and pink spots. No amount of makeup would provide coverage to the red on my nose or the embarrassing blobs of color I got on the sides of my cheeks covering my jaw and onto my neck. The red-rimmed lids and slightly bloodshot eyes were not a good fashion look and would be staying behind glasses for the foreseeable future. The rest of me could fool anyone that I wasn’t dying inside. My hair was smoothed back into a ponytail, and the jeans and tunic I wore were perfect for any Thursday at work.

  Back at my desk, I scrolled through the chat for my group. I wanted to see if the manager of solar power solutions had anything to say about the widespread panic.

  “We won’t know anything for a few hours, and we still have solutions to provide. I feel confident that Shingle Click will not do anything drastic. Their solar power initiative was a big deal for the investors, and you know how they like to keep investors happy. Let’s keep working, and we can regroup and discuss after this announcement. I’ve heard good things about this Noble guy, and how he’s been dealing with the situation he walked into. Let’s see what he has to say first, okay?” Trust Armand to be the voice of reason.

  I nodded at my monitor as if he could see me agreeing. I swiveled my attention to the other monitor and got on with my task of proofreading the specs from my senior engineer.

  A few hours later, the entire company stood in the parking lot. Charline approached me with two cans of pop in her hands. She handed one to me and nodded in the direction of a group by the stage. “See I told you the new CEO was good-looking.”

  Zack turned then and caught my eye. He gave me a little head lift in recognition.

  I spit the pop in my mouth out. “Shut the front door!”

  “What was that?” she asked. “Did the new CEO just smirk at you?”

  I wiped at my chin. “That’s the hottie neighbor guy. No way he’s the new CEO.”

  “That’s Mr. Wears-a-suit-like-he-could-seduce-you-any-time-he-wants? Are you sure?” Charline’s big hazel eyes were even bigger as she gaped at me. “Zack Noble is your new neighbor? Oh, Chase is gonna love this. Weren’t you saying he’s acting all weird cause you smiled at Mr. Hottie?”

  “Yeah, well Chase isn’t a concern anymore. He left me last night.” It was surprisingly easy to say, with no hint or threat of tears.

  “Oh, baby.” Charline wrapped an arm around me.

  I gave her the details of his announcement and the fight that followed. Zack Noble started talking. We ignored his “exciting new directions,” and comments about healing broken trust in the corporate environment as I told Charline about broken trust in my personal space.

  Someone growled in our direction, “Would you shut up. This is important.”

  Chastised, we bit our lips shut and finally paid attention to my hottie neighbor, and the new boss.

  “I know this wasn’t the best news for all of you, that’s why I wanted you to hear directly from me. Meet with your department heads. They will have more details regarding your individual situations. Shingle Click has simply hit a rough patch. As in life, progress is not always straightforward. Like an arrow that has to be pulled back to reach even farther, we step back in order to grow. Thank you.” With a wave, he walked away from the mic.

  “Oh, that didn’t sound good, did it?” Charline asked.

  I shook my head. “If I get laid off I’m screwed. I can’t afford rent on my own. Chase walked out on me, leaving me to cover his half. And I’m stuck in that lease for at least another six months.”

  2

  Zack

  I leaned into a curve and the traffic practically disappeared on the new street. With less traffic, I could think about other things as if I were on a car-free trail. My first day in the new office as CEO of Shingle Click went well. After a month of board meetings, meetings with lawyers, and fraud investigators, I was going to be allowed to do what I excelled at: bringing a tech product to a larger market. Shingle Click had a fairly decent share of the smart-home technology consumer base, but it was lagging. People wanted to control their homes remotely, not just from a main panel located in the home, or from a computer.

  I hadn’t realized that Crystal worked for me. Then again, I never did get to talk to her much. That loudmouth Chase always got in the way. As if I couldn’t steal his woman if I wanted to. I wouldn’t say no, she was a sexy eyeful. I had some standards, I wasn’t going to steal a bro’s woman.

  “Fuck me!” I squeezed my brakes, dropping my foot to the pavement to keep from falling over as a car cut me off. “Watch it, moron!”

  Letting go of all thoughts of layoffs and market share I returned my focus to the road. I adjusted my speed when I saw a car backing out of their driveway ahead. I swerved to avoid an opening door.

  Car on left. Nice ass on right.

  I slowed to enjoy the view. Most people walking did not catch my attention the way this backside did. Then again, it only took seconds before I recognized the woman by her clothes. If Crystal walked any slower, I was going to have to get off my bike and walk behind her. She has a boyfriend, man.

  With a quick shake, I cleared my head. I pushed into the pedals and sped up. I could wave as I rolled past.

  I saw the box in her arms with a plant sticking out of it. Fuck me, I definitely couldn’t wave. She was going to hate me now. I knew that box. Probably snatched from the copy room, the perfect size for clearing out an office to carry home. I cut my gaze back to the road before she noticed that I was looking, or that it was even me on the bike.

  I passed her. It was a business decision. It wasn’t anything personal. Chase had better not be the kind of bro to come at me over something like this. I could take him, but it wouldn’t be pretty.

  “No!” The sounds of falling and pottery breaking followed. “Ow, damn it!”

  I swiveled my head to look back. Crystal was on the ground. I grimaced and pulled at my brakes. I needed to help her. Suddenly I flew over my handlebars. There wasn’t time to think, or cuss before I belly-flopped into a pile of stinking dirt. I spat bits of mulch and mud from my mouth as I sat up. Where the fuck had this trailer come from? My bike lay half in the trailer, half on the road.

  “Hey, you alive back there?” A sun-worn man in a dirty green jumpsuit asked as he ran around the side of the trailer.

  I looked to see what I had crashed into. I sat in an open back trailer in a pile of gardening dirt. Yard working tools surrounded me.

  “Yeah, I’m good.” I brushed dirt that reeked of manure from my clothes.

  The guy handed me my bike. “You should be more careful,” he said.

  I was tempted to “be more careful my ass” at him, but the whole fucking thing was my fault.

  I grabbed my bike with a “yeah, yeah, yeah,” and headed back to where Crystal was still on the ground. She sat with her arms wrapped around her knee. The sunglasses that had covered her face this morning were haphazardly held between her fingers. Her head was down, and she rocked back and forth. There was a hole in her jeans, exposing the angry red skin of a
scraped knee.

  “Hey, you alright?” I asked.

  She looked up at me. Red eyes, tears running down her cheeks, she took a minute to focus. Narrowing her gaze.

  “Fuck off,” she said.

  Still holding my bike, I squatted down next to her.

  “You’re hurt. Let me help you.”

  “I think you’ve helped me enough today Zack Noble. Just… just leave me alone already.”

  I let my bike drop to its side and began gathering her items. I upended the box and slid her books back in, solar power technology and engineering books. Damn. No wonder she didn’t want my help. To save Shingle Click, several groups that were not currently delivering, or not directly related to the product to consumer pipeline had been eliminated. That included the group developing solar power integration.

  “Yeah, I probably deserve that.” I reached for a plant in a broken pot. “You’ll need to re-pot this.”

  “You killed Henry,” she cried reaching for the green leaves and roots packed with dirt that I held up. “Why are you still here?”

  I sighed. This woman was a mess, she didn’t even know she needed help. “You’re hurt, you clearly need assistance.”