Stacy's Sacrifice 
I Get What I Want #3
by Jaden Sinclair
Illeana Jacobs knew the day she met Stacy Lorde he would steal her heart. Reminding him how they came from different worlds didn’t faze him, not when dealing with a man who was used to getting what he wanted, when he wanted it. But, once he conquered her, he broke her heart and drove her from him never expecting to see him again. Fate thought otherwise. Face to face with her past she had to deal with the pain while trying to hide her feelings from him, an impossible task. Her heart refused to let go of the one it loved.
Stacy never got over Illeana or let go of the hope that one day he would find her again. Which side of the tracks she was born on never bothered him, even if it made a big difference to others in his life. As far as he was concerned, Illeana was the perfect woman. He would do anything and everything in his power to show her she was the only one he wanted, even if it meant turning his back on his family.
The woman of his dreams had walked out on him once. It would be a cold day in hell before Stacy let her walk out on him again.
Excerpt
Chapter One
Stacy Lorde stood in front of his office floor to ceiling window, staring out at the view, deep in thought. The sun was shining brightly over the city. Cars and people went about their business. Some people stood on the sidewalk talking on their phones. Seeing it all reminded him once more how the world goes on no matter what might be going on around them. Stock market could be crashing, businesses going under, and still those people below would be walking with phones up to their ears without a care about any of it. He thought they all looked lost, almost dead in their lives, just as he was starting to feel himself.
Buzz
“Your mother is here,” Candy, his secretary announced on the intercom.
Stacy didn’t bother turning from the window. His office door opened and his mother’s heels clicked on the floor as she walked inside. He even counted each step she took to the middle of the room, ten steps to the spot where she would stand to feel important.
Bracing himself to have the confrontation he knew she came to have, Stacy took a deep breath, turned around, but didn’t move away from the window. His mother, dressed in her top-of the-line cream silk suit and cream heels with diamonds hanging from her ears, gold bracelets on her wrists, and a couple gold chains around her neck. She narrowed her eyes, eyes which had too much make-up on them, as well as the rest of her made-up face. Her hair, kept dark brown at all times, was twisted up off her shoulders. Melinda Lorde didn’t want the world to know her age and refused to dress or act it.
“Mother,” Stacy acknowledged.
“I just heard the news, and I’m very disappointed.”
Stacy crossed his arms over his chest. “I don’t know why you would be. I made it very clear when you and father came to me with this crap that I’m not interested.”
Taking a deep breath, his mother strolled up to one of the leather seats across from his desk and tossed her thin purse down on the seat. She leaned to one foot, tapped her toe as she crossed her arms over her chest. “It’s because of her, isn’t it?”
It was Stacy’s turn to sigh again, and he reached up, rubbing the bridge of his nose.
“You can’t ruin your life over that kind of girl. I won’t let you piss your future away like that.”
“Mother, this is a pointless conversation. I’m not going to marry Belinda, and that’s final.”
The door opened again and Candy came in with papers in her hands. “Sorry to interrupt.” She went to this desk, put the papers down, turned, and walked back out.
He watched as his mother leaned over, looked at the papers, and picked one up. “Where are you going?”
“Business trip.”
“I don’t know anything about a trip.”
“Why would you? I go on many of them.”
She tossed the paper back on his desk. “Is this really a business trip, or are you back to trying to find her?”
“Oh, I think finding her isn’t a possibility, not after what you’ve done.” He pushed away from the window, went to his desk and picked up the paper with anger stirring. “What has me even more shocked is the simple fact that you and father think you were in the right. What gives either one of you the right to butt into my personal life?”
“I’m your mother, Stacy. It’s my job to look after you no matter how old you are. With no background or decent family, that girl was all wrong for you and for our family.” He snorted at that, picked up the briefcase and put the papers in, not looking at her. “Where is this meeting then?”
Closing, then locking the case, he looked around his desk to make sure he wasn’t missing anything. “Out of town.” Satisfied he had everything he needed, he walked toward the door.
“Stacy!” His mother’s loud voice stopped him at the door, but he didn’t turn around. “Running from me and your father isn’t going to fix anything.”
“Neither is you trying to marry me off. I’ve got an important meeting, Mother. I need to go.”
Moving quickly, he left his office and closed the door on his mother. He told his secretary, “You know how to get ahold of me, and please make sure it only has to do with company stuff, not her bullshit.”
“Yes, sir,” Candy said with a slight grin. “Your driver is waiting outside for you.”
“Remind me to give you a raise when I get back.” He smiled at her and went on to the elevator.
Getting into the back of the waiting car with a sigh, Stacy pulled his tie loose as Jay, his driver and personal assistant, pulled away. The drive to this meeting would take a few hours. If it wasn’t for the simple fact that he was so pissed at his parents—still—he wouldn’t be going. Investing into small towns really wasn’t his thing. The numbers weren’t in the investor’s favor most of the time, but he really did need to get away. He had a room booked at their best hotel for the rest of the week. That should give him enough time to figure out how he was going to handle his parents, or at least his mother. She was the one calling all the shots, has always been, and she wants him to marry Belinda Torning.
Sure, Belinda might be in the same social class they were, but Stacy didn’t care for her. She was brought up just like his mother with that gold nose in the air. Stacy took more after his father—no, scratch that, his grandmother. She was down to earth, judged people by how they acted and what they did, not how they were born or how big the bank account was attached to their name.
Belinda might be the kind of woman he would have married—until he met Illeana. Something about that short summer with her changed everything in him. He saw people through new eyes, just as he saw everything else around him. He even saw himself back then and didn’t like it. At the time, he didn’t know his mother had something to do with her leaving, a fact that turned him bitter toward her and then his father sided with his mother in determining Illeana would never be right for him because she wasn’t born in their world. She came from the other side of the tracks, or better put, she was poor. His mother believed Illeana only attached herself to Stacy because of his money, something Stacy knew to be pure bullshit. It didn’t help his cause when Illeana disappeared. A woman who might be after one’s bank account doesn’t just up and leave when she could have it, and Stacy would’ve given her everything he had if she had stayed. One thing he did have to give to her, he still carried in his pocket, a reminder of what he almost had but lost.
What had him staying so pissed at his parents happened after she left him. If they had played it cool, acted like they had nothing to do with the break up, he might have never known. They didn’t. Instead, just hours after Illeana left, they brought Belinda back into his life, as if she had always been. A couple dates in the past seemed to mean she’d became this fixture that was always there, and one he couldn’t get rid of or stay far enough away from.
When he went to talk to his parents, hoping for a small amount of support, Belinda was there with a smile on her face and hope in her eyes—hope that he might rethink a relationship with her. Something about her being there made sense of why Illeana abruptly left saying nothing. Seeing Belinda explained why his parents were fine with it all, and why his grandmother was so pissed her blood pressure rose and her face got red. They’d picked Belinda, and they weren’t going to stop until he married her. For Stacy, hell would have to freeze over first. She was the last person he would ever marry.
Three hours later they pulled into town. His driver headed south, toward the water where a very large and impressive hotel came into view. Stacy sat forward, staring at the hotel in a bit of shock to find something so grand in a place so small.
The lake also caught his eye, and Stacy couldn’t help himself from thinking what ifs. He could see greatness coming from that lake, just as he could see other things improving with the right kind of money. That also had him humphing with a grin tugging the corner of his lip. This investment meeting was for people like himself to come and see the potential in the town. He could see it already.
At the front doors, porters came out before the car even stopped. Once more he was impressed with the hotel. His bags were taken from the back. He got out with his briefcase. Inside he was instantly hit with grandness. Gold was the main color scheme of the lobby, accented with red. A large oval shaped room boasted a round, large water fall in the center and over it hung a huge gold and crystal chandelier. At the very back of the main entrance was a wide, white, marble staircase going up and splitting to wind to the left and right as well as straight forward as a place to hide elevators. On his left was a long check-in counter, where he headed, following the porter who had his bags.
“Yes, sir, may I help you?” a man behind the counter asked.
“Stacy Lorde.”
“Ah, Mr. Lorde, we’ve been expecting you.” The man smiled, typing into a computer quickly. “Your secretary has booked our best room for you and your assistant. The grand suite, top floor with an adjoining suite next door.” The printer started to print out papers. “It’s an open booking. The room is all yours until you wish to leave. Please sign this, and I’ll have the porter take you right up to your room.”
Stacy took the pen and quickly signed. “When is the meeting and where?”
“The meeting starts in about an hour, in the large conference room. You take the elevator to the first floor, or the stairs there.” He pointed to the stairs. “Straight forward to the double doors.”
“Thank you.” Stacy handed back the pen and papers.
“Enjoy your stay.” He smiled and rang the bell for a different porter to come up and take his bags.
Jay followed behind Stacy to the back of the stairs to elevators, just as he thought. The three of them entered one and rode to the top floor.
The hallways had the same grand feeling as the lobby. Again, done in gold and red with deep red velvet love seats on both sides of the elevator doors and many potted plants. There was only one set of doors on this floor. When the porter put in the key and opened them up to a foyer, he stepped back. Stacy walked in and was in awe. Five steps down was an expansive living area.
Stacy walked down to a cream-colored wrap around sofa facing a large flat screen television over a fireplace. Behind the sofa was a nice size dining room with double doors leading out to a balcony. Behind a set of double doors, he assumed would be the bedroom, and farther back one single door and a small tucked in kitchen took up the walls
“Through this door is the connecting suite,” the porter said, pointing to a single door.
Jay walked into it while the porter motioned for Stacy to follow. The porter pushed open the double doors. “The master suite,” he said. He went to the far end of the bedroom and opened another door to the bath.
Stacy looked around the bedroom. A large, king size bed, covered with a cream-colored coverlet filled up a large portion of the room with pillows lined up across the headboard, taking up half of the bed. It also had a nice lounger at the foot of the bed, two end tables, large flat screen television and a large dresser. His bags were placed on the lounger.
“Very nice,” Stacy stated.
“Will there be anything else?” the porter asked.
Stacy reached into his pocket and brought out some cash. He handed a twenty to the man. “No, thank you.”
The man nodded and left. Stacy walked out of the bedroom and into the dining area and opened the balcony doors to stand outside, gazing upon a fantastic view of the lake.
“Not a bad town,” Jay stated. “I can see the possibilities here.”
“So can I.”
“That is not what’s on your mind, is it?”
“No.”
Jay stayed quiet for a few seconds. “I’ll get your suit out for the meeting. It’s in less than an hour.”
“While I’m gone find out what you can about the town. The people, businesses, everything I might need to know.”
“I’ll have what I can find ready when you get back.”
Stacy changed, left the room, and headed down for the party. The conference room was already filled by the time he got there. He saw several faces he knew, talked to a few people, took a glass of wine, and walked around.
“Mr. Lorde.” Stacy stopped and turned around. He smiled instantly when he saw who was speaking to him.
“Jessie!” Stacy shook his hand.
“I’m glad you could make it,” Jessie said. “Wasn’t sure you would.”
“Well, you did have me a bit curious.” Stacy looked around. “Nice turn out.”
“Yes, but will half invest here? I’ve got some really great ideas if anyone is interested.”
“Guess that depends.” Stacy looked around the room again, and his eye caught someone he thought he knew. With a frown, he shook it off and gave his attention back to Jessie. “So what big plans do you have? Tempt me.”
Jessie half-laughed. “For one you have the marina here that will be great in the summer.”
Stacy nodded. “I’m a bit shocked that no one has grabbed it up by now.”
“My new idea for the winter is up in the mountains, a nice ski resort with some cabins to rent.”
“That could be something.” Again, his eye caught on the face of a woman, then slid to her backside, thinking he knew her. “So which are you planning on investing in then?”
“I’m in the process of moving my own business here. Sam has fallen in love with not only the town but her new family, and shocking enough, is in a relationship.”
Jessie was still talking, and Stacy’s eye once more caught sight of the woman at the other end of the room, surprisingly enough talking to Samantha. He watched her closely, and when she turned slightly his gut dropped.
Illeana!
“You okay?” Jessie asked, snapping Stacy out of his shock. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
“In a way, I think I have. Excuse me.”
Stacy worked his way across the room. She was still talking to Samantha, still smiling. Finishing his drink, he put the glass on the tray of a passing waiter as he came up to her. Samantha finished talking to her and walked away.
“Hello, Illeana,” he said quietly behind her. Slowly, she turned around, and the woman who had stolen his heart, crushed it, and walked away from him gasped, her mouth open in shock. “It’s good to see you again. I’ve missed you.”
She paled before him. “Stacy.” The breath seemed to rush out of her as well as his name. “What—what are you doing here?”
“I’m an investor, or did you forget that? I should be asking you the same thing. I didn’t know where you went, but then again you did like to keep things to yourself.”
She glanced around, her face paling. “Don’t do this here.”
“Do what?” She shook her head and walked away. He would normally grab her arm to stop her, instead, he followed her. “Running away again?”
She stopped when they were away from any people who might be able to hear them and turned back to face him. “What do you want?”
“Now isn’t that an interesting question?” He cocked his head to the side.
“Go back to your meeting and then go back home where you belong.”
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Genres
Contemporary
Erotic
Series
? Heat Level: 5