Taking Control: A Billionaire Boss Romance (Playboys of New York Book 4) Read online

  Taking Control

  Playboys of New York Series Book 4

  JA Low

  JALowbooks

  Copyright © 2021 by JA Low

  All rights reserved. No part of this eBook may be reproduced or transmitted in any form, including electronic or mechanical, without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. JA low is in no way affiliated with any brands, songs, musicians, or artists mentioned in this book.

  This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this eBook with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you are reading this eBook and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return it to the seller and purchase your own copy.

  Thank you for respecting the author’s work.

  Cover Design by Outlined with Love

  Editor by Swish Design & Editing

  Created with Vellum

  Contents

  1. Stella

  2. Stella

  3. Stella

  4. EJ

  5. Stella

  6. EJ

  7. Stella

  8. EJ

  9. Stella

  10. EJ

  11. Stella

  12. EJ

  13. Stella

  14. EJ

  15. Stella

  16. Stella

  17. EJ

  18. Stella

  19. EJ

  20. Stella

  21. EJ

  22. Stella

  23. EJ

  24. Stella

  25. EJ

  26. Stella

  27. Stella

  28. EJ

  29. Stella

  30. EJ

  31. Stella

  32. EJ

  33. Stella

  34. Stella

  35. EJ

  36. Stella

  37. EJ

  38. Stella

  39. Stella

  40. EJ

  41. Stella

  42. Stella

  43. EJ

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  About the Author

  Next in the series

  Interconnecting Series

  Also by JA Low

  Also by JA Low

  Also by JA Low

  Interconnecting Series

  Also by JA Low

  Also by JA Low

  1

  Stella

  Why does my body ache? My head hurts.

  Why can’t I move? And there’s a ringing in my ears.

  “Hey, you’re awake.” Chloe’s voice seeps through the darkness.

  “We’ve been so worried,” Lenna adds.

  My head furrows as their blurry faces come into view. Stark white, fluorescent lights burn my eyes, making them water as I blink a couple of times.

  “How do you feel?” EJ’s voice filters through on the other side as a warm hand covers my own. Turning my head, which feels so heavy, I see concern written all over EJ’s handsome face with the deep furrows in his forehead.

  “I don’t know.” My voice cracks as I speak for the first time in what feels like an eternity. My throat is so dry.

  “Here.” EJ places the water bottle with a straw near my mouth, and I take a sip of the cold water. That feels better.

  “Where am I?” Trying to sit up, I moan because everything hurts.

  “Here, let me.” EJ fusses around me. His large hands lift my body while he props up my pillows.

  “You’re being weird,” I state while looking up into his green eyes. “Why are you fussing?” His concern is the last thing I would ever expect from EJ. He looks over to where Chloe and Lenna are sitting and gives them a frown.

  “You were in a car accident, Stella. Do you remember that? Chloe asks gently.

  Accident?

  Then it all comes back rushing through my mind.

  I was in the car with Emma and Elise. We were having a great time talking. Then there’s the sound of wheels screeching. Then screaming. The smell of burned rubber lingers in my nose. The bone-crunching sound of twisted metal lingers in my ears. Then searing pain as I’m thrown against the seat belt. My head hits something, and then I slip into blackness.

  Now, I’m here.

  “Stella, you’re safe.” EJ tries to reassure me as he sees me react to the memory playing in my mind. My chest tightens when I feel panic race over my body.

  “Emma and Elise.” The words come out louder than I anticipated.

  “Ariana and the boys are with Elise. Anderson is with Emma,” Lenna tells me.

  “Are they okay?” Looking between my friends, I watch their faces.

  “From what we hear, Elise has a broken leg like you,” EJ tells me.

  I have a broken leg?

  The blankets are covering my lower half, but that doesn’t stop me from looking down. I try and wiggle my foot, and gosh dammit, he’s right. Searing pain shoots through my leg and up my body. Probably not the smartest thing to do when you have a broken leg, Stella.

  “Emma is still in surgery. She has a nasty gash across her face, and the plastic surgeon is trying to minimize the damage,” EJ states.

  Oh shit! No. Not Emma’s beautiful face. That’s her livelihood.

  “You girls were lucky. The police said if it was inches to either side, y-you…” EJ’s voice cracks, “… you might not be here now.”

  Well, damn. As I look into EJ’s glassy eyes, he’s becoming choked up at the thought he might have lost me. I never knew he cared that much. The room falls silent at his revelation.

  “Come on, Leens, let’s go check on the others.” Chloe grabs Lenna’s arm. “We’ll be right back.” Chloe smiles at me and rushes out the door with Lenna in tow.

  “I was so worried, Stell,” EJ confesses while we’re alone, his shoulders slump in exhaustion. “I thought I had lost you. I can’t lose you.” He glances up at me with tear-filled eyes. My heart aches as I look at him. All these years, and I would have loved to hear him say these words to me.

  “That’s because you wouldn’t know how to do anything without me.” Giving him a self-deprecating laugh, EJ frowns at my comment.

  “I couldn’t care less about work. I care about you, Stell.” He grabs my hand and entwines it with his. It feels warm, strong, something I have thought about for so many years, yearned for even, and now he is freely touching me, and I thought I would feel butterflies. Did the knock on my head also dislodge the crush I had on him too? I look down at where our hands are clasped together and frown.

  Nothing. That’s weird.

  “Whatever you need, I’m here for you, okay?” EJ reassures me.

  “I appreciate that, but none of this is your fault,” I tell him.

  “But you’re mine… my responsibility, Stells,” EJ corrects himself as his hand tightens around mine. “I brought you here for work, and…” I see the anguish as he rubs the back of his neck and clenches his jaw.

  “EJ, we came here for Emma and Anderson. Your restaurant’s anniversary was a decoy.” I remember how Emma and Anderson got engaged last night. “I was here for my friends. So, please don’t feel responsible for any of this. The drunk driv
er who hit us is the one who is responsible.” His green eyes fall to where our hands are linked.

  “Getting that call…” he looks up at me, his eyes showing clear signs of stress, “… I thought that I’d lost you.”

  “Hey.” Sitting up, I lean forward to him sitting beside my bed, where his shoulders are curled over. “I’m safe now,” I tell him, hopefully easing his concern as he looks up at me. “I’m here… with you.” He nods his head slowly in recognition of my words. “Come here.” Loosening my hand from his, I pull him into a hug.

  EJ’S body vibrates with tension, he’s stiff, but as I hug him tighter, he relaxes against me. I can smell his woodsy scent of sandalwood and musk. I take a deep inhale, closing my eyes taking in his cologne. His scent used to drive me wild. He smelled like pure man. But this time, I feel the warmth but no butterflies.

  Maybe I am cured?

  It would be for the best because nothing will happen between us, and nothing ever has. I’m with Dan now, and EJ’s dating half of New York. Maybe this new lease on life has rewired my brain to see EJ for the friend and boss that he is. A smile falls across my face as relief rushes through my body that I can be this close to EJ and not be a mess.

  “See, I’m fine,” I tell him.

  He nuzzles his face into my neck, which is a surprise, and we stay like this for a little longer than may be appropriate, but I feel like he needs the reassurance. Eventually, he moves back into his seat, and I can see the dark cloud surrounding him disappear.

  “I should be the one looking after you, and yet here you are looking after me again.” EJ grins.

  “It’s my job,” I tell him, which makes him frown.

  “I don’t think I’ve appreciated you as much as I should have all these years.” He muses.

  “Does this mean a raise?” I smile.

  He laughs. “I think so. I think you deserve more.”

  Maybe breaking my leg has been a blessing in disguise that I didn’t know I needed.

  “Well, perhaps I need to break limbs more often if this is what happens.”

  “No. Please. I don’t think my heart could handle it.” He grins.

  “Okay, fine. No more broken bones,” I tell him with a chuckle. “But can you do one more thing for me?” He nods his head. “Can you pass me my phone? I have to call Dan.”

  EJ’s shoulders are tense as he stands, then walks around to the other side of my bed to grab my phone. EJ is not Dan’s biggest fan—he thinks I can do better than a male stripper. Dan started out for me as a bit of fun, but things turned into something more along the way, plus he has been a great distraction from my never-ending thoughts of EJ. Now that I think of it, I never really gave Dan a fair chance because of my feelings for EJ.

  Right now? Now, I feel like I owe Dan that chance.

  EJ hands me my phone, and I thank him.

  “Well, I’ll leave you to it then. I’m going to check on the others. Rest up.” Giving me a wave, he exits my hospital room.

  Looking down at the screen, I dial Dan’s number.

  “Hey, babe,” Dan answers. “I miss you so much. I bet you’re having the best time in Vegas,” he tells me enthusiastically.

  “Yeah, it’s been fun.”

  “Why does it sound like there’s a but coming at the end of that answer?” He chuckles.

  “Because I was involved in a car accident.” The line falls silent for a couple of moments. “I’m in the hospital.”

  “Oh, shit, babe.” There is more silence. “Are you okay?”

  “Not really,” I tell him. “I have a broken leg.”

  “A broken leg?” he repeats slowly.

  “Yeah. It was a bad accident. Elise has one, too, and Emma needs surgery on her face.”

  He gasps audibly down the line. “Fuck, babe.”

  “And all I can think about is you, and you not being here,” I tell him.

  Silence falls between us again.

  “Babe, I can’t afford it at the moment. I’m so sorry. You know I would be there in a heartbeat if I could,” he tells me. Stripping isn’t as lucrative as most people think. Dan’s also saving to rent out a space to start his personal training business.

  “I can pay for you to fly out,” I add, hopeful he will say yes.

  “You will?” His voice perks up.

  “Of course. I need you by my side.”

  “Then, I’ll be there. Email me the flight details. I’ll pack. It’s been ages since I’ve been to Vegas,” he says excitedly. “Can’t wait to see you, babe.”

  And with that, he’s gone.

  2

  Stella

  “Hey, sleepyhead.” Ariana’s voice greets me this time.

  “Oh, hey.” My voice crackles as my eyes adjust to the light. She hands me a bottle of water, and I take a sip. I must have fallen asleep at some point.

  “You look like shit.” She grins at me.

  “Feel like shit,” I tell her with a smile. “How’re the others?”

  “Elise looks like you.”

  “What about Emma?”

  Ariana’s eyes fall to the floor. “She’s not coping with her injuries,” she tells me with a sad inflection in her tone. “She doesn’t want to see anyone. She doesn’t even want to see Anderson.”

  Oh no. They got engaged the night before this happened. He must be devastated.

  “Do you think I should ask to pop over and see her?”

  Ariana shakes her head. “I think maybe leave it for a little bit.” Ariana gives me a somber smile. “Hey, do you need me to call Dan? Sorry, things have been crazy, and I’ve just remembered.”

  “I was able to speak to him earlier. He’s coming tonight. I’ve got him booked on the last flight, but he gets here after visiting hours. Can you ask the hotel to add him to my room so he can stay there?”

  Ariana nods her head in agreement. “How are you feeling?”

  “Sore. Really, really, sore. I’ve never broken anything before, and this sucks big time. I have so many questions, like how long do I have to have this cast on for? Will I be able to walk with it? How am I supposed to work with it?”

  “I’m guessing the doctor will be in at some point to run through everything. But remember, you’ve got me to help you and your gorgeous man, Dan.” She grins. “I bet he’s only too happy to play nurse with you.” She gives me a wink.

  Maybe. I hope he does. Otherwise, I am not sure how I’m going to stumble around my apartment on crutches without some help.

  “EJ’s being weird,” I state.

  “He’s been quite anxious about you.”

  “I know, but… he’s been saying things to me,” I cautiously tell her.

  “What kind of things?” Ariana asks.

  “Just…” I shake my head. “Maybe I’m reading into it, and it’s nothing.”

  Ariana reaches out and grabs my hand. “EJ was a mess. He broke down when the ambulance came into the hospital, and he saw you lying lifeless on the stretcher. You could see it on his face. He was so fearful that he was going to lose you that he didn’t know what to do,” Ariana tells me. “That man would have moved mountains for you at that moment.”

  “His reaction confuses me.”

  “In a good or bad way?” Ariana asks.

  “I’m not sure. It’s plain weird. It’s like EJ cares.”

  “Of course, he cares, Stella.” Ariana gives me a look, creasing her brows together. Maybe the knock on the head has done more damage than I first thought. “Did he say something?”

  “Kind of.” Trying to work through my thoughts, I continue, “He said things that before the accident would have made my heart bloom with all kinds of hope.” Ariana’s eyes widen. “But when he touched and then pulled me into his arms, the butterflies I once felt weren’t really there.”

  “Wow. Okay. That’s a lot to unpack right there.” Ariana grins.

  “I think the accident dislodged the stupid crush I had inside my head, and now it’s disappeared,” I explain.


  “And are you okay with this?” Ariana asks.

  “Of course. I mean… my boyfriend is on his way to see me. I know nothing will ever happen with EJ, and our relationship was never going to be anything more than business.”

  Ariana frowns. “His concern didn’t feel like just business.”

  “It’s the shock,” I explain. “We are all in shock. None of us knew this would have been the outcome when we got in the car that day.”

  “I don’t think you should dismiss the way he’s feeling so easily,” Ariana warns me.

  “But I don’t want his feelings.” My voice raises.

  Ariana’s eyes widen at my tone. “I don’t want him to want me, now that…” Emotion begins to well in my eyes, and the monitor beside me grows louder with every heartbeat.

  “Hey.” Ariana squeezes my hand tighter. “It’s going to be okay,” she reassures me. “If EJ’s feelings have changed, he’s too late. You’re with Dan now.” I nod my head in agreement, trying to calm my beating heart. “Once Dan is here, EJ will see that you two are together, and he’s missed his chance.” She gives me a slight grin.

  “Once we get back to New York, whatever weirdness EJ is feeling will be gone, especially once his harem of booty calls surrounds him.” That thought alone makes me want to gag.