PULL THE PIN

Chapter 1

Cordelia sat in the living room of her family home, listening to her family talk at her while she was distracted by her cell phone. She looked up to see her father, Gordon Andrews, step-mother Margaret Andrews, step-sister Ebony Simmons, and Ebony's boyfriend James Anderson were all staring at Cordelia, their noses wrinkled as though smelling something foul.

"For God's sake, Cordelia! Put that damn phone down and pay attention to what I am telling you!" Her father shouted at her in frustration and disgust.

Cordelia looked up at him, her expression blank, and responded, "I heard you, Father. You and Margaret have arranged a marriage for me with James Anderson. You have set the wedding date for my birthday, June 15th, which is 6 weeks away. Is that correct?"

"So you were listening. Margaret will take you dress shopping next week. You will have a very strict budget, so don't plan on anything fancy. I am not wasting good money on you!" her father groused.

"I just have one question, Father." She practically choked calling him that. "Aren't James and Ebony seeing each other? Surely neither one of them is too happy about this change in their relationship." Then seeing the sly look across their respective faces, she sneered in contempt. "Oh, let me guess. James and Ebony will continue their relationship, and I am just supposed to be the little shadow wife? Is that the plan? For what reason should I marry James?"

But she knew the reason. And if she was stupid enough to go through with this wedding, Cordelia was sure that she would disappear just as fast as her mother had. Not going to happen! Her mother had been a very young, grieving widow with a toddler, who was easily manipulated and taken advantage of in her grief.

"You know why. The company needs this merger if it is going to grow and be competitive," Gordon explained. "I have told you this before. Do you ever pay attention?"

"I don't see how me marrying James would help with the business merger with his family. Why don't James and Ebony just get married? Surely that would make more sense, wouldn't it?"

"Daddy," Ebony pouted. "I told you she wouldn't want to help me. Make her help me."

Cordelia fought not to throw up in her mouth. And really, she didn't know whether to laugh or throw up. That certainly wasn't how Ebony sounded the last time she called him Daddy.

James spoke up in an attempt to ease the tension in the room. "Cordelia, you know my grandfather doesn't like Ebony. He will only agree to the merger if I marry you. I am sure we can come to some sort of understanding about the terms of the marriage. We could look at divorcing after the merger is a done deal. You go your way, and Ebony and I can then get married. You'd do that for Ebony, wouldn't you?"

I wonder if he would be so eager to 'help' Ebony if he knew the real relationship between Ebony and Gordon. Somehow, she didn't think so, Cordelia mused to herself. "What makes any of you think I would even be willing to entertain such a thing? Honestly, it's like you don't know me at all."

Before anyone had a chance to respond to her comments, a car horn sounded from the driveway. Cordelia jumped up and ran to the front door. "Anita is here to pick me up. We have a project to finish and pass for our course finals. I am going back to campus and will be there for the next few weeks."

"What about dress shopping? Are you making time for that?" questioned Margaret.

"Do whatever you like. Ebony is the same size as me. Take her with you. I really don't care." Saying this, Cordelia ran out of the house, slamming the door behind her. "And I sure as hell won't be wearing it." she muttered under her breath. She quickly jumped into the passenger seat of the red Jeep Compass. She barely had her seatbelt fastened before Anita peeled out of the parking area, driving away at a fairly high rate of speed.

"Slow down, Anita. You do not need another speeding ticket. And I really want to live long enough to get my diploma!" Cordelia was laughing as she berated her friend, and cousin, over her driving habits.

"God, Cordie. I can't believe those people have the nerve to try pulling that s**t. Thank goodness we had a call going on when they started. How do you stand going back there?" Anita was so angry she was shaking. "And I was driving fast, so they couldn't catch us. Just saying, you know."

"I know. And thanks for rescuing me. James had parked behind my car. I couldn't have gotten away easily had they insisted on me staying there. God, I hate them! Thankfully, I won't have to see them again for a long, long while. So, where are we meeting Grandpa? I take it his jet landed on time? I can't wait to see him!"

Anita glanced at Cordelia and give her a wide grin. "Yes, he landed on time, and is now in his suite at the Mary Ann building. He is waiting for us, along with my brother Silas, and Logan Murdoch."

Cordelia sighed as she brought the image of Logan to the forefront of her mind. Well over six feet, with wide, well muscled shoulders that tapered to a lean waist and hips. Black hair, dark gray eyes, a chishled jaw line, full, very kissable lips. God, what she wouldn't give to kiss those lips again.

"Cordie, did you hear what I said?"

Anita's question, coupled with a light tap on her arm, served to draw Cordelia's thoughts away from Logan Murdoch. "I'm sorry, I guess I let my mind wander there for a minute. What did you say?"

"Yeah, I just bet it did wander. Right into bed with Logan Murdoch!" Anita snorted with laughter. It was no secret that Cordelia had a huge crush on Logan from the moment she met him almost four years ago. Anita took every opportunity to tease Cordelia about her crush.

Red-faced, Cordelia shushed Anita's laughter. "You hush up about that. You know darn well I haven't done anything like that. With anyone."

"Not for lack of dreaming about it. And I know you two have kissed." Anita responded with a smirk. Then, seeing that Cordelia was uncomfortable with this line of conversation, she tried to lighten the mood. "Ah, come on Cordie. What are cousins for if not to tease you? But I really don't understand how you can still be so shy about the topic of s*x. Especially considering the surveillance videos of Gordon's office you had to watch and hear. I mean, does that man never keep it in his pants?"

"Well, it's one thing if I think of it as surveillance, because I can disassociate myself from it. But, it's totally another thing when it's related directly to me. It's just such a personal commitment to give yourself to someone like that. I don't take it lightly. I know everyone thinks about s*x differently. And that's fine. No judgment. But for me, it's just too intimate an act to talk about."

Anita sighed in acknowledgment. Cordie was only a year younger than her, but she had been extremely sheltered when it came to relationships because of the strict control Gordon and Margaret held over Cordie. It was only once Cordelia moved into student housing on the university campus that she started to realize how restricted her social life had been. She had come a long way socially in the past four years, though she still had a lot to learn.

Cordelia's answering sigh indicated she was deep in thought. The past four years had seen Cordelia blossom from a shy, sheltered teen into a strong, confident, capable young woman. With an IQ bordering on the genius level, she had taken a double major of Applied Computer Science and Computer Science, focusing on Cybersecurity. She was graduating from university at the top of her class, and had multiple job offers with international companies. Her future was beckoning her forward.

But first, she had to deal with her past.