Authors: Justine Elvira
Changing His Game
Changing His Game
Justine Elvira
Edited by: Eileen Proksch
Cover by: Meredith Blair
Published by Justine Elvira
Smashwords Edition
©2014 Justine Elvira
All rights reserved. This book contains material under International and Federal Copyright Laws and Treaties. Any Unauthorized reprint or use of this material is prohibited. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form without written permission of the author, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages for review purposes only.
This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to any person, living or dead, or any events or occurrences, is purely coincidental. The characters and story lines are created from the author’s imagination and are used fictitiously.
Cover image used under license from bigstockphoto.com
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements
Where do I even start? This past year has been so crazy, and I have experienced things beyond my wildest dreams. I remember starting my Facebook page in February of 2013, and only having two likes for the first couple weeks. Then one day a blogger decided to tell her page about me and have her followers come check me out. My two likes turned into one hundred likes, and that meant everything to me. I thought I had hit the Facebook lottery. I have a lot more followers now, but they've found me the same way. The amazing bloggers who spread the word about new authors or authors they love, that's why I'm where I am today.
I want to thank every blog, Facebook page, twitter page, goodreads post, reviewer, or just anyone who has given me a chance. It's because of you that my name is out there and readers are recognizing my books. I am eternally grateful.
To all the blogs who helped me with the Changing His Game cover reveal and helped share Changing His Game Teasers, thank you. The response I have been getting for this book is because of you.
My wonderful editor, Eileen Proksch, deserves a vacation. She has to deal with my disorganization and mess of a manuscript. I hand it over to her and pray she keeps her sanity. Thank you for all of your support, feedback, and fixing the pages of inaccurate English I email you. I am so grateful to have you on my team and to call you a friend.
I owe a lot of thanks to the ladies of Justine's Joyful Book Jugglers. You ladies cheer me up on a daily basis. I love our Man Candy Mondays and all of the funny things you share with me. Some days I get so down and you ladies cheer me up. I've gotten to know you a little better since the group started and I am so glad. You are a wonderful group of women who I hope to know for years to come.
I have a beautiful cover for Changing His Game because of Meredith Blair of Author's Angels. Meredith, you are so AMAZING and created something perfect for me. I couldn't have imagined it better myself. Your creativity also gave me the beautiful bookmarks I've been sending out to fans for weeks. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Mayas Sanders and Liz King- The two of you have supported me from the very beginning with your blogs. I am so grateful to have gotten to know you and call you friends. Your friendship means so much to me. Liz, you've become such an amazing author and I love reading your work. I can't wait to read your books for years to come. Mayas, your humor brightens my day. You are such an amazing person inside and out. The work you do for authors does not go unnoticed.
I want to end by saying thank you to my family. A lot of you do not know the ways you inspire me, but you do. You may drive me crazy at times, but I wouldn't give you up for anything. Most importantly, my kids are everything to me. I love you both so much! I do this for you and because of you. I hope that one day you grow up and do something you love to do with your lives. Nothing would make me happier.
This book is dedicated to all the dirty romance lovers out there. We love trashy novels with a happily ever after. <3
Chapter One
My car has become my only companion the last three days. The drive from South Haven, Michigan, to Los Angeles is a long one. My GPS estimates it as a thirty-two hour drive, but with stopping for food, gas, and sleeping at random motels, I've been driving for three days.
I'm on Sunset Boulevard looking for the next street to turn on. Tawny told me she lived in Los Angeles, but the GPS tells me her address is in Beverly Hills. I have no clue if Beverly Hills and Los Angeles are the same place or two different towns. I've never been to California before. Hell, I only left the state of Michigan once, and that was to attend my aunt's funeral in Indiana.
My friend Tawny moved out to California two years ago. She left with dreams to be an actress and star alongside actors like Robert Pattinson and Chris Hemsworth. So many people in our small town gave her crap for leaving. They told her she'd never make it. I envied her. She had the guts to leave the small town life, while I was planning to get married and build a life there.
I'd been dating Brock Richardson since my freshman year of high school. I know what you're thinking; Brock is such a pretentious name. I hated his name and almost everything about him, but our parents were friends and in their eyes, we were destined to be together.
I first started dating Brock out of obligation to my parents, but I soon started to enjoy it. People paid attention to me because I was with him and I became sort of popular by association. After a while I started to really fall for Brock, too. He could be really romantic and do some of the sweetest things. It never crossed my mind to leave him, and he never left me.
After four years of high school I went on to Michigan State University to get a degree in teaching, and Brock stayed in South Haven to learn the family business. His dad was the biggest contractor in the area. The plan was that when Brock and I got married, Brock was to take over the business.
MSU is only two hours away from South Haven so I saw Brock every chance I got. By my junior year of college, I was engaged and Tawny had moved to California. We kept in touch through social media and she seemed to be doing well. She told me she was getting jobs here and there, but she hadn't gotten her big break yet.
Three months ago she sent me her address, telling me I should come visit her over the summer. I never planned on taking her up on the offer, that is, until three days ago.
I had finished my finals last week and was officially a graduate, but I wasn't set to walk for my degree until this Sunday. My family, Brock, and Brock's family were all going to come up to MSU and watch the ceremony. I was getting antsy and had no desire to stay on campus for another week, so I packed my bags and decided to drive home and surprise Brock, maybe spend a few days with him before heading back to MSU for my graduation ceremony. When I got to his apartment complex I went straight into his apartment. I had a key and I wanted it to be a surprise, and it was a surprise all right. Just not for him.
I got the surprise of a lifetime when I walked into his bedroom and caught him fucking Lexi Sanders. Lexi was a year younger than us in school and I knew she had always had a crush on Brock, but I never thought I had to worry about her. He was devoted to me. When his eyes landed on me in the doorway, he got up and tried to explain, but I wouldn't let him. I didn’t even wait to hear his excuse. I stormed out of his apartment, climbed into my Toyota Yaris, and started to drive.
I didn't know where to go at first, but I knew I didn't want to go home. I didn't want to have to explain everything to my parents and sister. I also didn’t want to risk the possibility of my parents defending Brock to me.
I didn't really understand what I was doing, but one minute I was so upset I thought I should pull over, and the next minute I picked up my phone and logged into Facebook. I got Tawny's address from our private messages and plugged her address into my GPS. I started to drive and never looked back.
My phone was going crazy with missed calls and texts, but I ignored them all. I finally checked my phone that evening when I checked in to a motel in Iowa. I called my little sister and let her know I was okay. I didn't tell her where I was or when I'd be home. I just told her I'd call her in a few days.
Now I'm in California, looking for the next street I'm supposed to turn onto. A few minutes later my GPS leads me to a gated community.
"This must be some mistake," I whisper to myself. "There is no way Tawny can afford to live here."
There is a security tower to my left and an older man walks over and knocks on my window. I roll it down, preparing to let him know I'm lost.
"Name?" The security officer asks. I'm caught off guard.
"Um... My name is Autumn, Autumn Adams."
He looks down on his clipboard and back up to me.
"I don't see an Autumn Adams on the list."
"That's okay, sir. I actually just think I'm lost," I pull my GPS off my dashboard and hand it to the security guard. "My friend Tawny lives in this neighborhood. I'm having a hard time finding the street."
He looks down at the address and hands me back my GPS.
"You're at the right spot, honey. You're looking for Jared Reynolds' place. I'll open the gates. Just drive up the hill and turn at the first street on the right. His house is at the very end of the block. You can't miss it with the party he's throwing tonight, and the houses being so far apart."
I want to question him and ask who Jared is, but he's already left me and opened the gate. I drive in and follow his directions. The homes in this subdivision are enormous. Something I've only seen in a movie.
How can Tawny afford to live here?
I make a right at the top of the hill and pull up to the last house on the block. I cut the engine and stare up at the house in front of me. I'm hit with floor to ceiling windows on every floor. It looks to be about three stories tall and the U-shape driveway leads to a six-car garage. A few minutes go by before I realize I'm just staring.
I get out of my vehicle and stretch my legs; they're aching from three days of limited mobility. I pull out my duffle bag from the backseat of my car. That's one of the benefits of my impromptu road trip; I still had my bags in the car from when I left MSU. I leave the rest of my luggage in the Yaris.
I head up to the house and reach a set of dark wooden doors. I find the doorbell and ring it, anxious to see my friend. I'm looking around the outside of the property as I'm waiting for someone to answer the door. The landscaping is impeccable. Every bush is perfectly trimmed, the lawn is cut to perfection, and the flowers are in full bloom. After a minute with no answer I ring the doorbell a few times in a row. It's probably obnoxious, but I need to get someone's attention over the loud music coming from inside the house. There is still no answer and I'm about to just walk in, when a woman in her late twenties opens the door while lighting her cigarette.