His Stolen Mate

~Anika's P.O. V~            Today was the day, my boyfriend, Peter, has made reservations for us at a restaurant called Fogo de Chao, it is our anniversary, we have been together for an entire year already. He has been super patient with me, see? I am a virgin and 18 years old; I have been saving myself for the special guy who I will say yes to when he proposes. I rolled over on my back, happy as a clam thinking that tonight will be perfect. However, I had to get through my day first, I had a huge client coming in, he and his wife are expecting, so they sought me out as a potential candidate for their baby shower and gender reveal party.            It was 8:30 am this Tuesday morning, the date is September 15th, 2015. I was in such a happy mood, I rolled out of bed, brushed my blond nightmare of hair out, and put it up in a braided crown. I did not like makeup all that much because most colors clash with my green eyes. I put on golden hoop earrings with a ruby necklace, after that, I made myself a cup of coffee with toast and 2 poached eggs. As I ate my breakfast, I went through the proposal for the client in hopes that they would choose one of these designs. Quinn had to already be there, I told him to go in at 7 today to set up the conference room and to set up the projector. I know, old tech but our company could not afford much right now. The only reason we have these rich folks looking at us is because of our dad. He made some friends while he was still CEO of grandpa's company. He wanted us to take over the company for him once he retired but neither of us could deal with snobby rich people every day. It would have been too exhausting, my grandfather’s company was called Butler Enterprises, it was a car manufacturer, we used to have people come in and make specific requests. Like how they would want the detailing of a Rolls Royce but the body of a Ford Expedition with the insides being that of Ferrari or Jaguar. If they could pay, we would make it happen.            I kept turning the pages in this book and smiled at past clients, some would keep me updated on their happily ever after’s. I even became a family friend to one couple; I have photos of them and my niece. Hannah was super cute, and I loved having them over, Frank and Destiny would come by so I could babysit her when I did not have any clients for the day, and they could have mommy and daddy time. I sighed as I looked at their photo, they seemed so happy and I could not wait until I had my successful conclusion. I looked at the clock and realized it was already 8:45, I packed up, brushed my teeth, and left my apartment. I drove a 1960’s refurbished Maverick that I put together myself. I loved cars, but not to the point where I wanted to be a CEO of them. Quinn hated cars, even driving one. He once said to me, ‘Don't you wish we could go back to horse and cart? It was much simpler back then.’ I scoffed at that remark.   “No, no I don’t.” I looked at the review mirror then drove off to work.            When I arrived, Gene and Klein were hard at work while everyone else was busy to make this place look spotless for my clients.   “Good morning, Gene. Klein.” Klein stood in salute; he was once in the military before being honorably discharged due to an almost fatal injury that has left him limp in his left leg.  “Good morning, Miss. Butler. You look ravishing as always.” I could not help but smile at this amazing soldier.  “Good morning, Miss. Anika. Where is Mr. Quinn?” I stopped in my tracks to my office. I slowly turned and looked at them with wide eyes.  “He's not here?” I calmly asked my secretaries.  “Uh… No, ma'am.” Klein answered. Oh, I am going to wring my brothers' neck if he does not show himself in the next 5 minutes.      I took a deep breath in and stayed in the waiting area. I looked to Gene and saw the bags under her eyes and the puffiness of them. “How are you holding up, girl?” I leaned against the desk.  “Better than I was. Thank you for helping me get out of that relationship.” She wiped an eye.  “Sweetie, he was abusive. I am only glad you called the police officers when you did. He could have killed you.” I come around to the other side and give her a hug. “Come on. You need a friend right now.” I took her hand and went to my office. I closed the door and locked it so no one could disturb us. “Let it out, honey.” I hugged this 19-year-old and stroke her hair. She cried in my arms.  “Why, Anika? Why was he like that?” She sobbed into my shoulder.  “I wish I had an answer for that,” I pulled her away and smiled at her, “but you are safe now and that is all that matters.” She sniffled and wiped the last of her tears away. “Now, I have a special project for you to keep your mind off that asshole.” She had just gotten out of a severely abusive relationship with this jackass named Sean. He would hit her and damn near rape her, this was the last straw for me. I was walking to check up on her when I heard his screaming ass. I ran up to her floor but not before a gun went off. He did hit her, but on her right arm and luckily the bullet only grazed her arm. I was so pissed that I had tunnel vision, she had already called the police officers before I went to her home. I punched that mother fucker in his family jewels, he did not know what hit him until it was too late. I was seething in anger, but I could not do anymore without getting myself arrested. Instead, I held him down until the police officers came in, I was told to get off him and to put my hands in the air. I followed orders, but once Gene told them that I protected her, they let me go. “I am always here to protect you like you are my little sister, Gene. Now, I need you to go to the bakery and set up an appointment for a cake.” I let her go and handed her a photo of what the cake looks like. She nodded and left my office. It scares me to think what would have happened had I not been there.  “Now, to call my brother,” I said with an involuntary eye twitch. I dialed his number.  “What's up, shorty?” I could tell he was driving and had me on speaker.  “Where the f**k are you?!” I raised my voice.  “Easy, little sis. No need to be angry.”  “Really?! Did you forget we have an especially important client coming in today?!” I was so furious with him. He didn’t respond, “Oh my God… You did! Quinn, this client could put us on the map! Get here now!”  “Look, I am sorry, but I had business to take care of.” I scoffed at his response.  “Yeah, right! You had another booty call with another random woman! Do not deny it! Just get here and help me set up!” I am damn near screaming at him as I hung up on him. “Grr" I wanted to throw my belongings. I came out of my office and went to Klein. “Klein, can you get a suit for Quinn? I have a feeling he won’t be looking professional.” Klein nodded his head and left. Gene was on the phone with a bakery, so the desk was not left unoccupied. 5 minutes later and to my utter disappointment, he came with a Batman shirt, blue jeans, white tennis shoes, and unbrushed hair. I stared daggers into him.  “What now?” He asked.  “Your attire. I already have Klein on his way to get you a suit.” We were interrupted by Gene.  “Miss. Anika? They're here.” I took a deep breath in and out.   “Thank you, Gene. Please show them to Conference Room A. I will be there momentarily.” She nodded and left. “You stay here. Wait for Klein. Then, join us.” I demanded. I did not hear him say a word as I left my office. Standing straight with pride and a smile on my face. “Mr. and Mrs. Anderson. It is so lovely to meet you.” I held out my hand.  “The honor is ours, Miss. Butler.” Mrs. Anderson shook my hand first.  “I'm hoping we find the perfect setting, Miss. Butler. I was also informed that a Mr. Butler would be here?” Mr. Anderson questioned.  “He will be joining us shortly, I assure you. I will show you to our best conference room.” I gestured for them to follow me. I led them to Conference Room A and set up the meeting as we waited for Quinn.      ~Quinn's P.O. V~            I waited for Klein to come in with a suit and hopefully a pair of shoes, Anika was in a bad mood when I arrived. Typical, I knew what was going to happen tonight with Peter, he had confided in me and asked that I kept it hush, hush. I wanted to kill him for it, but he made an argument that I could not refuse. I sat in my sister's chair and looked at all the family photos, one caught my eye, it was the day the four of us met. Klein, myself, Gene, and Anika. Klein had just been accepted into the military while Gene was finishing college. That girl was smart, she skipped several grades because of it. Her graduation is a year away, she was also naïve. That bastard Sean was facing jail time and I could not wait to put him there. I leaned on the desk and let out a disgruntled sigh. “What was she thinking?” That was a question that continued to pop into my head. A knock on the door interrupted my train of thought. “Yes?”  “It’s Klein, bro. Let me in?” I stood and opened the door, he had exactly what I needed. “Here. The meeting has already started man.” He handed me the suit and shoes.  “How mad was she?”  “Pissed. Not with you being late. You are being with another one-night stand.” He leaned on the wall. “You have got to stop doing that, bro. It’s both disrespectful and hurtful.” He crossed his arms.  “I know, believe me, I do. I just cannot help it. I see a pretty girl and I ask her out.” I took off my regular clothes.  “What about Gene?” That question had me stop dead in my tracks.  “W-What about her? She just got out of a dangerous situation, Klein. It’s too soon.” I continued to put on the suit.  “She has waited for you, man. She wants you.” I let out another sigh of frustration.   “Look, she nor I are ready, man. We have enough to deal with. Especially tonight.”  “Their anniversary… Right…” I looked up at him and saw the hurt in his eyes. He has always had them for my sister.  “Bro, things are going to look up eventually.” I buttoned the last button. And put on the nice shoes. Before I could head out, Klein stopped me.  “Fix your hair, man. You have bed head.” I looked at the closest reflection of me and he was right. I quickly ran my fingers through it and made it look more presentable.  “Better?” I asked.  “Much. Get to the meeting room before she has a hissy fit.” I nodded to him and left the room. I opened the door to the conference room.       ~Anika’s P.O. V~  ‘Finally. He's here.’ I thought to myself. I quickly went over some of the ideas I had planned in the form of a slide show.  “Mr. and Mrs. Anderson, this is my brother, Quinton Butler.” They shake his hand as he takes a seat. We spend a few hours going over the different layouts for their parties. They finally settled on a green/white combination with turtles, doves, and ducklings. One of the real turtles that we figured out to getting for the day would be safely painted the gender color. They decided on having a small turtle petting area where other kids will be able to learn about them and have the handler hold the turtles while they pet them. For the adults, they went with a white dove release at the end of the party. This was one of the more unique ones that I produced last minute.  We shook their hands and helped her into their car, waving them off I could see their excitement as they left since she was bouncing in her seat. I could not help but giggle and be happy for them.   “Anyone else coming today?” Quinn asked.  “Thankfully, no. But this contract has put us on the map. They were willing to pay $100,000 for these 2 parties. Yes! I can finally start saving for a better apartment.” I went back inside to finalize the paperwork and send the information to the proper people. I had to look up a turtle sanctuary and contact them. This took the rest of my day with me being in my office. Quinn went back to his and helped with finding the right paint company we would need and the construction for what they wanted.       5 pm hit and everyone was going home, I had a dress waiting for me in the closet in my office. It was a beautiful navy-blue dress with a bow belt, no sleeves, neck-high that went just below my knees. I also brought in some 3-inch heels that were white and black. I put on the dress and shoes and headed to downtown Portland. It was about 25 minutes and people were driving like s**t. When I got there, I was stopped by a server.  “Hello.” She said to me with a perky smile, “How can I help you?”  “I am here with my boyfriend, Peter Holmes.” She looked at her reservation sheet.  “Ah. Here he is. Let me take you to him.”   “Thank you.” She led me down to the tables away from the windows and Peter looked so handsome. He had on a black suit with a white shirt underneath and black shoes. His hair was combed nicely to the side.      ~Peter’s P.O. V~      She came in like an angel, her beautiful blond hair in braids matched her gorgeous green eyes. The dress she had on showed her legs perfectly. I got nervous for what I was about to do. ‘I have to go through with it.’ I reminded myself. This is going to end in one of two ways, and I hated the second way. I took a deep breath and sat her down. I did not give her a kiss like I normally would, I was too nervous.  “A-Anika. You look beautiful.” I smiled at her.  “Awe, thank you. You look handsome too.” She gave me one of those radiant smiles, I gulped down my nervousness. Just do it, I must.  “Anika, there is something…” I was interrupted by our food order. Steak and potatoes for myself and chicken with asparagus and alfredo sauce. I knew everything she liked down to her favorite Disney Princess.   “Thank you.” She tells the waiter.  “Yes, thank you.” I cleared my throat. We began to eat, and the nerves were not going away. Before I had time to back out, I took one of her hands in mine and looked her in the eye. “I have something to confess, Anika.” Here it goes, “We have been together for a year now and it has been a wonderful year.” I cleared my throat again. Her eyes became hopeful which killed me on the inside. “We have had many adventures together and I wouldn’t trade a single day.” ‘Just get it over with.’ I saw her take a sip of her Sparkling Cider. “And even though it has only been a year, it has been the most wonderful of my life.”  “Is there something you wish to tell me?” Her smile and her excitement broke me.  “Yes. Anika.” I took a deep breath in, “I cheated on you and I want us to break up.” Her face turned white. “We can still be friends, but I found someone else.” The hurt in her eyes began to well up in tears. The next thing I know, I am being splashed with Sparkling Cider and her walking out.      ~Anika’s P.O. V~      I was so excited; I could not contain myself. I had an ear-to-ear smile and my heartbeat was faster than I thought possible. When his gorgeous hazel eyes investigated mine, I was hopeful. I held his hand in mine with the answer ‘Yes’ all ready to go.   “Is there something you wish to tell me?” I asked out of pure excitement.  “Yes, Anika.” I saw him breathe in and out, what came next had me in total shock. “I cheated on you and I want us to break up.” My heart stopped for a moment as I tried to wrap my head around this. “We can still be friends, but I found someone else.” I could not stop the tears from overflowing my eyes, I just sat there for a moment. Then I got angry and threw my drink all over him, I could not stay there, I got up and left. I wiped my eyes and left the restaurant in tears. I covered my face so I could not be seen crying. I was stronger than this. I know I am stronger than this, but it hurts so damn badly. I got back in my car and decided I would go back to my office. Working always helped when I was in a bad mood, and right now I was in an unbelievably bad mood. I put on my favorite song, ‘Thunder Rolls’ by Garth Brooks, and cried as I drove. I got back to my office and unlocked my door. Turning on my computer as the tears still came down. My screensaver came to life, it was of me and Peter. I just cried more, and I cried alone. I texted Quinn and told him what happened while I let my laptop boot up. I also told him I was in the office and I did not want to be disturbed.      ~Unknown’s P.O. V~      Here I was, in a human diner, it was called Fogo de Chao, all these humans and their lovesick minds, bah, I hated them. I noticed one man that seemed more nervous than the others, he caught my curiosity. As I was served more wine, I kept my distance and watched what was about to unfold. 20 minutes later, a young blond-haired woman shows up in a beautiful blue dress, her eyes like emeralds, her lips a perfect delectable peach, her skin pale like ivory. She had no makeup on, which surprised me. She was a natural beauty. I watched her go to that nervous man, I could not tell what they were talking about. I sat there and sniffed the air, she either has not had s*x with this man, or she was a virgin. A natural beauty that was pure. How delightful. I watched as their scene unfolded, at first, her face turned paler than she threw her drink in his face and stormed out. Intriguing indeed, over the years I have watched humans interact and I have grown accustomed to their ‘Faults.’ She was clearly hurt by this man, I watched him get up from his seat and pay the bill.  “That did not go as expected.” He told the petite server.  “If I may be so bold, sir? You confessed to cheating on her. She did the right thing.” The little server pulled out menus harshly and walked away. Such distress, passion, and a lone blond-haired woman with a broken heart. I continued to watch the man as he stood there; pulling out his cellular device, he called a number.  “Hey, I broke up with her.” He sounded just as heartbroken. Oh, young love, it was so disgustingly delicious. “Dude, she threw her sparkling cider in my face.” Another pause before he continued, “I never meant to cheat on her, man.” He began pacing the front counter, “Look, I broke up with her to protect her from me. It was the best thing for her.” I suddenly heard a little voice yelling, “I know I’m a piece of s**t who broke your sisters' heart. But, man, if I cannot be trusted with her, then obviously, I’m not the one for Anika.” He hung up and hung his head low and exited the building. Anika, what a beautiful name to go with that gorgeous woman. I decided to find this young ex suitor of hers and offer my ‘condolences.’ Chuckling to myself.      I studied where he might be, low and behold, I found him leaning against the wall outside of this filthy human food source. He looked frustrated, perfect. I too leaned against this granite building while I took out my pipe and matches. I lit my tobacco inside the barrel and began puffing on it. I looked over to see who this young man was texting. Someone named Quinton and it looked like he was apologizing to him. ‘Ah, it must be that sibling of my dear Anika’s.’   “Long day?” I questioned as I let out a puff of smoke.  “Longer than I would have liked it.” He sighed in defeat, “It was entirely my fault.” He looked away as if he were only speaking to himself.  “It couldn’t have been all that bad, care to share your tale?” I took a longer puff and let it out.  “It’s my ex-girlfriend, I broke up with her today. I cheated on her simply because I wanted s*x. Anika is just…” He paused and raised his hands in frustration, “She’s just too perfect, I said I would wait for her when we started dating.” This intrigued me more.  “Wait for her how?” I needed to know if my dear was pure.  “She’s 18 and still has not had the enjoyment of s*x. It’s been a year to the day, and I needed relief.” He looked back at me and had a quizzical look, “I don’t even know why I am telling a complete stranger of my s*x life.”   I sported a smirk on my face, “It’s easier to talk about your frustrations with others than it is with family. I completely understand.” I pushed down the tobacco remains.   He straightened himself and held out his hand, “I need to get going. Thanks for listening, uh…?” Raising an eyebrow.  “Pardon my rudeness, I am Matthew Hastings.” I shook his hand.  “Peter Holmes.” Peter was a despicable human being, but I could use him.  “Say, Peter, care for a drink? It might take your attention off her for a little while.” I offered with a sincere smile. I saw him shrug his shoulders and agree.      ~Peter’s P.O. V~      Matthew was a taller man with pitch-black hair, dark blue eyes, and a 5 o’clock shadow on his face. His chiseled jaw and skin as white as snow as if the man had not seen the sun in months made him an attractive man. I was glad Anika was not here with me drinking with this guy, he would have stolen her away with one good glace of her. I downed my 6th shot of bourbon and slammed the glass on the counter with a heavy sigh. I was getting drunk and I did not give a damn, I was heartbroken that I had to break up with her, it was the last honorable thing I could do.  “You k-know? She works…” I give a slight burp, “Works as an event planner?” My head was swimming.  “Is that so? Have you seen her work?” He took his 9th shot of whiskey. How was this man still standing?  “Yes, and she’s perfect at it.” I downed my 7th drink. “Perfect, perfect, perfect. And I!” I belched, “Threw her away! And for what?! s*x? Pfft” I was laughing uncontrollably, “How pathetic is that, eh, Matty?”  “Matthew, please?” He calmly said, “And if she was so perfect to you, why did you do it?”  “Because I wanted to have s*x with her.” I looked at my drink, “Another round!”  “I see. Come, Peter. There is something I must show you.” He took me away from the bar and into one of the alleyways. Closing the door behind us, I wobbly stood then fell onto a dumpster lid and began laughing uncontrollably again. The next thing I knew, I was pulled off my feet and pinned against the wall.  “W-What are you doing?” Panic set in my voice.  “Peter, I have been patient with you this evening, but I need more details.” His accent changed from no accent at all to an English accent. “I am sorry I have to do this, but I do promise that you will wake up tomorrow with no memory of me.” Before I could protest, I felt a sharp pain in my neck as I cried out. Before I lost consciousness, I saw his eyes as they flashed red and he spoke one last word, “Sleep.”      ~Anika’s P.O. V~      The sun's rays woke me up, I looked around my office not realizing that I had spent the night here. I stretched and looked at the papers that had laid before me, all of them tear and drool stained. I wiggled my mouse to open my screen back up from sleep mode, I was deleting every memory of Peter I had. We had been everywhere together, from the tip of Mount Fuji in Japan to the great lakes of Canada. I was almost done clearing the files on my computer, only 100 left and that would be the end of our relationship. I rubbed my eyes to keep the tears from coming back, double-clicking on the folder of Vancouver, Canada, I went to the bottom and said to select all before permanently deleting Peter f*****g Holmes from my life. The computer asked for the last time if I was sure I wanted to delete them, and I said yes, completing the process of wiping out that jerk from existence. Once that was finished, I looked at my phone to see what time it was. Almost 10 am, that is late for me. A knock on my door snapped me out of it.  “Hey, Ana. Can I come in?” It was Quinn and he had food in his hands.  “Yeah, I guess.” I dried the rest of my tears.  “How are you holding up, sis?” He sat down and placed the food on the corner of my desk.  “Not well. He broke my heart, Quinn. Just ripped it from my chest and squeezed.” I broke down in front of my brother. I covered my face with my hands, I heard him come over, he wrapped his arms around me.  “Shush. It will be okay, sis. I promise.” He rubbed my shoulders, “Why don’t you come hang out with me and the guys tonight? There is a Ducks vs Huskies game. It could get your mind off that jerk face.” As much as I fight with my big brother, he did have a caring side.  I sniffled and wiped my tears away once again. “Sure. It sounds like fun.” I managed a smile.  “Cool. Oh, I should mention, I have a new friend coming too. His name is Adam, I don’t know, but maybe you’ll hit it off with him.” I chuckled a little.  “I just got out of a relationship not 24 hours ago and you are already wanting me to date again?! Are you serious?!” I was hurting and now I am mad.  “Did I say date? Or did I say, ‘Hit it off'? You do not need to go on a date with him, I thought you might be a good friend for him. Look, Adam is just a friend of mine, it is standard bro code. ‘Don’t date the sister of a guy’s friend.’ Just see what happens.” He kissed my head and left. I rolled my eyes and put my chin on my desk. I suppose it would not be the worst thing, I decided to go to my brother’s tonight.                                                                                 ~That Night~      I arrived at my brothers with a simple white lace dress that was short and at the knees, with simple white flats for shoes. My hair was down with a small portion pinned to the side above my ear, I was nervous about meeting this Adam and seeing Brent, another one of my brother’s old friends who used to try to ask me out when we were still in high school. Clearing my throat and summoning all my courage I knocked on his door. It too was white and made of metal in place of a wood door.  “Hold on!” I heard Quinn shout. I waited for the door to open when it did Quinn embraced me in one of his loving hugs. “Hey, I’m happy that you made it, sis. Come on, meet my team of misfits.” He led me to his living room, which was wood-floored, a green leather couch was pushed to the furthest wall, a large flat screen T.V on the other side, and 2 side tables made of glass and wood. His friends were playing a racing game and sitting on the floor.  “Oh, come on!” I recognized a man named Cameron and from the look of his small section on the screen, he was losing.  “Hehe! Get good, scrub.” Brent was in the 3rd place marker.  “Both of you! Shut it! And… VICTORY! HA! In all of yo faces!” Another that annoyed me when we were children, Felix Rivera, the loudmouth of this group. None of them noticed me yet as they went for another round.  “Hey! Are the four of you going to ignore me and my sister?” Their heads turned, the one that has yet to say anything was a man with deep brown hair, brown eyes, a square jaw, and he looked to be 6-foot 5 inches. I felt tiny compared to him. His muscles were huge, I could not help but stare at them.   “Hey, Anika. Wow…” Felix and Cameron haven’t seen me since high school. “You... Um...” Cameron cleared his throat, “Grew.”  “Grew? Quinn, your sister is drop-dead gorgeous now.” I rolled my eyes at Felix.  “Really, Felix? Still the same child I knew. Did Georgette ever get over you?” I asked.  “Ohhh.” The others hissed as if I burned him.   “Anyway, Adam, this is her. My twin sister born after me.” Quinn shoved me a little.   “Hi, I'm Adam.” Oh, my god, his voice was so perfect.   “Anika. It's nice to meet you.” We shake hands.  “Quinn, I apologize, but I have some family obligations to take care of. Anika, it was a pleasure, and I am sorry I have to go so soon.” Adam picks up his stuff and leaves. How f*****g rude, I cross my arms and give Quinn a disgusted look.  “Bro… He never leaves like that.” Brent came over. Frustrated, I go to his fridge and pull put anything that is sweet. He has a cheesecake with chocolate swirls mixed in. I grab a slice and I start eating.