Cultivated box set, p.1
Cultivated Box Set, page 1
part #1 of Cultivated Series
This box-set includes
Books in this series
PLEASE NOTE
CHARLIE BOOK #1
DEDICATION
Prologue
Coffee Confusion
CHAPTER 1
Mr. Robertson
CHAPTER 2
Ireland
CHAPTER 3
Trinity College
CHAPTER 4
Late Night Texts
CHAPTER 5
Bus Trip
CHAPTER 6
French Pastry
CHAPTER 7
Kilmacduagh Abbey
CHAPTER 8
Worth It?
CHAPTER 9
Movie Night
CHAPTER 10
Snoring
CHAPTER 11
The Mastermind Group
CHAPTER 12
Sunday Dinner
CHAPTER 13
Status Report
CHAPTER 14
Reconciliation
CHAPTER 15
Moving In
CHAPTER 16
Questions
CHAPTER 17
Stirring the Pot
CHAPTER 18
Brainwashing
CHAPTER 19
The Body
CHAPTER 20
A Cry for Attention
CHAPTER 21
When Adults Lie
CHAPTER 22
Deal Breaker
CHAPTER 23
Unhinged
CHAPTER 24
Heat
CHAPTER 25
The Next Level
CHAPTER 26
Flying Bullets
CHAPTER 27
Goodbye
EPILOGUE
Pool Party
ATLAS BOOK #2
CHAPTER 1
Red Manor House
CHAPTER 2
Job Interview
CHAPTER 3
Balance
CHAPTER 4
Agenda
CHAPTER 5
The Sins of Our Father
CHAPTER 6
Digging
CHAPTER 7
Super Bowl
CHAPTER 8
After-Party
CHAPTER 9
Warning
CHAPTER 10
Friend or Foe
CHAPTER 11
Attack
CHAPTER 12
Concussion
CHAPTER 13
Business Class
CHAPTER 14
Dublin
CHAPTER 15
Jealousy
CHAPTER 16
Celebration
CHAPTER 17
Night Out
CHAPTER 18
Picking Up Pieces
CHAPTER 19
Chasing After
CHAPTER 20
Interviewing Lumi
CHAPTER 21
First Time
CHAPTER 22
The Report
CHAPTER 23
Domination
CHAPTER 24
The Trouble with Trauma
CHAPTER 25
No Answer
CHAPTER 26
Soft Place to Fall
EPILOGUE
Cooking
LUMI BOOK #3
DEDICATION
PROLOGUE
Damian O’Rourke
CHAPTER 1
In the Name of Science
CHAPTER 2
Day One
CHAPTER 3
Babysitting
CHAPTER 4
Cross-Fit
CHAPTER 5
Virginity
CHAPTER 6
Logan O’Neil
CHAPTER 7
Never Happened
CHAPTER 8
The Best Part
CHAPTER 9
Fun at the Pool
CHAPTER 10
Self-Protection
CHAPTER 11
Pathetic
CHAPTER 12
Wild Hunger
CHAPTER 13
Darkness
CHAPTER 14
Rejection
CHAPTER 15
Body Language
CHAPTER 16
Friend Zone
CHAPTER 17
Private Hygiene
CHAPTER 18
Closeness
CHAPTER 19
The One Who Got Away
CHAPTER 20
Almost There
CHAPTER 21
Freedom
CHAPTER 22
Closest to the Door
CHAPTER 23
Birthday Party
CHAPTER 24
Apart
BONUS
PROLOGUE
The Snake
BOOKS IN THIS SERIES
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Books Included in this box-set
#1 Charlie
#2 Atlas
#3 Lumi
Books in this series
For the best reading experience and to avoid spoilers I recommend reading the Cultivated series in this order.
#1 Charlie
#2 Atlas
#3 Lumi
#4 Nathan
#5 River
#6 Maximum
For a full overview of my books and to be alerted for new book releases, discounts, and give-aways, please sign up to my list at
www.elinpeer.com
PLEASE NOTE
This books in this box-set are intended for mature readers only, as it contains a few graphic scenes and some inappropriate language. It deals with the subject of suicide so if you know that’s a trigger, this book is not for you.
All characters are fictional and any likeness to a living person or organization is coincidental.
CHARLIE BOOK #1
Copyright © 2019
By Elin Peer
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the author, excepting brief quotations embodied in articles and reviews.
ASIN: B07TVL5774
Charlie – Cultivated #1
First Edition
The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons or organizations is coincidental and not intended by the author. Recommended for mature readers due to adult content.
Cover Art by Kellie Dennis: bookcoverbydesign.co.uk
Editing: www.martinohearn.com
DEDICATION
To my good friend Bolette
Thank you for flying to Ireland and helping me with my research.
Seeing Dublin, Trinity College, Howth, the cliffs of Moher, and the medieval city of Galway was amazing, and so was staying in an old Irish castle for a few days.
Not least because of your amazing company.
Elin
Prologue
Coffee Confusion
Charles
The comforting aroma of coffee hit me as soon as I opened the door and stepped into one of the coffee shops on campus. For a Wednesday morning the line wasn’t too long, but most of the tables were taken by study groups who preferred the informal setting over the study hall at the library.
Without making eye contact with the guy behind the register, I gave my order. “I’ll just have a large Americano.”
“Any snacks or pastry with that today?”
“No thanks.”
“All right. What’s the name for the order?”
“Charlie.”
“Okay, we’ll have your coffee coming right up.”
Moving over to let other customers give their orders, I scanned the room but saw no one that I knew. It wasn’t surprising, since I was no social butterfly and the people that I considered friends were few. With thousands of students on campus it was rare that I ran into anyone I knew by chance.
The loud sound of a chair scraping over the floor drew my attention when a young woman got up from her group and walked to the counter to study the coffee shop’s display of cakes and sandwiches.
The knitted sweater she had on was dark blue and looked worn, which made me think this was one of her favorites. It fell over her left shoulder revealing her smooth skin and a thin white lace bra-strap that made it impossible for me not to envision what the rest of that bra looked like on her. She wasn’t wearing any make-up and her long curly brown hair was damp as if she’d showered and hurried out the door, but with her feminine curves and symmetrical features, she stood out to me as an example of natural beauty.
“Can I have one of your cinnamon rolls and a hot chocolate?” The natural beauty pushed her right hand into her back pocket to fish out some crumpled-up dollars. It was impossible not to notice how round and perfect her behind was. Calculating the amount of sugar that she would be indulging in, I wondered how she managed to look like she lived off broccoli and seaweed.
She talked with the barista as if they were old friends and they laughed about his claim that he could eat a whole cinnamon bun in one bite. He was flirting with her and I watched in fascination how easy he made it seem.
I would’ve shaved off a whole grade point from my last exam to act that natural and relaxed around women. For me it was the opposite as beautiful women like her made me nervous, which was stupid since they never even looked in my direction.
A female barista interrupted them when she addressed the guy at the register, “You need to take your break now before the lunch rush comes in. I’ll handle the store.”
“Yes, boss.” He gave another smile to his cut e customer and handed a cup to his colleague. “She wants a hot chocolate.”
“Okay, I’ll take care of it.”
He nodded like it was no big deal, while I sighed because I hated waiting on my coffee and now there would be one less employee working.
The young man left and the noisy coffee machine drowned out conversations around the café. When Miss Natural Beauty looked over at me, flames shot up my neck and my tics kicked in so I turned my attention upon a community board, focusing on reading notes about tutoring, cooking classes, roommate opportunities, and sales of school books.
“Hey.”
Turning my head, I saw that she had moved over to stand next to me.
“Hey.” I avoided eye contact and pretended to be very interested in the information on the board.
“Are you looking at that support group? My friend Brian is involved in it. Have you been?”
My heart was pumping and I felt my shyness pull up the protective shield of indifference that I’d perfected in my twenty-four years of living.
“Been where?”
She nodded to the note that she must have thought I was studying.
Break your porn addiction!
Join our support group
Mondays and Wednesdays from 8 to 9 p.m.
Everyone is welcome.
“No, I… ehh…” I frowned and crossed my arms. “I don’t have a problem with porn.”
With a playful smile, she tilted her head. “As in you don’t watch it or you don’t think there’s anything wrong with watching it?”
Jeez! My heart was beating fast. I’d never discussed my view on porn with anyone.
When I didn’t answer or smile back, she withdrew a little. “I’m sorry. I was just trying to be funny. My friends say I lack a filter and I guess I just proved them right.”
“Charlie.” The barista placed my order on the counter in front of us, but before I could react, Miss No Filter reached for my warm drink, gave the barista a “thanks,” and lifted my cup of coffee to her lips.
My brow rose in surprise at the same time her face scrunched up.
“Excuse me but I asked for hot chocolate, this is coffee.”
The barista looked over. “I’m sorry, did I get it wrong?”
“No, it’s my order.”
She turned to me. “Yours? No, it’s mine – see, it says Charlie on the side.”
“I’m Charlie.”
Her eyes widened and then she burst out, “Shut up. You’re called Charlie? Me too. It’s short for Charlotte but I never liked that name. My friends call me either Charlie, Liv, and sometimes Chris.”
“That’s a lot of names for one person.”
“I know, right.” She smiled. “Liv is my middle name and Chris is short for Christensen which is my last name. What about you? I bet you’re a Charles. You look like a Charles, being so stoic and serious.”
My arms, which had been folded, dropped to my sides and I shifted my balance. I only appeared stoic and serious to people I didn’t know, and the bubbly personality of this woman was like a feather tickling and teasing me to let out my humor. If only she didn’t make me so nervous.
“Yeah, I’m Charles. Charles McCann.” So much for coming up with a funny or clever response; and to make it worse, my tics kicked in again. Come on, say something clever and interesting. Ask her a question.
There were a few seconds of silence and then she played with her hair. “I’m a freshman. An old freshman, but that’s because I took a few years after high school to work and travel. You?”
“Not a freshman.” My tics were driving me insane. Just look normal for once.
I looked to the door, mentally marking my escape route from this fail of an encounter with a woman who was everything I dreamed of when I was alone.
“I bet you’re a numbers guy or a law student.”
Nodding my head, I confirmed it. “International law. Finished my undergrad last year.”
“Oh, so you already did the first four years. Then you only have what… three years left?”
“Something like that.” I looked down at my cup of coffee that she was still holding. It made her jolt.
“Shit, I’m so sorry. Here. I don’t know what’s wrong with me today.” A faint redness spread in her cheeks, just as the barista announced:
“Here’s your hot chocolate with whipped cream.”
“Thank you, ehm, I also paid for a cinnamon roll.” Charlie took the cup and brought it to her nose, sniffing in the scent. “Yup, this is much better than coffee.” Her smile revealed that her teeth were white, straight, and as perfect as the rest of her.
“Did you have braces?” I could have face-palmed myself, but Charlie didn’t seem to mind my random question.
“I did.” She flashed another big smile that unleashed another annoying round of tics for me.
“Did you just wink at me?” She was still smiling, but the way she tilted her head so as to figure me out made me so bloody nervous that my tics went crazy. My right shoulder lifted, my nose wrinkled up, and my eyes winked again. All in quick succession and with me leaving her hanging and saying nothing.
“Here’s your cinnamon roll,” the barista told her.
Charlie reached for the plate and was just about to walk off when she stopped and looked down at the cup in my hands. “Are you okay drinking that? I don’t have any diseases or anything, but I can buy you another cup if you want me to.”
I should have been charming and flirtatious and told her that putting my lips where hers had just been would be a pleasure, but I’d never been a smooth talker, so I just shook my head.
“So, we’re fine then?”
“Yeah, we’re fine. I can just take off the top.”
There was a micro expression of embarrassment on her face. “Right.”
I had my coffee and should get out of here, but as if Charlie were the sun of this campus, I was pulled in by her strong gravity, eager to stay in orbit a bit longer, just so I could feel her warmth.
Tell her it came out wrong and that any man would be honored to share a cup with her.
“Okay then. It was nice meeting you, Charles. I’m going to go back to my studies so I can one day become an influential anthropologist.”
“Yes, very nice meeting you too, Charlie.”
Come on. Ask for her phone number. Say something.
This woman was stunning and charming and my instincts told me that I’d regret it if I left without a way to get ahold of her.
With the same scraping of the floor as before, she pulled out her chair and joined her group again.
Come on, just man up, and ask her out. I closed my eyes, regretting that I hadn’t done it earlier. Now she was surrounded by people and walking over there would be ten times more challenging for me.
Stretching and fisting my hands, I pumped myself up, but just as I took my second step in her direction, the guy next to her pulled her in.
“Babe, come on, give me some of your delicious bun. I know you want to.”
She laughed and tried to protect her pastry, but he opened his mouth trying to take a bite. The playful energy between them made it clear to me that they were intimate.
Of course she’s not single. That would have been a fucking miracle.
I abandoned my mission of asking her out and headed to the exit.
CHAPTER 1
Mr. Robertson
Liv
5 Years Later
The black interior of the limousine with the wet bar, the large sunroof, and the partition glass was all luxurious and a far cry from my own small Volkswagen beetle.
It had been almost forty-five minutes since the driver had picked me up at my building in the center of Chicago. We were now in the suburb of Winnetka.
With a major in anthropology, I was fascinated with the different demographics in neighborhoods. Winnetka shouted money: the beautiful view of Lake Michigan, the stately houses, and the lush golf course where well-dressed players drove golf carts and enjoyed time with their friends.
The glass partition lowered between the driver and me. “We’re almost there, Miss Christensen.”
“Thank you.”
Opening my bag, I pulled out my phone and looked at the mysterious email I’d received three days ago.
Dear Ms. Christensen,
We trust you are well.
Mr. Robertson, chairman of Solver Industries, would like to meet and discuss a private matter with you this Thursday, October 22nd, at 5 p.m.
Are you available?
