Jaycent clears his throat, and we both look down at him sitting on the floor. He smiles at me. “I just wanna be the first to tell you that you hitting Vicki was awesome,” he says, and we all laugh.
I tried so hard not to be that woman. The one who looks jealous or causes a scene. I couldn’t care less what she said or does to me. She’s just jealous that I got the guy. But she crossed the line when she threw Jaycent under the bus and hurt Becca. I will always take up for my friends. No matter what.
“It’s late, and I’m tired,” I say, looking outside the big floor-to-ceiling windows and see nothing but blackness. The fireworks stopped long ago.
We say our good nights, and I show them to a bedroom. As I walk back through the living room to the other side of the house where our bedroom is, I stop and walk outside. I overlook the back porch and swimming pool. I can’t see the ocean, but I can hear it. I think about what Vicki said.
I hold my cell in my hand and pull up Bradley’s number. He still randomly calls and texts me, but I quit responding a long time ago.
I decide to dial it, and after the second ring, it goes to voicemail. I smile, good for him for moving on. He deserves someone who loves him.
I walk into the bedroom and find Ryder in the same place that I put him. His mouth is open, and he snores. I get out of my dress and crawl into the king-size bed and turn my back to him, close my eyes, and let out a long sigh. Maybe tomorrow will be better.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
RYDER
I wake with a pounding headache and find myself alone in the king-size bed.
I sit up and rub my temples. It’s daylight, and I have to blink a few times to adjust my eyes.
I shove off the covers and swing my legs to the side of the bed. I wait a few seconds as I try to get my vision to stop spinning. Fuck, I drank too much last night.
I’m naked, so I dig through my bag to find a pair of boxers and sweatpants. I open the bedroom door and make my way through the house. I hear Ashlyn’s voice before I see her coming from the kitchen.
I walk in, and she stops as she sees me. To my surprise, I see Jaycent and Becca also present. “Morning,” I say but no one returns it.
Becca’s eyes are red, and Jaycent’s lips are thin. “Can you give us a moment?” Ashlyn asks.
They both nod and silently make their way out of the kitchen, and I turn to face her. She’s looking at me like I did something wrong. Her eyes are narrowed, and her lips are thinned too.
“What’s wrong?” I ask, walking around the bar.
She takes a step back shaking her head. “Ashlyn?”
“I have nothing to say to you,” she finally says.
“What?” I ask. “You just told them to give us a second. So you had planned on saying something,” I say.
“Well, I changed my mind,” she snaps.
She walks past me, and I grab her upper arm, bringing her to a stop. She spins around, fisting her hands down by her side. “What’s wrong?”
“You are what’s wrong!”
“What did I do?” I ask, flinching from her tone. My head hurts so badly.
She yanks her arm free of my hold. “Do you even remember last night?”
“I had a lot to drink …” I trail off, running my hand through my hair.
“I’d say. You could barely stand,” she snaps.
“I pissed you off,” I say, nodding my head.
“Is it that obvious?” she demands.
I hang my head. Fuck, I need some Advil. “What do you want me to do?”
She shakes her head. “Unbelievable.”
“Ashlyn, wait,” I call out as she walks away.
“You know, I’m trying, Ryder. I’m trying to understand why you’re being a prick to everyone. I get that you’re busy with work and you have a lot going on, but what I can’t understand is why you had to get so fucking hammered at your cousin’s wedding that you don’t remember me punching Vicki in the face after she admitted to sleeping with Jaycent in front of your sister,” she snaps, pointing a finger at me. “You were too busy having to concentrate on standing rather than helping me out.”
My eyes widen. “You punched Vicki?”
She lets out a growl and storms off.
ASHLYN
I ended up riding back with Jaycent and Becca. I was so pissed that I didn’t want to be around Ryder. And to be honest, I was more pissed at myself than I was at him. It wasn’t his fault that I got out of hand. And it wasn’t his fault that Vicki had opened her mouth. I was just so pissed and wanted to stick up for Becca. We all knew she wouldn’t do it, so I ended up making an ass of myself.
I stand in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows with my head against the cool window. It’s late, and Ryder still hasn’t arrived home. I’m not sure when he will. I haven’t spoken to him. We both needed to cool down.
My phone rings, and I pick it up off the coffee table and turn back to face the windows, looking over Manhattan.
It’s a number not saved in my phone, and I frown. It’s half past ten here on a Saturday night. “Hello?” I ask.
“Hey,” comes the soft male voice, and I close my eyes as I feel my chest tighten.
“Bradley,” I whisper his name.
“I won’t keep you,” he says in a rush. “I just … I just wanted to apologize. For everything.” He pauses.
I sigh heavily. “You don’t have to …”
“No, I do. I knew you didn’t love me like I did you.”
“Why do you have to say that?” I ask.
“Because I hid my feelings from you for so long that I don’t know how to anymore,” he says honestly.
“I’m with Ryder, Bradley,” I admit.
After a few seconds of uncomfortable silence, he finally says, “I know. I heard you two moved in together. And I’m happy for you.” His voice is rough, and he clears his throat. “I truly am. I hope he’s everything that you deserve, princess.”
“Bradley …” I pause, not really knowing what to say. I look over Manhattan and the lights that make the city glow and let out a sigh. “I miss you,” I say honestly.
“I know,” he says softly. “I miss you too. Take care, princess.” Then he hangs up.
I remove my phone from my ear and turn around to place it back on the coffee table but come to a stop when I see Ryder standing in the living room staring at me with an unreadable look on his face.
I swallow nervously and feel like I’ve once again been caught doing something I wasn’t supposed to. “That was—”
“Bradley,” he interrupts me. “I heard.”
I nod and brace myself for a fight when he sighs heavily. “I don’t want to fight with you.”
“I’m not trying to start one,” I say honestly.
He runs a hand through his hair. “What am I supposed to do?” he asks. “Tell me what you want me to do, and I’ll do it.” He gestures to our apartment and then his hands fall to his sides. “You want me to admit that I’m in way over my head? Yes, I have come to terms that that is the case.”
“No!” I say, shaking my head. “I want you to forgive your dad for something that is out of his control,” I say truthfully. Not caring that he didn’t help me with Vicki last night. She’s the least of our problems.
“See, that is where we disagree. He has every opportunity to fix that. He chooses not to.”
“Did you know that Rosie has left town?” I ask.
He frowns. “Left town? Like she went on a vacation?”
“No. This morning before you woke up, Becca told me that she spoke to her yesterday, and she, Maggie, and Ronald went out of town to hide from your mother. She’s been calling her and threatening her to take Maggie back.”
He drops his head. “No one told me.”
“Did you really need to know that in order to know what your dad is doing, is right?” I ask. “You think everything is black and white, and that’s not the case here.”
“I don’t know what to think anymore,” he ad
mits.
I take a step toward him. “I think you’re mad, and that’s okay, but you have to be mad at the right person.”
He reaches out and touches my cheek with the back of his hand. “Are you still mad at me?”
“I can’t stay angry with you. We both know that,” I say softly.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
RYDER
Monday morning, I find myself sitting in the conference room with my father drinking a strong cup of coffee to try to wake myself up when the door opens and my sister walks in.
“What are you doing here?” I ask in surprise.
“I called her in,” my father says in answer to my question.
She sits down next to me and looks over at him. “Is this a family meeting?” I ask. After what happened at the wedding, I wouldn’t be surprised if he chewed our asses out. It came back to me last night, and I wished it hadn’t. Not knowing what had happened was much better than remembering it.
“No, this is a business meeting.”
Just as he says that, the door opens again, and Jaycent walks in. “I don’t have a lot of time, so I’m gonna make this quick,” my father says, getting to the point.
“Jaycent, do you have what I asked for?”
“Yes, sir,” he tells him, pulling a USB drive out of his pocket. He hands it to my father who places it in the computer that sits in front of him. Then he spins it around to face all three of us.
“What is this?” I ask as a set of blue prints pop up.
“This is what I’m going to put in place of Hahn’s restaurant.”
“A clothing store?” I ask. I’ve seen enough blueprints to know what certain stores look like.
My father nods. “Becca’s clothing store.”
“What?” I ask, looking at her.
Her eyes are wide as she looks between Jaycent and our father. “What?” she repeats my question breathlessly.
My father speaks. “Jaycent and I have been working together on getting this done for you, Becca. It’s a rough draft, and if you want to change anything, just let us know, and we can make it happen.”
I lift my hand. “You’re opening a clothing store?” I feel stupid for asking, but I don’t like feeling lost.
“Yes,” she says excitedly, nodding her head. “I want to open a clothing store. And for every article sold, we donate to a homeless shelter,” she informs me as tears come to her eyes. “I can’t believe you guys have been working on this.”
I smile as Jaycent leans over and hugs her. I have never been prouder of my sister.
We finish up our meeting, and as I go to walk out, my father stops me. “Ryder?”
“I’ll see you guys later,” I call out to Jaycent and Becca as they continue. I turn to face my father. “Yes, sir?”
“We need to talk.” He gestures to one of the empty seats at the conference table.
“So much for not having a family meeting,” I mumble, but I know he heard me.
“This is about business,” he says, clearing his throat.
Oh. “Carry on.”
“I did some research on the Anderson file and spoke to the company who bought it.”
“And?”
“They’re willing to sell for the right price.”
I smile, wanting that property, and say, “Give me their number.”
**
I walk into the apartment and place my briefcase on the kitchen counter, listening to the silence. It’s dark. I had to work late tonight, as usual, and I’m exhausted.
I remove my suit jacket and place it on the back of the chair at the dining table. I hear Harry meow as he comes down the hall.
I reach down and pick him up. He wears a shirt that says friendly pussy across his back, and I chuckle. The little rat is growing on me. Setting him down, I push the already cracked bedroom door open to find Ashlyn already asleep in bed. She’s naked, tangled in the sheets. Her back faces me with her laptop open. I walk over to the bed and pick it up, placing it on my lap.
She has employment for the Manhattan area pulled up. They vary from waitress to businesses needing a receptionist.
I look over at her when she stirs, but she stays facing away from me. I go to her browser history and see where Talia’s is selling all their current artwork due to closing. Running my hand through my hair, I sigh. Not sure what to do. I want her to do what she loves, but Ashlyn is also not the type of woman to sit around. She’ll take a job anywhere, and I hate that. I’ve come close to telling her several times not to worry, that she doesn’t even need a job, but she’s not like my mother. She doesn’t want to spend her days at the country club catching up on the latest gossip. She wants a job, a career. She wants to be independent. And although that won’t be the case as long as she’s with me, I can respect it.
I close the laptop and lie back, resting my head against the headboard. Closing my eyes, I run my hand down my face, letting out a frustrated sigh. My mother has literally pissed me off for the last time.
My eyes spring open when I feel a hand on my arm. Looking over, I see a set of very sleepy blue eyes staring up at me. “Hey,” I say softly.
She closes them and yawns. “What time is it?”
“Almost eleven,” I tell her.
She sighs heavily. I sit up and lean over, placing a soft kiss on her forehead. “Go back to sleep, baby.” She’s back to sleep before I even pull away.
The following morning, I was up and out of the apartment before Ashlyn was awake. I had an early meeting with Jaycent and a project manager on location. It ran an hour longer than it should have, and by the time I reached the office, I was in a pissed-off mood. My usual attitude lately. I should be getting used to it by now.
I sit in a board meeting, listening to these men discuss their golf game when my assistant comes barging through.
“Kelly?”
Her eyes are wide with fear. “Ashlyn has been in an accident …”
**
I rush into the hospital “Ryder?” I see my sister sitting in the waiting room.
“How is she?” I ask, my heart pounding when she stands, and I see tears in her eyes.
“They won’t tell me anything. I’m not family …”
I turn to the nurses’ station. “Ashlyn Whitaker?”
“Are you family?” she asks.
“Her husband,” I lie.
She looks down at her screen. “Room 138 …”
I take off in a mad dash down the hallway, looking for her. I almost pass it in my haste. I yank the curtain back and let out a sigh of relief when I see her sitting up with her legs hanging over the side of the bed. Two police officers stand on the other side of her.
“Ryder?” she asks wide-eyed. “What are you doing here?”
A nurse writes something down on her tablet. “Do you still feel nauseous?” she asks.
“No. I’m better.”
The nurse nods. “The Phenergan is working. I’ll be back to check on you in a few minutes.”
As she leaves, I make my way over to her. She looks up at me with her blue eyes, and I place my hands on her face. “Are you okay?”
“Yes. What are you doing here?” She licks her lips nervously.
“Why do you keep asking me that? Why wouldn’t I be here?”
“I called Becca,” she explains.
I frown. “Why didn’t you call me?”
She sighs. “You were busy at work. I didn’t wanna bother you.”
My jaw tightens at the thought of her thinking that calling me at work would be a bother. Instead of telling her that, I ask, “What happened?”
She sighs heavily. “I was on my way to meet her for lunch when my cab was rear ended … A woman hit us—”
“Why didn’t you call Milton to take you?” I interrupt her.
“Why would I call Milton?” she snaps then her face falls. “I’m sorry. It’s just been …”
“I know. No need to apologize.”
“Excuse me, miss, but we have everything t
hat we need,” the officer says, and she nods. “I have all your information and will contact you if I have any more questions.”
They exit her room, and not long after, the nurse returns with the doctor, and I watch her stiffen as if he was going to give us bad news. But he told her everything checked out, and that she would be discharged in the next hour. I made some phone calls to Kelly and told her I wasn’t going to be coming back in for the rest of the day and was taking the following day off as well. Even though he assured me she was fine, I still had a feeling she was hiding something. Either from me or the doctor, I didn’t know.
ASHLYN
I lie in bed wide-eyed, staring up at the ceiling. My heart racing and my mind wandering. Ryder breathes deeply beside me, his body turned away from me.
Unable to fall asleep, I listen to the sound of silence. The curtains are pulled shut, and it’s pitch black. My head is pounding, and I feel sick to my stomach. For more reasons than one.
I’m pregnant!
They told me today at the hospital when I arrived after the incident with the cab. They were taking me for X-rays and asked about the possibility of pregnancy. I started to say no when I realized I never had my period last month, and that wasn’t like me. My body is always like clockwork. They took my urine sample and sure enough.
I had just finished my ultrasound when Ryder walked in. I panicked. I didn’t know what to do or say. I prayed that the doctor didn’t congratulate me because, in all honesty, I didn’t know what to say to Ryder. How could I let this happen? We’ve had unprotected sex so many times. They said I was about eight weeks, yet I couldn’t bring myself to tell him.
I just couldn’t seem to put two and two together all day until I was in the back of the Escalade while Milton drove us home from the hospital, and Vicki popped in my mind. Suddenly, the words Vicki had said to me in the bathroom at the wedding started to make sense. Only they didn’t. She had mentioned Bradley’s name, not Ryder’s … And she kept mentioning me drinking and stared at my stomach. Did she know something?
There was only one way to find out, and I needed to know. Very slowly, I lean over Ryder, careful not to touch him, and grab his phone off the nightstand. I unplug his charger and the cord falls to the floor with a soft thud.
Selfless (Selfish Series Book 3) Page 21