by Lynn, Sandi
“It’s okay, Laurel. She has a point. I’m just not going to say it anymore.”
Chapter 35
Harper
It was six o’clock when I went down to the lobby and climbed into the back of the Escalade.
“How was your day, Harper?”
“It was good, Damon. I’m having a girl.” I smiled.
“That’s wonderful. Congratulations.”
“Thanks. I haven’t told Grayson yet, so act surprised.”
“I will.”
I hadn’t heard from Grayson all day which kind of pissed me off. I figured he’d at least call to see how it went. We pulled up to the building and Grayson slid in next to me and gave me a kiss.
“I thought I told you to call me today,” he said.
“Sorry. I was busy with Charlotte and Laurel. Plus I wanted to tell you in person.”
“Okay. So tell me how the ultrasound went.”
“It’s a girl.” I pulled the picture out and handed it to him.
“Wow. A girl.” He smiled. “That’s great, sweetheart.” He leaned over and kissed me.
Grayson
I swallowed hard as I stared at the picture of my baby. I suddenly became heated and I noticed Damon staring at me through the rearview mirror as we were stopped in traffic. I loosened my tie.
“Is the air on?” I asked him.
“Yes. It’s on.”
“Well, turn it up or something. It’s boiling in here.”
I handed the picture back to her and she told me to keep it. Was she testing me?
“I have three of them. So that one is yours.”
“Thanks,” I said as I folded it and put it in my coat pocket.
I didn’t know what else to say.
“Dr. Graham said the baby is growing well and right on point.”
“Good. Good to hear. So, the baby is healthy?”
“Yeah. She’s perfect.” She smiled.
After we ate and left the restaurant, we went back to the penthouse. I really just wanted to be alone tonight. But if I suggested it, I would piss Harper off, and I didn’t need to rock the boat any more than it was already rocking. As soon as she was asleep, I went downstairs, poured myself a drink and sat down at the piano, pushing one key at a time as I downed my bourbon.
The next morning, I got up before my alarm was set to go off and went for a run. I needed to clear my head. When I got back, Harper was already up and sitting at the island eating pancakes.
“I got the note you left. How was your run?” she asked.
“It was good.”
“Are you hungry? I can make you some pancakes?”
“No. I’m just going to get in the shower. We need to leave soon for the office.”
“Are you sure? The batter is already made?”
“I said I don’t want any goddamn pancakes!” I shouted at her. “I’m going to take a shower.” I walked away as I shook my head.
Harper
What the hell was that about? He’d never yelled at me like that before. I shook my head as I cleaned up the mess in the kitchen, slipped on my shoes, grabbed my purse and left his penthouse. As I was in the cab on my way to the office, a text message came through from him.
“Where the hell are you? I get out of the shower and you’re gone.”
“I have a lot of work to do so I left to get to the office early.”
“Whatever, Harper.”
Grayson
I threw my phone on the bed and changed into my suit. Maybe I shouldn’t have yelled at her like I did, but I was on edge right now and I just wanted to be left alone. I grabbed my briefcase and headed down to the lobby where Damon was waiting for me.
“Where’s Harper?” he asked.
“She went in early,” I spoke with an attitude.
“Did the two of you have a fight?”
“No. We didn’t have a fight. She’s just acting like a child.”
“Speaking of a child, I saw your reaction when you looked at that ultrasound picture. Are you having second thoughts about your plan?”
“No, I’m not, and I don’t want to talk about it.”
I walked into the building and took the elevator up to my office. It pissed me off that Harper left this morning, and I wasn’t about to go see her just yet. Just as I sat down behind my desk, my grandfather walked in.
“Good morning, Grayson.”
“Grandfather, good morning. You didn’t say anything about coming in today.”
“I have a meeting in an hour, and I need you to be there. I’ll be in conference room one.”
“Sure. What’s the meeting about?”
“You’ll find out in an hour.” He smiled as he walked out.
I felt restless so I walked over to Harper’s office to apologize.
“Hey.” I lightly tapped on the door jam.
“Hey,” she softly spoke.
I walked inside her office and shut the door.
“Listen, Harper. I’m sorry I yelled at you.”
“What was that all about, Grayson?” she asked as she got up from her chair and walked over to me. “Are you having second thoughts about us because of the baby?”
“No, sweetheart.” I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her into me. “Not at all. Things have just been crazy here at work and instead of talking to you about it, I just snapped. I’m sorry.”
“You know you can talk to me about anything, right?”
“I know, sweetheart, and I promise from now on I will.”
“Okay.” She smiled as she kissed my lips. “You are forgiven.”
“I need to get some work done. My grandfather called me into a meeting in about an hour.”
“What’s the meeting about?”
“I don’t know. He said I’ll find out when I get there.”
“Good luck.” She patted my chest.
I walked down to the conference room and when I opened the door and stepped inside, I saw my grandfather and our lawyer, Bill Steinman, sitting at the table.
“Bill.” I extended my hand. “What are you doing here? Don’t tell me we’re in some kind of legal trouble.”
“Sit down, Grayson,” my grandfather spoke. “There’s something I need to tell you.”
“What is it?” I asked with nervousness.
“Well, I decided to retire early and move to Florida. I’ve met a special woman down there and it’s where I need to be. And now that you have Harper, it’s time.”
“What?” I asked in shock.
“It’s going to take at least three months to get everything together for the transfer of ownership which Bill will be handling. In a matter of three months, the company will be yours, son. Of course I’ll still be on the board, but you will have full control.”
“Congratulations, Grayson,” Bill said.
“Grandfather, I can’t believe this.”
“Believe it because it’s happening. You’re the backbone of this company and I know you’re more than capable of running it yourself. You’ve proven yourself to me both personally and professionally. I’m proud of you.”
“Thank you. Wow. Who is this woman?” I smiled.
“She’s a special lady. You’ll meet her. Don’t worry.”
“Another thing. I’m selling the townhome and was hoping you could hire Celia as your housekeeper. I know Harper doesn’t live with you yet, but I’m sure it’s coming and with the baby, you two could use the help.”
“Yes. Of course.”
“Thank you, son.”
“Grayson, it was good to see you again,” Bill spoke as he extended his hand. “The next time we meet you’ll be signing the papers to your new company.”
“Thank you, Bill.”
Chapter 36
Grayson
I couldn’t believe this was happening already. I’d never been happier in my entire life and I couldn’t wait to tell Julius. Pulling out my phone, I dialed him.
“What’s up, bro?”
“I have big new
s. Can you meet for lunch?”
“Sure. Where do you want to meet?”
“How about Ocean Prime at noon?”
“Sounds good. I’ll see you then.”
When I walked back to my office, I told Christine to have Harper come down.
“How did your meeting go?” she asked as she walked in.
I walked over, shut the door and placed my hands on her hips.
“The meeting went great. My grandfather has decided he’s retiring early. Three months to be exact. Do you know what that means?”
“You’re getting the company in three months?”
“YES!” I grinned as I picked her up, swung her around and kissed her lips.
“Congratulations. That’s wonderful news! I’m so happy for you. We need to celebrate.”
“Yes. We will definitely be celebrating tonight. I couldn’t wait to tell you.” I kissed her again.
I headed over to Ocean Prime and when I got there, Julius was already waiting for me.
“It’s about time you got here,” he said.
I glanced at my watch. “I’m five minutes late.”
“Exactly.”
I took off my suit coat and sat down across from.
“Thanks for already ordering my drink.”
“You’re welcome. You said you had exciting news. Spit it out. What’s going on?”
“My grandfather has decided to retire in three months.”
“What? Are you serious?”
“As serious as I’ve ever been.”
“And?”
“He’s transferring the company to me.”
“YES!” he held up his hand for a high five. “Congrats, bro. That’s excellent news. Look at that, in three months you can get rid of Harper.”
I looked away as I picked up my glass.
“She’s having a girl.”
“Nice. You know what they say about daddy’s little girls.”
I threw the liquid down the back of my throat.
“You’re off the hook in three months. You have to be happy about that, bro.”
“Yeah. I am.” I signaled the waiter for another drink.
Harper and I celebrated my big news by having dinner at Per Se and then going back to my penthouse and making love. She snuggled against me as my arm held her tight.
“I can’t believe my grandfather is retiring so soon.”
“He found true love again. He wants to spend all his time with her. They aren’t getting any younger.”
“I guess. It’ll be weird not going to his home anymore. I know he travels a lot, but he always comes back.”
“Oh my God, Grayson!” Harper exclaimed as she placed her hand on her belly.
“What?”
“I think I just felt the baby kick.” She quickly sat up.
“Are you sure?”
“She just did it again.” She smiled as she grabbed my hand and placed it on the side of her belly.
Suddenly, I felt a little flutter against my hand.
“Did you feel that?”
“Yes. I felt it!” I smiled. “Let’s see if she’ll do it again.”
I watched her as she slept in my arms. She looked so peaceful, and I enjoyed having her in my bed. Quietly getting up, I reached in the pocket of my suit coat I wore yesterday and pulled out the ultrasound picture. I took it downstairs with me while I poured myself a drink. Taking a seat on the couch, I sat there and stared at it.
Chapter 37
One Month Later
Grayson
I began to question everything I’d done. I was in love with her and I always knew it but couldn’t admit it. I couldn’t sleep. I was restless, and she knew something was wrong. I blamed work, but the truth was I needed to come clean about everything and tell her that the baby she was carrying was mine.
I leaned against the doorway of the bathroom and stared at her as she was in the bathtub. Her hair was twisted up and her belly stuck out above the water. She looked so damn beautiful especially when she looked at me with her baby blue eyes.
“Hey you.” She smiled. “What are you doing?”
“Just admiring how beautiful you are.” I smiled.
“Can you admire me while you soap up my back?” a grin crossed her lips.
I rolled up my sleeves and knelt down next to the tub. She handed me the loofah, and I poured some body wash on it and began slowly washing her back.
“Thank you.” She smiled with a slight turn of her head.
“You’re welcome.”
“Can you help me out? If I stay in here any longer, I’ll turn into a prune.”
I took hold of her hand and helped her out. Grabbing a towel, I wrapped it around her and pulled her into an embrace.
“I love you, Harper,” I whispered in her ear for the first time.
She broke our embrace and stared at me. I think she was in shock.
“I love you too, Grayson,” she said as she placed her hand on my cheek.
I called Julius and asked him to come over for a guy’s night since Harper was out with her friends. I needed to talk to him about my plan.
“No Harper tonight?” he asked as I took the burgers off the grill.
“She’s out with her girlfriends.”
“Just think, in less than two months, I won’t be asking that anymore.”
“That’s what I want to talk to you about. I love her, Julius, and I can’t let her go.”
“What? Since when?”
“Since I first met her, I guess. I was trying to make myself believe that I wasn’t. These past few months with her have been the best months of my life. I told her the other night that I loved her.”
“Shit, Grayson. So now what? Are you going to tell her the truth?”
“I have to.”
“Fuck! You can’t. Do you know what she’ll do to you? Do you understand that you will lose her and your kid forever? Not to mention if my family found out, I could lose my job.”
“She’ll be pissed. I know. But she’ll appreciate my honesty. She knows I truly love her.”
“It doesn’t matter, bro. SHIT!” He paced around the room.
“We lied to her about my job. You don’t think she’ll retaliate by reporting me?”
“She won’t. I’ll tell her you wanted nothing to do with it and I made you. I need to be with her, Julius, and I want to raise our child together.”
He pointed his shaking finger at me. “Have you forgotten that you signed away your parental rights? So even if she sues us both, you’ll lose! Goddamn it, Grayson. I knew I never should have gone along with this.”
“You did, and it’s too late. I just need to work up the courage to tell her.”
“Listen to me.” He grasped my shoulders. “You don’t need to tell her anything. Just keep on living your life with her. You know it’s your kid. So tell her you want to adopt her and give her your name. She’ll never have to know.”
“And how are you going to explain your job? What about Yasmin? What if she tells her?”
“She won’t. I’ll make sure of that. Shit. We have to come up with something.”
“No more lies, Julius. I can’t do this anymore. I can’t live the rest of my life with this secret.”
“YES YOU CAN! You’re fucking Grayson Rhodes. Your whole life revolves around secrets. Trust me. If you tell her, that’ll be the end of your relationship FOREVER!”
Chapter 38
One Month Later
Grayson
I tried to tell Harper everything, but something always held me back. I’d start the conversation with “I need to talk to you about something.” And when she’d look at me with those beautiful eyes and a smile that was always on her face, I couldn’t. The last thing I wanted to do was hurt her and cause her unnecessary stress for her and the baby.
We had just finished making love, and she was lying on her back against me while my arm held her. I reached over and placed my hand on her naked belly and held it there. She was now twenty-f
our weeks pregnant and growing every day. This was my future. A future I never saw coming for someone like me. She changed me and my life. She taught me about love and how truly special loving someone was. She gave me a purpose, and she made me a better man. A man I never would have become if it wasn’t for her.
“I need to talk to you about something,” I spoke.
“Okay.” She smiled as she rolled on her side and looked at me.
I took in a deep breath.
“Are you alright?” she asked as she brought her hand up to my cheek.
I couldn’t do it.
“You know how much I love you, right?”
“Yes. I know.” A grin crossed her face.
“I would like you to move in here with me.”
“What? Are you sure?”
“Yes. We can choose one of the guest rooms for the nursery and we’ll decorate it that is fit for a princess.”
“Grayson, I can’t believe this. Yes. I’ll move in with you. What about the lease on my apartment?”
“It’s my building. I’ll tear it up.” I smirked.
She leaned in and brushed her lips against mine.
“I love you so much.”
“I love you too, sweetheart.”
Two Weeks Later
Harper
“I need to start packing soon,” I said.
“I’m surprised Grayson didn’t hire a service to do that for you.” Laurel smirked.
“Trust me. He suggested it but I told him no. I’m capable of packing my own things.”
“What are you going to do with your furniture?” Charlotte asked.
“Give it away to anyone who wants it.” I smiled.
“Yes! I want your dining set and your living room set.” Charlotte grinned.
“I wouldn’t mind your bedroom set,” Laurel spoke. “I could put it in the spare bedroom.”
“It’s yours.”
We were in the middle of eating lunch at a cute little diner that had just opened up across from the cryobank when I looked up and saw Julius walk in.