by Lynn, Sandi
“You don’t think I know that,” I spoke through gritted teeth as I grabbed his shirt.
“Don’t. Don’t you dare yell at me. You’re the one who wanted to get involved to make sure you got your company. I hope it was worth it. You destroyed that poor woman’s life; the mother of your child.”
“She told me she never wants my daughter to know what kind of man I really am.”
“I’m sorry, bro. I really am.”
“If you don’t mind, I want to be alone.”
“Sure.” He patted my shoulder. “Call me if you need anything.”
One Month Later
For the past month, I sent her a dozen roses every day with a card telling her how sorry I was and that I loved her. I tried to send her some text messages, but they wouldn’t go through. I was sure she blocked my number. I hadn’t been in the office much and did a lot of work from home. The past couple of weeks, I told Christine that I was sick with the flu. I couldn’t bear to leave the penthouse anymore. All I did was drink and sleep. I hated myself for what I’d done. I had never felt so low my entire life. I couldn’t do this anymore. The pain of being here in the city was killing me.
I had Damon drive me to my grandfather’s house because I needed to tell him. He had been in Florida and didn’t know what happened. He was going to be so pissed, but I didn’t care anymore.
“Grayson, you look like shit,” he said as he walked into the living room. “Are you still sick?”
“No. I need to talk to you.”
“Sit down. What is it?”
“I’ve done something really bad. Something I can’t take back.”
“What did you do?”
I closed my eyes and took in a deep breath.
“Me and Harper are no longer together. She left me because I lied to her.”
“Good God, Grayson. What did you lie about?”
“I made a bet with Julius a couple of years ago and I lost. Because I lost, I had to donate some of my sperm to the cryobank where Julius works. My profile was never to be found or seen, but somehow when he and Yasmin were on vacation, it did, and it was sent to Harper. She chose me and became pregnant.”
“What? Are you telling me that you’re the father of Harper’s baby after you sat here and told me you weren’t?”
“Yes. After you gave me that ultimatum, I found out who she was, and I pursued her. My plan was to make you believe that I loved her and when you signed over the company to me, I was going to break it off. But then I fell in love with her.” Tears started to stream down my face. “I wanted to tell her so many times what I’d done but I couldn’t. I couldn’t bear to hurt her. I loved her too much.” I cried. “She found out and now she’s gone. She told me she never wanted to see me again.”
My grandfather sat there and stared at me without saying a word. I was waiting for his wrath and I was prepared for it. Nothing more could bring me down any lower than I already was. I had totally hit rock bottom.
“What you did was wrong and now you’re receiving your punishment for it. I’m not going to say anything else to you because the pain and suffering of losing someone you love is bad enough. Especially when it was done out of betrayal. You reap what you sow, son. I’m very disappointed in you.”
“I know you are and I’m sorry. I swear to you that if I could take it all back, I would in a heartbeat. And this is why I need to do what I came here to do.”
“And what is that?”
“I quit. You can hand the company over to Alfie. I’m sure he’ll do a great job.”
“So you’re giving it all up?”
“I am. My greed and the need for power was what led all of this to happen. If I can’t have Harper and my daughter by my side while I’m running the company, then I don’t want it. I’m sorry, Grandfather. I’m truly sorry for everything I’ve done.”
I walked out and climbed into the back of the Escalade.
“What did he say?” Damon asked.
“Nothing. He barely said anything at all.”
Chapter 42
Harper
The past month had been the worst weeks of my life. I’d barely left the apartment and I did nothing but cry and sleep. I was sitting on the couch scrolling through my pictures when I came across the one of us at Belvedere’s Castle. Tears started to stream down my face once again.
There was a knock at the door and when I opened it, Sammy stood there holding another dozen red roses.
“Oh my God. This is ridiculous.”
“He’s trying to make you see how sorry he is.”
“I don’t care, Sammy. Take them. Give them to your wife and do me a favor, if any more come, don’t bring them up. I don’t want anything from that man. In fact, refuse the delivery.”
“If that’s what you want.”
“I do. It’s exactly what I want.”
I was almost thirty-three weeks pregnant and I had just started on the nursery. Laurel and Charlotte offered to help but I wanted to do it on my own. Being out of work for the past month had taken a toll on my savings account. I still had quite a bit of money saved, but the rent was almost due and there was a crib I desperately wanted that cost fifteen hundred dollars. I knew it was pricey, but I didn’t care. It was for my baby and she deserved nothing but the best. I sat down at the table and pulled up my bank account while I ate breakfast. My brows furrowed as I saw the balance in my account. What the hell? That isn’t right. The bank must have made an error and keyed in a wrong number when a deposit was made. I had to run out to the store, so I’d stop by the bank and make them aware of their error.
“May I help you?” A perky blonde behind the counter asked.
“There’s been an error in my bank account.”
“Okay. Can I see your I.D. please?”
I reached in my wallet, pulled out my I.D. and handed it to her. She fiercely started typing away on her keyboard.
“What error are you referring to?”
“Um. The five hundred-thousand-dollar deposit that was made. I didn’t make that deposit. I’m sure whoever entered it hit a wrong number. It needs to be straightened out ASAP so the person who it belongs to gets their money.”
“Hmm. Let me check. Nope. There is no error. That money was transferred into your account.”
“I’m sorry but you must be mistaken.”
“Honey, I’m looking at the deposit slip here. It has your account number on it.”
“Who deposited that money into my account? Wait. Never mind.” I shook my head. “I’m sorry to have wasted your time.”
“No problem. Can I offer you a piece of advice? Someone wanted you to have that money. Consider yourself lucky. I’d kill for someone to deposit that into my account.” She grinned.
I gave her a fake smile and walked out of the bank. I was fuming. How dare he. I wanted nothing from him. Especially his fucking money. I pulled out my phone and did a three-way call with Charlotte and Laurel.
“You are never going to believe this?”
“What happened?” They both asked at the same time.
“Grayson deposited five hundred thousand dollars into my bank account.”
“Good. What’s the problem?” Charlotte asked.
“I don’t want his money! I want nothing from him ever again.”
“Harper, he’s making sure you and the baby are financially okay. Take the damn money and forget where it came from. It’s the least he can do after what he did to you,” Laurel spoke.
“I can’t.”
“Yes, you can. You’re five hundred thousand dollars richer. Who the fuck cares where it came from? Treat yourself,” Charlotte said.
I sighed as I placed my phone back in my purse. Was this his attempt to try and make me forgive him? Because if it was, he failed.
Chapter 43
Harper
I was walking down Park Avenue and stopped in front of the high-rise that was being built. The one I designed. Staring at it, tears started to fill my eyes.
&nbs
p; “Can I help you, lady?” one of the workers asked.
“No. I’m just admiring the building.”
“Pretty cool, huh?”
“Yeah. Seeing it from the model to actually being almost built is kind of surreal.”
“Do you work for the company?”
“I did. I was the one who designed this building.”
“Wow. Really? Congratulations.”
“Thank you.” I gave him a small smile.
“I gotta get back to work. Have a nice day.”
“You too.”
I wiped the tear that fell down my cheek and headed home.
The nursery was complete. I’d painted the walls a light grey and bought all white furniture. The one piece I loved the most was the crib with tufted pink fabric on each end. It was elegant and made for a princess. Her name sat above it in big pink letters. I’d painted the ceiling a lighter shade of gray and added white fluffy clouds and stars painted white with a hint of light pink giving off a beautiful glow. As I stood back with my hand on my belly and admired it, a call came in from the lobby.
“Hello.”
“Harper, it’s Sammy. There’s a Mr. Rhodes Sr. here to see you.”
My belly started to twist in knots. Grayson’s grandfather? Why would he be here?
“Send him up. Thanks, Sammy.”
I walked over to the door and opened it just as he stepped off the elevator.
“Mr. Rhodes. What are you doing here?”
“Hello, Harper. May I come in?”
“Of course.”
“Thank you. My, look at you.” He smiled. “How much longer do you have?”
“Four weeks left.”
“You look as beautiful as ever.” He leaned in and kissed my cheek.
“Can I offer you some tea or coffee?”
“Coffee would be nice. Thank you.”
I went into the kitchen and made us each a cup of coffee. When I went to hand him his cup, I couldn’t find him. So I walked down the hallway and saw him standing in the nursery.
“Forgive me.” He smiled. “I just wanted to see where my great granddaughter was going to be sleeping.”
“He told you?”
“Yes. Grayson told me everything. Let’s go sit down.”
We walked to the dining area and took a seat at the table.
“Ever since Grayson’s parents passed away, he wasn’t the same. He was reckless in his youth which continued into his adult years, but he had a good business sense. He knew how to separate his business life from his personal life.”
“I’m sorry, Mr. Rhodes, but why are you telling me this?”
He held up his finger as he sipped his coffee.
“What Grayson did was awful, but I am to blame for that. I was the one who gave him that ultimatum. I believe I failed him in many ways. I was never going to sign the company over to Alfie. I’d just said that to scare a little sense into Grayson to want to get his personal life together. At the rate he was going, he would never have found true love. I figured if I could get him to be serious and give a woman more than one chance, he would find it and see how beautiful life could be when you have someone to share it with. Unfortunately, he went about it the wrong way. But he learned his lesson the hard way. He loves you, Harper, and he loves that baby. So much so that he quit and told me he didn’t want the company.”
“What?” I cocked my head.
“He came to me and told me that if he couldn’t run the company without you and his daughter by his side, he didn’t want it. So he quit and now he’s gone.”
“Gone where?”
“Nobody knows. He just up and left.” He sighed.
“Did you ask, Julius?”
“Yes, and he said he didn’t know, and that Grayson never even told him he was leaving. He gave everything up because he lost you. I’m not telling you any of this to make you feel bad or sorry for him. Because what he did to you was terrible. But I want you to try and take some comfort that he does truly love you and he didn’t lie about that.”
“Thank you, Mr. Rhodes.”
“Please, darling, call me Leon. Will you please keep in touch with me? I would love to meet my great granddaughter when she’s born.”
“Yes. I promise I will.”
He got up from his seat and walked to the door.
“I can see why Grayson chose you, Harper. You’re an amazing woman, and you will be an amazing mother. Have a good day.”
“Thank you, Leon.”
I shut the door and took in a deep breath. I went about my day and tried to put everything Leon said out of my mind. Grayson giving up his company was huge, and I couldn’t imagine him doing that. He loved that company more than anything. I tossed and turned all night long and I barely slept.
A couple days had passed, and I couldn’t stop thinking about Leon’s visit. It was a constant gnawing inside of me. Fuck it! I took a cab over to the cryobank and went up to Julius’s office.
“Harper?” he spoke in shock. “What are you doing here?”
“Hello, Julius.” I arched my brow at him.
“Have a seat.” He gestured.
“I need you to tell me where Grayson is.”
“I have no clue.”
“Bullshit. You two are attached at the hip. There’s no way Grayson would leave without telling you where he was going.”
“Seriously, Harper, I don’t know.”
“Listen to me.” I got up from my chair and planted my finger on his desk as my face was mere inches from his. “You don’t want to mess with a pregnant lady. You had no problem telling him that I was the one who bought his sperm creating this clusterfuck of a mess. A mess in which I should sue your ass and this company for. Now where the fuck is Grayson?!”
He sat there, leaning as far back from me as possible.
“He’s in Montauk. Let me get you the address.” He grabbed a pen and a piece of paper, wrote the address down and handed it to me.
“Thank you.”
As I walked to the door and placed my hand on the handle, Julius called my name.
“Harper.”
“What?” I turned my head.
“He’s changed and he doesn’t look the same. I just want to give you a heads up.”
“Thanks. Have a nice day.”
I looked up the distance online and it was about a two hour and forty-five-minute drive. I packed a small bag just in case I needed it and rented a car. While I was driving, I called both Laurel and Charlotte to let them know I would be out of town for a couple days, but I didn’t tell them where I was going.
“I don’t understand why you’re leaving town,” Charlotte asked.
“I just need to get away for a couple of days. The baby will be here in four weeks and I just need some time alone to think and do some soul searching.”
“You better be careful, Harper,” Laurel said.
“I will. I just need a change of scenery.”
Chapter 44
Harper
I slammed on my breaks and stopped at the entrance of what appeared to be a driveway. According to my GPS, this is where the house was located but I didn’t see a house. I turned into the driveway which ended up being a long winding road that led straight to a two-story gray sided home that sat a few feet away from the sandy beach. I gripped the steering wheel as I began questioning why I even came here. He was no longer my problem. I nervously climbed out of the car and stepped onto the porch, lightly knocking on the door as my heart raced a mile a minute. I knocked again and there was no answer. Maybe he wasn’t home. I looked around and there wasn’t another house around as far as the eye could see. By the looks of it, this would be considered a hideaway home, secluded by hills and trees.
Walking around the back, I noted the cobblestone path that led down to the beach. I stood there and stared at the magnificent view of the ocean as a cool wind swept across my face. I was snapped back into reality when I heard footsteps. Turning around, I saw a man I didn’t recognize.
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“Harper? What are you doing here? How did you know where to find me?” Grayson asked in a flat tone as he held two brown bags in his arms. “Let me guess, Julius?”
I stared at him for a moment. His face enshrouded by a full beard and mustache. His hair was longer than normal, and he was dressed in jeans and a gray flannel button up shirt.
“He had no choice. I threatened to sue him.”
Grayson turned around and opened the side door without saying a word. I ran up to the door and stepped inside as he set the bags on the island in the kitchen.
“You didn’t answer my question. What are you doing here?”
“What happened to you?” I asked as I stared at him.
“Life. That’s what. You shouldn’t have come. Heavy rains are headed this way soon and there’s a chance the roads could wash out. It isn’t safe for you here. Go back to the city,” he spoke as he pulled his groceries from the bags.
“I’ll take my chances. Your grandfather paid me a little visit a couple days ago. He said you quit and told him to sign the company over to Alfie because you didn’t want it.”
“Did he now? He shouldn’t have told you that.”
“So what? Is this your new life now? Hiding away from your family and friends? Giving up your dream of owning the company? Something you worked so hard for.”
“I’m not that man anymore. The company doesn’t matter to me.”
“And why do you look like a lumberjack?”
He shot me a look and shook his head.
“Is this why you came all the way out here? To insult me and my decisions?”
Suddenly the winds picked up, the sky opened, and heavy rain started to pelt against the windows.
“Shit,” he said.
“No. I don’t know why I came out here to be honest,” I spoke as I crossed my arms and stared at the pouring down rain from the window. Shit was right. I was going to be stuck here for a while.
“You shouldn’t have come, Harper.”