Balancing Act

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Balancing Act Page 16

by Laura Browning


  “And you just happened to remember it?” Seth asked, unable to keep the doubt from his voice. Could Tessa have put him up to this? He didn’t want to believe that. She loved her brother and had appeared to be doing everything she could to make sure he had the best home life she could provide. Was that it? Had she needed more money…

  “Yes,” Zach replied as if it was the most logical thing in the world. “I remember a lot of numbers. I like numbers.”

  “Go on,” Seth prompted the boy.

  Zach was beginning to warm to his task. “I clicked on stuff and looked for places to try the number…you know the number, 023021318991…until it opened something up.”

  Seth sat stunned as Zach rattled off the travel account number as if he used it every day.

  “After I got the account opened up, then it was simple to work the transfer, but I kept getting error messages from Tessa’s bank, so I figured nothing had happened, and besides that I’d kinda cooled down by then. And Tessa seemed to be fine in a few days and I forgot all about it.”

  “So why are you here now?”

  Zach looked down at his feet and back up at Seth. “That day at the dock. Tessa started crying again, and she finally asked me if I had fiddled with the account.” Zach’s blue eyes filled with tears. “I didn’t know that was why she got fired. She never said anything about it. Not anything at all. I got back from camp, and she just said she didn’t work for you anymore.

  “I wanted to tell you about learning to sail an’ everything an’ Tessa said I couldn’t ‘cause we wouldn’t see you anymore. I was kind of mad at her for a while. She had this new job already, and she’s gone in the evenings. I never see her. I mean really see her. And she’s tired all the time, Seth, and she’s been sick a whole lot. She thinks I don’t know, but I hear her, and I’m afraid she might die or something.”

  “Where does she work, Zach?” Seth asked.

  Zach shrugged. “Some restaurant. She won’t tell me where. She says Mrs. Flores knows how to reach her if there’s a problem. She’s the lady who stays with me.”

  Zach trailed off and stared out the window. Seth watched the boy, his own emotions confused. At last Zach turned toward him.

  “I know what I did was a crime, and if you want to put me in jail, that’s okay. Only could you please have Tessa work for you again so she won’t be so tired and sick all the time? She was really happy with you, Seth. I’d even go to Aunt Kathleen and Uncle Edwin if it would make her okay.”

  As Seth watched, the little boy could hold it together no longer. Zach’s expression crumbled and the tears he’d managed to hold off trickled down his freckled cheeks.

  “Ah, Zach,” Seth said. “Come here, buddy. It’s okay.”

  The boy came over and curled up on Seth’s lap, his red head resting against Seth’s broad chest–right where the ache was that hadn’t eased since his father’s phone call about Tessa.

  He had to clear his throat so he could reassure the kid. “It’ll be okay. We’ll find a way to make it okay, and I promise you won’t have to go to jail.”

  He pulled out a large linen handkerchief and gave it to Zach so the boy could wipe his face and blow his nose. As Zach started to give it back to him, Seth said with a slight smile, “Keep it, bud. Now, can you explain to me how you got here and why you’re not in school?”

  Zach blushed. “I waited ‘til Tess left after dropping me off and then I hopped the train into town.”

  “Well how about if I take you to school?”

  “They won’t tell her, will they? She’d be mad if she knew I skipped school and came here.”

  “I’ll make sure it’s not a problem this time, but don’t do it again,” Seth warned. “You’re way too smart to be missing school.”

  Chapter 12

  Tessa stared off into space, so stunned she wasn’t even really seeing the sage green walls of the doctor’s office. She had come in because she feared she’d picked up some sort of flu she couldn’t shake. But the reality was so much more shocking.

  “Are you sure?” she asked at last. “Couldn’t there be some mistake?”

  The physician shook her head, a slight smile on her lips. “We get some false negatives now and then, but a false positive is rare. I take it this was not planned?”

  Still trying to grasp the reality of what the doctor had told her, Tessa said, “No, not at all.”

  She leaned back in her chair. “You still have some options open if you don’t want to carry this pregnancy to term.”

  Tessa’s eyes jerked up to meet the doctor’s steady gaze. “I would never consider an abortion.”

  Dr. Michaels nodded. “Well, then we need to make sure you do everything you can to help this baby along. Let’s get you started on some vitamins. I’ve included information in here on nutrition, physical activity, and some of the symptoms you will experience. I know you’ve had some problems with nausea. That should pass, but if it doesn’t or it gets worse, you’ll need to contact the office.”

  The middle-aged physician looked at the chart again. “You’ve lost some weight since your check up last year. That’s not something I’d like to see continue. You need to pick up a few pounds, but not too much. Make sure you’re eating quality food…not junk.”

  Tessa nodded, still trying to take in everything Dr. Michaels told her. She gathered up the bag full of vitamins and product coupons and samples, paid her bill and headed out to her car. As she drove home, some of the reality of her situation began to sink in. She looked down at her flat stomach in the sudden realization that it wouldn’t be flat much longer…and she had no idea what it might mean for her job.

  It was after noon when she arrived at the house. Tessa entered her apartment and took the bag of supplies from the doctor back to her bedroom where Zach wouldn’t see them. Zach! Oh my God! How was she going to tell him? How could she explain? On the heels of that thought came another. How could she tell Seth? Would he even believe her?

  It didn’t matter. With her hand resting on her belly, she entered the kitchen and pulled open the refrigerator. There must be something she could tolerate. She settled on a choice that would have left her gagging a few months ago.

  Tessa was lost in thought, munching on the jar of pimento-stuffed olives she’d unearthed when a firm knock sounded on her door. She opened it, figuring it was Mrs. Flores, and almost dropped the olives when she saw Seth standing on her doorstep.

  “Tessa,” he greeted her. “We need to talk. May I come in?”

  She wasn’t ready for this. A sudden vision of the blond woman he’d introduced as his fiancee intruded and Tessa started to shut the door in his face. Seth stuck his foot in and curled his hand around the edge of the heavy wood.

  “Go away. Please! Now is not a good time for this,” she finished very nearly on a hysterical sob. My God, she was still trying to comprehend the fact she was pregnant, she didn’t need the cause of it confronting her.

  “Tessa,” he growled, keeping his voice low. “Talk to me.”

  She looked over his shoulder, searching for the tall blonde from the marina. “Did you want to have your fiancee here for our conversation? Tell me, were you giving her a workout in bed at the same time you were breaking me in?”

  “Stacey is not my fiancee,” Seth bit out. “It was a bad coverup. I was shocked to see you and I said it to hurt you.”

  Tessa glared at him, “Well she sure as hell wore a big, flashy ring.”

  Seth looked around and hissed, “Come on, Tessa, let me in so we can talk. I just finished taking Zach to school.”

  Tessa’s hold on the door relaxed and she stepped back in confusion. “What do you mean? I dropped him off at school this morning.”

  Seth took advantage of her lapse and slipped inside the apartment before closing the door behind him. His size dwarfed everything, including her. Tessa pictured the bag sitting back in her bedroom and knew she had to get him out of there fast.

  Seth took the jar of olives from Tessa’s sha
king hands and gave them an odd look before he set them down. He tried to lead her to the couch, but Tessa shook off his arm and sat in the window seat. Seth continued standing, his hands dug into the pockets of his dress slacks.

  “He showed up at my office this morning with some very interesting things to say.”

  She should have anticipated he’d do something. Zach would want to make things right. It would have been so simple in his mind. He could tell Seth what had happened, and his hero would make it right. But there was so much more to it now. The lack of trust, the betrayal. Her pregnancy.

  “He’s just a boy, Seth. He would say anything if he thought it would fix things between us.”

  “Including that he was the one who transferred that money from the travel account into your account?”

  Tessa lifted her chin and stared at him before she laughed without any humor. “Yes,” she lied. “Including that. How could you believe that? He’s an eleven-year-old, for heaven’s sake.”

  Seth stared at her, his gaze hard and sharp. “I do believe him, Tessa. What I want to know is why you allowed my father to think you took that money, and why you feel you have to lie to me about it now.”

  It would be so easy to tell him everything. Seth would take control. He would do what was right. He’d proven that over and over again with his devotion to his family, but it was that very quality that stood in their way. He had chosen to believe she would take money from his account. He had agreed with his father’s firing her. If she told him she was pregnant, that their one forgetful moment had resulted in a reminder, he would do the right thing, but how could she ever have any faith in him when he’d proven he had no faith in her?

  Tessa looked down at her stomach, feeling that sudden churning there. She dragged a hand through her hair. She longed for a nap so much, just standing was a chore, let alone thinking straight.

  “Go away, Seth. If we ever had anything besides sex, it’s gone. It’s dead. You’ve moved on and so have I. Just leave.”

  “I want to know what’s wrong with you,” Seth ground out. “Zach tells me you’re sick all the time. Damn it, Tessa, he’s worried about you, and so am I!”

  Tessa’s eyes narrowed. If they looked half as cold as she felt right now, then Seth was getting stabbed by icicles. “I can tell. Get out, Seth. Get out of my house, out of my life. We did fine before you, and we’ll do fine after the…”

  Tessa stopped and turned her face to stare out the window. Christ. She needed to shut her mouth.

  * * * *

  “After what, Tessa?” Seth’s deep voice was low and concerned. “After what? What is wrong? What’s making you sick?” He knelt down next to her and took her icy hands. “Whatever it is, I can help if you’ll let me.”

  Tessa turned a face to him that was once again the cool, composed mask she’d first presented to him so many months ago, before he realized a vital, passionate woman lived beneath it. He knew he would get nothing else out of her. She’d put up the walls and locked him out. In frustration, Seth cupped her face in his palms and kissed her. For a moment, her soft lips yielded to the pressure from his and then she pushed at him.

  “Go away. I don’t need you. I don’t want you. Go back to your girlfriend or whatever she is. You were a wonderful teacher, Seth,” she admitted, “really talented in bed, but I’ve moved on, and so should you.”

  Seth felt like she’d slapped him. As his jaw tightened and it felt like ice filled his veins, he saw her cringe from him. There was nothing else to be said. “I’m sorry I disturbed you, Tessa.”

  Without another word, he walked out the door.

  The ice didn’t melt as he got in the Escalade and drove away. The only realization pounding into him was that he was done. He’d reached the end of what he could take, in his personal and professional lives.

  * * * *

  Tessa buried her face in her hands, waiting until she heard the sound of his car before the first hoarse sob escaped her.

  She had composed herself by the time she picked Zach up from school. She said nothing about having seen Seth or knowing her brother had gone to see him. She appreciated what he had tried to do. Tessa ate dinner with him then went in to shower.

  She still had another hurdle to face, and that was at work. She remembered Lucy’s comment about needing to keep her figure in order to keep her job, and Tessa worried what might happen to her job once her pregnancy began to show. She arrived early enough to seek Roberto out in his office.

  As she told him her situation, he shook his head and her heart sank.

  “I can’t have you on the floor waiting tables once your pregnancy shows. How far along are you?”

  “About three months,” Tessa admitted.

  Roberto scratched his head. “You say you were an executive assistant before you came here?”

  “Yes.”

  “You won’t make as much money as you do waiting tables, but I can use you as a secretary and a receptionist. The girl I have in that position right now would rather be waitressing anyway. Can you keep books?”

  Tessa grinned. “If you have a computer program, I can do anything.”

  Roberto nodded at her and gave her one of his rare smiles. “Good deal. Meagan doesn’t have much of a knack with money or math. I figure you got another couple of weeks if you want to keep waiting tables until then to get the tips.”

  “Thanks, Roberto,” Tessa said. “You don’t know how much I appreciate this.”

  “Well, it’s not something I can do for most of these girls, nina, but then you are a lot smarter. Get changed.”

  Tessa joined the rest of the girls in the dressing room. Lucy cocked one heavily made-up eyebrow at her. “How’d it go?”

  Tessa smiled. “He says I can work as a secretary-receptionist and help with the books once my pregnancy shows.”

  “You go, girl!” Tiffany said, joining in.

  Tessa was beginning to have trouble getting into her uniform top. It seemed to have gotten a whole lot tighter. She tugged and pushed until she had everything in so she felt it would stay that way. She put everything else out of her mind as she did her best to smile and evade wandering hands. The tips were best on Friday and Saturday nights. Just as he predicted, by the second weekend after she’d told Roberto, Tessa knew it would be her last. While no one else might notice, she saw the tiniest rounding of her belly.

  There was an upside. Maybe once she left waiting tables and was behind the scenes, she would lose that feeling of being followed. It had stopped for a little while, but in the last few nights she had the feeling someone was watching her again. Each time, she drove to the nearest police substation until she was sure the car had moved on.

  It happened twice during the week after Seth’s visit, and this Friday was no exception, but this time she failed to shake the car following her the first time and made several more stops in hope of losing whoever her stalker might be. It didn’t seem Peter’s style. She didn’t think it would be Seth, but she was reluctant to go to the police, reluctant to do anything that might draw the attention of her aunt and uncle. She would continue to play this game of tag, but she would take no chances on someone finding out where she lived.

  It was well after five before she arrived home. She knew she would be lucky to get about three hours sleep before Zach would be up wanting to do something. She managed to grab a nap in the afternoon. Still, she was more tired than she thought possible as she got ready for work the next evening. It would be her last on the floor. While one part of her hoped it would be a full house with plenty of tips, another part of her was so exhausted all she could think about was rest.

  “We have a bachelor’s party coming in tonight,” Tiffany told her as she was getting ready. “I know you can use all the extra money you can get, with it being your last weekend. You want me to seat them in your area?”

  Tessa shook her head. “Even though the money would be nice, I don’t think I could handle a large party tonight, Tiffany. I’m so tired.”


  Tiffany smiled in commiseration. “Pregnancy has a way of doing that to you. Don’t worry. I’ll put them in the VIP section.”

  Tessa didn’t correct her that it was more than the pregnancy affecting her.

  The club was crowded, and Tessa wasn’t lacking for customers willing to give her generous tips. She was putting in another drink order for a table of out-of-town businessmen when the bachelor’s party arrived. Tessa gave them a cursory glance and went back to serving her customers. Tiffany seated the party on the other side of the club, which suited Tessa fine. She turned toward the bartender and grimaced as she adjusted her top, afraid she was going to spill out of it.

  He winked at her. “You moving to the office soon?”

  Tessa made another face. “Tuesday. Good thing too. I don’t think I could get everything in this top by then at the rate things are going.”

  James glanced at her belly, “If it weren’t for everybody looking at your cleavage, darling, Roberto would have already moved you off the floor.”

  Tessa glanced down. “Am I showing that much? I didn’t think it was noticeable.”

  James laughed. “Just a bit, but I know you.” He waved to the customers. “They have nothing to compare you to.”

  Tessa grinned in relief. “I guess you’re right. Thanks.”

  She picked up her tray and wound her way through the tables to the customers near the stage where Lucy danced. As she set the drinks down, one of the men patted her on the bottom.

  “Look all you want, honey, but don’t touch,” Tessa said and smiled at the man to take some of the sting out of her words.

  He laughed. “In other words, no lap dances at this club?”

  “No, sir. Not here.” Tessa picked up the tray again, smiling at the twenty the man had deposited there, and began to check on her other customers.

  As she moved through the tables, she had the uncomfortable feeling someone was watching her. Trying not to make it obvious, she looked around, suspecting Peter was somewhere in the club. Instead, she encountered a glittering gaze from near the bar. Seth leaned against the gleaming wood and brass, a wine glass in one hand and an expression of controlled fury on his face. She had to walk past him to give James her drink order.

 

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