by E. L. Todd
Believe In Me
Book Twenty-Two of The Forever and Ever Series
E. L. Todd
Chapter One
Sean
I was on the phone when my cell phone vibrated. I glanced at the screen and kept talking.
It was my wife.
John was in the middle of his response when I cut him off. “John, let me call you back in a few minutes.”
“The wife?” he asked with a laugh.
“Sorry, John.”
“It’s okay. Tell her I said hi.”
“Will do.” I hung up then took Scarlet’s call. “Hey, baby.”
“Hey. How are you?” She called me throughout the day to check on me. I knew it was her discreet way of keeping me calm and reminding me that I wasn’t alone in this.
“Better now that I’m talking to you.”
“If you had it your way you would never talk to anyone but me.”
I smiled even though she couldn’t see me. “You’re right about that.”
“Can I bring you lunch?”
I didn’t like it when she came to the office anymore. I preferred it if she stayed in the bulletproof fortress while guards patrolled the outside of it. That kept me sane. “No, Mike will get me something.”
“Okay,” she said with a sad sigh.
I hated the fact tensions were always high. I hated the fact my wife couldn’t visit me when she wanted. I hated all of this. “It’ll end eventually, baby.”
“I know it will. I just miss you sometimes.”
“I miss you all the time.”
She chuckled. “I believe that.”
“I should give you a job here so I’d see you every day. Maybe I’ll fire Clementine and make you my sex-retary—I mean, secretary.”
“God, nothing would get done.”
“So what? That’s why I got Mike and the other two.”
“I think it’s best if I stay home and wear the different aprons you got me.”
“You can wear that here—anytime.”
“You’re terrible,” she said with a laugh.
“It’s not my fault,” I argued. “I have a hot wife with a perfect body and an even more perfect soul. You can’t hold that against me.”
“If my soul is perfect, so is yours.”
My wife was always sweet to me even when I didn’t deserve it.
There was a knock on my door.
“Baby, hold on a sec.” I turned to the door. “Come in.”
Ward stepped inside with a folder in his hand. “You got a minute?”
I nodded and waved him inside. “Baby, I have to go.”
“Good. You actually have work to do.” There was a teasing note in her voice.
“It happens once in a while.”
“I’ll see you when you get home. Love you.”
“Love you too.” I waited for her to hang up first. When I heard the line go head I set my phone on the desk. “What can I do for you, Ward?”
“Every time I come in here you’re on the phone with your wife.” There was a playful grin on his face.
“She’s a bit obsessed with me,” I said with a shrug.
He laughed. “Yeah, that’s what it is.” He crossed his ankle at the knee and became serious.
“What’s up?” I asked.
“I need a personal favor.”
Ward had never asked me anything like that before. Maybe he needed a pay advance? Or maybe a change in his health insurance? I didn’t know. “I’m listening.”
“And I need your word that this conversation stays between us. You can’t even tell your wife.”
“Why not?”
“Because she’ll tell someone else.”
This was getting weirder by the second. “I can’t promise that if it poses a danger to someone else.”
“It doesn’t,” he said immediately. “I just need your secrecy.”
I thought about it for a moment. “Okay, this conversation stays between us. But that doesn’t mean I’m agreeing to grant this favor.”
“Understood.” He opened the folder then pushed a small stack of papers toward me.
I examined it. “You bought a house?” What did this have to do with me?
“Yeah, I did. But it’s not for me.”
“Then who is it for?”
“This is where the favor comes in,” he said with a deep sigh. “I need you to sign the title of the house to yourself. And then I need you to sign it to Clementine.”
Clementine? What the fuck? “Why Clementine?”
“I know she needs a new place to live but she can’t afford anything. I don’t want her to know I did this for her. She would never accept it.”
“And you think she’ll accept it from me?” I asked incredulously.
“More likely than me,” he said. “You guys are family. And we both know you’re much more wealthy than I am.”
I stared at the details of the house and sighed. “I want to help you out but I can’t.”
“Why?” he asked.
“Cortland is one of my closest friends. He wouldn’t appreciate me buying her house. I’d be stepping on his toes.”
He sighed. “Please, Sean. I have no one else to ask.” He gave me a pleading look.
I put the papers down and sighed. “Why are you doing this to begin with?” It didn’t make any sense.
He stared at the ground for a moment. “Clementine and I dated for a year.”
What?
“She and I were madly in love and happy.” He stared at his hands in his lap. “But when she found out that I was romantically involved with Skye, however short that lasted, she felt like a rebound. She left me three months ago. I’ve never been the same since.” Emotion caught in his throat at the end. “I hate knowing some guy knocked her up and abandoned her. I know I shouldn’t care but I do. I need to know she has everything she needs. Money is tight and I know she doesn’t have a lot of resources. And I know she loves this house. So…I bought it for her.”
I leaned back in my chair and processed what he said. I was so surprised I couldn’t formulate a response. “I just…I had no idea.”
“She wanted to keep it a secret. I didn’t.”
I rubbed my temple and sighed.
“So, please help me.”
“I still don’t know why you can’t tell her yourself.”
“She’s stubborn, Sean. Even though she wants this house, she would never take it from me.”
I played with my watch so I had something to do. “Is the baby yours?”
“No.” He released a sad sigh. “No.”
“Are you sure?” I asked. “She’s three months along and you broke up three months ago.”
“I asked her and she said it wasn’t.” He swallowed the lump in his throat. “There’s no reason why she would lie.”
“I’d still ask for a paternity test, Ward.”
He shrugged. “She obviously already got one if she knows it’s not mine.”
I guess it didn’t matter. “And you still did this for her even though she slept with someone else that quickly?”
He took a deep breath and wouldn’t look me in the eye. “I still love her even though that makes me pathetic. I’ll be the first one to admit that.”
I ran my fingers through my hair. “That’s a lot of information to take in at once.”
“I know. I apologize.”
“Can I ask you something?”
“Yes.” He turned his attention to me.
“If you love her, why don’t you just be with her?” he asked.
“Because she doesn’t want me,” he said. “She still believes that Skye is the woman I prefer—which is completely untrue. And she’ll never change her mind about that.”
“Even after this?” I h
eld up the papers. “I don’t think people make these kind of gestures just to be friendly.”
“I love her, but she’s the most stubborn woman on this planet.” He chuckled at the end.
I flipped through the papers just to have something to do.
“The place is already furnished,” he said. “The baby room is set up so she won’t have to worry about that.”
I shook my head. “This is unbelievable, Ward. I really think she deserves to know this gift is from you.”
“Then it will be for nothing,” he said. “Because she won’t take anything from me. Believe me, I know her.”
I scratched the back of my neck. “It doesn’t make any sense for me to give this to her. She might realize that.”
“Then convince her.”
“At least let me tell Cortland the truth. Because he’s going to have beef with me if I don’t.”
“No,” he said immediately. “Cortland can’t no I dated his daughter. He would confront Clementine, who would then come after me and scream at me. Then she would know I was behind this anyway.”
I dropped the papers and leaned back in my chair. “You aren’t giving me much leeway here, Ward.”
“I realize that.”
I stared into his face and pitied him. I wanted to help him. He wasn’t just my employee. He was my friend as well. “I need to think about it…”
“That’s fine,” he said. “Take your time.”
How would I explain this to my wife without telling her the truth? We shared a bank account together. She would know I didn’t spend any money on a house.
“There’s something else I’d like to ask.”
I turned my attention back to him. “You’re on a roll, aren’t you?”
He grinned slightly. “I am, aren’t I?” He massaged his knuckles before he spoke. “I was hoping I could have a permanent job here at the company—in America.”
My eyes narrowed. “As in, you no longer want to fly back and forth to London?”
“Yes.” He looked into my eyes as he said it.
“You want to live here permanently?”
“Yes,” he answered.
“Why?” I asked.
“Clementine is a hardheaded and stubborn woman. She won’t accept help even if she needs it, and I can’t see her having a serious relationship with someone since she’s raising a child. I want to say in America so I can help her raise her child. If I’m away every two weeks, I won’t be here just in case she needs me.”
He kept surprising me. “You want to help her but you won’t tell her you bought her a house?”
“I’ll help her but not in an obvious way. I just want to be around if she needs me at a drop of a hat. I’ve been trying to get over her for months and it’s pretty clear I never will. This is where I belong—with her.”
Man, this guy was desperate. “You remind me of myself.”
“In what way, sir?”
“I would do the same for Scarlet, and only Scarlet.”
He didn’t respond.
I pushed the papers back toward him. “I think you need to sit down with her and talk to her about all of this. You aren’t going to be able to trick her for long. She will figure it out, Ward. She’s not a genius but she’s not stupid.”
He took the papers back. “That’s your answer?”
“I’m sorry, Ward. There’s no way I can carry this out without telling my wife. We have the same bank account. She would know if I didn’t spend money on a house. And I’m not willing to lose Cortland over this. I know him. He wouldn’t be happy with me if I went behind his back and bought his daughter a house. If you’re willing to let me tell them the truth, then this might be possible. But without that…it’ll never work. I want to help you, Ward, but I’m not willing to risk the honesty of my marriage or my friendship with a close friend over it.”
He nodded. “I understand.”
“I’m sorry.” I meant it. “It sounds like you’re in a tough pickle. I wish I could help you.”
“It’s okay, Sean. I know you would help me if you could. And what is your decision for the job request?”
“You can have it,” I said immediately. “But are you sure? Because I’m going to hire someone to replace you.”
“I’m sure,” he said immediately.
“Okay. You’ll have the same job now with the same pay. I’ll give you three weeks of extra vacation time since I know your family is in London.”
“That’s very generous of you, sir.”
“I admire the fact you want to help, Clementine. But I think your efforts would be more effective if you were honest with her. That’s just my piece of advice.”
“Thank you. I appreciate any guidance you have.”
“But I admit I’ve never been in this situation. Or have known anyone who has.”
He released a sarcastic laugh. “My life did not go the way I planned. When I found Clementine I thought that was the end. We would get married and have kids…but now…it’s nothing like I hoped.”
I gave him a sad look. “I’m sorry, Ward. But you’re a good guy.”
“And good guys always finish last, right?” He stood up and straightened his jacket. “Thank you for your time.”
“Of course.”
He walked out and shut the door behind him.
I pondered the conversation I just had and wondered how I would be able to keep it from my wife.
Chapter Two
Cayson
When Ward texted me out of the blue, I thought it was extremely unusual.
Hey, Cayson. I was hoping we could talk.
What did he want to talk about? Uh, I guess. What’s up?
Can we meet?
I wasn’t going to leave Skye’s side unless she was at work. How about in your office tomorrow?
Sure. Be there at 11.
What’s this about?
We’ll talk then.
I couldn’t figure out what he wanted to discuss. Skye? But what would he want to say? Maybe Clementine? But hearing him talk about my sister was still awkward. It wasn’t like we were friends.
The following day I arrived at his office on time. His secretary escorted me inside then I sat in the chair facing his desk. “So, what’s up?” I tried to act casual even though I was uncomfortable. I’d never been alone with Ward in this type of setting. It was unsettling.
“Thanks for coming. I need to talk to you about Clementine.”
“What about her?” I asked.
He took a deep breath before he began. He told me the story of how he bought the house and asked Sean to pretend he got it for her. But Sean rejected his offer so now he was asking me.
“Whoa, hold on,” I said. “You bought her a house?”
“I know she’s tight on money,” he explained. “And I want her to be taken care of.”
“But you guys are broken up,” I said. “And she’s having some other guy’s baby.”
“I know,” he said. “I admit my behavior is totally pathetic. You think I want to feel like this?” he said seriously. “I’m doomed to want a woman who will never want me back. She drives me to do insane things. I hate it.”
“So, you want me to pretend I bought the house for her?”
“Yes,” he said. “Please.”
“And you can’t do it yourself because…?”
“She would never accept it from me. But you’re family. She’ll take it from you.”
“Uh…I really don’t know if she will.”
“At least try,” he said. “Because there’s a gorgeous house set up for her and it would be a shame if she never moved into it.”
“But what about Skye?”
“Tell her the same thing.”
I cocked an eyebrow. “That I just bought a house for my sister? I don’t even own a house yet.”
“But she knows you’re protective of her. She’ll believe it.”
“Uh…Skye is a lot smarter than you think. I wouldn’t have bought a house without t
alking to her about it first. She’s going to see right through this.”
Ward sighed then rubbed his temple. “Why does your family have to tell each other every little thing?”
“We don’t tell each other every little thing,” I argued. “But we tell each other when we’re going to buy a damn house.”
He closed the folder then rubbed the back of his neck. “So, your answer is no?”
“No…I just need to tell Skye the truth. It’ll ever work unless I do.”
Ward considered it for a moment. “Then fine. I know she’ll keep it to herself.”
I grabbed the folder and looked through it. “This place is nice.”
“It’s her dream house,” he explained.
I closed the folder then stared at him. “Ward, what’s this about?”
“What?” he asked.
“Buying her a house.”
His voice came out quiet. “I have to make sure she’s taken care of.”
“I mean, if you’re still in love with her, why don’t you just tell her?”
“Because she won’t take me back,” he said simply. “End of story.”
“What do you want with her?” I asked. “Do you want to get back together? Even though she has a kid?”
He focused his gaze on me. “Yes.”
“Yes?” I asked incredulously. “You would be with her even though she’s carrying another man’s child?”
“I’m pathetic. I know.” He looked away. “But she’ll never take me back so I’ll never be in the situation at all. But that doesn’t mean I can’t look after her from afar.”
I realized my mistake. I kept thinking Ward was in love with Skye but that wasn’t true at all. If anything, Skye was just someone to pass the time with until someone better came along. I had it all wrong. “I’m really sorry for the way I’ve treated you for the past year.”
He turned back to me, slightly surprised. “You already apologized, Cayson.”
“I know but…I really wish I hadn’t blown up at you when I found out you were dating Clemy. My sister respects my opinion, and I know my obvious hatred toward you had something to do with your breakup.”
“You were just protecting your sister,” he said. “I understand that. I have a sister as well.”
“But…maybe things would have been different.”
“Let’s not play what if,” he said. “The past is in the past.” He paused for a moment while he rubbed his chin. “You’ll do this for me?” He looked me in the eye and awaited my response.