by J. P. Comeau
“How did he react when you said that? Was he standoffish? Or was he happy?”
I thought back to that day and remembered the joy on his face. He even said that he wanted to make things more serious, too. “He was happy and said he wanted the same thing, but you know guys, Crystal. They never reveal their true feelings to you. Of course, he wouldn’t say, 'Sorry, I don’t want to be that serious.' I ruined it, Crystal. I know I did.”
I placed my head in my hands and started to cry. She came over and hugged me, trying her best to make me feel better. “You need to give yourself a break, Annie. Any guy would be lucky to have you, and I’m not just saying that to make you feel better. I guarantee he’s just having a bad day at work. He’s probably cold because you two have been friends for a while. Now that you’re dating, there’s no need to be in an 8x10 picture anymore.”
I looked up at her and tilted my head. “An 8x10 picture? What are you talking about?”
“Whenever people start dating, they stay in a virtual 8x10 picture. In other words, they’re only showing you their best traits. Think about it. Would you want to date a guy who came off as, for lack of a better word, an asshole with no emotions?”
I shook my head, no.
“That makes sense. If Richard and I had just started dating, he’d probably be a bit nicer. But we’ve been friends for so long, so what’s the point? Well, I feel a little better. Thank you.”
Even though what she said had made perfect sense to me, I still couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong between Richard and me.
14
Richard
I was sitting at my desk, scrolling through work emails, and wondering what my next move would be. Annie had texted me several hours before, and the fact that I hadn’t yet replied, probably made her nervous. I didn’t know how I wanted to proceed with her, and I wanted to wait until I knew for sure what my decision would be.
Then I realized that no matter how much I wanted to put our relationship on the back burner, I couldn’t be away from Annie for too long. She had become like a drug to me. As stressed out as I was the day we went to the coast, she took my mind off of the Heather situation. Just being around her made me feel at ease, which I needed since I’d always been a worrywart.
When Annie had immediately replied to my text, I took it as proof that she’d been waiting for me. It made me feel a bit guilty.
“Hey, how’s your day going?” I looked up from my phone and saw Gavin’s head, just poking into my office.
He was a bit more laid back than I was, so I was more than happy to chat with him for a while. I motioned for him to come in.
Gavin sat down in a chair across from my desk, and I contemplated telling him everything. Danielle had suggested that I keep things with Heather to myself, but I desperately needed someone to give me some advice. Gavin had been my oldest friend, and he was kind of like a male version of Annie. He was down to earth and laid back and able to come to a decision fairly quickly.
“Well, I’ve had better ones. You’ll never guess who’s back in town.” Gavin just stared at me, waiting for me to tell him. “Heather!”
“Oh God,” he said, rolling his eyes. “You didn’t hook up with her, did you?”
I leaned back in my chair and ran my hands through my hair, wondering how Gavin was about to respond to my next bombshell. “You were here in town when we broke up, man. So, of course not. But she brought a little surprise back with her to River Valley.”
“What? What kind of surprise?”
I pulled out my phone and showed him Addison’s picture. Gavin’s mouth fell open, and he gasped, seeing the resemblance between us.
“Is she yours? Well, that’s a dumb question.”
I nodded.
“What the, I mean you didn’t know? She has to be what, five-years-old?”
“Addison is her name, and she’s seven.”
Gavin continued shaking his head back and forth. He was speechless, which was a first.
“I had the same response as you did, man. After all of these years, Heather has to tell me about her now. The timing couldn’t be worse.”
“Why would Heather keep this a secret from you, though? You’re a good guy. It’s not like you two broke up because you screwed her over or anything.”
“Nope,” I said. “Even though I was hesitant to settle down, not once did I cheat on Heather. I didn’t become known as a playboy until well after we broke up, you know.”
“Exactly,” he replied, nodding at the same time. “It seems to me that Heather would want you to know. You have a successful career, a mansion, are well educated, and aside from being seen with some questionable women over the years, you’re a good guy.”
I rolled my eyes at his comment about the women I had dated.
“Dating history aside,” I said with a sneer, “yes, I agree that I’m a decent man.”
“Especially the money part, Richard. Do you know how many women would have killed to be in her shoes? To be able to stick it to a guy who practically swims in money? To walk up and hand him paperwork telling him that he needs to pay child support?”
“Exactly,” I replied. “Not only does Heather want back child support payments, but she’s also requesting a large, lump-sum payment for reasons yet unknown.”
“Can she legally do that, though? If she chose not to tell you, I don’t see how that’s legal. It’s one thing to make you pay now, but going back in time doesn’t count. And why an additional payment?”
I shrugged my shoulders.
“The only thing I can think of is blackmail,” I said. “Although I don’t know what kind of information Heather has on me. It’s no secret that I’ve frequented strip clubs, so that’s not going to ruin my career.”
“Maybe she’s still bitter about you not leaving this company and starting your own. Women can be pretty unforgiving.”
Shaking my head, I groaned. “I suppose she has something on me that she’s not telling, and maybe I’m giving myself too much credit. Now that I’m moving up in the company, something like this could ruin me. River Valley isn’t that big of a city, either.”
I slumped back in my chair, worrying about what to do. Gavin stood up and pointed his finger down to my desk. “You need just to pay her off, Richard. Something like this could permanently damage your reputation.”
I held my hands up, suggesting that Gavin calm down.
He shook his head wildly. “No, think of the headlines: Real Estate Millionaire Sued For Back Child Support Payments Over Love Child. Thanks to the internet, your career and this company could be ruined in less than a day.”
“It’s not as easy as just paying her off,” I replied. “First of all, she showed up to court today wearing vintage Chanel, real pearls, and an engagement ring the size of a boulder. She doesn’t need my money.”
Gavin sat back down. “Did she marry into money or something?”
“She’s engaged to some guy named Michael. I don’t know anything about him, but he’s rolling around in money. He even wants to send Addison to a boarding school.”
Gavin shrugged his shoulders. “Then it sounds like you’re out of the clear, man. You have Danielle, one of the best attorneys in town. If you can prove that Heather has plenty of money, then Danielle can probably get her to drop the request for a large payment. You’ll probably have to pay child support, though.”
I leaned across my desk and lowered my tone. “I’m struggling with that decision, Gavin. As soon as I saw her picture, my heart melted. You know me. I’m not exactly the sentimental type. Between this and new responsibilities at work, I’m in over my head.”
Gavin put his hands on my shoulders.
“I understand why you’re struggling,” he said, “but don’t let Heather ruin your life like before. You can still be a father to Addison while she’s at boarding school. You have so much going for you right now, man. Don’t let her screw it up yet again.”
Back when Heather and I were togethe
r, before she left me, I convinced my father to take on less responsibility at work. It caused me to miss out on a huge promotion. Heather was proud of me for standing up to him and taking a step in the ‘right direction’ toward my own business, but I never wanted my own business. I’d always enjoyed working with and for my father.
“She hurt me in the career department, too. But I can’t just pay her off, Gavin. It’s not that easy.”
I walked over to my wet bar and poured two scotch on the rocks with a twist, handing one to Gavin as I sat back down at my desk.
“Have you told your father yet?”
I shook my head, no.
“I don’t think you have anything to worry about, Richard. Wouldn’t he be excited to have a grandchild by you? So would your mother, I’m sure.”
“My father will be upset about having a love child. He still believes I'm waiting until marriage for sex.”
Gavin spat some of his scotch out laughing. “If he only knew about your life.”
I laughed a little bit with him, realizing my father was out of touch with reality.
Gavin softened his tone, calming a bit. “Regardless about you having sex before marriage, it’s not like you knew and kept it from him.”
“I don’t think he’d believe me,” I replied. “He’d think that I kept it from him because Heather and I weren’t married. It’d spill over into my work life, too. Which couldn’t come at a worse time, now that I’m working on a farmland purchase.”
“Plus, you’re dating Annie.”
I put my drink down and let out a huge sigh. “That’s another problem right now.”
“I thought you two were getting along, though.”
I stood up and looked out my office window, down at the skyline of River Valley. “Exactly. Annie is the perfect woman, Gavin. I love everything about her. The way she dresses, the smell of her soft hair, that velvet voice of hers, and even the way she eats. She’s opposite from me, and that’s what draws me to her. I’ve never felt this way about anyone, especially Heather.”
“You’re smitten with her, man. That’s wonderful. So what’s the problem?”
I turned around to face him. “I can’t do this right now, Gavin. I’m working well over twelve hours a day, and my spare time is spent trying to see Addison and working with my lawyer. It’s not fair to Annie. She deserves to be with someone who can wine and dine her, not a man who has to rush her out the door before heading to a court hearing about his love child.”
I sat down and downed the rest of my drink.
“You’ve waited a long time to get Annie to go out with you,” Gavin said. “Are you sure you want to break it off?”
“Do I want to? No. But I also don’t think that Annie is ready to be a stepmother, Gavin. She’s much younger than me, is starting a lifestyle brand, owns a yoga studio, and also has very little personal time. How can I ask her to be a mother figure, too? Because that’s what will end up happening. But there’s no way in hell that I’m not going to have Addison in my life.”
Gavin nodded, realizing how passionate I was about my daughter. “I’m sorry, man. I didn’t realize everything was so hard right now.”
“That’s alright. It’ll all work out. Let’s talk about you for a while. I need to get my mind off of everything.”
Gavin took some time to tell me about his family back home and what they had been doing lately. He had grown up in Massachusetts with his mom and dad. We went to college together and were very competitive, but I was no match for him when it came to grades. He graduated high school at only fifteen-years-old and earned a college degree in record time so he was actually several years younger than me.
After college, Gavin thought about moving back to Massachusetts, but his parents had a hard time understanding him. He told me they just struggled because he was so smart. They were very simple, loving people. He had visited River Valley a time or two during our college holiday breaks and decided to move here, just like me, and joined my father’s company a year or so after I did. He worked hard and loved our hometown, but he also traveled a lot. Last year alone, he visited the Galapagos Islands, England, went back home to Massachusetts three times, and even found time for a two-week cruise.
I often envied his free lifestyle.
“My parents are selling their house and can’t decide where to move to, but they want to be where it’s warm all year long. Naturally, I suggested coming to River Valley, but my dad seems more interested in Florida. He's just struggling because he doesn't want to sell his shop.”
“Tell him that Florida is too muggy,” I said with a grin. “It’s hot here in California, but where we live, it’s more of a dry heat.”
Gavin nodded while nursing his scotch some more. “My sister, Caroline, just broke up with her boyfriend. She walked in on him, cheating on her.”
I winced, thinking about his sister having to witness such betrayal. She and I had chatted a few times, back when she was in River Valley.
“Where is she living nowadays?”
“Beverly Hills,” Gavin said. “She has a modeling job.
One of my clients was there to see me, so Gavin excused himself and went back to work. As I waited for the client to come into my office, a part of my heart begin to sink as I kept wondering what I would do about Annie.
15
Annie
The hot, steamy shower felt good against my skin. I’d just gotten back from the hair salon, where my stylist did a last-minute touch-up of my roots. As soon as Richard mentioned having dinner at his place that night, my first concern was getting my hair fixed. I didn’t think he knew that I dyed it black, and I wanted to keep that a secret.
After my last boyfriend realized that I was a natural blonde, he convinced me to grow out all of my black hair and be a ‘California blonde girl.’ I refused to change who I was for yet another man, although something told me Richard would never treat me that way.
I applied some lavender vanilla body oil to my skin, which I had created specifically for my lifestyle brand. It was potent enough that I wouldn’t need any perfume, and I’d hoped Richard would get to feel my soft legs later on that night.
A tight violet dress with black heels was calling my name from the closet, so I slid that on and opted out of wearing panties. It had a slight cleavage, too, which I planned on using to seduce Richard as we ate dinner. Not just because I wanted desperately to have sex again, but because he’d sounded so distant in his text message. If there’s one thing that I knew about men, it’s that you can get them to open up just by having sex.
I got into my pink convertible, put the roof down, and headed over to Richard’s mansion. His place was in the upper-class countryside but it was only a couple minute drive from my downtown loft. I didn’t mind it, though. Especially since I had every intention of spending the night.
My stomach grumbled as I waited for him to answer the door. Whatever he was cooking inside smelled good, too.
I had to ring the doorbell a second time, having waited a full five minutes with no answer. Thoughts started racing through my mind. What if Richard had another woman in the house? What if he invited me over just to break-up? Is that why he was so distant earlier?
I let out a huge exhale to try and calm myself down, but it didn’t work, and I started tapping my foot impatiently. Richard finally answered, immediately kissing my lips as he wrapped his arms around my waist.
“I’m so sorry,” he said. “I was getting some flowers from the garden.”
Convinced that my insecurities were all in my head, I went inside and decided to put my best face forward. Richard wouldn’t have invited me over if he wasn’t into me.
“How was your day?”
Richard shrugged his shoulders.
“Work is work,” he said, putting his arm around my waist. “More importantly, how was your day?”
“It was good. Crystal is teaching classes now, which gives me more time to work on my lifestyle line.”
We went in
to his dining room, which was almost as big as my loft apartment. The overall style of his mansion was modern. Yet, his dining room table reminded me of something out of Victorian England. It was long and elegant, with high-backed chairs along both sides.
Richard had an intimate dinner waiting for us at one end of the table.
“It smells delicious,” I said as he pulled my chair out.
He kissed the top of my head, and I couldn’t help but let out a little moan.
“As much as I would have loved to have cooked,” he said, “I had it delivered from Spiamonte’s. I’ve been working such long days that I’m surprised I even have time to shower.”
He lifted a stainless steel lid, revealing a roasted chicken with vegetables and potatoes underneath. It smelled like lemon and rosemary, with a hint of garlic.
“That is not a protein bar,” I said.
He laughed a little bit, revealing his dazzling white smile underneath his sexy beard.
“And that’s not a yoga outfit.” I leaned forward a little bit, giving him a glimpse down my dress. “Tease.”
He poured each of us a glass of wine, and then we ate in silence for several minutes. My insecurities started to creep back into my mind. Richard was behaving differently. We usually discussed more than just our days, followed by some light flirtation. That was one of the reasons we fell for each other in the first place. Our chemistry just clicked.
“So,” I said, trying to break the silence. “What else is new with you?”
Richard kept his gaze on his food for a minute or two, before finally looking up at me. “A lot of stuff going on at work. But what about you? What’s the update on your lifestyle brand?”
“I heard from an investor today,” I said, eager to discuss something that would break the silence. “He’s in New York, though. We’ll be doing a conference call tomorrow morning.”