I caught up to Alexis at the elevator just as the doors opened. “I got here just in time,” I panted, out of breath.
“Yep,” she replied. We stepped in together and both pressed the button for the first floor.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” I apologized for intruding on her space. Memories of the first sexy encounter we had in the elevator flooded back. She knew what I was thinking and turned her head.
“You’re alright. There’s no need to apologize.” She stood there like a statue. Never once did she look at me as the elevator slowly moved toward the lobby. I was losing her. The elevator doors opened, and like usual, I held the main doors open for her. The air was getting chillier. The wind was strong enough to send a cold draft through my jacket. I checked to see if Alexis was warm enough, but she walked quickly and seemed comfortable enough wrapped in her cardigan sweater and scarf. There was no sign of paparazzi, and that pleased Alexis. I didn’t dare tell her that it disappointed me. Clearly, I was in the doghouse already and didn’t need to be further in there.
“Well, the cafe doesn’t look busy at all. I suppose it’s a great time to come before the true dinner rush starts,” I spoke in attempt to start conversation.
“Oh, yes, most definitely. We should be able to get a table without a problem,” she replied. I studied her as she typed out a text message on her phone. I wondered if she were speaking to that Seth guy again.
The hostess greeted us from the front desk. “How many will be dining with us today?” she asked politely.
“Only two, thank you,” I answered promptly.
The hostess smiled as she was supposed to. “Wonderful. Follow me, please.” We followed the lady around the dining room and to the corner window that we had sat in many times before.
Alexis was hesitant. “I’m sorry to be difficult, but can we have a table away from the windows? Perhaps over by the back wall?” Alexis sounded slightly concerned. Had she developed insecurities about the paparazzi?
“Oh, sure, no problem whatsoever, ma’am,” the hostess answered kindly, although, any businessman could see the frustration behind her professional smile. In business, it’s important to remember that the customer always knows best. We sat down in silence. Alexis was always polite to those around her. She had true Southern charm.
“Thank you, ma’am,” she thanked the hostess. Immediately, she started to browse through the menu. I smiled lovingly and reached for her hand.
“Alexis,” I whispered softly. She looked at me over her menu. “You look beautiful today.”
“Thank you,” her eyes had a slight twinkle in them. If I were able to see her full face, I would’ve seen a smile.
I sat back and relaxed into the chair. “I think I’m going to have my usual.”
“I’m just glad that I can enjoy a meal in here and not worry about the paparazzi cameras peeking at me through the window,” she sighed.
I did not dare confess my disappointment about avoiding the window. I was just glad that she decided to join me at the cafe. “Just eat and relax. They won’t find us in here. Have they been to your apartment lately? I hope that’s cooled off some in the last few days.” I hoped that she would hear the tenderness in my voice.
“They weren’t outside of my apartment yesterday. Ashton, I don’t want this type of attention. My family is in completely freaking out over it.”
“Why?”
She shook her head in frustration while trying to stifle an irritable laugh. “Because their daughter isn’t getting attention for her achievements or anything she earned. She is only getting public attention for being the young mistress of Ashton Jackson, the charming billionaire.” She fidgeted with her napkin and seemed somber. Guilt started to flood me.
“Oh.” I didn’t know what to say. “I’m so sorry. Look, Alexis, I don’t think you’re getting that type of reputation at all. You’ve got so much talent and have accomplished so much in Yoga.” I wanted my words to comfort her.
She sighed. “Unfortunately, that’s not what the media likes to cover.” She took a sip of her water while the waitress set appetizers on the table. I started to say something when my phone buzzed loudly. It startled both of us. Alexis watched me carefully as I pulled the phone from my pocket. It was Charlotte.
“Excuse me while I answer this. It’s Charlotte,” I explained. To be respectful, I turned slightly away from Alexis. “What do you need?” I answered discreetly. “Uh huh, uh huh, okay. I’ll be right there.” I hung up the phone.
“You’ve got to go?” Alexis assumed from the one-sided conversation.
I wiggled uncomfortably in my chair. “Yeah, I’m so terribly sorry. Charlotte has had a minor emergency with some paperwork. I’ve got to go. Um, can we take a rain check?”
Alexis remained calm and collected. “Sure. I hope you figure things out.”
Her response made me smile. I picked up a delicate hand that I had kissed so many times before and pressed my lips to it firmly. “I will make this up to you, my dear,” I whispered.
She merely nodded.
With that, I left the cafe with much haste.
Chapter 3
I ran into Jessica on the street. She was returning home from work and pulled over, asking if I needed a ride.
“It’s a little chilly for a walk today! Do you need a ride wherever you’re going?” she asked me.
“Thanks, girl. I was just headed home from the cafe. Are you headed home?” I leaned in through the passenger-side window.
“Yes, I’m headed home unless you would like to go get coffee for a few.” I thought for a moment. I had a long day at work, got stood up for dinner and wasn’t sure if I felt like going to the coffee shop to only see Seth sitting with another girl. Then again, he had relieved some of those sour emotions when he showed up at our apartment unannounced with Ashton’s indiscrete email. Yeah, I could handle it.
“Let’s go to the coffee shop for a few and relax. It’s been a long but weird day.”
“Alexis, when are your days not weird lately?” she chuckled.
“Good point,” I concurred. I hopped in the car and we rode around the corner. That red door always stood out from everything else on the street. The color itself symbolized love but also blood. Blood symbolized life. That tiny coffee shop had brought much love and life to my story. It was a special little place.
We walked in and found our usual cozy spot. Jessica’s love interest wasn’t there and there wasn’t any of sign of Seth. Finally, we could have girl talk in our favorite spot without distractions.
“So, what’s new?” Jessica asked after she took a sip of her coffee. I hoped that she wouldn’t turn into the angry Jessica once I told her the latest. I was on the verge of completely calling off every bit of communication between me and Ashton. I was beginning to find peace with it all.
“I have an odd feeling about Charlotte, as you know. However, it’s growing. Something isn’t right with her or how she interacts with her dad. Today, he invited me for a romantic dinner with him after work, and I went with him to the cafe. I had my guard up the whole time. Then, Charlotte called and he almost looked panicked. He said that he had to run to help her because she was having a slight emergency with paperwork and asked if we could resume our dinner at a better time. I agreed, and he kissed my hand and left.”
Jessica predicted my current thoughts. “But you’re not really feeling it so much anymore, are you?”
I was relieved that she could sense what I was already starting to feel. “Right. I’m starting to accept that this just isn’t going to work. Something is strange about his interactions with his daughter.’
“Yeah, I have to agree. I’ve said from the beginning that something isn’t right. He’s lied to you about major things in the past. Given that he now has a long lost daughter and their interactions aren’t exactly normal, it would make anyone suspicious. What are the ladies in the office saying about them?”
“I don’t know. I haven’t thought to ask them. I’ve
been so focused on defending my reputation that I haven’t asked.” It was true. I hadn’t thought to ask the women in the office. Sheesh, they always knew the latest in gossip. Their suspicions were correct about me and Ashton! Why wouldn’t they suspect someone else?
“I would ask them,” Jessica said. “Those women may know more than you do, and you’re in the thick of it.” I watched as she continuously dipped her coffee stir stick up and down in her coffee. The swirls of cream and brown were almost mesmerizing and calming.
“Yeah, I think that I will.”
“What do you think is so strange about the interactions between Charlotte and Ashton?” she asked.
I rested my chin on my hand gazed at the world going by on the other side of the window. “They look at each other in a way that a parent and child wouldn’t look at each other. It looks of admiration but not normal admiration. Does that make sense?”
Jessica’s eyes showed extreme disgust. “That’s sick.”
“I could be wrong. I just know that something seems very off.”
“Do you think it could be an incest thing?” her eyes widened. The entire question made me queasy to my stomach.
“Oh, girl, please don’t say that word! I’ve had sex with that man! Let’s not jump to conclusions. I doubt that. Maybe he’s got something else up his sleeve. I even thought that he might be growing closer to his ex-fiancé. You know, Charlotte’s mother is the one that he truly loved.”
“She’s the one that got away,” Jessica added.
“Yep. And now she’s come back on the scene through their daughter. If you took me out of the picture, it looks like a great love story.”
“But what about you? You’re in the picture here,” Jessica seemed concerned.
“I know.”
“And honestly, that wouldn’t explain why he seems to be interacting with his daughter in such a weird way.”
“Maybe he sees his ex-fiancé in her? Charlotte is a beautiful woman. If she looks anything like her mother that could seriously bring back some flashbacks.” My suggestion seemed to make the most sense. However, it wasn’t based in anything concrete.
“True, it could be that.”
“I just need to wait it little longer and see if Ashton’s behaviors continue to travel down this bizarre path. That’s what I will gauge when to bring this up to him and ask him what’s going on. The last thing I want or need is for whatever this is to get out into the media. Girl, I would have to go into hiding.”
Jessica laughed. “Don’t worry. I would find you a random cave somewhere.” We laughed together.
“Oh, I needed that laugh,” I sighed. It was such a good belly laugh that we were holding our stomachs.
“Let’s try to Google this. I know we’ve already done it once before, but let’s try it again,” Jessica urged. She opened the Google app on her phone and tried to type in Charlotte’s name. “What’s her last name?”
I thought for a moment. “I think it’s Johnson.”
“You think? You mean that you don’t know for sure? You work with her now! I figured that you would’ve figured out her last name by now.”
“I’m pretty sure that’s it,” I tried to reassure her.
“Well, if you’re not sure, then there’s no way we can be sure of anything we find.”
“I’m sure that’s her name,” I spoke more confidently. Jessica didn’t seem impressed. “Okay,” she replied, obviously unsure. We pulled up the White Pages but couldn’t find anything that made sense. It also didn’t help that Johnson was a common last name. There were Charlotte Johnson’s in every single state!
“I don’t want to pay for a full background check on any one of these people. I could choose the wrong Charlotte Johnson and it be a complete waste of time and money,” Jessica whined.
“You have a point. There’s so many of them. There are twenty in Arizona! That’s the only place that I would consider doing a background check on since that’s where she supposedly came from.”
Jessica shook her head. “I’m with you. Something is fishy. I won’t rant, but like you said, observe and go from there. It sounds like you’re close to making a decision anyway.”
We wrapped up our time at the tiny coffee shop and headed home. I knew that my instincts were kicking in for a reason. Time would tell.
Chapter 4
The next day at the office, Seth sent me a text message. It surprised since we hadn’t sent text messages since our chat weeks prior.
Be careful with Ashton. I know this text may annoy you, but something seems strange.
In the past, those words would have annoyed me. Sometimes, the truth had a way of angering a person when they weren’t ready to hear it. However, this time around, I had a deep appreciation for Seth’s concerns. It let me know that he was true to his word; he cared for me.
Thank you, Seth. I appreciate your concern.
He replied with a smiley face. I put my phone to the side as Ashton came by my desk side again. We hadn’t spoken to each other since the day before at the cafe. I never called him afterward, and he never called me.
“I’ve got to talk with you about something,” he said casually. “May I?” he pointed to the extra chair behind my desk. I nodded. “Good,” he replied. I turned around to face him. “Don’t worry, it isn’t anything bad,” he tried to assure me.
“I didn’t think that it would be anything bad,” I responded calmly. “If anything, I’m curious. Who wouldn’t be?” I laughed a little. He got comfortable in my chair.
“I suppose you’re right. I just didn’t want you to worry or stress. We’ve had a lot of stuff to deal with lately.”
I nodded again. “Thank you.”
He continued. “I have to make another trip to London.” Immediately, I knew what he was going to ask. He was going to ask if I wanted to go to London with him so that we could have some alone time and make up for all of the stress between us. That’s why he asked me to join him the last time.
“That’s to be expected,” I said. “The office in London is growing steadily.” I smiled confidently. I knew him like the back of my hand.
“Yes, it’s growing like wildfire. I need to fly over and tend to it for a little while. What I needed to ask you was if you could watch the office for me while I’m gone?” His words caught me off guard.
“You, you mean that I’m going to be in charge? What about Janet? She handled it great the last time we went to London.” I was trying to not to panic. Why didn’t he want me to join him? I had joined him on nearly all of his trips since we started our fling. This was odd. It almost hurt my feelings! Yet, why did I feel that way when I was preparing to leave him?
“You’ve learned a lot about my business in the last few months. Janet deserves a break.”
“Oh,” I managed to say.
“That’s not all,” he continued. I looked him in the eyes again. What else was there?
“Oh?” I asked.
“Charlotte is going to accompany me this time. I wanted to make sure that you could be at peace with that before we left. We are set to leave the day after tomorrow.”
What?! I thought to myself. He wasn’t asking if I was okay but almost demanding it! Had he lost every ounce of respect? And then to only give me two days’ notice?
“Ashton, you don’t have to demand that I be at peace with your decisions. You are who you are and you’re going to do what you’re going to do. You should remember that I am who I am, that I’m going to do what I’m going to do and that I will react how I will react. In other words, don’t worry about me, and I won’t worry about you.” I said confidently. He looked stunned.
“Well, you’re definitely right about that. You’re going to do what you’re going to do. That’s for sure. Are you okay with watching the office while I’m gone?”
“Yes, that’s fine. I will do my best. However, I ask that I not be held accountable should something beyond my understanding,” I clarified. I didn’t want to set myself up for fa
ilure. “I reserve the right to give Janet control at any time.”
He nodded, looking impressed. “It’s a deal. I will talk to Janet about it as well.” We shook hands, and he left. Once he disappeared, I sent Jessica a text message about the breaking news. So, he wanted to go to London with Charlotte. Sure, it would be a great father/daughter trip. Sadly, I still suspected something was off-balance. Charlotte emerged from his office with the largest smirk on her face. She winked at me as she walked to the break room for a cup of coffee. I didn’t like her. Plain and simple.
Chapter 5
I knocked on Janet’s door. “Come in!” her voice was muffled from the other side of the thick door.
“Do you have a minute?” I asked respectfully.
“Yes, come on in. You don’t have to hide behind the door.” She smiled and motioned for me to sit. I wasn’t used to seeing her so relaxed around me. I didn’t try to look too far into it but enjoyed the fact that things between us were better than they were in the past.
“This may be rather awkward, but I wanted to ask you some questions.” I stood in front of her desk wringing my hands.
“Have a seat, Alexis. You don’t have to be so nervous.”
I sat down as she instructed. “Thank you, Janet. I can’t help but be nervous about this.”
“Does it have to do with Ashton being out of country and you being in charge of the place?” she grinned kindly.
“Partly, but no, that’s not the reason I’m here. I know that you’re here and can take over if I feel that I’m not properly qualified.” I was careful with my words. I didn’t want her to think that I was there to strictly start any kind of trouble. It was crucial that I made myself clear and that she knew peace was my utmost desire. However, I deserved to find answers to things, and just as Ashton wanted me to be at peace with his decisions, I wanted to be a peace with them as well.
“Okay, what’s the problem?” she asked.
I sighed stared at my sweaty palms. “I don’t want any drama or trouble with anyone. I’ve been that way my entire life although I’m sure that some of you seem to have a hard time believing that.”
Hang Em' Up: A Bad Boy Sports Pregnancy Romance Page 152