He nodded. “Come get me afterward. I want to talk to him.”
“Will do.”
It had shaken Griffin to see Marissa crying in her office. It only served to make him feel worse. He hoped that she would one day be able to forgive him. Maybe in time, she would lock it away in the back of her mind.
For Griffin, it would not be so easy.
Chapter 10
Marissa was deep in thought.
Her brief conversation with Griffin had left her with mixed emotions. Instead of saying that he was sorry for turning her away, Griffin only seemed sorry that they crossed that professional line because their working relationship was now strained.
Marissa had hoped that he would confess having feelings for her, but apparently, she had misread him.
He is not in love with me.
She sighed in resignation. “There’s no turning back now,” she whispered. “It’s just you and me, little one. When the case doesn’t go your way, you just keep moving forward—that’s the first thing I learned in law school.”
For the moment, her pregnancy was the least of her worries. They were preparing for the Ponzi-scheme case that would go to trial in a few weeks. Marissa had been reading about the victims in the news and heard them on the radio and television. For many of them, nailing Blaine Morton would be a catharsis of sorts. Blaine was the subject of extreme public scorn. This would not be an easy case to win.
Although she knew that she needed to tell Griffin about the baby, there was never a perfect time. He was busy assisting Jake and Harper with this case. Everyone, including Marissa, noticed how distracted Harper had become. She was the only one who knew the reason behind his distraction.
Marissa called Harper.
“Have lunch with me,” she said when he answered the phone.
“Can we do it now?” he asked.
“Sure. I’ll meet you at the elevator.”
They left the building and walked across the street.
Inside the restaurant, Marissa told him, “Harper, I know you’re hurt by Uncle Frank’s actions, but you can’t let this affect your work. You’ve got a huge case to prepare for, and the firm is counting on you.”
He met Marissa’s gaze. “Do you think I really care? The Hamiltons are just a bunch of pretenders. That photo shoot we did for your mother two months ago—those pictures are a bunch of lies to defraud people into thinking we’re something that we’re not. A family.”
“Harper, we are still a family,” Marissa said. “No family is perfect, and just like any other family in the world, we have our problems.”
“Is it that simple for you?” he asked. “Have you forgiven your mother?”
“No, but I am not going to let it take over my life. Harper, instead of being angry, why don’t you put that energy into working this case?”
He appeared to be silently considering her words.
They made small talk while they ate.
Marissa was thrilled when she was finally awarded a smile from Harper. The strain of what he knew was too much for her cousin.
* * *
“I forgot that you were also on the board,” Marissa said when Griffin sat down beside her at a luncheon to benefit orphans.
“I was the one that told you about it, remember?” he responded.
After the event, they joined the other members for a tour of the orphanage.
Marissa smiled as she watched Griffin interact with the children. He would make a good father, she thought silently.
“You’re very good with them,” she said when he joined her.
“I love children,” Griffin said. “How about you? Do you want kids someday?”
His question startled Marissa. “S-sure,” she said softly.
Griffin’s gaze was so intense that she searched for an escape. Marissa found it when they neared a women’s bathroom. “Excuse me.”
I need to tell him about the baby. Should I just blurt it out?
No, she decided. The timing had to be perfect.
Marissa placed a hand on her belly. “I am going to tell him soon, little one.”
Griffin was waiting for her when she walked out of the bathroom. “You didn’t have to wait for me.”
“I didn’t mind,” he told her.
They left for the office after the tour.
Griffin escorted Marissa to her car, telling her about his invitation to speak at Temple.
She smiled at him. “That’s wonderful, Griffin.” She really was happy for him, the way she’d be happy for any friend.
But as she climbed into her car and closed the door, she knew that she and Griffin could never be just “friends.” She cared too much for him. However, they would have to find a way to coparent if he wanted to be a part of his child’s life.
She decided that she needed to also try to mend her relationship with her mother. Like with Harper, the secret of her mother’s affair was weighing heavily on her.
That evening, she decided to surprise her family with dinner.
Marissa eyed the dining-room table and smiled. She had scented candles stationed in the center of the table.
Humming softly, Marissa strolled into the kitchen to see how her meal was faring. The roast chicken and scalloped potatoes smelled delicious.
She left the kitchen and went upstairs to put on a black, long-sleeved maxi-dress. She then slipped on a pair of black flats.
Her mother arrived thirty minutes later.
“Something smells good,” Jeanette said with a smile.
“Thank you,” Marissa said. “I thought I’d make us some dinner. Everything should be ready soon.”
Her father arrived with a beautiful bouquet of flowers for Jeanette.
“These are for you,” Jacob said, holding out the flowers to her. “When I saw them, they reminded me of you.”
She sniffed the colorful bouquet and said, “They’re beautiful, Jacob. Thank you.”
Marissa turned away and continued what she was doing.
Jillian arrived a few minutes later. “Those flowers are beautiful, Mother,” she said. “What are we celebrating?”
“Family,” Jeanette murmured with a smile. “Marissa cooked a wonderful dinner for us. I think we should sit down and just enjoy this evening together. It’s been a while since we’ve done this.”
They all sat down at the mahogany dining table to eat as soon as the food was ready.
Jacob quickly blessed the food before they dived in.
“Marissa, I really appreciate the effort you put into this,” her mother said.
“Thanks, Mother,” she said. “I know that I’ve been focusing a lot on work and I…well, I thought I should make some time for us.”
Marissa could feel her father watching her. She would not look in his direction for fear that he could read the truth in her eyes. She was struggling to keep the feelings of betrayal at bay. She wiped her mouth with the edge of her napkin.
Jillian stuck a forkful of food into her mouth and chewed slowly. “This is really delicious. Marissa, you’re a wonderful cook.”
She smiled. “Thank you.”
“Maybe you should give it a try, Jillian,” their father said.
“Funny, Dad.”
Marissa chuckled. “Practice makes perfect.”
Laughter rang out around the table.
It had been a while since they were able to laugh like this.
After they finished eating, Marissa pushed away from the table and stood up. “I’m going to clean up the kitchen.”
“I’ll help,” Jillian offered.
Marissa looked at her sister in disbelief. “Really? You?”
They put the dishes into the dishwasher and put away the rest of the food. When t
he kitchen was clean, they settled down in the family room with their parents to watch a movie together.
Marissa discreetly watched as her parents interacted with each other. They seemed so in love.
Was it just an illusion? she wondered.
Marissa shook her head. She wanted to rid herself of those thoughts because they would only feed her anger and disappointment. She was trying to work through her feelings. It was best for her family.
* * *
Marissa eased inside the lecture room to listen as Griffin talked about his path to becoming an associate with Hamilton, Hamilton and Clark.
“The journey was a difficult one at times,” Griffin told the audience. “But not impossible. It’s the same for all of you.”
He was an eloquent speaker. Marissa enjoyed listening to him.
She smiled when she spied a couple of female students whispering about him. Griffin was extremely handsome and Marissa understood completely why they were fawning over him. He still had a way of astounding her whenever they were in the same room.
As he neared the end of his speech, Marissa stood up and made her way to the exit doors. She did not want Griffin to know that she had come.
She could hear the entire room explode in applause.
Marissa wiped away her tears. They were not sad tears, but happy ones. She was thrilled for Griffin. All of his dreams were coming true.
She had no idea how her news was going to affect him, but it was time that he knew about the baby. He had a right to know before anyone else figured out that she was pregnant.
Chapter 11
Marissa decided to wait until everyone had left the office before approaching Griffin. She found him in his office working. He had loosened his tie and rolled up the sleeves of his shirt. She quietly surveyed him for a moment. He was so handsome, even now when he was focused on whatever currently held his attention.
He must have sensed her presence and looked up. “What are you still doing here?”
“I needed to talk to you,” she said, walking into the office. “Do you have a moment?”
Griffin nodded. “I was just about to call it a night. What’s going on?”
Marissa sat down in one of the visitor chairs. “You did a great job earlier today.”
He frowned. “What are you talking about?”
“When you were speaking to the law students,” Marissa said. “I went to Temple. I wanted to hear your talk.”
Griffin’s eyes widened in surprise. “Why didn’t you say something to me?”
Marissa gave a slight shrug. “I don’t know. Things have been a little crazy between us for a while,” she began. “Some of it has to do with you, but not all of it.”
She sighed. “Griff, I found out something about my family that is really disturbing. Honestly, it is just about the worst thing I could ever imagine. However, what is even worse than the secret itself is the fact that the people I trusted most lied to me.”
Marissa glanced up at Griffin. “And I’m not going to do that to you. I owe you the truth. There is something that I need to tell you.”
“I’m listening,” Griffin murmured, although he looked very confused. “Does it have anything to do with this secret you mentioned?”
Marissa shook her head. “No, Griff. That secret can wait, but this cannot.” She inhaled deeply, and then exhaled slowly. Gathering up her courage, she announced, “I’m pregnant.”
She heard his quick intake of breath, but when Griffin did not immediately respond, Marissa continued, “You and I are going to have a baby.”
A long moment of silence passed before Griffin seemed to register what she said.
“But you can’t be!” Griffin blurted. “Marissa, we used protection. It can’t be. That night…”
“We conceived a child,” Marissa finished for him when the shock he was feeling seemed to silence him.
It certainly was not the joyous reaction Marissa secretly hoped for.
“Are you sure?”
She nodded. “I’m in my sixteenth week.”
At this, his expression changed from shock to anger. “You’ve known all this time and didn’t think of telling me?”
“Believe me, I’ve thought of nothing else, Griff. I wanted to tell you as soon as I found out, but then I remembered our conversation.... You made it clear that we couldn’t have a relationship.” Marissa met his gaze. “I didn’t want you to feel obligated.”
“I can’t believe that you think so little of me,” he stated with an angry shake of his head.
“Griff, it’s not like that at all,” Marissa countered. “The last thing I wanted was you feeling trapped. Neither one of us planned for something like this to happen.”
“So you think I can just walk away from you and the child we created?” Griffin shook his head. “I will start making arrangements at once.”
“Arrangements for what?” Marissa demanded in a harsh tone. “If you think I’m about to have an abortion, you’re—”
Griffin interrupted her with a short laugh filled with little humor. “You really don’t know me at all, Marissa.”
“Then what arrangements are you talking about? I’m not about to give my baby up for adoption either.”
“Marissa, I am referring to wedding plans,” Griffin announced as calmly as he could manage. “We have to get married—the sooner the better.”
Marissa silently studied Griffin a moment before uttering, “You can’t be serious.”
His sudden proposal was better than suggesting an abortion or adoption, but the grim expression on his face decimated whatever happiness she might have felt.
* * *
“You really cannot be serious about getting married,” Marissa stated as a wave of shock flowed through her body. They had never even been on a real date, and now Griffin was talking marriage.
“I am very serious.”
She gave him a sidelong glance of utter disbelief. “I’m sure you may think this is the right thing to do, Griff, but I do not intend to get married just because I’m pregnant. This baby and I deserve much more than your feeling obligated to do the right thing.”
Marissa remembered all too well how quickly Griffin had tossed away their relationship for the sake of his career.
“Marissa, this baby deserves to be raised by both parents.”
“I agree,” she said. “But I don’t want my child to grow up with parents who don’t love each other. Griff, we can coparent without getting married. People do it all of the time.”
“That’s fine for some folk, but I don’t want that for a child of mine, Marissa.”
“And I don’t want a marriage of convenience either,” she said.
“We have to put this child first.”
Marissa nodded in agreement. “Yes, we do, but Griff, I know what I can live with and what I cannot.”
“Would it be so terrible being married to me?” he asked.
“No,” she answered softly. “You’re a good man, Griff, but…”
“I do care about you, Marissa.”
“But is it enough to build a marriage on?” She wanted to know. Marissa was in love with Griffin and she wanted nothing more than to spend the rest of her life with him, but she could clearly see that he did not share those feelings.
“Isn’t our child worth the risk of trying?”
Marissa did not know how to respond to his question. She and Griffin wanted the same thing for their child—the chance to grow up with both parents—but she could not bear being married to a man who did not love her.
* * *
“I am not going to allow you to shut me out of my child’s life, Marissa.” Griffin’s tone was adamant. He was still struggling with the news that they had conceived a child together. How could
she have kept this news from him all this time?
“Why did you wait until now to tell me?” he asked.
“I wanted to get through the first trimester,” she responded. “I didn’t want to disrupt your life and end up miscarrying.”
Griffin pushed away from his desk and rose to his feet. He walked over to where she sat. “Marissa, you should have come to me. You didn’t have to deal with this all alone.”
She glanced up at him. “Griff, you made a decision about us five months ago.”
He pulled her to her feet and then placed a hand gently to her stomach. “This baby changes everything for me.”
A myriad of emotions swamped him, and strange sensations overtook him. He looked up from her stomach and met her eyes. “I—” He was about to speak, but he heard her father’s voice in the hallway.
“What is he doing back here?” she whispered.
At the sound of a knock on her door, Marissa quickly stepped away from Griffin, saying, “We’ll finish this later.”
“Indeed,” he murmured.
Griffin opened the door and stepped aside to allow Jacob entrance.
“I stopped by your office earlier,” Jacob told Marissa.
“I needed to go over something with Griffin,” she managed to say. “Did you need to speak to me?”
“I’ll come by shortly,” Jacob said. “Right now I need to talk to Griffin.”
She excused herself and slowly made her way to the door. Marissa paused for a brief second to gaze at Griffin, who gave her a tight smile.
Griffin felt a momentary panic. How will Jacob react when he finds out that his baby girl is pregnant and I am the father? I’ll probably be out looking for another job, he thought miserably. That is, if Jacob doesn’t demand my head on a platter.
Chapter 12
The next day, Marissa expected to see Griffin standing in her office by the time she arrived, but was disappointed when she found it empty. He’d called her last night after leaving the office, but Marissa did not want to finish their discussion over the telephone.
She sat down at her desk for a few minutes before a knock at her door drew her attention.
“Daddy, what are you doing here?” she asked when he entered her office. “I thought you were going to spend the day with Mother.”
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