by Heidi Rice
‘Thanks, Walter, I appreciate your input.’ He picked up his suit jacket, slung it over his shoulder. Feeling more in control than he had since he’d first laid eyes on Tess Tremaine. ‘Let Jenny know when the meeting’s scheduled and I’ll be there.’
Walter slammed the planner closed. ‘Are you sure that’s wise?’
‘What do you mean?’
‘I’ve gotta say, son, I haven’t seen you this steamed up since that episode with the Ducatti woman ten years ago. It might be simpler and less provocative if my team and I handle it from here.’
Nate debated the thought. Yes, it would be easier and more rational to let the legal team take over from here. But then the image of Tess, lying to him without a qualm not a half-hour after he’d been thrusting into her on her kitchen counter, blazed through his mind.
The hell with that.
He couldn’t just let it go. Maybe it was irrational, and a little childish of him, but he wanted to see her brought to account. And the good news was he wasn’t that dumb twenty-year-old kid any more, who had fallen so easily for Marlena’s lies.
Tess had been driving him slowly insane from the first minute he’d spotted her in the crowded rooftop bar during the Galloway party. But despite that cosmic chemistry, she didn’t have any more power over him than any other woman. And when she signed on the dotted line and took his money, he’d be able to prove it.
‘I’ll let you do all the talking, Walter,’ he said, making it clear he’d made up his mind on the issue.
Walter gave a brief nod, but looked unconvinced. ‘All right. You’re paying the bills, I guess it’s your call.’
Damn straight it was, Nate thought as he left the office.
And when Tess Tremaine finally figured that out, everything could be worked out to his satisfaction.
* * *
‘I do not believe it!’ Tess slammed the phone back into the cradle on Eva’s kitchen wall.
‘What’s happened? Who was that on the phone?’ Eva asked, pausing as she shovelled some unidentifiable substance into Carmine’s open mouth.
‘That, if you can believe it, was the PA to Walter Jensen.’ Tess spat the words out. ‘Who is none other than the legal representative of Nathaniel Graystone, CEO of Graystone Enterprises.’
‘The Firecracker Guy?’
‘He’s not the Firecracker Guy,’ Tess said as the telltale blush fired up her throat at the memory of how much of a firecracker he’d been six days ago in her kitchen. ‘He’s a pain in the backside.’
Eva wiped Carmine’s mouth with his bib and handed the baby the plastic spoon to suck. ‘What did his lawyer want?’
‘Apparently, I’m supposed to go to their offices for a meeting tomorrow. When the terms of our settlement will be negotiated.’
‘What settlement?’
‘I have absolutely no idea, and the delightful Mrs Shenberg didn’t seem keen to elaborate. When I asked for an explanation she started talking in tongues about their client Mr Graystone, his rights and responsibilities, and loads of other rubbish that made no sense whatsoever. What rights and responsibilities?’ Tess marched across the open-plan kitchen getting more agitated by the second. She felt as if she’d been sucked into an alternative reality in which Nate Graystone seemed to have invaded her life. ‘I’m not going. He doesn’t have any rights and responsibilities towards me. Which I have already made perfectly clear.’
She didn’t want to see him again. Look what had happened the last time. She was having a hard enough time forgetting about him, and yet he insisted on continually reappearing in her life.
‘Actually, he sort of does,’ Eva said, sending a pointed look towards Tess’s belly button.
Tess placed her hand over her midriff. ‘That’s not his responsibility, it’s mine. I don’t want him involved.’
‘Why not?’ Eva protested. ‘He’s the baby’s father.’
‘No, he’s not...’ Tess waved the thought away, feeling flustered. ‘Not in any real sense. His involvement’s just an accident of genetics.’
Eva gave an incredulous laugh and smiled at her son, who was hammering an invisible nail into his high chair with his spoon. ‘I’ll be sure to tell Nick that, next time he drags himself out of bed at two in the morning to change Carmine’s nappy.’
‘It’s not the same. Nick’s a fantastic dad. You can see how much he adores his son every time he looks at him. Nate Graystone’s not interested in being a father.’
‘How do you know that?’ Eva leaned forward to emphasize her point. ‘He may have said some stupid things when you told him about the baby. But maybe he was in shock.’
‘No, he wasn’t,’ Tess said, remembering the easy dismissal when he’d first heard the news.
Eva brushed aside the observation with a flick of her fingers. ‘Fine, but he must have had a change of heart or why would he be offering you a settlement? And getting his lawyers involved?’
‘I told you, I don’t know, especially as I saw him six days ago and told him I wasn’t even pregnant.’
‘You did what?’ Eva looked so shocked, Tess felt the lead football form in her stomach again. If Eva knew what else she’d done that afternoon, she wouldn’t just be shocked, she’d be appalled.
‘Don’t look at me like that.’ She didn’t want to feel guilty. She’d done the right thing. ‘He came to see me to ask about the baby. But I could tell he was only there because he thought he had to be. He doesn’t care about the baby.’ Or me.
The football got bigger, weighing down her stomach like a boulder. She pushed the silly moment of vulnerability away.
Who cared if Nate Graystone had feelings for her? She didn’t need an emotional connection with a man like him.
‘So you told him the baby didn’t exist?’ The concern in Eva’s voice made Tess stiffen.
‘It seemed like the sensible thing to do. I don’t want my baby getting saddled with a father who doesn’t want it, like I did.’
Concern clouded Eva’s eyes. ‘What makes you think your father didn’t want you?’
Tess stood up, determined not to get suckered in by Eva’s sweet-natured attempts to always see the best in people. ‘He kicked me out of the house when I was fifteen, and I had to go live with my aunt. I’d call that pretty conclusive proof.’
‘Oh, Tess, that’s dreadful.’ Eva’s eyes widened with distress. ‘I never knew that. Was that after your mother died?’
‘Yes. Three years after.’
‘That’s terrible. How could he? I’m so sorry.’
Tess nodded, smothering the slither of guilt at Eva’s heartfelt show of sympathy. The truth was her father’s actions hadn’t been entirely unprovoked. She’d gone through a bad patch after her mother’s death. A very bad patch. In fact, she’d made her father’s life hell. But that was hardly an excuse for him to bury himself in work, to close himself in his study for hours on end and virtually ignore her. The truth was the only time he’d shown her any attention was when she’d got into trouble—so she’d got into a lot of trouble.
Tess concentrated on the furious crashing of Carmine’s spoon against the plastic table top and waited for the tug of shame at the way she’d behaved as a teenager to pass. Her current problem had nothing to do with her dad, and the causes of that long-ago dismissal—and everything to do with Nate Graystone.
‘Thanks, Eva, but you don’t have to be sorry. I got over what happened back then years ago.’ Maybe blaming the estrangement entirely on her father seemed a little immature now, but it was how she’d got through it at the time; there was no point in revisiting her actions now. ‘The point is, Nate Graystone didn’t want to know when I first told him about the pregnancy and I’m not convinced that has changed.’
‘But surely the fact that he’s called this meeting at all has to be a positive step. A sign that he wants to be involved?’ Eva murmured. ‘Doesn’t he deserve a second chance?’
‘But I don’t want him to be involved,’ she said forcefully, and tried to ma
ke herself believe it. Wasn’t that why she’d lied to him six days ago? But why didn’t she feel quite so sure about that decision now? And why couldn’t she forget the tender touch of his fingertip on her cheek?
Eva drew in a weighty breath. ‘You should go to this meeting tomorrow, and tell him the truth about the pregnancy. Quite apart from anything else, you could use some financial help.’
‘Yes, but...’ Tess trailed off, her blood pressure plummeting as the real reason Nate had called this meeting suddenly became blindingly obvious. ‘I don’t think I’ll have to tell him. I think he already knows.’
‘Tess, you’ve gone white. What’s the matter?’
‘That’s why he’s got his lawyers involved. He’s planning to force me to have an abortion.’
Eva gasped. ‘That’s hideous. Don’t say that.’ But the shock and outrage in her voice did nothing to dislodge Tess’s suspicions.
Unless you were as sweet and optimistic as Eva, what other explanation could there be? She had to be a realist if she was going to survive.
The way she’d survived once before when her father had driven her to live with her mother’s sister and told her she could only come back when she learned to behave herself.
She’d cried and pleaded with him all the way, but he’d refused to budge on the matter, his voice weary but firm.
It had taken months of tears and tantrums, but eventually she’d got her act together and turned her life around, enrolling in a new school and making a fresh start. And the loss of her mother had finally become an old scar instead of a constantly festering wound. But her relationship with her father had remained strained and distant for the rest of his life. She’d never gone back to live with him. And she’d never been able to forgive him for casting her aside.
Funny to think that she’d thought Nate Graystone was as bad as her father—only to discover it was quite possible he was a great deal worse.
Unfortunately, the irony didn’t make the bitter disappointment or the grim reality of what she would have to face tomorrow feel any less daunting.
CHAPTER SEVEN
‘AS YOU can see, the compensation offered...’ the elderly lawyer paused to flick through several pages of the weighty document, a copy of which he’d handed to Tess when she’d arrived ten minutes ago ‘...which is detailed on the third page of the contract, is more than generous and should meet your needs for the foreseeable future.’
Tess’s hands tightened on the papers as Walter Jensen removed his spectacles, and fixed her with a steely-eyed stare. She stared back, refusing to relinquish eye contact as the document stayed firmly closed in her lap, the funereal atmosphere in the downtown office of Jensen & Partners almost as intimidating as the feel of Nate Graystone’s eyes boring into her skull from across the room.
Jensen’s bushy eyebrows rose up his forehead. ‘Would you like me to outline the details of the compensation?’
‘No, thank you,’ she replied, as firmly as she could manage while her fingers were trembling on the heavy paper. ‘That won’t be necessary.’
She had absolutely no intention of accepting, or even discussing, Nate Graystone’s blood money. Compensated for what exactly? Why didn’t they even have the guts to come out and say it?
She launched the document onto the desk. It landed with a loud slap of paper against polished wood. ‘I don’t need Graystone’s money. I happen to be perfectly capable of taking care of my own needs.’
The announcement echoed into silence in the wood-panelled office, which smelled of old books and lemon-scented polish. She could feel the eyes of everyone in the room boring into her skull now—the clerk who had been busy typing notes on a tablet computer, a young male assistant attorney sharply dressed in a pinstriped suit, whom Jensen had introduced as Grant something, and of course the bane of her existence, Nathaniel Graystone CEO, who had given her a curt nod then sat in an alcove observing the proceedings from a distance, like a tiger waiting to pounce on its prey.
‘I see,’ Jensen said at last. She saw the flicker of something that looked like surprise, but he masked it instantly. ‘And if we were to increase our offer?’
The words were delivered in an even, conciliatory tone, but the intent behind them—that this was exactly what she had been holding out for—had anger boiling under her breastbone.
The injustice hit her first, but far worse was the stab of hurt beneath. She’d never once asked Nate for money. So why did he assume she could be bought?
She got up, her body vibrating with tension. ‘I’ve told you I don’t want Graystone’s money.’ She ground the words out, deliberately ignoring the glowering presence in the alcove and the growled expletive. If he thought he could intimidate her, he could forget it.
She directed her gaze at Jensen. ‘My baby and I are not for sale.’
Jensen sent her a level look, his gaze narrowing. ‘So there is still a child? Despite what you told my client a week ago.’
‘Well, I...’ She scrambled for something to say as she heard Graystone’s foot thud against the floor, the tension in the room stretching tight. ‘That’s none of your business.’ She glared at Nate, giving up on her decision to ignore him, and struggling to cling onto the righteous fury. ‘And it’s none of Graystone’s business either,’ she added with a bravado she suddenly didn’t feel.
His brows had lowered in an accusing scowl as his fingers tightened into fists on the arms of the chair.
She turned her gaze back to Jensen, ignoring Nate’s barely leashed show of temper. He could have all the hissy fits he wanted. She’d lied for the right reasons, precisely because she didn’t want to be put in this exact position. She didn’t have anything to feel guilty about.
‘If the child is my client’s,’ the lawyer interrupted, ‘then I’m afraid it is his business and that also makes it my business.’ Jensen watched her, his voice gentling again. ‘Now why don’t you sit down, Miss Tremaine, so we can all discuss this like rational adults?’
The careful words made Tess feel like an errant child, being censured by her father. The memory had foolish tears prickling the backs of her eyelids. She drew in a sharp breath. No matter what, they were not going to see her cry.
‘There’s nothing to discuss,’ she said in as placid a tone as she could manage while her insides were churning. ‘I’ve told you, I don’t need or want Graystone’s money and I...’
Another vicious curse emanated from the corner of the room, ricocheting off the furniture and making everyone jump. Then Nate towered over her, rigid with fury.
‘Stop calling me Graystone. My name’s Nate.’ He grasped her upper arm in long, strong fingers and hauled her towards him. ‘As you damn well know or you wouldn’t have been sobbing it in my ear when I had you on your kitchen counter a week ago.’
The shocked silence reverberated around the room as Tess wrestled her arm free. ‘You bastard.’ She shoved him hard in the middle of his starched white shirt as the hot blood of mortification pounded in her head and turned the tips of her ears vermillion.
How could he have mentioned that here? In front of a room full of his minions?
She rubbed her arm where the touch of his fingers still burned through the silk blouse she’d worn to the meeting so she’d look chic and sophisticated. Thanks to Nate Graystone, she now looked like a cheap little tart instead.
‘Don’t think that because you...you seduced me...’ she blurted out, soldiering on when he gave a harsh incredulous laugh ‘...that gives you the right to manipulate me into doing—’
‘You have got to be kidding me,’ he roared, bearing down on her again, his blue eyes sparking with fury. ‘I’m manipulating you? Don’t make me laugh. Exactly who was it who was wrapped so tight around me one minute I could hardly breathe, then was lying their head off to me the next? You’re like a child who needs a good spanking.’
That did it.
‘You reckon?’ She shoved her chin out, folded her arms over her heaving chest and stepped into his spac
e. ‘Why don’t you try it, big guy?’
But as he grasped her upper arms something other than fury arched between them—the molten heat in her belly matching the pulse of fire in his eyes.
‘Let her go, right this instant, Nathaniel.’ The booming shout from across the desk had them both jolting back to stare at Walter Jensen.
The elderly man raked a hand through his thinning hair revealing a rapidly receding hairline. ‘Sit down, both of you,’ he growled, jabbing a finger at them as a mottled red flush spread up his throat. ‘Everyone else, leave.’
The clerk slipped his computer under his arm and hot-footed it for the door, but Grant the natty dresser hesitated. ‘Are you sure you don’t want me to...?’
Walter put up his hand to halt the question. ‘Grant, please,’ he said, regaining a little of his composure. ‘Go get some lunch. I think it’s clear this isn’t a legal issue any more.’
‘What do you mean this isn’t a legal issue any more?’ Nate started up as soon as the door closed behind Jensen’s assistant.
Jensen sent Nate a hard stare. ‘Be quiet and sit down.’
‘I will not,’ Nate replied, every inch the all-powerful CEO. ‘Have you forgotten who pays the bills around here?’
The elderly attorney didn’t even bat an eyelid at the tone, the level look becoming almost pitying. ‘If you want to take your business elsewhere, you certainly can, because after the scene I’ve just witnessed I’m seriously reconsidering my retirement options.’
Nate tensed, a dull flush highlighting his cheeks. Tess wondered at the relationship between the two men. It seemed it was a lot more personal than client to attorney.
‘I apologise, Walter,’ Nate replied, grudgingly. ‘You know I have no intention of taking my business elsewhere. But I resent being treated like a twelve-year-old.’
Jensen huffed out a breath. ‘Then you should stop behaving like one. Nathaniel, what the hell is wrong with you? I feel like I’m dealing with that hot-tempered kid I had to bail out of juvie again.’