“Okay.”
“Bye.”
“Bye.”
I ended the call, unable to believe my luck. No wonder Tobias didn’t want to accept my calls. He had misinterpreted everything and clearly thought I just trying to use him for money.
I had to figure out a way to let him know the truth. My hands shaking, I tried calling him yet again. But just as I expected, I got no answer.
Shit.
Not knowing where he lived, I contemplated going to his office again, but feared that would be in poor taste at a time like this. Plus, I didn’t want his co-workers to think I was some crazy woman stalking him.
A knock on the hotel room door startled me out of my thoughts. For a second, I grew hopeful that it was Tobias and that he hadn’t actually left me after all. But when I answered the door, it was the receptionist from the front desk.
“Hi, Ms. Kale!” she said, cheerfully.
“Hi…”
She bit her bottom lip nervously. “Look, I’m really sorry about this, but it’s past your check-out time already. I’ve let you stay because your boyfriend left and told me you were taking a nap. But I’m afraid if you stay any longer, you’ll have to pay for an extra day…”
“I’m on my way out now,” I said.
“Are you sure? I don’t want to be rude.”
“No, it’s fine. You’ve done more than enough already by letting me stay here longer than I was supposed to. I appreciate it. Thank you.”
“No problem, Ms. Kale,” she said, smiling widely as she briefly eyed the roses behind me.
“Just let me grab my things.”
“Here, let me help you,” she offered. She took my suitcase and I took the roses, and together we headed down to the main lobby. She chatted excitedly with me the whole time, although I had no idea what she was talking about. My mind was entirely too preoccupied with what I was going to do, and how I was going to explain myself to Tobias the next time I managed to get in contact with him. With him dodging my calls though, I realized I was probably going to have to wait until he reached out to me again.
I just had to hope his heart hadn’t hardened to me by that point, because I wasn’t at all the kind of woman he obviously now thought I was.
CHAPTER 24
Tobias
“Good morning, Mr. Gentry.”
I looked up in a daze, taking a moment to figure out who was talking to me. My secretary stared at me, her expression perplexed.
I tried to force a smile, but my jaw muscles wouldn’t function. “Good morning, Courtney. How are you?” I said, my thoughts a million miles away. I had almost opted out of even going to work, not wanting the hassle of maintaining the façade that everything was fine. Yet, as the CEO, I simply couldn’t stay away too long. The fact remained though, that when I stepped into the building, it practically felt like a foreign environment after all that I had been through in the past couple days.
“I’m fine,” Courtney said, almost making me jump. I had zoned out right in front of her, nearly forgetting she was there. She tilted her head and her eyes narrowed at me. “Are you feeling okay?”
“Yeah,” I said.
Courtney glanced at the clock on the wall behind me. “You’re running a little later than usual.”
“I know. I’m sorry. It’s been a long couple of days.”
“Well, the meeting starts in a few minutes. Do you need time to get yourself together? I can send a message to the conference room postponing the meeting for a few minutes.”
I blinked. “Meeting?”
Courtney raised her eyebrows. “Yes, the meeting.”
“What meeting?”
“Mr. Gentry, how could you forget that the company’s quarterly meeting is today? The one that Libby has been relentlessly preparing reports for. She emailed them all to you and left the hardcopies on your desk so that you can go over them. You’re supposed to be providing updates regarding where the firm currently stands.”
“Shit,” I said, running my hand through my hair. The headache I’d been dealing with on and off for the past few days immediately started to return.
“Mr. Gentry, I’m sorry, but this isn’t like you. Are you sure everything is okay? It’s a little too late to cancel the meeting at this point, but is there anything I can do?”
I sighed and shook my head. “No, it’s too important. It can’t be cancelled now. I just…It just slipped my mind, that’s all.”
“I understand if it’s none of my business, but is everything all right with your family? I can tell you’re worried about something…”
I scratched my ear. “No, everything’s fine,” I said, turning my back to her. “Send a message to the conference room letting them know I’ll be there in a little while. Give me about ten minutes.”
“Yes, sir,” Courtney said, rushing off as I headed to my office.
Just as she’d said, Libby had left several hard copies of various reports on my desk. Slamming the door behind me, I hurried inside and began pouring over the papers, trying to cram in as much information as I could. It was a futile effort though; my brain refused to stay focused. Staring at the reports, I knew the meeting was going to be a disaster and I felt there was nothing I could do about it.
Seven minutes later, I picked up the phone and called Libby.
“Tobias?” she answered. “What’s going on? We’re all waiting for you.”
“Libby, can you come to my office for a second?”
Less than two minutes later, she was there. She nervously glanced to the reports in my hand. “What is it? Did I do something wrong?”
“No,” I said. “Not at all. You’ve been perfect. I already owe you, and I’m going to owe you even more soon. Listen, I’ve been kind of distracted lately. To tell you the truth, I forgot about today’s meeting. I’m going to need you to help carry me through it. Do you mind presenting these reports? I get a feeling you know them better than me at this point.”
Libby blinked, stunned. But then she nodded her head. “Uhm…yeah. Sure,” she said. “But is everything okay, Tobias? You’ve seemed off for a while now.”
I shook my head. “Things are far from all right,” I said, standing up and handing her the reports, “but I don’t really feel like talking about it right now. It’ll all come to light sooner or later though. Let’s go.”
Together we headed to the conference room.
It had been a Godsend when Joanna befriended Libby because I would have been completely screwed without her. I made a mental note to give Libby a huge bonus by the end of the week for all the extra assistance she’d been giving me. She definitely deserved it.
“What?” Libby said, noticing me looking at her as we reached the conference room door.
I shook my head. “Nothing,” I said. “Just…thanks for everything.”
CHAPTER 25
Tobias
Libby had saved the day, completely carrying me through the meeting and helping things move along without too many hitches. I had though, been made painfully aware of how far I’d fallen behind with my work, and it wasn’t a good feeling at all. This firm had been my pride and joy for a long time, and never before had I fallen so behind and out of touch with the goings on around the place.
I have to get my head back in the game, I thought to myself as I returned to the office with a fresh cup of coffee in hand.
“Courtney, no visitors today. Tell everyone I’m busy. I’ve got too much work to catch up on,” I said, passing her desk on the way to my office.
“Got it,” she said.
Shortly thereafter, I closed myself in my office, determined to catch up on everything I needed to. Taking a large gulp of my coffee, I turned on my computer and prepared to start sorting through hundreds of emails, reading over reports, and returning missed phone calls, even if it meant I would be stuck in this office until well after midnight.
Scarlet may have turned my life upside down and seriously messed with my head in the process, but I wouldn’t al
low her to let me lose track of my business.
I’d been pounding away at my keyboard with such intensity that I hadn’t initially noticed the knocking at my door. I glanced at the time, seeing that nearly three hours had passed.
“Who is it?” I called out.
“Courtney.”
I sighed. “Come on in.”
She pushed the door open and carefully slid inside, her face full of apprehension as she chewed her bottom lip.
“What?” I said.
She stared back at me for a moment. “Look, do you want to tell me who this woman is? It’s the same one who showed up unannounced before. I tried to tell her that you’re not taking visitors today and that you’re extremely busy, but she started throwing a fit again, demanding and insisting that you see her. What’s her deal? What’s going on?”
“You have got to be kidding me.” I closed my eyes and pinched the bridge of my nose. “She’s here? Right now?”
“Yes.”
“Send her away,” I said.
Courtney blinked, taken aback. “I think that may be easier said than done. Unless you really want to cause a scene and have security literally drag her out of here.”
I almost told her to go ahead and call security, but I realized I couldn’t let that happen. If there was a chance that she actually was pregnant, regardless if by me or someone else, I couldn’t let her get manhandled like that.
I sighed and shook my head. “Dammit,” I muttered. “Send her in.”
Courtney retreated and not before long, Scarlet Kale appeared, peering in at me from the doorway.
So many emotions raced through me that I could hardly make sense of them. As always, I was first stricken by her beauty, but then I recalled how this woman had played me and my blood began to boil. Staring at her, I wondered if she was really going to have the audacity to ask me for money. I hated to admit it, but if she did, I halfway wanted to just give it to her so that she could get her out of my life and leave me in peace. I could give her more than enough to satisfy her without putting a dent in my bank account.
“You’re still here?” I said, breaking the awkward silence between us.
“Yes,” she said. “Because like you wrote in your note, we need to talk.”
Still seated, I folded my arms across my chest. “Okay then. Talk.”
Scarlet moved forward until she stood in front of my desk. Her eyes were large and glossy, and her bottom lip trembled slightly before she started speaking. “Look Tobias, I know what happened. The text messages, right? You read them.”
I cast my eyes downward and folded my arms more tightly.
“Well,” she continued, “I just want you to know that they aren’t at all how they seem. That was just a friend of mine. I’d been so nervous about coming to tell you about the twins that I asked her for advice first. She helped convince me that I should tell you. That you deserved to know. And I agreed with her, because you did deserve to know. This wasn’t all some scheme to weasel money out of you, Tobias, I swear. You don’t have to give me and the babies anything if you don’t want to. Not a dime. I just thought you had the right to know, that’s all.”
I looked up at her, taken aback by how genuine she sounded and looked. I watched as a single tear fell from her eye. The hardness I felt toward her slowly started to melt, and suddenly, I no longer felt sure of myself.
Had I really misinterpreted those text messages? After all, I hadn’t known who they were from, so it was entirely plausible that I’d taken them out of context.
“You’ve got to believe me, Tobias,” Scarlet said. “I wouldn’t use you like that, especially not over something as serious as this.”
I squirmed in my seat, realizing that I’d been too quick to judge. And if I truly thought about it, I knew precisely why. Not only did I already have trust issues, but Headmaster Greene’s words had been replaying in the back of my mind the whole time. No doubt a part of why I had reacted the way I had was because he had planted a seed in my head about Scarlet all those months ago.
“Tell me why Headmaster Greene told me you were trouble.”
“What?” She cocked her head at me.
“When we met, he told me you weren’t someone I wanted to associate myself with. Any idea why?”
She shook in her head. “I’ve been known to be a bit stubborn, and I think the word spitfire was thrown around by some teachers in high school. I skipped classes, went to parties… I was a bad girl I guess. Especially for Hullen. I was also a scholarship kid. I didn’t have money like a lot of the kids there. So they had to pay more attention to me. But what a shit thing for him to say. I didn’t do anything illegal. And the nonprofit I work for? Helps disadvantaged teens, like I was. Kids looking for purpose. I chose that job specifically.”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Had the Headmaster really skewed my vision so much?
“Tobias,” Scarlet said, her voice cracking, “I understand if you don’t want anything to do with me. But just know that I honestly do care about you. I think about you nonstop, and I can’t even put into words how much it would mean to me to…To have something with you. To have something real. How I feel about you has never been faked.”
My heart pounded at her words. I stood from my chair and rounded the desk until I was mere inches away from her. Her eyes scanned my face, searching for my reaction.
“I’m sorry, Scarlet,” I said. “I shouldn’t have judged you so quickly. And I definitely shouldn’t have let Greene put doubts in my head. It’s just…This has all been so much for me.”
She nodded. “Yeah. It’s been a lot for me too.”
“I’ll tell you one thing though,” I said. “Nothing has ever made me happier than to hear that you want something with me.” I grinned. “Because that’s exactly how I feel too.”
A wobbly smile came to Scarlet’s face as I collected her in my arms.
CHAPTER 26
Scarlet
While I would have loved to stay in Tobias’s arms, I pulled back. I’d said what I needed to say, and it was time for me to go. At least now though, I could leave with my heart feeling significantly lighter.
As I drew back, Tobias stared at me, his expression somewhat surprised.
I shook my head. “I’m sorry, but I really do have to get going. I should have been on my way home by now, but I couldn’t leave until I’d set things straight with you. So thank you for giving me a chance to explain.”
“Don’t leave,” Tobias said.
I shook my head again, knowing that I couldn’t afford to check into the hotel again. I’d been on a budget for this trip to Chicago, and I was strapped for cash. And in light of the misunderstanding I’d just had with Tobias, the last thing I wanted to do was ask him for money. My pride simply wouldn’t let me. “No, really Tobias, I have to go now.”
“Why?” he challenged.
I sighed and lowered my gaze to the floor. “I don’t have any place to stay. I…I can’t stay at that hotel any more…” I swallowed and turned away from him. “I don’t have enough…I can’t afford it right now.”
Tobias laughed. “You know that’s not really a problem, don’t you?”
“It is for me,” I said, glancing back at him. “I won’t take money from you unnecessarily.”
“You can stay with me. I have plenty of room.”
“I don’t want to impose.”
“You won’t be imposing.”
“Yes, I would,” I said. I wrapped my arms around myself, suddenly feeling chilled. I hated this feeling, of not having, or not being, enough.
“Scarlet,” Tobias said, moving toward me again, “we’re about to start a family together. What’s mine is yours now.”
I shivered, not quite understanding why I was feeling so defensive and uncomfortable all of a sudden. I had come to his office with the sole purpose of making him believe me and understand that I wasn’t trying to use him for his money. Yet, now that I had succeeded in doing so, I was getting cold feet
about our potential future together. On some level, I knew this was ridiculous. On the other hand, I wanted to prove that I was my own woman and that I could take care of myself.
“Okay, if you won’t stay with me, then let me pay for your hotel stay. I’d like to take you out to dinner tonight, if it’s all right. I want to make things up to you,” Tobias said, interrupting my thoughts.
“You already have,” I said. “You don’t need to do anything else.”
“No I haven’t, and yes I do,” he said sternly. “If you’re uncomfortable with letting me do this for you, then let me at least do it for me. It’s wonderful that you’re feeling better, but I need to feel better too, for what I did to you.”
I sighed and closed my eyes for a moment. When I reopened them, he was grinning at me. Moving closer, he stooped down and kissed my ear. The scent of his cologne drifted into my nose. “I’m going to make you some hotel reservations so you can stay a little longer,” he said. “And I’ll get you a driver to take you wherever you need to go throughout the day. I have some work to finish up here, but when I’m done, we’ll go out to eat. I’ll text you the time and place.”
He kissed my temple, and then I felt his hands slide around my body, warming me back up.
If this was what my life was going to be like from now on, it was definitely going to take some time to get used to. By the time I left Tobias’s office, he had provided me with a driver who’d been instructed to take me wherever I wanted to go.
“Do whatever you want,” Tobias had said. “Just make sure to pick up a dress for tonight. We’re going someplace special.”
Just for a moment, I had almost allowed myself to get swept away into the glamour of it all. But then I got a text from my job, which I had been neglecting for far too long. It was enough to send me crashing right back to reality as I stood before the department store mirror, wearing a long and elegant ball gown that managed to perfectly flatter my figure, baby-bump and all.
In the dressing room, I stared at my reflection and sighed.
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