by Zena Wynn
Gail slid her hand between their bodies and undid the zipper on his pants. She reached in and stroked his rapidly hardening penis. “Take me,” she whispered.
“I thought you were sore.”
“I lied.”
He bit her earlobe. “Under normal circumstances, I’d be angry with you for lying to me, but in this instance, it can be forgiven.” He entered her slowly. “You have to be quiet. No screaming. My secretary’s right outside.”
This man was turning her inside out, loosening all of her inhibitions. Why else would the thought of being heard excite her, taking her arousal to another level? She wanted sexy Ms. Brentman to hear and know what they were doing. In her own way, she was as possessive as Rashid. She wanted the woman to know that this man belonged to her and no one else.
“Let her hear.” She wrapped her legs around his waist. “It will keep her from getting any ideas about you.”
At her words, a fierce look crossed his face. “As you wish.”
God, she should have known better. The man made her scream so loud it’s a wonder security wasn’t called. She was sure it sounded like he was killing her. Then again, maybe not. If she were dying, would she really have been screaming, “Yes! Yes! Oh God, just like that!”
Much, much later, Rashid escorted her out of the office and back to the penthouse. He was all smug male pride as they walked down the hall to the elevator. She, on the other hand, wavered and wobbled like someone who’d had one drink too many. The goofy grin wouldn’t leave her face, no matter how hard she tried and she caught herself humming tunelessly more than once.
Rashid hammered on the door, handing her over to Greg when the door opened. “I hope you have food in here. After she naps, she’ll be hungry.”
Greg looked her over from head-to-toe. “You walked her through your business looking like that?”
The wicked humor in Greg’s voice penetrated the pleasurable buzz she was feeling. “Like what?”
“Like you’ve just been thoroughly fucked,” he informed her.
She sucked in a sharp breath. “I can’t believe you just said that.” Then she looked down. Her skirt was twisted, and her shirt haphazardly buttoned. One touch let her know her hair was sticking up all over her head. “Rashid!’
He tried looking innocent. “I think you look fine. You said you didn’t care if she knew.”
“Damn,” Greg laughed. “That was some apology.”
Rashid tipped her chin with his forefinger. “You came down to apologize?”
She twisted away. “I changed my mind. You don’t deserve one now.” She tugged at her skirt, trying to get it on straight. Then she began to undo the buttons on her shirt.
“Here, let me help.”
Greg knocked his hand away. “If you touch her again, I’ll never get any work out of her today. Go! You’ve messed up my schedule enough for one day.”
Rashid backed away. “I’ll see you later at home.” To Greg he said, “Don’t work her too hard. She didn’t get much sleep last night.”
“So I gather. Don’t worry. Message noted and understood. Now leave.”
Gail’s gaze bounced back and forth between the two men, wondering what Greg’s cryptic words meant and the sudden tension between them. Whatever it was, Rashid understood. He nodded in the way of men and left. Once he was gone, they finally managed to get some work done.
* * * *
Four weeks later, Gail listened while Greg practiced his plea for what seemed like the tenth time that morning. Their brief was prepared and filed two weeks ago, and now they were just waiting to hear from the court.
“Gail!”
“Hmm?”
“Am I so boring that I’m putting you to sleep?”
She yawned and tried to appear more alert. “I’m sorry. It’s just that I’ve been so sleepy lately. It’s not you. Go ahead. I’m listening.” She sat straighter on the couch and forced her eyes wide open.
He put the papers down, came and sat beside her. “Does Rashid know that you’re pregnant?”
“I’m not pregnant, just a little tired. My iron’s probably low.” She rubbed her eyes and shook her head, trying to wake.
Greg placed an arm on the back of the couch behind her, turning towards her. “Are you certain you’re not pregnant? Cause this is just how you were when you were carrying the twins.”
Gail glared at him. “Yes, I’m sure. Rashid had a vasectomy while he was still married to Crystal. It just not possible.”
He arched his brow at her. “You do know that pregnancy can still occur within the first six months after having the procedure done. Sometimes it takes as long as twelve months for all the live sperm to dissipate. Have you been using birth control?”
She shook her head. “No, there’s no need.”
“Did Rashid go back for his third and six month checkups to make sure the procedure was successful?”
All of these questions were making her nervous. “I don’t know.”
“Well, have you missed any periods?”
“I haven’t had a period since before I was pregnant. The doctor said the breastfeeding interrupted my cycle.”
“I thought the babies were weaned now?”
“They are. I started weaning them at six months, but Jamilah took a little longer. I was still pumping milk for her until she was a little over seven months old.”
“So they’ve been weaned for almost five months now and you still haven’t had your period?”
She shrugged one shoulder. “I spotted once or twice, but that’s about it. My GYN said that was normal.”
“Put your shoes on.” He stood and grabbed his wallet and keys.
“Are we going somewhere?”
“To the store to get you a pregnancy test.”
“For what? I told you that I’m not pregnant.”
“Humor me.”
She slowly rose to her feet and put on her shoes. “This is silly. You know that, don’t you? I’ll take the stupid test but you’re paying for it. I’m not wasting my money.”
Four hours later, she looked at the little pee stick in horror. A plus sign, signifying that she was pregnant. “Get me another one,” she demanded of Greg, who leaned against the frame of the open bathroom door, arms crossed on his chest.
“I’m not going out and buying another test. You’ve taken four of the damn things, and all of them were different brands. You’re pregnant. Face it.”
She sank down onto the closed lid of the toilet and slumped over. “But I can’t be. Rashid will never believe it’s his. He’ll think I cheated on him—with you.”
He straightened. “Didn’t you tell him I can’t have children?”
“I don’t know. I can’t remember,” she wailed. “This is terrible.”
He shook his head. “I don’t understand your reaction. You love the twins. I thought you’d be happy about this.”
“I love them but I never considered having more. Remember, I wasn’t supposed to have them. I don’t even know if Rashid wants more children. The subject’s never come up. What am I going to do?”
“First, you’re going to stop panicking and tell your husband the good news. He’ll be happy. He loves children.”
“Are you nuts? I can’t tell him about this.” She gestured to the four pregnancy tests lined up on the sink top, pausing to stare in disbelief once again at the results. When she looked back at Greg, he had an expression on his face that she knew boded ill for her. She sat up straight, hands gripping her knees. “Greg, don’t you dare. Promise me you won’t tell him.”
“He needs to know.”
“I’ll tell him—eventually—just not until this appeal is over. I don’t want to burden him. He’s worried enough.”
“Rashid isn’t the one worrying; you are. Tell him. He needs to know and if he finds out you’ve known and didn’t tell him, he’s going to be pissed. I would.”
She ran her fingers through her hair, agitated. “I will, but not now. And you’re righ
t. It’s me that’s worried. Can’t you just let it wait until after the hearing? It can’t be too much longer, right?” She begged with her eyes.
“I won’t tell him on one condition—you go to the doctor. If you don’t agree to start with your prenatal care, I’ll walk right down there and tell him now.”
She sighed as the weight dropped off her shoulders. A reprieve. “Deal.” She held out her hand for him to shake.
He held out his phone to her instead.
She stared at it. “What’s this for?”
“Call and make your appointment.”
“Now? Don’t you trust me?”
“No.”
She snatched the phone out of his hand, and pushed past him out of the restroom. “Fine. I’ll call.”
When she got off the phone, he commented from behind, “I thought Dr. Hagan was your OBGYN?”
“No, he’s Rashid’s doctor. Mine is Dr. Jennings. That’s who I’m going to see.”
“You know Rashid will make you switch when he finds out. Why not just go to Dr. Hagan to begin with?”
Because he’ll tell Rashid. Aloud she said, “I’ll see any doctor he wants, after the hearing.”
He placed his hands on his hips and looked down at her. “You know, I’m beginning to detect a distinct lack of faith in my abilities. Listening to you, one would believe we were going to lose this appeal.”
She placed a hand on his shoulder. “Greg, I have complete faith in your ability as an attorney. I recommended you, remember? It’s just that I’ve learned not to put to my absolute confidence in things. If I leave room for a little doubt, it won’t hurt as much if it doesn’t go as planned.”
He brushed the hair off her forehead and tucked it behind her ear. “You’re too young to be so cynical.”
She shrugged. “Life lessons learned the hard way.”
“There’s no way this can go wrong. Between my brilliance and Rashid’s meticulous planning, Davis doesn’t have a legal leg to stand on. Stop being such a doubting Thomas and just believe. Like I said, this is just a formality. I told you they would throw out the custody issue and they did. Trust me on this.”
“That’s true but they should have thrown out the whole thing.”
Greg laid a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “I told you, this case is just interesting enough to spark the court’s curiosity. How often does one like it come along? Why do you think the partners at my law firm agreed to my coming back here and taking this case? This is the kind that sets precedent. The prestige a successfully won case like this can bring to the firm is worth more than the fee Rashid’s paying us.”
She sighed. “Fine. I’ll try not to worry. It’s just that whenever things are going good, I’ve learned to watch out, ‘cause that’s when trouble comes knocking.”
“You’ve had enough of trouble. Relax. It will be fine. You can’t afford to worry. Stress isn’t good for the baby.”
She groaned and put her hands over her face. “Did you have to remind me?”
* * * *
Her cell phone blared out a tune, pulling her from a sound sleep. Gail reached a hand out from under the covers and snagged it before it could wake Rashid. Who was calling at this time of night? The caller’s ID read “Private.” No help there.
“‘Lo?” She cleared her throat and tried again. “Hello?”
“Gail, it’s me, Crystal. Can we meet somewhere? I need to talk to you.”
“Now?” She must be crazy. It was after midnight.
“Actually, I was thinking I could come over after Rashid left. Or maybe you could meet me for breakfast. My treat.”
Gail caught her words, realizing she’d almost agreed out of habit. “There’s nothing to discuss.” She kept her voice low.
“There’s plenty to talk about. You’re married to my husband, living in my house, and raising my children.”
Crystal’s words sparked her dormant temper. She eased out of the bed and walked out of the room, closing the door softly behind her. “Those children belong to me. You weren’t interested in them before they were born, nor were you around for the first year of their life, so don’t go acting like I stole something from you. And if you wanted your husband, you should have thought of that sooner. Rashid’s a good man and you just up and left. No explanation. No goodbye. Nothing. By your actions, you deserved to lose him and everything else you had with him. Goodbye, I’m going back to bed now with my husband.”
“Wait! Please! You’re right. What I did was wrong and I shouldn’t have said what I did. Please don’t hang up. You’re my closest friend. Please, just give me a few minutes of your time, a chance to make things right.”
“Your closest friend? That’s not saying much, is it? Do you even know what friendship is? A friend wouldn’t ask someone who’d recently lost their only child to have a baby for them. And if for some crazy reason she did, and the friend stupidly agreed like I did, they damn sure wouldn’t go off and abandon them. Besides, this is about more than your leaving. You swore to me that you would stick with me through every step of this pregnancy. That it would be the two of us together doing this, and you didn’t. Rashid was the one with me at every doctor’s appointment. He was my coach during childbirth classes. He watched over me and made sure I ate and exercised like instructed, and he was the one there in the delivery room with me when it was time for them to be born. When Jamilah got sick and we were so afraid we were going to lose her, it was the two of us in that emergency room while you were off getting your head straight. And you think a few minutes of conversation is going to make things right? I don’t think so. Frankly, I’m not interested in anything you have to say because there is nothing you can say to justify what you did.” All the crazy, conflicted feelings Gail had towards Crystal were gone now and in its place was pure, unadulterated anger.
“Everything you just said is true. I know I messed up in so many ways. That’s what this appeal is about. I’m trying to fix the mistakes I made with you and with Rashid. Everything that’s happened is my fault. You and Rashid are together now because I gave you no choice. He stepped in to fill the void that I left when I didn’t do as I promised, and I know the only reason the two of you married was because of the babies. They needed a mother and I wasn’t there. I wasn’t ready then but I’m ready now. Ready to be a mother to them and a better wife to Rashid. I just need you to give me another chance.”
Gail walked further into the hallway, away from the bedroom door. If Rashid should awaken, she didn’t want him to overhear her end of the conversation. “Another chance,” she echoed; her voice flat. “And exactly how do you expect me to accomplish this?”
“When the judge overturns the divorce, let me and Rashid have the babies. My lawyer says that if you’re willing to sign, we can still do a step-parent adoption, making me the babies’ legal mother. Then Rashid and I can raise them as originally planned.”
“You’re crazy as hell! I’m not giving you my children. Hell, I wouldn’t even leave you alone in the room with them for a minute, let alone adopt them. I’d let the State take them before I signed them over to you.” She wasn’t a cussing woman but Crystal was taking her there.
Give her my children? Over my dead body.
“GAIL! How could you say something so cruel? I’d be a good mother to them, I swear. Just give me a chance to prove it.”
“Forget it. You had your chance and you blew it. Besides, why should I trust you? You as good as admitted that you never wanted the babies to begin with. You were just using my pregnancy in another one of your psycho attempts to carry a pregnancy to term.” Gail paced the hallway and landing in long, angry strides.
Crystal sniffed and Gail could hear the tears in her voice. “I know and I’m sorry, so sorry. I’ve accepted that I’ll never have a child of my own. I know I said all of this before but this time I really mean it. The counselor helped me to see the damage I was doing to myself mentally and physically, as well as to the people I love because I wouldn’t accept t
he truth. Please, please, I’m begging you. Don’t take my babies away from me. They’re all I have.”
“Then you have nothing. I’m not giving them up. This whole conversation is a waste of time and effort, just like this appeal.”
“This appeal is not a waste. Rashid loves me. I know he does, and once we’re remarried, he’ll forgive me and things will go back to the way they were. He just needs a chance to calm down. You even said it yourself. Once he’s no longer angry, everything will be fine.”
The confidence in her voice grated on Gail’s nerves, pushing her anger up a notch. “Don’t bet on it. Not this time.” She snapped her cell phone shut and set it on one of the hall tables. Too angry to go back to bed, she walked around aimlessly before heading into the nursery to watch her children sleep.
“I fought against loving you in the beginning, too afraid to claim you the way that I wanted to from the time I felt your first movement, but now I’ll die before I let anyone take you or your father away from me.”
She straightened their covers and kissed them gently on the head before leaving the nursery. From there, she wandered out onto the balcony overlooking the pool. It was cold, and what she had on was flimsy. The heat from the open door didn’t reach where she stood at the railing, but she couldn’t go back inside, not just yet.
She was angry on so many levels. Angry with Crystal for thinking she would give up her kids, just because she asked. Angry at the betrayal of their friendship and angry at the guilt she felt because the words Crystal spoke were true. Gail was living in her house, married to her husband, and raising her children. It didn’t matter that she’d planned none of it, or that Crystal had brought it all on herself with her scheming. Friendship, betrayal, guilt—all these feelings warred inside Gail in a confusing blend. Over fifteen years of close friendship didn’t come undone in less than a year.
Strong arms wrapped around her from behind and she pulled back into a solid chest. “You are going to freeze. What are you doing out here?”
“Did the air wake you? I’m sorry.” She snuggled into the warmth of his embrace.