by Mia Caldwell
“He wouldn’t because there’s too much at stake for him to reveal a word to anyone. He didn’t even want me to tell you. I pleaded with him to change his mind because I didn’t think I could get through this pregnancy without the support of my best friend. Little did I know my best friend would be the one to sell me out. Andrew warned me and I should have listened to him. But I thought I could trust you.”
Natalie’s frown deepened, distorting her face even further. “You’re selfish, you know that, Ryanna?”
“Selfish? You sell things I told you in confidence to a tabloid and you have the nerve to call me selfish?”
“I do, because you are.” She lifted up her chin defiantly and I longed to sock it with my fist. “Ever since you got with Andrew and became rich, you haven’t thought about anyone else but him, yourself, and that stupid baby you two haven’t made yet despite all the fucking you’re doing.
“The only time you reached out to me was when he was out of town. Then you called me to stand in like I have nothing better to do than to be at your beck and call. And even then, you were still caught up in yourself, showing off Andrew’s house, his cars, his tennis courts, and on and on and on. Even when I finally got a word in edgewise and told you about my problems, did you offer to help? No! You told me to talk to the trainer and get extra time to take the tests. You’re sitting on a million fucking dollars and you didn’t offer me one red cent of it.”
As Natalie continued to rant about how I should have given her some of the payout, I wondered how I’d never seen this angry, greedy side to her before. Maybe it had something to do with my having always been the ugly duckling to her swan. Ever since we met in our freshman year of college, Natalie had been the one to get the boys’ attention, join the better clubs, and secure jobs and internships before I did.
I’d never considered us in competition with each other but she must have. My meeting Andrew and striking the three million dollar agreement to conceive and carry his child raised the stakes. It put me far, far ahead of where Natalie could ever hope to be.
“You wouldn’t even try to get me a fucking job in his fucking company,” she yelled. “The man you’re fucking every night won’t give your best friend a job in a corporation that employs thousands of people. Yeah, right. You were probably just scared if I got too close I’d steal your man. I should have been the one who saved Andrew Rutledge’s life. You didn’t even know who he was until I told you. I should be the one getting paid three million dollars to spread my legs for a guy I’d fuck for free. It should have been me. You took what was mine, Ryanna.”
I’d never heard Natalie so unhinged. The old me who was her friend would have been very concerned and wanted to call a doctor to see if something could be prescribed to calm her down. However, the new me didn’t give a shit and hoped Natalie choked on her own vicious bile.
I picked up my purse and prepared to go, grateful I’d left my luggage in the car and wouldn’t have to lug it out with me. Perhaps deep down, I knew I wouldn’t be staying at Natalie’s long enough to make dragging the suitcases two blocks worth the effort.
She stopped ranting long enough to notice I’d moved to the door and was about to leave. “Where are you going?”
“Why? You going to call the Ledger and tell them in hopes they’ll give you another payout?”
“I’m glad I sold the details of your and Andrews fucked up deal to them. If you weren’t going to share the wealth, I needed to get the cash from somewhere.”
Her sense of self-entitlement amazed me. “I’m just curious. Since you sold me out for the metaphorical thirty pieces of silver, why blow through all that cash on designer junk? Why not save it for rent? You’ll need that money because you’re not getting another cent out of me.”
“See? There’s that selfishness of yours rearing its ugly head again. I’m sure you could make up with Andrew and regain access to that million dollar bank account in five seconds flat. But you won’t do it because you’re selfish . . . and spiteful!”
Yep, Natalie was psychotic and I’d spent too long talking to her already. Just as I began to leave, I remembered something. I took the key to the apartment off of my keychain and tossed it to her, but she missed it. “Goodbye, Natalie. Don’t ever contact me again and I’ll show you the same courtesy.”
She managed to yell “Selfish bitch!” before I closed the door. As far as confrontations went, I was 0 for 2. The break with Andrew had been painful, but Natalie’s betrayal struck the deeper blow. I expected more from the woman I’d known throughout my entire four years of college than the man I’d only met three months earlier. But the double whammy of losing them both, and on the same day, was almost more than I could bear.
But I realized I had no choice but to bear it now that I was pregnant. Dwelling in self pity was no longer an option, and wouldn’t be for the next eighteen years.
Pull it together and keep it together, I told myself as I walked back to the parking garage. I walked quickly despite the fact I had no idea where I would go. It was the first time in a long time when I didn’t have a clue what to do next. But for the sake of the baby growing inside of me, I knew I needed to figure it out fast.
CHAPTER THREE
I wound up staying at the Jaymore Inn & Suites, a mid-price hotel located halfway between West Philadelphia and the airport. While I could have afforded a more expensive and luxurious hotel, I wanted to limit the amount I’d have to pay Andrew back since I was using part of the million dollars he’d already paid me.
The television droned on as I lay on the bed and stared at the ceiling. I still couldn’t wrap my head around the confrontation with Natalie. Had she always been such a head case? Or did the extraordinary opportunity I had with Andrew make a screw of hers suddenly pop loose.
Unfortunately, I’d told Natalie about my fight with Andrew before I realized she’d been the one who’d betrayed me to the tabloids. Would she go back to them with news about the breakup? She probably would if it meant another check. There were likely still some luxury and designer stores on Walnut Street where she hadn’t had the chance to spend her ill-gotten cash yet.
But turning my nose up at how Natalie earned her money made me realize I was in no place to judge. Didn’t being paid such an exorbitant sum to conceive and carry a virtual stranger’s baby put me on the same level as being a gossip snitch?
“No,” I said out loud in the empty hotel room, as if someone had put the question to me directly. “I would betray a friend the way Natalie betrayed me. Not even if I was offered ten million dollars. Friends are supposed to be loyal and stand by each other.”
Great, now I was talking to myself. While I knew the hormonal changes could sometimes affect pregnant women’s behavior, it was way too early for that to be the case with me. I couldn’t be more than four weeks along, most likely three-and-a-half. If a typical human pregnancy lasted forty weeks, I needed to do a better job of keeping it together. A nervous breakdown would have to wait until late in the third trimester.
I reached for my messenger bag and pulled out a notebook where I’d kept track of my periods and ovulation schedule. While I probably wouldn’t be able to nail down the exact date of conception, I’d probably get within a day or two of it.
I’d just begun the calculations when I heard a knock on the door. No one knew I was here ─ how could they, since I’d only picked the hotel a couple of hours earlier from a hotel search website on my phone. However, one person had the power and resources to track me down no matter what.
That’s why when I answered the door and saw Andrew on the other side of it, I wasn’t totally surprised. However, his disheveled appearance did catch me off guard. A shirt tail hung from out of the waistband of his pants and his tie was crooked as it hung loosely from the open collar of his shirt. His eyes were bloodshot and there were dark circles under them while his hair was mussed, as if he’d been constantly running his hands through it. Basically, he looked as miserable as I felt.
W
e stared at each other for a few moments before he said, “I know I said I’d give you some time and space but I didn’t like how we ended things on the phone. Not talking through our misunderstanding would only make matters worse. Can I come in? Let’s try to talk this out. If you still want me to go after that, I promise I will.”
I stepped to the side to allow him to enter. “How did you find me?”
“You connected the GPS in your car to my account, remember? So we’d always be able to find each other in case of a breakdown or other emergency.”
I’d forgotten about the extra feature Andrew had installed on my car. At the time, it seemed like a good idea, like if I got stranded in the middle of nowhere with the baby, he’d be able to find us. But now, I wasn’t sure if I liked him being able to track my whereabouts so closely.
As if he could tell what I was thinking, Andrew said, “I swear I don’t spy on you, but this was an emergency. We really need to talk and that’s the only reason I logged into your GPS to find out where you were.”
“It’s okay, I’m glad you found me. You’re right, we do need to talk.” I looked up into his clear green eyes and found the same sadness and despair in them that had been haunting me since our fight earlier that day.
But instead of feeling spitefully triumphant ─ Good! I hurt him as much as he hurt me! ─ I felt miserable that I’d caused him any pain. Although I didn’t like the way he’d treated me ─ and still more than a few issues with it ─ this wasn’t how I wanted to resolve the matter.
When he reached out to tuck a strand of my hair behind my ear, what little control I had over my composure gave way. I burst into tears and Andrew took me into his arms. Although we’d only been apart for a matter of hours, it seemed like years since we’d last touched each other. He wrapped on arm around my shoulders and the other around my waist, holding me tightly as I continued to sob.
Normally, I despised cry-babies and did my best not to cry myself. But I had to admit, this particular sob-fest felt really good, cleansing even. I let go of all the tension and anger that had been building up since the reporter called me a gold-digging whore. Natalie’s betrayal still infuriated me, but somehow it didn’t seem as quite of a pressing matter as Andrew’s grip around me tightened.
Eventually, my tears subsided and I pushed myself back from Andrew a little to see the wet stains I’d left on his suit and the shirt underneath. “It’s ruined,” I said, poking the damp spots.
Andrew kissed my forehead. “I don’t care. If the dry cleaner can’t fix it, I’ll throw it out. A suit is a small thing compared to the way I’ve hurt you. Ryanna, I’m so sorry. You can’t know how sorry I am. I’m willing to spend the rest of my life making it up to you.”
“I didn’t like the way you acted earlier, but that’s not the main reason I’ve broken down like this.” I disentangled myself from his arms and took a step back. Andrew’s frown indicated he didn’t want to let me go but I needed to look him in the eye for what I had to say next.
“I’m the one who owes you the apology. I just found out Natalie betrayed my confidence and sold details of our arrangement to The Philadelphia Ledger for twelve thousand dollars. I should have listened to you and not told anyone about our deal. It was stupid of me to have trusted her. Now your empire is at stake because of my bad judgment. I’m really sorry, Andrew.”
He took my hands in his and said, “I know about Natalie. She’s part of the reason I needed to see you tonight. I was dreading telling you the truth about your best friend, afraid it would drive an even bigger wedge between us. So I’m glad you discovered the truth on your own.”
“I found check stubs from the Ledger in her wastebasket and put two and two together. How did you find out about her?”
“It didn’t take my corporate security long to get to the root of the problem once I told them what was happening. As a result, I managed to have the stories killed before they ever saw the light of day.”
“So no scandal? No articles about our arrangement? No one’s going to call me a gold-digging whore in the Ledger?” I squeezed his hands tighter, hoping this wasn’t too good to be true.
“None of that is going to happen.” Andrew pulled me close to him once again. “I have connections with the corporation that owns the Ledger. We have the potential to do a lot of business together. Their senior management realized hundreds of millions of dollars would be jeopardized if a paper which represents less than one percent of their total net worth published false allegations about me and libeled an innocent woman’s character.”
“False allegations?”
“Lawyer speak.” He flashed me a wry smile. “I kept most of the attorneys on staff very busy today making this mess go away.”
As glad as I was to hear that the potential scandal had been squashed, I asked, “Does this mean your corporate security and attorneys know about me?”
Andrew shook his head. “No, my staff knows how seriously I guard my personal life. They know their job is to make sure it stays private and doesn’t affect Rutledge Electronics. The details of our arrangement still remain only between you and me.”
I was so relieved to hear it, I didn’t care that he still seemed to be prioritizing Rutledge Electronics over me or us. The threat of exposure made me realize how awkward it would be if details of the arrangement came to light and my identity was exposed. I’d yet to tell either of my parents anything about Andrew or the deal we’d made. Then again, I hadn’t even told them about my job offer at NKL Laboratories being postponed. There would be a lot to discuss the next time I saw them.
Andrew began stroking my lower back. “This has been one of the most miserable days of my life. I don’t like it when you’re mad at me. Not being able to reach you was torture.”
“I was angry when it seemed like you were trivializing the reporter calling me a gold-digging whore. Plus, you kind of freaked me out when you started talking to yourself during that meltdown in your office. But since then, I’ve had my own mini-meltdown where I talked to myself, so I guess I understand where you were coming from.”
“When was this? After you learned about Natalie going to the Ledger?”
“Partly, but I was also freaking out over something else.” I clasped my hands around his neck. “Andrew, I’m pregnant.”
He looked thunderstruck. “Pregnant?”
I nodded. “Just found out this morning. The reporter accosted me outside the drugstore after I’d bought the pregnancy test. But I didn’t take the test until after I left your office.”
“After we had our fight.” Andrew sighed. “I should have been there for you. I wanted to be there for every one of our child’s milestones.”
“You’re here now. And not seeing me pee on a stick isn’t the same as missing out on one of our child’s milestones. Think of it this way, you would have been coming home right about now anyway. You’re learning about the pregnancy around the same time I would have told you about it even if this hadn’t been such a dramatic day.”
“You know something, you’re right.” Andrew laughed and lifted me off my feet into the air. “Ryanna, you have no idea how happy you’ve made me. I ─”
I love you. It was on the tip of his tongue. He wanted to say it, I knew he did. The tender look on his face and the caring look in his eyes all spelled L-O-V-E.
Yet, he didn’t say it. It was like a curtain fell over his honest, open emotions and he retreated back to being the kind, caring man I’d fallen for and, yes, loved. I wanted so much to tell him I love you. But since he couldn’t or would say the words to me, it didn’t seem appropriate to make such an admission. This was a contractual agreement, after all. It would be a mistake to let personal emotions enter into it.
But it was difficult not to feel personal emotions with Andrew holding me so close. When he lowered me to the ground, he did it in such a way that our bodies rubbed up against each other. Tingles of excitement sparked through me as I felt his hard cock poke through his pants to brush agains
t my torso, lower stomach, and finally my crotch.
Andrew pressed his dick further into me as he embraced me tightly. “When you wouldn’t answer my calls, I got scared I’d never get to hold you like this again.”
“I didn’t want to take your calls because I was still angry. If we talked, I might have said something that would have made things worse.”
“Nothing could be worse than you ignoring me.” Andrew pulled back, placing his hands on my shoulders. “I don’t want us to ever shut each other out ever again. That’s especially important now that we’re going to be parents.”
I reached up to unknot his tie and remove it. “There’s something to be said for taking a timeout to cool off. Sometimes things are said in the heat of the moment you wouldn’t dare tell someone if you were in your right mind.”
“Okay, my temperamental beauty.” Andrew smiled as I unbuttoned his shirt, my fingers lingering on the hard planes of his chest. “I’ll respect your need for space if you’ll understand my desire to want to talk things out. I hated it when my parents used to give each other the silent treatment before they divorced. The tension used to poison the entire atmosphere and I felt like I had to walk on eggshells to avoid taking sides.”
“We won’t be like that,” I said as I helped him take off his shirt by sliding it down over his powerful muscular arms. “We won’t force our child to take sides because we’ll always maintain an open dialogue to show him the respect we have for each other.”
Andrew lifted my shirt over my head and unhooked my bra, throwing both items on the floor. “Him, huh? You already know it’s a boy?”
“I guess I should have said him or her. But don’t most men want boys? Especially billionaire CEO men who have a legacy to pass on?”
I’d used a teasing tone, but Andrew’s face grew serious. “I don’t care if it’s a boy or a girl, as long as it’s healthy. And even if it’s not, I’ll love it anyway and make sure it gets the best medical care available.”