Redemption (The Bet)

by Phal, Francette

  The elevator brought them down from the twenty-first floor to the first in seconds and as the silver doors dinged open, Nicholas grabbed his briefcase from her hand and continued walking, knowing that she always followed. "Interesting," he exited the revolving door and smoothly stepped into the stretch limo opened and awaiting his arrival. "You've met someone?" He asked once Samantha entered and the door closed firmly behind her.

  Did he sound jealous? Samantha wasn't too familiar with the sound of jealousy from men. Then again, Nicholas wasn't exactly like most men, even when angered he went out of his way to always remain in control of his emotions.

  "Yes. You sound surprised."

  Nicholas poured a glass of water into his short glass and brought it to his lips with the first smile Samantha has seen since the beginning of the week. "Not really surprised…well, yes, I guess I am surprised. It's a little shocking to hear that you have a date."

  Slightly offended, Samantha retorted, "I do date."

  "Which I am well aware of, it's just hard to grasp. I did not mean to offend you and I apologize if I did." He smiled softly and all was forgiven for Samantha.

  "It's fine." She took the offered glass of water he handed her. "I'll cancel."

  "There's no need…"

  She shook her head. "No, I need to be there and besides he isn't all that interesting anyway." What could possibly be interesting about a guy who didn't really exist? Nothing, that's what. What was it that Cassandra, best friend extraordinaire had drilled in her head a few weeks ago? Oh yes-"...make yourself available to him at all times and if all else fails, try the jealousy thing."

  Well, seeing as how the' jealousy thing' was sinking faster than the titanic, Samantha resigned herself to plan A.) Availability was obviously the key in all this. If she made herself available to him at all times than she would eventually creep into his life and slowly become acquainted with his children and soon enough, who knows? She could be the next Mrs. Grayson, with a child of her own on the way, in less than a year perhaps. Okay, so maybe she was getting ahead of herself, but one couldn't blame a girl for dreaming, right? And Samantha Harris had some very big dreams, dreams she would've loved turning into reality.

  "I apologize if working for me interferes with your social life but then I cannot say that I understand seeing as I have no social life of my own. The life of an entrepreneur is at times lonely, bleak and tiresome, in no way, would I wish that onto anyone, especially you." There was a note of slight derision in that comment that tugged at Samantha's heart and if she didn’t know him as well as she did, she would've taken it as self-pity.

  But Nicholas wasn't the sort of man to wallow in pity. He was strong. He was self-assured. He was man who did not accept anything else but perfection in others and went even further in giving more than perfection in return.

  "You have a good life, Nicholas." She tried to reassure.

  Eyes averted to the passing scenery beyond the tinted windows of the Limo, Nicholas gave a snort at her comment. "I have money, I have power, and I have lovers. It’s a meaningless existence. There is nothing good about it."

  "I…is this about your ex-lover?" the dreaded ex-lover, the beautiful ex-lover, who was not only mother to Nicholas's children, a blessing in its own right. But she also happened to be the sole wielder and proprietor of Nicholas's heart and soul. It would be a foolish person indeed who would dare go up against something so daunting.

  Mother had always called her a foolish girl, her head filled with hopes and dreams that seemed unattainable but she had conquered business school, despite all that had been against her. She worked herself up from lowly intern to one of the most respected minds in Grayson Corp. Nicholas valued her opinions next to his own-she was his right hand man.

  Samantha knew the value of hard work. She knew the agony of defeat and the joys of overcoming it. She knew how to preserver and going up against the one person who made the indomitable Nicholas Grayson lose all rationality with just her presence alone, would be a challenge she would relish winning. No small, feat mind you but the most valuable things are never easy to come by, a lesson well learned throughout her twenty eight years of life.

  Taking his gaze from the window, he leaned his head back against the leather seats, closed his eyes and a small, imperceptible smile grazed his lips. "Ellie," he said the name and his smile grew, Samantha's heart burned. "She wants me to stay away from her…pretend there is nothing between us. It's like asking a politician not to lie. Every time I see her, I can't help but fall all over again. Every time I look at the faces of our children, she's all I see." Caught in introspection he seemed to have forgotten Samantha’s presence.

  Spellbound by the object of his obsession, he continued to speak. "I want her to be happy. I really do. But I can’t seem to let her go." He sounded so forlorn, so vulnerable in his impromptu confession that Samantha felt for him.

  "If you love something set it free. If it comes back to you, it's yours, if it doesn't it was never meant to be. Ellie will come back to you if she's meant to Nicholas. You can't keep wallowing in your past with her; it's going to destroy the fleeting relationship you have. Meanwhile it would be in your best interest to familiarize yourself with your children."

  He finally turned to her with a halfhearted smile. "I never did like that saying."

  Samantha shrugged and returned his smile with a brilliant one of her own. "It's not my favorite either, but I thought it suited the situation."

  He looked away from her and released a bone weary sigh. "God, I must be more stressed than I thought. Forgive me for unloading my baggage on you."

  "Well, I meant what I said a few weeks ago, I'm your employee, but I'm a friend as well and anything you have to say, I'm always willing to listen and offer advice." Hopefully nothing pertaining to his ex again. Witnessing Nicholas so vulnerable was as unnerving as it was touching, but Samantha wanted him to feel like that about her.

  "I'll try to remember that."

  Their next conversation moved from personal to business and sooner than they both realized the Limo arrived at its destination. With a plan in mind, they boarded the luxurious plane and were on their way to Kyoto, hopefully to return before the late afternoons.

  Chapter 15

  It wasn't until Sunday afternoon that Nicholas had the opportunity to see his children. Leaving the grievances of the past week at the threshold, he stepped into Ellie's home once the door was opened by the diminutive woman and gave an inaudible greeting.

  "I'm fine. How are you doing?"

  "I'm good, stressful week, but what's business without a little stress?" Nicholas posed the question as they headed towards the living room.

  "I think you thrive on the stress, you've always liked staying on your toes." Ellie turned to him and surprised Nicholas with a grin. Taking a temporary second to gather his bearings, he cleared his throat behind his fisted hand, before following in Ellie's wake.

  Seated around the living room, attention ensnared by the flickering images on the flat screen T.V. was about half of Ellie's family. Gabe and Ronnie sat snuggly together on the loveseat to the far right of where their babbling horde giggled and played, every now and then, taking a moment to look at the screen. On the sectional couch, Devlin sat with Bella, Dylan seated next to them and Sophie occupying the next seat over, a small puppy separating her from the boy who bore a striking resemblance to Devlin, who sat adjacent to her.

  It was an image of familial bliss, and despite how hard he wished it were different, he came to the bitter realization that this would never be his. He stumbled backwards suddenly desperate to escape, the festering wound at his core too much for him to bear. He would’ve made his exit unnoticed but a sudden step on a creaking floorboard alerted Bella and everyone’s attention to him.

  “Daddy!” There was no dimming the joy in Bella's eyes as she leapt from Devlin's side and ran into her father's welcoming embrace.

  "Good to see you too, princess." He held her for a beat longer relishin
g the warmth of her hug.

  "How was your trip to Japan?"

  "Uneventful and dull,” he said with a small smile, pulling away to stare into eyes that were more gold than brown. “I only wish I had you there to keep me company. How was your week here? Anything exciting?"

  "No, nothing exciting. Except for this stupid boy in my class who keeps bothering me and calling me names. I stepped on his foot because he pulled my hair and I got in trouble. It wasn't fair because he started it." With all the indignation of a Grayson she spoke her displeasure like the princess her father believed her to be.

  "Tell me his name and I'll take care of him." No one pulled on his daughter's hair, especially a snot-nosed ten year old brat who didn't have the good sense to know whose child she was.

  Ellie's laughter caused Nicholas to look up at her, brows furrowed in question. "Honestly Nicholas, what are you going to do? Go up to this fifth grader and beat him up? The boy probably has a crush on her, that's it."

  "He should know better than to pull her hair and call her names."

  "And she should know better than using anything but her words to retaliate."

  Nicholas couldn't help his own laughter, "This coming from the woman who's always eager and ready to dislocate my jaw? It's no surprise that she gets it from you."

  "I am a good role model to my kids, thank you very much, Grayson."

  Nicholas stood, oblivious of their audience, he approached Ellie. "Are you? Tell me that you aren't itching to hit me right now?" he was smiling at her, the unabashed smile she remembered too clearly from memories best forgotten. For a second, a very brief second Ellie felt beguiled by that smile, but the sound of Devlin’s voice quickly dragged her back.

  "She might not be, but I sure as hell am." Ellie jumped not having realized he’d come so close.

  "I'm not here for a fight." Nicholas said reasonably. "I came to invite the children to my mother's home. She's been asking to meet them for a while now. Would you like that?" He inquired of a grinning Bella.

  "Is she nice like Nana Dina?"

  Nicholas shrugged. "She has her moments, but I've come to adore her and I think you will too."

  "Mommy can I can go?"

  "Yeah, me too, Mom?"

  "I don't want to go." Dylan said mutinously, keeping his gaze on the screen.

  "It'd honor my mother very much if she had the chance to meet you."

  "I don't care, I don't want to go." He stood up from the couch heading towards Nicholas. "I knew you wouldn't keep your promise." He snarled, turning on his heel immediately after to head to his room, but before he could Nicholas grabbed hold of his forearm and halted his progress.

  "Alright, you got me, what promise did I break?"

  "It wasn't important enough for you to remember, so forget about it."

  "I'm sorry but I can't do that. It's very important to you otherwise we wouldn't be having this conversation. Now please tell me what promise I broke so that I can explain myself."

  "I said it's not important! Leave me alone....leave us alone!" he wrenched his arm from Nicholas grasp and ran to his room.

  "Dylan!" Ellie made to go after him, but Nicholas stepped in her path.

  "What promise did I break?" He seemed genuinely confused and Ellie took pity.

  "He had his first little league game yesterday and I guess he thought you'd come." She informed with a small shrug, hiding her disappointment in him better than their son.

  Nicholas shook his head, frowning. "I don't remember promising him that…I didn't even know he was playing yesterday!"

  Ellie sighed. "Well then I suggest you have a conversation with your personal assistant about fibbing.”

  "No, please, let me."

  "He's hard to comfort when he's like this, maybe it's best if I went alone."

  "He's my son too, Ellie. Please let me do this." The expression on his face conveyed everything; Ellie reluctantly led the way to Dylan's room.

  ~*~*~*~

  Sophie was stupid! She was stupid for wanting to get that man back in their lives! He couldn't even keep stupid promises! And Dylan felt even stupider for wanting to trust him...for wanting him to be everything Sophie said he was. But Dylan hadn't seen much of that, sure they hung out, watched movies and played with all the cool toys he bought them, but that meant nothing if he couldn't be trusted to keep his promises. Maybe their uncle Gabe was right in thinking that their Dad was a bad man. A man who only hurt people and moved on. He hadn't loved them enough to stick around...what would make him stay this time around?

  "Dylan... Dylan its Mom, can I come in?"

  With a sigh, Dylan dropped the ball he was holding. "Come in."

  The door opened and Nicholas walked in ahead of his mother, Dylan frowned. "I told you to leave me alone."

  "Well, unfortunately for you, I'm averse to taking orders from anyone, my son especially,"

  "I'm your son only by blood."

  "Which I must say is thicker than anything. Blood will always be there for you."

  "Like you were when we were born?" Ellie's eyes looked back at him, but the facial structure was all Nicholas, right down to the insolent sneer on his lips.

  "Dylan that's enough."

  Nicholas shook his head and approached his son--the son who was so much a part of him, so much like him that it hurt. In those fervent hazel eyes, Nicholas saw the same burning anger, the veiled cry for acceptance and understanding, the underlying need to be loved by the man who sired you. Nicholas understood those emotions too well. It pained him to see his son hurting, to witness what ten years of cowardice and pride had wrought. He'd caused it and Nicholas was willing to rectify years of mistakes. He was willing and he was here to see that history did not repeat itself.

  "No, he's right," Nicholas knelt in front of his scowling son. "I wasn't there when you and your sister were born Dylan and for that I am honestly sorry. You can't begin to understand how remorseful I am."

  Hands clenched in front of him in fists that were wound tighter than coils, Dylan chomped on his bottom lip and continued to glare at his father through a haze of tears. "You left us."

  "I was scared, cowardly and very troubled and because of that I pushed your Mom away. I told her I didn't love her to keep her away from me, because I knew deep down that I would never be good enough for her. I didn't find out about you and your sister until recently. If I had known…I can't say that my decision would've been different, but I would not have been a stranger. Dylan I'm here now and I want to try and be a good father to you and you sisters. It's taken me a long time to get here, but I'm here now and I'm asking for a new start, I'm asking for your forgiveness."

  Ellie tried, she really tried to remain unhinged by the father and son moment happening a few feet away from where she stood and she tried not to let Nicholas's words affect her. But when her son looked up at her, lost and seeking guidance, it was all she could do not to run to him and envelope him in her arms. But she remained rooted. This was Nicholas's time, they had to resolve this without any sort of intrusion and Ellie permitted them that.

  "I…I don't want to forgive you. I'm mad and I want to hate you for not being there for us, but I can't!" He punched Nicholas, the power behind the fist not strong enough to hurt, but the emotions that propelled his fist forward, from the first to the second, third and finally the fourth punch hurt Nicholas far more than the blows themselves. And as his son collapsed in his arms, his sobs shaking them both, he couldn't fight back his own tears. Years of anger and pain poured from Dylan's small body and his father held him tightly, absorbing it all.

  "I'm sorry, Dylan. I love you," Words he'd never heard spoken from the lips of his own father, spilled forth from his own like water from a fountain. "I love you and I promise to never leave. No matter what happens I'm here now and always, you can hold me to that." He held his son close curly head pressed against his chest, Nicholas continued to whisper his promises.

  "I don't know how to forgive you." Dylan's whispered hiccup
finally pulled Ellie from her spot and over to where they were seated.

  "We'll take it one step at a time." Lord knew that's exactly what she was trying to do, it was hard, but what more could they do?

  Dylan pulled away from Nicholas's arms, suddenly abashed at his display of emotion. "I'm sorry I hit you."

  Nicholas swiped his hands across his cheeks and smiled. "Don't worry about it, although I'm afraid you've inherited you Mom's punching arm."

  "It's a good thing." Ellie reassured as her son looked at Nicholas for affirmation.

  "She's right; learn to punch like that and no one will mess with you." Standing up, Nicholas also helped Dylan to his feet.

  "No one does at school anymore." He sniffed before turning towards his father. "Is it okay if I still come with you to your mom's house?" he inquired, unsure of where they now stood.

  "If you're up for it, then we'll be honored to have you."

  "I guess there's no point in asking me. Just stay out of trouble and no scary movies!” That one was aimed at Nicholas, along with the glare before she looked at Dylan. “Dylan?"

  "Yeah Mom?"

  Ellie stooped down, captured his son's face between her hands and kissed him. "I love you."

  "Aww Mooom!" voice dripping with indignation, Ellie and Nicholas's youngest child blushed with embarrassment, before swiping his hand across his lips and muttering beneath his breath about smothering Moms who didn't know how to keep the affections to a minimum as he existed his bedroom.

  "What I said earlier was the truth, Ellie." Nicholas said as the door closed behind Dylan.

  "Nicholas…"

  "I know its ten years too late to apologize, but I am sorry for what I did."

  "Let's keep the past in the past and look to the future. We've both done things we regret…"