Redemption (The Bet)
Page 22
There were memories that plagued her despite that she'd moved on and they wouldn't let her forget. But Ellie wanted to, with a desperation that almost burned, she wanted to forget and live the remainder of her days as Devlin's little wife. But the situation had become increasingly hard now and she had to make a decision. Ellie knew she was coming at a crossroad and no matter how difficult, she would need to make that decision and regardless of what she did, people were going to get hurt.
The last thing Ellie ever wanted was to hurt Devlin. But how long could she continue this farce? How long would she continue to lead that man on without giving him all the facts? He was entitled to the truth if nothing else. Ellie would make him understand. She would tell him everything and let him know that though she cared for him deeply, she was far too unstable to remain in a relationship. Getting married only to discover years later that it'd been a mistake wasn't something Ellie wanted. Divorce wasn't an option once she said yes. To be fair and just, Ellie knew she had to let Devlin go, she couldn't possibly continue to compromise their relationship and friendship.
It hurt Ellie to know that she would let him go. But Devlin deserved happiness. He deserved to find someone who was capable of giving him the unconditional love and happiness he so effortlessly gave her.
"Ellie!" Ellie turned her head sideways so fast that she felt a twinge and while she brought her hand to the base of her skull to alleviate the pain, she smiled at the sight of Maddie making her way towards her, freshly clean from her shower.
Maddie had called a week prior to inform Ellie of her arrival this week and they'd planned accordingly. Ellie, taking her sick time from work had driven early to the airport this morning after dropping off the kids at school to fetch her best friend. As expected of friends who hadn't seen each other in more than a year, they'd screamed each other's name in the middle of the busy terminal before coming together in an overdue embrace. It'd been warm and familiar to both, but more so for Maddie it'd felt like coming home.
The idea of Maddie staying at a hotel quickly dashed away, Ellie had stayed up the night before to tidy up the extra guest room. The ride home had been filled with small talk and when they finally made it to Ellie's house, both women lugged her suitcases to the guest room. It was while unpacking Maddie's luggage that she’d told Ellie of the events of her life in Tibet for the last year and a half. There hadn't been much of tale there only that her excavation site was coming along quite nicely. Once they'd managed to put most of her things away, Maddie excused herself to a shower and Ellie made her way downstairs, thoughts of Devlin and Nicholas buzzing around her mind like gnats.
"Sorry, but I've been calling your name for the last five minutes. I swear you can be such a space cadet sometimes." Maddie commented offhandedly, flopping down on the ottoman adjacent to Ellie. She had a smile of her face that brought out the beauty of her aquamarine eyes, made more so by her golden brown complexion.
Tibet agreed with her, Ellie thought mindlessly, taking in her friend's appearance. The Maddie of old was no longer, had in fact disappeared for some years now. In her stead was a woman who smiled and laughed with ease, an air of confidence about her that was to be envied. She'd cut her infamous red mane into a cute angular bob that framed her round face and skimmed just above her shoulders. She'd lost some weight years back but had maintained her shapely form. Her simple outfit of dark blue jean shorts and black tank outlined every curvaceous line. Maddie Tate was a woman fully grown now, who had an utter joy for life, appreciating her experiences and her mistakes for what they'd been. Ellie was happy for her friend.
Ellie grinned. "I was thinking. All showered?"
"Yup, there was a leak in the sink pipe so I took the liberties."
Ellie brows lifted. "'You took the liberties? Since when do you fix pipe?"
Maddie grinned and wiggled her fingers at Ellie. "Magical hands, my friend. They can perform wonders."
"Ew Maddie, active imagination here."
"Not my fault your mind's constantly in the gutter. My comment was completely innuendo free." The look on her face implied otherwise. "So, my happily engaged Amiga, what has happened in my absence?"
Ellie's heaving sigh, had Maddie wondering what exactly happened since the last times she'd spoken to her friend. "What's up, Elle? Things not going good with, Dev? Is it wedding jitters?"
"I wish it were only that, Maddie."
"Alright, now you're scaring me. Talk to me, babe, what's going on with you?"
Ellie took a moment to reflect on the theatrical joke that was her life. "Well let's see. I got engaged, had the engagement party and Nicholas of all people showed up, found out about the kids and is now a part of our lives again. Oh and I managed to meet this really hot guy who'd be awesome for you. His name is…"
"Wha…wait what?" Maddie stammered unable to believe what she'd just heard.
"His name is…"
"Before that."
"I got engaged?"
Maddie stared narrowly at the woman she considered her best friend. "After that."
"Oh, you mean the engagement party…"
Maddie stood, loomed over Ellie and grabbed her face. "The part where you mentioned Nicholas's name Ellie, you know, the father of your babies. The man who wasn't even supposed to be in the same state as you let alone the same country!"
"Ohhhh, Dthat." Her face still in Maddie's hand prevented Ellie from normal speech.
"Yeah that! Start talking, Elle. What the heck is going on? Why is Nicholas suddenly in your life? And why is this my first time hearing about it?" Maddie released her friend's face and reclaimed her seat.
"It slipped my mind?" at Maddie's glower, Ellie put a stop to her feigned ignorance and sighed. "Where should I start?"
"The beginning and don't spare the gory details."
Ellie took a deep breath. "The night of the party I had this feeling, you know, that something bad was going to happen. But the guests weren't really out for my blood so I figured, sure, whatever, I can handle this. And having Dev by my side helped too. So I started to relax, thinking to myself that maybe I was just being paranoid and nervous about the wedding and everything else that came in between. But the minute I put down my guard… BAM!" Maddie jumped as Ellie clapped her hands together, but did not interrupt for fear of having Ellie stop when it was just getting good. "Nicholas shows up, completely unexpected, completely unwelcomed."
"Go on." Riveted and on the edge of his seat, Maddie spurred Ellie on. "What did he say? How did you react? Better yet, how did Dev react? And how hot did you think Nicholas was in that moment?"
Ellie rolled her eyes, "I was too busy trying to stop my heart from falling out of my butt to notice how hot he was."
Maddie's eyes twinkled, a knowing smile on her lips. "Liar."
"Maddie you perv, that's beside the point. I was too shocked to even notice anything! And not only that, but he asked me to dance! Dance for god sakes! After ten freaking years, he comes back and wants to dance!"
"In front of, Dev?"
"Dev's the one who asked me to go along with it. To him, Nicholas was a potential partner at the time; he didn't know he was Dylan and Bella's father."
"Wow, this is like soap opera good.”
"So glad my life can entertain you." Maddie gave her friend's knee a comforting pat before smiling apologetically.
"I'm only kidding, Ellie. I know how much this must suck for you."
Ellie leaned back against the couch and heaved a sigh. "It sucks a big one, Maddie. Everything just happened that night. Nicholas found out about the kids. Devlin found about my history with him. The wealthy upper crust got a whiff of my dirty laundry and I ended up with all the stress from ten years ago. Now Nicholas's apart of our lives, Gabe and I have hit a rift and to top it all off, I think that maybe I might, sort of, still have feelings for Nicholas. There's no way I can marry Devlin feeling the way I do. It just wouldn't be fair."
Maddie's brow knitted in concern for her best friend. These were sh
ocking revelations and as much as she wanted to quiz Ellie for answers, she chose instead to just be there for her. "Ellie…"
"Everything is snowballing out of control, Maddie! Part of me wants to hate Nicholas for bringing all this stupid, unnecessary high school drama back into my life. The other part wants to thank him for opening my eyes to the mundane, rigid and endless cycle my life would become if I married Devlin. I love Dev, I love him so much, but when Nicholas kissed me…"
"Kissed? Nicholas kissed you?"
Ellie's flushed. "Twice. And his kisses, Maddie, they were like…like volcanic, you know? It melted my bones. It's like I was dead all this time and the moment his lips touched mine, I woke up."
Maddie remained speechless as she reflected on Ellie's words. Strong, powerful words that had her slightly wistful of that sort of passion Ellie and Nicholas had for each other. Theirs was a special sort of love, an untouchable, indiscernible love that ran rampant over any who tried to come in between. As sadly and beautiful as it was, anyone who fell in love with those two individuals was bound for heartbreak, because they belonged to no one else but each other. They couldn't be blamed, Ellie and Nicholas, because it wasn't their fault that they were fated for each other. It was just the way things were, begrudging them their love, their passion, was futile and pitiful. Maddie knew far too much from experience.
Poor Devlin, Maddie thought solemnly, he didn’t even stand a chance.
Having known them for so long, Maddie could be right in saying that these two idiots had better find a way back to each soon, otherwise the trail of bloodied hearts they left behind would come back and bite them in the ass. "You have to tell Dev the truth, that's first and foremost, before you can act on anything else."
"I know that, but I don't want to hurt him." Ellie replied.
"Him not knowing is worst, Elle. You have to tell him. Like you said, he deserves to know. See what he says and go from there."
"And if he ends up hating me?"
Maddie shook her head. "He'll never hate you, maybe he’ll be angry at first that it took you all these years to realize the truth, but if he loves you as much as I think he does, then he'll be incapable of hating you."
"You didn't hate, Nicholas?"
"Not once."
They shared a look, imbued with mistakes and heartaches of the past and then they smiled, understanding bringing them into a sisterly hug. "I'm so happy you're here." Ellie murmured against Maddie's shoulder.
"It's always good to be back here, life isn't the same without your family." Since the passing of her Grandmother four years ago and even earlier than that, Maddie considered Ellie a part of her family. Like family they bickered and fought over foolish things, but in time of need, family was always there. Ellie had always been there for her, through thick and thin, through addictions and tears, she'd been Maddie's rock, now it was time to return the favor.
Maddie soothingly ran her fingers through Ellie's hair, "I think you and I need to hit the town, grab lunch and talk about this on a full stomach. Whatdaya say?"
"I say, Thai food is good for this sort of conversation."
"Then Thai food it is."
Chapter 18
They'd found their mole and he was just as Samantha expected. A sniveling, rotund, greasy haired worker from HR, who was beginning to piss her off every time he opened his mouth. "I'm sorry Mr. Grayson, but I was forced to do it. They threatened my family. I---I had no choice."
"You could've approached Mr. Grayson himself and told him that you were being threatened. But instead you disclosed valuable company information to our competitors and deliberately kept documents that could've been a hindrance to this company. Furthermore…"
"Samantha." Having kept his mouth shut for too long, Nicholas decided it was time to say something. "Under the circumstances, Mr. Hawthorn, I cannot permit you to stay with this company."
“ Sir..."
"I have come to the knowledge years ago that in order for a company to thrive and succeed trust must first be established between the employer and his staff. That is the basis of all my companies, I entrust myself and my diligence and in turn I expect the same from every person in my employ. You and everyone else were made fully aware of this during the hiring process. It is not something I take lightly. So, seeing as my trust in you has been irrevocably broken, you are no longer an asset to Grayson Corp."
"Please, please Sir, don't do this! I have a family! I have a little girl…"
The merry tune of Nicholas cell phone echoed in the large boardroom, indicating that it could only be one person. The corners of his lips rose slightly as he looked on the LCD screen. He flipped open the silver mobile and pressed it to his ear. "Hello, Bella."
"Daddy!" her voice broke through the speakers, her joy evident.
Nicholas lifted his gaze to the round metallic clock hanging from a distant wall. "Out from school already?"
"Yes, Mom and Auntie Maddie came to pick us up and we're going out for ice cream, because Auntie Maddie said she hasn't seen us for so long, so she wants to treat us to ice cream cones. Mommy wasn't so happy about it, because she thinks were going to have cavities with all the sweets we eat, but when we went to the dentist last month, I didn't have any. Dylan and Sophie did and they had to get---"
"Bella stop talking your father's ear off, I thought you just wanted to say 'hello.'" Ellie’s voice in the background brought about a chuckle from the silver eyed CEO.
"Mom’s getting aggravated, Daddy, so I have to go. I called to say I love you and I miss you and like you promise, I'll see you on Saturday, right?"
"You got it. Saturday's all yours. I love and miss you too. Say 'hi' to your Mom for me. Okay, sweetheart, I'll talk you later, bye."
Samantha struggled not to role her eyes at the sickeningly sweet display of affection. It was both painful and aggravating to hear their voice or even have the knowledge that they existed. It was a constant reminder of what she would never have. Nicholas was far too besotted to even look her way, so why the hell was she even trying? She brought her hand up to her forehead to rub her alcohol induced headache away. After last night's events, she'd gone home, ate a pint of Ben & Jerry's, called a few friends up, who just happened to be pro's at mixing the best drinks her tongue had ever tasted.
Her favorite? Fuzzy Navels. A few of those and she was lip-locking any guy who bore a slight resemblance to her current unrequited love. She was a pathetic mess she knew it too, didn't need you pointing out that sad fact. However, she was determined pathetic mess and until the day she heard from Nicholas's own lips that he wanted nothing to do with her, Samantha would keep pursuing him, no matter how hopeless.
"Sir, I beg of you, I have a family…"
Nicholas raised his hand. Mr. Hawthorne's pleading voice brought him back to the situation at hand. "Alright, Steven, I'll level with you. How about a permanent vacation?"
"Sir?" clearly he was puzzled, Nicholas didn't blame him. It wasn't everyday his altruistic side came out to play during business.
"An all-expenses paid vacation for you and your family. By the end of this week, I can have a new life set up for you, somewhere warm and friendly, where the natives actually like Americans." He took his shot at a joke and was looked at as though he'd grown a third eye in the middle of his forehead. Right, no more jokes for him then.
Wise enough to realize what was offered more than likely came with price tag, Steven Hawthorn posed his question. "What's the catch?"
"Yeah, Nicholas…Mr. Grayson, what's the catch?" Samantha grounded out through clenched teeth. They'd wasted a good amount of time trying to uncover the identity of this rat and now he was being rewarded for his betrayal? She wanted to see the damn bastard hang!
"I'm suddenly feeling, I don't know, generous?" his rhetorical question was answered with expected silence. "Yes, let's go with generous. I own a small island, uncharted and all that. I need someone in charge down there who will have my home ready for me whenever I decide to visit."
Nicholas grinned. "Precisely. Good housekeeping is so hard to find, these days. You've worked hard for me these past years. Sure you've been led astray, but you had motive. You did it for your family, your little girl. I've recently come to treasure mine and like you, I would do anything for them, even if it meant betraying my boss. I admire that. That is the reason for this unexpected offer, which I suggest you accept, before my sanity returns."
"Of course, thank you sir, thank you very much." He wasn't a stupid man, far, far from it.
Nicholas grinned and slammed his hands on the glass table. "Very good. Samantha here will take care of everything, so please be packed with the essentials by the end of this week." Nicholas stood and proceeded to the door, but stopped mid-way. "Oh and Steven?"
"Y-yes, Sir?"
"Mind telling me the name of the one you divulged my companies' information to? You know, as compensation for all that you’re getting in return." With a practiced eye, almost anyone could detect the sneer and bite beneath the veneer of his handsome features.
"The man, who called and told me to do it never gave a name. Only that I was assisting in the fall of a megalomaniac."
"An infliction that runs in the Grayson family, I'm afraid," his smile was no longer warming, the effects only chilling and deprecating. "But not to worry, I've taken great pains to stop it from spreading. Quite a shame that you couldn't divulge any information…"