Chapter 24
Abigail
“Sure, come on up.” Pressing the button to unlock the elevator, I waited for one of Devon’s lawyers to show up. She said her name was Amy. Could she be the same woman that showed up at the basketball game? It was Monday afternoon and Devon was at the office. Why would she be here, unless she thought he was home?
Hmmm.
A couple minutes later the elevator dinged and doors slid open. Sure enough, it was indeed the woman from the Gardens. I immediately felt awkward, I’m not sure why – she was just his lawyer – but there was something about this woman. It may have been my imagination, but it seemed like she hated me. But why would she? We didn’t even know each other.
“Ummm. Devon is still at the office, at least I think he is,” I blurted, already wanting the woman out of my house. Correction, Devon’s house, or at least until the end of the week.
“I’m not here to talk to him,” she stated stepping off the elevator and entering the foyer.
“Oh, in that case.” I motioned to the papers she had in her hand. “If you like, I can see to it that he gets the forms you have there.”
She looked down at the forms and gave me a smug smile. “These aren’t for him, they’re for you.”
“Me?” Confused as to why she’d be bringing me forms, I reached out for them.
“I gave my resignation this morning.”
“I see.” I was becoming more and more confused. If she’d quit why was she here in his home? “Could I see the papers?”
“You can keep them.” The other woman thrust them into my hand. “I have copies, and by tonight every gossip column in the city will also have them.”
My hand trembled and a knot began to form in my stomach as I brought the document up to my eyes. I knew what it was before looking down at the document. I didn’t think anyone knew about it other than my roommate and the lawyer that drew up the contract.
“What is this?” I waved it like it was of no consequence to me.
Crossing her arms over her chest, she huffed. “Please, you know what it is. There’s no point in playing dumb with me.”
“All right. Why did you bring this here?”
“I wanted you to know that I have it and that I’m going to be making this public in the morning. Imagine what will happen to his career when the press gets hold of this. The shareholders are already squirming over Devon and his playboy ways. This would be just what they needed to push him out of control.”
Could they do that? I honestly didn’t know the answer. What I did know was the company meant more to him than anything.
“What do you want?” I repeated. There had to be an endgame for her in this. Since she came to see me, I can only assume it had something to do with me.
“I gave my resignation today.”
I shrugged. “I’m still waiting for the punchline.”
“I’d always imagined that I would end up with Devon. Once he was finished sowing his wild oats with all the tramps he brought home and decided he wanted to settle down, he’d settle with me.”
Shit, I cursed under my breath. She wants him. I knew where this was going before the words even came from her mouth.
“Well as you know from the contract, my association with Devon ends in a few days so he’ll be all yours if that’s what he wants.”
“Here’s the problem. I don’t feel it’s what he wants.”
My expression went blank, face paling. He wants to be with me? My heart raced and a sense of joy welled up within me. He wanted me! I wasn’t just as game with him and I wasn’t just the flavor of the month, but he really wanted me.
I tried to not let the joy within me show. “I think that’s a mistake. You have the contract. In a few days I’m done and then you can get back to whatever status you had with him.”
“Like I said. I gave my resignation today, because of you I don’t think that will be in the cards anymore. Especially with you still lingering.”
I sighed. “What do you want?”
“If you care for him, then you’ll move out of this house tonight. I want you packed up and out of here, or this contract will be on every gossip blog in the country. It’s juicy stuff. I’ll also make sure all major stock holders get their hands on it.”
“If Devon is as into me as you think he is, then do you really expect him to just let me go that easily. Don’t you think he’ll come after me?”
She smiled. It was a cold, soulless smile that gave me shivers. “Then you’ll have to make it convincing, won’t you.” She turned and pressed the call button for the elevation.
What in the hell was I going to do about this?
The elevator chimed, and the doors slid open. She stepped inside and spun to face me again, holding onto the door open button. “I want you out of his life by tomorrow night otherwise the press will have a copy of this by the end of the week. If you don’t do it for him, do it for yourself. You want to be a social worker, right?”
I didn’t answer. How did she know that?
“Imagine what protentional employers would think when they google your name and saw you had a sex contract with Devon Townstead? Not exactly the squeaky-clean background that they’d be looking for.” She released the button and as the elevator doors began to slide closed she ended with, “Make the right decision. And do yourself a favor and don’t tell him I was here. It would end very badly for you both.”
I stared at the closed elevator door for a long while, minutes. I was frozen in place, unsure of everything. What in the hell just happened?
Taking a deep breath in, I slowly released a ragged breath.
My head was spinning as I made my way up the stairs to the bedrooms. He cared for me. He wanted me. Did he love me? I didn’t know. Maybe? But there was one thing I did know, and I’d known it from the moment we’d had sex in the hot tub a couple of days back.
I was in love with him.
After a long time of soul searching while Devon slept beside me last night, I came to a conclusion: I was in love with Devon Townstead. And being in love with him made this decision an excruciating one. The money wasn’t even a factor anymore. I wouldn’t lie, it was comforting to know I still had the five-hundred thousand in the bank. But the money wasn’t the issue tearing my soul apart right now. It was the thought of never seeing Devon again. I knew our time was coming to an end, only a few days away, but I never thought it would end like this.
Damn him and damn that contract. Why did he need that stupid contract anyhow? It would be shaky at best in a court of law.
If I thought she was bluffing, I wouldn’t even give it another thought, but I could tell by the look in her eyes that she was quite serious. She was hurt and angry and had nothing to lose. And what if I did just up and leave, she could still release those papers to the press and Devon would still be screwed. There was no guarantee. The only chance I had to save Devon was to leave him.
But how could I do that now? How could I leave the man I loved? And Isabella, she loved him as much as I did. Why did I have to fall for him? He was a playboy of the worst sort. How could I have let myself feel this way for him?
“Dammit, Devon,” I groaned tears beginning to fill my eyes. “Damn, damn, damn.”
~*~ TT ~*~
Devon
Amy’s resignation note was on my desk that morning. I was somewhat surprised. We’d known each other a long time and I never imagined she’d just leave like that. This wasn’t the first fight we’d ever had; I honestly thought it would blow over. The whole situation with her was surreal. We hadn’t had sex for a very long time and I thought all that there was in the way of feelings was friendship. I’d had hints that she felt something more, but it didn’t seem like it was a big deal.
Truthfully, I was blown away, and it wasn’t often that I got blindsided like that.
I sighed. It was for the best I suppose.
Sitting back in my chair, I rocked back and forth as I contemplated my situation with Abby and her darling daughter. I’d only known Abigail for a month and I was still uncertain about how I felt, but I did know that I cared deeply for her. Love? Hmmm, maybe. What I did know was that I didn’t want to go home each night and not have her and Isabella there waiting for me. I looked forward to seeing them when I got home; in fact, it was the highlight of my days.
So, I’d made a decision: I was going to ask her to move in with me, permanently. Was it rushing things? Maybe. But I didn’t get where I was in life without taking risks. I’d taken a chance on the bet and it had worked out. This was just another venture.
I thought about it, the more I realized that it wasn’t that much of a gamble. I saw the way she looked up at me; her dark eyes had been filled with love.
I chuckled at myself. Boy, what a difference a month makes. Less than a month ago, those same eyes were filled with anger and distaste. But she was able to get past my outer shell and discover who I was inside. Telling her about the abortion had been hard for me. It still pained me when I thought about it, wondering what my child would have been like, so I preferred to keep those memories tightly sealed at the back of my mind.
But with her, I didn’t need to keep those secrets sealed. It felt good and warmed my heart. She was a good person and I liked to think she made me better just by being with her.
Isabella liked me, I knew that. I’d tried hard to keep her at a distance as Abby had suggested, but that little girl snuck her way into my heart. And I’d like to think me into hers.
I was seriously overthinking this. I stopped rocking and smiled, a realization hitting me like a ton of bricks. I loved her. I loved them both and I wanted them with me, for good.
If this was a movie, I’d have leapt from my chair and rushed to the penthouse, hellbent on professing my everlasting love to the woman who used to be my maid. But this wasn’t a fairy tale and I had several business meetings to attend to before I’d have the chance to ask her to stay with me.