Chapter Twenty-Four

Jordan

I stepped into the Jackson Construction office with my head hung low. Stacey, the receptionist, looked up at me as I entered. Normally bright and chipper, she was uncharacteristically sullen and downcast. Her face gave everything away. She wouldn’t even look me in the eye, instead looking down at her hands as she spoke.

“Your dad wants to see you,” she said, her voice low and filled with dread.

“I kinda figured,” I said. Still, I hesitated outside in the lobby, not quite ready to go in and receive the tongue lashing I knew was coming. “I’m guessing he’s read the news.”

“Yep,” Stacey said, finally looking up at me with genuine fear in her eyes. “It’s everywhere, Jordan.”

“Fuck, man,” I ran a hand over my face, the stubble a little thicker than dad normally cared for when I was on a job. “Why does everyone care so damn much? I’m a nobody.”

“Chastity Childes’ isn’t though,” she said matter-of-factly.

“Yeah, well, I know that now,” I muttered.

I knew I couldn’t put it off any longer, so I stepped over to the door of my dad’s office and knocked, ready to get it over with. The knots in my stomach constricted painfully and I held my breath until I heard him call out.

“Come in,” he said, his voice muffled through the door.

I opened the door and stepped inside. Closing the door behind me, I turned to him and let out a long breath. His face was dark with anger and his lips were pulled back into a sneer. He looked to be on the verge of either bursting a blood vessel in his brain or having a stroke. His nostrils flared and his eyes were narrowed. Yeah, this wasn’t going to be good.

“Goddammit Jordan,” he almost shouted. “What in the hell were you thinking?”

“It’s not what it looks like,” I said – realizing just how lame that sounded.

“Oh, so you’re not fucking both our client – who happens to be the biggest client we’ve had in years – and one of her employees?” he asked. “Because that’s exactly what it looks like from where I’m sitting.”

“No, that’s not it,” I said. “Not at all. Nothing happened between Jessa and me. That was a misunderstanding. I was set up.”

My father threw down the photo. It was mostly blurred out, but it was visible enough to make out who it was and what was happening. Or rather, what somebody took great pains to make it look like was happening.

“Does this look like a misunderstanding to you, Jordan?” my father raged. “And you haven’t denied being involved with our client either.”

“Because I can’t deny that part of it, Dad,” I said. “But I didn’t do anything with Jessa. She set me up. Lured me over there and put me in that position so that goddamn photographer could take his fucking picture.”

My dad shook his head and sat down. He leaned back in his seat and rubbed his hands across his face. His expression hadn’t softened and he looked like he’d shoot me dead if he’d happened to have a gun in his hand – which made me really glad he didn’t have a gun in his hand.

“I don’t fucking care, Jordan,” he said. “What I do care about are the men I just had to lay off because we don’t have any work for them. Not anymore. Because you couldn’t keep it in your goddamn pants. Ms. Childes terminated our contract this morning. Said she didn’t need the baggage and drama you were bringing into her life.”

“Chastity cancelled the job?”

“Hell yes, she did. And I can’t say I blame her either,” dad said, scratching his beard. “Jesus Christ, Jordan. I can’t trust you with anything, can I? You find new ways to fuck everything up.”

My fists were balled up at my sides. My dad was right – I shouldn’t have gotten involved with Chastity in the first place. Sure, he was right but it was more complicated than that. Not that he’d understand. His entire life was this company, and he expected it to be mine too.

“You know, Jordan,” he continued, “If you weren’t my son, your ass would be unemployed right now.”

“Why don’t you fire me then, Dad,” I snapped. “If you think I’m such a screw up, let me go.”

“You’d like that, wouldn’t you?” he asked, narrowing his eyes at me.

“Apparently you would too,” I said.

My dad was silent for a long time, and I had nothing more I wanted to say to him. I need the job – mainly, I needed the income – but part of me wanted out so badly, I would have been happy if he’d fired me. Somewhat, at least. That way I could stop following in my dead brother’s footsteps and I could fail my father one last time before moving the fuck on with my life.

Instead, what my dad did was worse than firing me.

“I’ve removed you as foreman for the time being,” dad said. “Kyle was promoted. You’ll be working under him until you get your act straight. And yes, your demotion comes with a pay cut.”

I turned and left his office without another word, slamming the door behind me. I was filled with so much rage, I felt like I needed to punch something. I had no idea what had happened or how this had all even come about. I’d gone to the Barclay after Chastity had texted me to meet her there. She obviously hadn’t. But then, if not her, who?

As I turned it over and over in my mind, I came to the only conclusion that made any sort of sense to me. Patrick. It had to be that asshole’s fault. He was connected to Jessa and he’d had his hands all over Chastity at the gala. He’d obviously resented me for being with her. He was probably jealous as hell that we were seeing each other. He had to have been the one who’d set me up. The more I thought about it, the more sense it made, and the more certain I became of it. There was no doubt in my head that he was behind it.

I walked out into the reception area, and Stacey gasped the moment she saw me. I turned to her, probably looking at her more harshly than I intended – than she deserved.

“Oh God,” she said, covering her mouth.

I almost ignored her and left. I had enough shit going on, but I saw her watching me with careful eyes. Finally, as I neared the door, I was growing more irritated. Turning back to her, I had to ask.

“What?”

“I uhh –” she stammered. “Nothing. Never mind. Forget I said anything.”

She was not a very good liar.

“What is it, Stacey?” I asked. “Why do you keep looking at me like that?”

“Looking at you like what?” she asked.

She was biting her fingernail, an expression of profound nervousness on her face. Biting her nails wasn’t something she was prone to do, not that I’d witnessed at least.

“Like you’d just heard that someone shot my dog,” I said.

Stacey looked at her computer screen, then back at me. Whatever it was, she was reading about it online. What was fucking happening now, I wondered? What else could they have on me? I walked over to her desk and she was frantically trying to keep me from seeing what she was looking at. I stepped behind her desk and before she could close the window, I read the headline from TMZ, of all fucking places.

There was a picture of me and Chastity at the gala, arm-in-arm. She was smiling up at me, and I looked down at her as if she was the only woman in the world – because in that moment, she was. Honestly, it was a feeling I missed.

But that’s not what made Stacey gasp. No, it was the headline and truth be told, I had to stifle a gasp of my own. I had to read it several times, trying to wrap my head around it – and failing miserably.

Chastity Childes’ is Pregnant! Sources Near Her Confirm.

“What the –”

Stacey tried to turn the screen away from me, to protect me from what was on it. I turned it back so I could read the rest of the article. My stomach sank as I read the piece, which claimed to have inside information on the fashion mogul, and many were speculating who the father might be. Which was probably why my photo was plastered on the front page of TMZ.

“No way,” I muttered to myself. “No fucking way.”

I felt like I was in a bubble. Felt like this was all a dream. Hell, probably even a nightmare. No way in hell this could be happening to me. Chastity’s beautiful, smiling face haunted me as I stared at the picture of us on the screen. I knew there was no way she’d been with anyone else in the time we were together. Meaning, that if this article was true, there was only one answer to the question they were busy trying to answer.

I was going to be a father.

With my head swirling, I rushed from the office, slamming the door behind me on the way out.