Chapter 24
Claire
“You brought the DeLorean?” I asked, prompting a small smile from Maynard as he opened his car door for me. It was unsettling how easy it was to be happy around him, even when I was still angry.
It was better that we left the house for our talk. I didn't want to risk my parents waking up and flipping their shit about Maynard being there. They were not his biggest fans right now.
“I'll be spending a few days in Chicago and wanted to drive something familiar.” Maynard closed my door then walked around and got in himself. He parked far enough away that my parents wouldn't hear the car start up and take off.
“If I'm Batman,” His voice was hot, liquid gold. Once we hit a main road he gave the car some serious acceleration then glanced over at me. “Wouldn't that make this the Batmobile?”
Crap, I was hoping he hadn't heard that.
My nerdy interests must have seemed childish to a cultured yet wild man like Maynard. Although the more I thought about it, the more I understood why I was so hopelessly attracted to him. Billionaire, CEO Maynard Cooper, who was orphaned at a young age, had the blue eyes, dark hair and square jaw of a superhero. How had I not seen that before?
He was virtually Bruce Wayne.
“I think I missed my calling,” he continued, enjoying the game. “I should've taken more Karate classes when I was a kid.”
“It's not that simple,” I sighed. I tried to cover the budding smile that was betraying my anger, but it wasn't working. “You'd need a utility belt too.”
“Unnecessary belts are more your thing.” He glanced back over at me, raising all the little hairs on the back of my neck.
Hot, sticky memories of the first time he jerked me toward him while I was wearing only my thick belt. Being this close to him knowing what he used to do to me in bed started to make me sweat. I missed his strong, soft hands moving me around like I was made of paper.
My smile had spread unabashedly across my face. It was like no time at all had passed between us. I even made a move to slug him on the arm like I used to when he poked fun at me. Then I caught myself and stopped. Steamy joy had faded my features.
Time had passed.
As much as I wanted to pretend otherwise, I did leave him and he had moved on. Those pictures online were proof of that.
In truth, I wasn't angry at him; I was just disappointed and sad. What was I expecting? Just because I was having his baby didn't change anything that had happened these past few months. We weren’t together, not anymore.
Once he found out that I was pregnant nothing would ever be the same again.
Maynard saw the dramatic shift in my mood and slowed the car to a stop. He pulled us slightly off the road to a vantage point that overlooked a lake. He left the car on for the heat, then gave me his undivided attention. Neither of us said anything, the night was completely still save for the engine softly humming like a purring cat.
“I'll go first,” Maynard started. “I know you've seen the pictures by now of me in the Valley Chez.”
“Not just me,” I added with notes of bitterness. It was hard to face him now. He didn't owe me anything, but that didn't lessen the sting of seeing him with other women. “My parents have seen them too. Not to mention anyone else with a pulse and a computer.”
“I didn't do anything with those girls.” Maynard looked at me earnestly, his eyes never left my face as he made his plea. “In the short time we've been together I've never let anyone get nearly as close as I’ve let you. I can't prove anything but I hope you know me better than that.”
I did feel like I knew him, I really did. I desperately wanted to believe him.
My jaded, cynical side reminded me that I didn't want to see the signs when Chance was cheating on me either.
Argh! I stopped myself from going down that train of thought. Even if Maynard was lying, which I didn't really believe he was, I broke up with him! We weren’t together!
I was having his baby and we weren’t together... That struck me like a falling anvil. I felt awful and immediately had to stifle tears.
“I've never come between the media and their speculation before. Nothing they've ever printed about me, whether true or not, has ever bothered me.” Maynard reached for my hand. I let him take it but I couldn't look at him. “Claire, I don't give a damn what anyone else thinks, but I needed you to know the truth. Those pictures were a set-up.”
“What do you mean a set-up?” A conspiracy? That wasn't at all what I was expecting.
“I don't know why yet, but for whatever reason Anthony Milspoor set the whole—” Maynard paused when he saw me cringe at his old friend's name. “You know Anthony, don't you?” Maynard studied my face. “I meant to ask you the night I brought you to his office.”
Tears rolled down my face, there was no hiding it now.
“You do.” Maynard's tone dropped like the temperature when a cold front sweeps in off the NYC Bay. He looked away, his eyes narrowed on a point in the middle distance. “Did he touch you?”
“No,” I said at length. I felt gross just thinking about it. The scary part was that he could have. “Anthony broke in to my apartment. He's—”
I couldn't get the words out. I hadn't told my parents or anyone else what had happened. It was a combination of not wanting anyone to ask more questions and it being extremely embarrassing.
“He did what? Why?”
I took a deep breath. This was happening. I finally needed to lay it all on the table even it would make things worse.
“He's blackmailing me.” I bit my lip then pulled away from his grip. It would crush me if I felt him physically reject me. I clenched my hands together. Just say it, Claire! “I used to be a stripper. That's where he knew me from.” I swallowed hard and finished my thought. “But I never did anything more than lap dance. I swear.”
Maynard went silent.
I knew Maynard used to be no stranger to strippers. When I researched him while being driven to his holiday party I'd seen the pictures of him in those clubs. I knew that he'd hooked up with them before meeting me. Sex was one thing but dating a stripper was something else altogether.
I never lied to Maynard but I felt like I had by not telling him. He thought I was an innocent college girl when we met, would he have even invited me to his party if he knew what I had done?
I wasn't like some of the other girls. It didn't matter how much men like Anthony offered me, my body wasn't for sale. I hoped that part of my life would just disappear.
Apparently I was wrong.
“I'm sorry.” My voice was barely a whisper. The weight in my heart tripled, it forced my head to slump forward. Now I couldn't look at Maynard for an entirely different reason.
“What?” Maynard sounded surprised. “You don't have anything to apologize for.”
“I'm not who you thought I was.” With a wary heart I looked at him. Was he serious?
“You're exactly who I thought you were, Claire. You're kind, smart, funny and nerdy. I don't care what you used to do.” Maynard managed a sharp but warm smile. “I bet you, pound-for-pound, I’ve got far more baggage than you have.”
And just like that I felt lighter.
“I should've told you sooner.” The weight on my heart was lifted. I crashed into his arms and felt accepted again. My tears of relief dampened his neck and shoulder. I got lost in his manly scent like it was the first time. “I'm sorry for leaving the way I did.”
“Don't be,” Maynard said softly. I could hear the words vibrate in his neck. I never wanted to break from this hug. This was where I belonged. He kissed me on the forehead. “I loved starting a relationship with you before, and now I get to do it all over again.”
I peeled myself back enough to see his face. Maynard brushed away my tears then pressed his lips on mine. The kiss was so emotionally charged that it crackled with electricity. I'd forgotten what a thrill it was to clip his teeth against mine as our tongues explored one another.
We kissed long and passionately, the way two estranged lovers would. There was only him and I, and everything seemed to make sense again. It was a dream I never wanted to wake from. Finally we broke apart.
“I promise you that I'm going to find Anthony.” Maynard paused to choose his words deliberately. “And when I do I'm going to hurt him. Badly.”
I believed him. There was a hardness in Maynard that I’d never seen before. It wasn't like him flipping out in front of a room full of people, this wasn't him lashing out against stresses that piled up on him. This was heavy and deadly; it was a vengeful vow.
I fully believed Maynard about those pictures. Anthony was far more cunning and ruthless than I thought him capable of. I hated Anthony for what he was doing to me and for what he'd done to my relationship with Maynard.
I wanted to see that son-of-a-bitch hurt.
“No, please don't.” I sighed, hating what I was about to say. “If you attack him. It will look terrible for your image.”
“I don't care,” Maynard growled. “I am so goddamn tired of my fucking image.”
I felt for him. I really did. I couldn't imagine so many people having an opinion about how I lived my life. Even the thought of it made me angry.
“Unfortunately, your pretty face is tied to your company.” I gently touched the noticeable stubble that was on his face. I liked the look. It made him look more roguish than usual; but I could tell that there was a lot on his mind because he never went a day without shaving. “Don't jeopardize all the work you've done for your charity foundation.”
Maynard bared his teeth and glanced away. I knew he wouldn't make me any promises that he couldn't keep. The anger that welled in him over his former friend's betrayal wouldn't leave his mind easily.
“You have to be smarter than him.” I squeezed his hand.
I realized the horizon was beginning to brighten. Dawn was robbing the night of its inky blues. My father would be up soon and I would need to get home before they knew I was gone.
“We should head back,” I said, lamenting the quick passing of time. These past few months without him had gone by agonizingly slowly, and this one brief moment together blurred by far too fast.
“Can I see you when you get back to New York?” Urgency furrowed Maynard's brow. Seeing me really mattered to him. Deep down I had known that, but being shown it in person felt really good.
“Yes!” I squeaked, excited at the thought of being back together with Maynard. You still need to graduate, Claire. I quickly added the caveat, “But only on the weekends.”
“Rules, huh?” He gave me a half smile and sly look, then put the car into first gear.
I shrugged, my demeanor lightened.
“Hey,” Maynard hesitated before driving us back. Something else was on his mind. “I just want you to know that you can tell me anything. I'm no saint, I promise not to judge you.”
Maynard took off. We weren’t far from home so it didn't take us long to get back. I thought about that silently the whole way back. I wanted to tell him everything, but even though I had been so wrong about the stripper thing, I was still nervous.
I just got him back, I didn't want to scare him away. A baby was the biggest possible deal. I had no idea how he felt about kids, what if this was too much for him. There was no way I could tell him right now. Maybe in a few weeks when we were stronger as a couple.
Maynard slowed to an idle just around the corner from my house. It would be a short walk for me without giving away that he had ever picked me up. Maynard took the side of my face in his hand and pulled me close for another kiss.
“This time I'm never letting you go.” He stared at me deeply, reassuringly. Little flecks of color around his pupils shimmered in the predawn light.
“Good.” I said hypnotized by his handsomeness. “Because I'm pregnant.”