Chapter 9
Brody emerged from his bedroom a little after eleven on Sunday morning. His head ached and his mouth was dry from the bottle of scotch he’d finished the night before. The pounding on the door wasn’t helping his hangover any.
Who the hell is that?
“I’m coming,” he yelled causing him to wince as he took his time on the steps.
He opened the door to find Autumn staring at him with a sympathetic look on her face.
“What?” He didn’t understand what she’d be doing there on a Sunday.
“Don’t ‘what’ me. You left me three voicemails and six text messages throughout the night.”
Shit!
“What did I say?”
“Each message got increasingly weirder, not to mention harder to understand. Were you drinking?”
She entered the penthouse and then glanced at his bare chest. She was probably shocked by his disheveled appearance.
“You’re lucky I managed to pull my jeans on before answering the door.” He walked into the kitchen and thanked God his housekeeper, Lena, had been by that morning with groceries. She’d also put coffee on for him. He’d have to give her a raise.
“Small favors and all.” Autumn rolled her eyes.
“Do you want coffee?” he asked as she sat down at the island.
Brody thought about the night before. Claudia had sat in that same spot just before the catastrophe in the foyer. How had things gone so wrong so fast?
“No.” She motioned for him to sit next to her. “What happened last night?”
“Claudia walked out on me.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know. One second we were fine and the next she was freaking out about how she was just a housekeeper and she wasn’t right for me.”
“You would never make her feel that way.” When Autumn smacked the counter with her hand Brody thought his head would explode. He had never seen her that angry. “Why would she say that?”
He shrugged as he sipped the piping hot coffee. “She’s afraid of something. I know she’s hiding something, but I don’t know what.”
Brody had wanted to go after her, but he had known he would get nowhere with her last night. He’d seen the determination on her face when she asked him not to take her home. She had wanted to get away from him, so he’d let her walk. He’d regretted it as soon as he came back inside. But instead of going with his gut and following her, he lost himself in a bottle. He hadn’t drank like that since college.
“What are you going to do about it?” Autumn placed her hand on his shoulder, pulling him from his thoughts.
“I can’t make her be with me.”
“Bullshit!”
Brody looked at his assistant in disbelief. In all the years he’d known her, he’d never heard her swear.
“I’ve been with you a long time,” she said. “I’ve never seen you fall fast and hard for anyone. You were all business until Claudia. You want this woman. I heard it in your voice when you left me those messages.”
“I’m sorry about that,” he said. “I don’t even remember leaving them. I was drunk, and I didn’t know what I was saying.”
“Yes, you did. You kept asking me what I thought you had done to make her run. You wanted me to ask her.”
“I shouldn’t have drunk dialed you,” he said. “Let’s hope I didn’t call anyone else.” Brody retrieved his phone from his pocket and checked the call log. “Nope, just you.”
“Do you want to be with her?”
“Yeah, I do, but I can’t force her.” Brody checked for missed messages, but there were none. Claudia hadn’t called him.
“Go shower, you smell like a bar.”
“Thanks for coming by and checking on me.”
“I would’ve come sooner if I hadn’t left my phone in my car all night. I didn’t get your messages until this morning. I wanted to make sure you didn’t do anything stupid, so I came over as soon as I could.”
“Don’t I pay you an obscene amount of money to answer my calls? That’s probably why I called you, I expected you to answer.”
“Yeah, I know.” She laughed. “I’ll make sure I answer next time.” She hopped off the stool. “I have to get back to my kids. Are you going to be okay?”
He nodded, and then walked her out. “I have tickets to the game on Wednesday afternoon. I want you to take a half-day and go with the boys.”
“Thanks.” She hugged him. “Is there anything I can do for you?”
“You did by coming here,” he said. “I’ll be fine.”
“Don’t drink anymore. That’s not the way Brody Callahan handles things.”
She left him standing in the foyer. Autumn was right. He was never one to wallow in self-pity. He’d had a moment of weakness last night, but that was over. He’d figure out what he was going to do after another cup of coffee. As he headed back toward the kitchen, the folder sitting on the foyer table caught his attention.
He’d forgotten all about Claudia’s sketches. He picked them up and glanced at what she’d come up with. It was a small project, an office building located in Connecticut. As he flipped through her designs, he couldn’t get over how she’d embodied exactly what the client asked for.
Brody went to his study and pulled up the specs. She’d done everything the client requested, and she hadn’t sat in on one planning meeting. Regardless of what happened between the two of them, there was no way this girl would scrub floors much longer. Callahan Industries needed her talent almost as much as he needed her. Now he had to figure out a way to get her back.
* * * *
Claudia hadn’t slept all night. Every time she’d closed her eyes she’d seen Brody’s face. How could she have been so stupid to think she could carry on a friendship with Brody? Of course she’d want more with him. Who wouldn’t?
If she wasn’t pregnant, things might have been different. They could have had a normal relationship. He was easy to be around. He made her laugh, and he listened to what she had to say. When she was with him she forgot about everything else, and that was dangerous. She had responsibilities. It wasn’t fair to drag Brody into her problems. She had done the right thing by leaving him last night. As much as it hurt, he’d be better off without her.
There was a soft knock at the door. Claudia’s stomach flipped at the possibility it could be Brody. Did she want it to be him? Would she have to turn him away? Could she do that, or would she give in and let him make everything better?
As she contemplated, the person at the door knocked again. She got up from the table and ran to the door. Her heart rate increased with each step she took. She turned the knob with a shaky hand, but disappointment filled her when she answered.
“I’m sorry to intrude,” Autumn said. “But you hurt him and I want to know why.”
“Autumn, I didn’t expect to see you. Brody told you what happened?” Brody depended on Autumn for all of his work needs, but she didn’t know they were friends.
“Not everything, but he’s pretty upset.”
“He sent you to see me?”
“Of course not,” she said. “He doesn’t know I’m here. He probably wouldn’t like me interfering but it can’t be helped.”
“Would you like to come in?”
“Are you going to play it straight with me?”
As straight as I can.
“Come in,” Claudia said. “I was just making some herbal iced tea. I’m craving lemon and I—” Claudia stopped herself. “Would you like a glass?”
“That sounds lovely.” Autumn followed her to the kitchen. “Your place is very nice.”
“Thanks. Have a seat.” Claudia pulled two glasses from the cabinet, filled them with ice, and poured the tea. “When did you talk to Brody?”
“I went to see him this morning. He’s out of sorts.”
“I figured he would be.” Claudia sliced the lemon and placed a wedge into each glass before walking over to the table and taking a seat. “I didn’t want to hurt him.”
“Why did you?”
“It’s complicated.”
“He really likes you.” Autumn sipped her tea. “I thought the feeling was mutual.”
“It was, I mean it is,” Claudia said. “But it’s not going to work out.”
“Because you’re a housekeeper?”
She nodded.
“That’s an excuse, because if you really thought that you wouldn’t have gotten close to him to begin with. You would have drawn the line, but you didn’t do that. I knew you were different when you called me and told me you wanted to do something special for him.”
“The picnic? It wasn’t that special. I just wanted to do something for him.”
“No other girl he’s been with these last few years has taken him into consideration. Most women know who he is, and all they see are dollar signs. You really like him, I can see that you’ve been crying all night.”
“I must look like hell.” The last time Claudia looked in the mirror her eyes were heavy, red, and swollen.
“Just as bad as he looks.” Autumn circled the rim of her glass with her finger. “I’ve known him since we were in college. He was friends with my husband.”
“I didn’t realize. Brody’s never mentioned him.”
“He died in a boating accident when I was pregnant with my second son.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Avery and I got married right out of college, and I got pregnant with Matt soon after. I’d never worked a real job before. When Avery died, I was alone and worried about how I was going to support my kids.” Autumn looked down at her hands. “It was a scary time, being alone and pregnant.”
“I can imagine.”
When Autumn looked up at her, Claudia felt an odd connection to this woman. “Brody told me I didn’t need to worry about anything. He set up funds for my boys, paid off my mortgage, and told me he’d do whatever I needed.”
“I can see him doing all of those things.” His generosity didn’t surprise Claudia.
“I told him I didn’t want a handout. I wanted a job so I could support my kids. After A.J. was born, he hired me as his assistant. There isn’t much I wouldn’t do for him.”
“That’s why you’re here.”
“He’s falling for you and I know you like him. He’s a good man. He’ll take care of you, but I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t think you wouldn’t take care of him too.”
“I know he’s good,” Claudia said. “That’s why he’s better off without me.”
“When are you due?”
“What?” She couldn’t possibly know.
“You heard me.”
Claudia could tell she wasn’t going to back down. She was too loyal to Brody.
“December,” Claudia mumbled. “But how did you know?”
“Women know.” She smiled. “I’ve been through it two times myself. I noticed your hips are slightly wider, and your breasts are bigger than the last time I saw you. It’s subtle, but I can tell.”
“Oh?”
“Your hair is so thick and shiny. Mine grew fast when I was pregnant too. And you confirmed it when you said you were craving lemon.”
“Brody doesn’t know.”
“Yeah, I kind of figured that, but why didn’t you tell him?”
“I didn’t want to concern him with my problems. He shouldn’t have to be involved with a woman who is going to have a baby.”
“Shouldn’t that be his decision?”
“I thought it would be better if I ended things before they really got started. I didn’t want to hurt him or make him have to decide anything.”
“You did hurt him,” Autumn said. “You can’t make decisions for him. It’s one thing if you don’t want to be with him, but you walked away from something really special.”
“I know.”
“I can’t tell you what to do, and I won’t reveal your secret because it’s none of my business.”
“Thank you.” Claudia sighed in relief. “I wanted to tell him, but it’s complicated.”
“Isn’t it always?”
“You have no idea.”
“You’re dealing with a lot, but don’t rule out the possibility of you and Brody.”
“You really care about him, don’t you?”
“I love him like a brother. He’s good to me and my kids. Boys are tough, but Brody helps me keep them in line. He’s going to make an amazing father one day.”
“I’m sure he will.” Claudia had never met a kinder, gentler soul.
“I can promise you.” Autumn reached across the table and squeezed Claudia’s hand. “Biology doesn’t have anything to do with it.”