Chapter Thirty-Four
Lilah
Nobody knew I was pregnant aside from Eddie and Meg, even though I was eleven weeks along. It had been over a month since Hawaii and I'd managed to conceal my growing bump by wearing the right clothes. Since I'd been curvy anyway, it hadn't been too difficult to hide. Pencil skirts and flowy tops became my new best friends. Still, I was aware that, eventually, it would reach a point that I would no longer be able to conceal it. Before that day came, I had some big decisions to make.
I'd already started searching for a new job—in a new city.
I had a tentative offer on the table, all the way across the continent. They were impressed with my desire to complete the campaign I was working on and not leave my company in limbo, and so they'd given me a month to think about it before negotiations regarding the position would begin.
Thinking about it was exactly what I'd been doing. It would take me away from my beloved brother and my best friend Meg. But also far from Asher, and I honestly believed that was what I needed.
Walking away from him after the amazing week spent in Hawaii had been one of the hardest things I'd ever had to do in my life, but I knew for the sake of my unborn child, I'd had to. Asher’s words played on a loop in my head. He didn’t want children.
Then there were the images of his psychotic father's mugshots that kept popping into my dreams—or nightmares, rather. It was just too much of a risk to take. How could I be sure that he wouldn't treat me like his father had treated his mistress who he had forced to get an abortion? I already knew this child would become the center of my life, my world. I simply wasn't prepared to take any risks that might put my child in harm's way.
With my heart ripping itself to shreds every time I'd seen him, I had cut Asher out of my life romantically. I'd put on my facade of cold indifference, and had played it cooler than I ever had before. I told him that Hawaii had been nothing more than a vacation fling.
In the first few days after returning from Hawaii, he’d pleaded with me to at least talk to him, but I'd remained resolute and determined to not let him back in—even though my heart was breaking and my soul was crying out for him.
I endured the pain in silence and forced myself to do what had to be done.
He had finally seemed to have accepted how things were. From time to time, I caught brief glimpses of that same longing, that same desire I'd seen in his eyes when he made love to me in Hawaii, but mostly he kept things professional between us and communicated with me only when he had to.
I'd nailed campaign after campaign. When it came to work, I was on fire. Asher had given me another raise, and word around the office was that I'd get another promotion soon, too. My career had never been better or more successful.
And yet it felt as if it didn't matter. In fact, nothing felt as if it mattered much any more aside from the life growing inside me. There were only the memories of the times Asher and I had shared haunting me like restless ghosts.
As I sat at my desk, lost in a daze of memories, my phone started buzzing in my pocket. I took it out to see Meg’s happy smile plastered on my phone.
“Hey, Meg,” I answer.
“Hey, Lilipop! How's Friday afternoon going for my favorite mommy-to-be?”
“It's a bit tiring, to be honest. It's been a crazy busy week, and I'm looking forward to kicking back and relaxing this weekend.”
“I hear ya. It's been a busy day at the office here, too. Hey, how would you feel about dinner?”
“Really? You’re asking a pregnant woman if she wants to eat?” I joked. “That sounds like a great idea.”
“Cool. How do you feel about sushi?”
“Ugh! Yes! You know me so well. I swear this kid is going to love sushi. Meet you at our usual sushi spot at 7:00?”
“Perfect! See you then!”
“Sweet. Bye, Meg.”
***
I checked the time on my phone again. It was only ten past 7:00, but it was very unusual for Meg to be late for anything. I considered calling her, but decided to wait another five minutes, just in case. Traffic had, after all, been particularly bad on the way here.
I tapped the screen on my phone and reached for my water just as a familiar voice sounded behind me. A chill ran down my spine.
“Well, well, well . . . Lilah Maxwell. Fancy meeting you here.”
I turned around to find Brendan Savage leering down at me, a stunning woman hanging on his arm. Her eyes were glazed over; she looked as if she was high on something. She probably had to be to put up with this creep. He whispered something in her ear, and she sauntered away.
Without asking, he sat down in the empty seat across from me at my table.
“What do you want?” I snapped. “I didn't say you could sit there.”
“Aw, come on now, is that how you treat an old, dear friend?”
“You aren't my friend, and you never were.”
“An old lover, then?”
I rolled my eyes. “Please. I never let you touch me even once, and with good reason. Now, I'm waiting for an actual friend. Go away. I'll gladly call the manager if you don't.”
“Oh, is that a threat?” he smirked.
“Not at all,” I assured him. “I fully intend to follow through.”
“You think you're so much better than me, don't you? You and that prick boss of yours. Well, even though you two thought you got me, like the little Nancy Drew you thought you were, look at me. I'm walking around a free man with my reputation, intact despite your attempts to smear me in the press.”
“I’d say that reputation is a matter of opinion. But what you do have left is only because you bought off a journalist and got him to write a spin piece. Let’s not forget,that I know how much you had to pay Asher in that settlement. How does it feel to lose your billionaire status? What are driving now, anyway? I heard you had to sell your precious Bugatti to cover some of the expenses.”
He snarled, his facade of indifference broken.
“You're one stone-cold bitch, Lilah,” he hissed. “And you will get what’s coming to you. Don't think you're going to get away with what you did to me. You'd better sleep with one eye open.”
I stared at him with cold contempt in my eyes. “You're pathetic, Brendan. Get up now and leave.”
“I'll get up when—”
I grabbed the sleeve of a passing waiter who happened to be a tall, burly young man whose heavy arms were covered with biker-style tattoos.
“Excuse me, but this man has just sat down at my table uninvited, and he's harassing me and refusing to leave. Could you please call the manager?”
The burly waiter glared aggressively at Brendan.
“Do we have a problem here . . . sir?” he started. “Are you harassing this woman?”
Rage burned red across Brendan's face, but he knew that he couldn’t afford to get into any more legal trouble. He stood, his hands clenched in anger.
“No,” he hissed through tightly-drawn lips. “We don't have a problem. I was just leaving.”
“See you around, Lilah,” he snarled.
I didn't bother to respond.
The waiter watched him go with a steely gaze, but his expression softened as soon as Brendan had left. “I'm so sorry, miss,” he said. “Are you all right? I'll bring you a free cocktail, on me, if you'd like.”
I smiled. “Aw, aren't you sweet! No, but, thanks, dear, I'm fine. No alcohol for me anyway. Thank you for helping me out there.”
“Not a problem,” he said. “I was a bouncer at a bar before this. I left that job because I got so sick of dealing with asses like that. I didn't think I'd have to deal with it here.”
“I'm sure it was an isolated incident,” I commented. “Just a bit of bad luck, is all.”
The waiter nodded, smiled, and walked off just as Meg arrived. She had a strange expression on her face.
“Hey, there,” she said, glancing at the waiter. “Did I miss something?”
“Hey, Megs, you're a bit late.”
“Yeah. Uh, you didn't see anyone you know here, right?”
“What do you mean?”
“You know . . . Someone from your office. Someone from Sinclair.”
“Nope. I did run into someone—but he wasn't from Sinclair. A certain sleazy ex-billionaire and I'd rather not think about him, if ya don’t mind.”
“Hmm, all right.” She seemed almost disappointed, although I wasn't sure why. “Never mind,” she said. “Let's eat some sushi.”