Chapter Twenty-Four
Mia sat in the cab and watched the buildings on 8th Avenue pass by her window. It was cold outside, but the day was beautiful, and between the skyscrapers she could see blue sky and wispy clouds. As cities went, she loved New York—she’d made some wonderful memories here, first when she was a student and then with Adam.
Wiping at her eyes, she noticed the cab driver looking at her in the mirror.
“You okay, sweetheart?” His accent was pure New York, and Mia appreciated his concern, forcing a smile and nodding.
“I’m gonna tell you da same thing I’d tell my own dawta. If he makes you cry, he ain’t worth it.”
She nodded, but somehow Mia kept thinking that walking out on Adam was the biggest mistake of her life.
Everything he’d said about Sara was true. Once she thought about it, there was no denying her sister lived in her own world, and there wasn’t anything that could justify her behavior. The more her mother went on about how the mess with Ben was all Mia’s fault, the more she realized her mother felt guilty about what happened to her sister.
Mia hadn’t talked to her mother since the blow-up in the kitchen where she’d pretty much turned Mia’s world upside down. If she’d felt angry at Mom before, finding out about her infidelity was the breaking point. How could she look at her again? How had her dad managed all those years?
Talk about a mess. There were so many secrets, Mia didn’t know what to believe. But she knew it was going to end with her. That’s why she was going to talk to Greg. Adam had been right; nothing good could come from keeping Greg’s connection to Ben a secret. But instead of having him with her, supporting her through this mess, she was alone, because she’d walked out on him.
She’d walked out on the love of her life over a sister who cared only about herself.
That was another wound that was going to take a while. Mia had been the “lesser” sister, the one who never measured up, and while Sara had always claimed she loved her “Little Sis”, she fed into Mia’s insecurity. She’d been the butt of her older sister’s constant nerd jokes, criticizing everything from Mia’s appearance to her grades to her music. Every accomplishment had been downplayed so Sara could feel confident.
Of course, her sister thought Greg would marry her. Having some time to think about it, it made perfect sense. She always got what she wanted, why wouldn’t she get him? When it didn’t happen—when she’d been rejected—and she was faced with a child to raise, Sara couldn’t cope.
The cabbie kept looking at her, obviously a little worried. “You from around here?”
“Long Island,” she responded.
“Really?” he asked. “You don’t sound like you’re from ’dere.”
Again, she smiled. This man sounded more New York than anyone she’d ever heard, and he was talking about accents?
“Meeting your boyfriend at the hotel I’m dropping you at?”
“No. It’s ah…” She hesitated. What was she doing? “It’s a business meeting.” That was all she was going to say.
From that point on, he didn’t talk anymore, but Mia found she was still dabbing her eyes. It was all getting to her. Adam, Greg… everything.
A few blocks from the hotel, Mia rubbed a hand over her stomach, wondering if anything would calm down the bats that had taken up residence. Not knowing what she was going to say to Greg was only part of the problem. Keeping her wits, not breaking down into a slobbering mess, that was her bigger issue.
She figured she was pretty much screwed.
The cab pulled in right in front of the upscale hotel and a uniformed doorman was there, extending his hand to Mia. It was a genteel setting but Mia felt like she was walking into the lion’s den. Just knowing how Greg treated Sara was enough to make Mia wonder how he would treat her.
The hotel was amazing—a true art deco palace. The front desk glowed with angled brass and the floors were polished marble. Fine leather-covered chairs and couches adorned the lobby and to her right was the lounge where she saw Greg, at a table near the bar. He was talking on his cell phone and jotting notes in a bound journal.
Her breath caught and she felt sick to her stomach. She knew she should get this over with, but felt frozen in place. She couldn’t move. Finally, the clerk at the desk cleared his throat.
“Miss? Can I help you?”
“Oh, no. I’m meeting Mr. Rhodes.” Mia raised her hand slightly, gesturing toward Greg, who by this point had seen her.
“Very good, miss.” The clerk went back to his computer screen, and Mia nearly turned and ran back outside, but Greg was now moving in her direction. He was still on his phone, but he smiled, and extended a hand to her.
Without taking it, she walked past him and headed to the table where he’d set up a makeshift office. She could hear him now concluding his call, and with his sandpaper voice and imposing physical presence, Mia was scared. Out-of-her-mind scared.
“I’ll call you back. My meeting’s here.” He followed Mia back to the small round table.
Mia went cold when he leaned in and kissed her cheek. Oh, yeah, he definitely had the wrong idea.
As she shrugged out of her coat, Greg’s expression was tentative, like he didn’t quite know what to say. It was interesting seeing the cockiness leech out of him, even if it was only for a minute. He took her coat, laying it over a chair, and before Mia could do anything herself, he pulled out her chair.
A waiter appeared and when Greg looked at her, a smile tilted the corner of his mouth. So much for humility.
“Would you like anything?” he asked.
“Ah, sparkling water is fine.” she said, and he dismissed the waiter with a wave of his hand.
“So, are you going to tell me why you wanted to see me?”
Mia mustered a nod. The thick silence lingered and Greg blew out a breath.
“Sorry,” she said. “I’m not feeling too well.”
As she said it, the white-coated waiter reappeared with her drink. “A sparkling water for the lady.”
“Thank you.” Mia could barely hear herself. This wasn’t the time to shrink into the woodwork.
“So? Why are we here?” Greg brought his coffee cup to his lips but didn’t drink. Instead, he raised an eyebrow. “Get tired of Adam? Because if that’s the case, I will consider this my lucky day.”
“No, that’s not it.” His expression didn’t change. “I want to talk about–” Mia took long drink of the mineral water. Her mouth was like a desert. “I want to talk about Ben.”
Greg had taken a sip of his coffee, but when Mia laid the topic on the table he put down his cup and stared into it. “What about Ben?”
Yeah, he wasn’t flirting anymore. Now he looked as scared as she felt.
“You knew my sister when you played in Washington.”
He chuckled. “Babe, I knew lots of women in D.C.”
“My sister, Sara, was a cheerleader. Blonde, blue-eyed.”
“Again, you’re being kind of general here.”
Mia was trying to keep her cool, but it was hard, because Greg knew what she was driving at and he was baiting her. “Don’t be obtuse.”
“Obtuse?” The arrogant grin that crossed his face really needed to be slapped off.
There was no use in dancing around this, so she blurted it out. “Ben? Is your son.”
Bam. The air around them dropped ten degrees as he stared at her.
“Prove it.” He sat back in the chair and started tapping something out on his phone.
The sputter that came from Mia was a result of the jumble of thoughts in her brain. Holy crap. Prove it?
Wow.
Now she was pissed. He thought she was there to make him take responsibility. His challenge forced her to see the man Adam had described—shallow, arrogant and cold.
“I’m not going to prove anything, because the last thing I want is for you to be in his life. I don’t ever want to see you again.”
Greg looked up from his phone and froze. “Wait, what?”
“I want you to sign away your parental rights. I want to adopt Ben and I can’t, since we know the identity of his father.”
He nodded slowly. “Oh. Fine. No problem there, but without sounding like a dick, are you sure he’s mine? I mean…”
Mia leaned back in her chair, more disgusted than scared, and she folded her arms. “You aren’t even going to put up a fight for him, are you?”
“Nah, I don’t need a kid. You’ve done good with him. He’s happy.”
“Wow.”
“Look, I’ve never wanted to be a father. I like my life.”
“What could Sara have possibly seen in you? Good God.”
“Money. Just like all the other women who claim they have my kid. You’re the first who hasn’t wanted me to write a check.”
She shook her head, struck dumb. “I don’t want anything but your signature on the papers that say I can adopt him. That’s it.
“Fine. Have your attorney contact mine.” Greg played with the spoon that lay next to his coffee cup. “Now, tell me again… who was your sister?”
The blinding heat that clouded her vision was so new, Mia didn’t know how to react. He didn’t even know who she was talking about. He took Sara to bed, used her, treated her like crap, and he didn’t even remember?
Mia understood she was naïve, and that Sara’s life was full of stupid choices, but Greg’s callousness raised Mia’s anger to a whole new level.
He was still staring at her, confused, when his cell phone rang and he answered it, not thinking for another second about Sara, or Ben.
The asshole.
His voice dropped and a sly grin slid across his face. When she heard him say “Baby”, Mia knew he was talking to a woman. His latest conquest, no doubt.
The rage which flashed a minute ago was now on a rolling boil as every word he uttered dripped with innuendo. Mia glanced at the table. There was a leather portfolio, a business card holder, a couple of pens and a laptop. The pens could do some damage, she thought, but hotel management might have a problem with bloodshed. Then, as she felt the bile rise in her throat, Mia’s hand shot out and grabbed the phone.
“Sorry, sweetie. He’s busy with me, he’ll call you back.”
Greg’s hand was still posed as if he was holding his phone and his mouth was slightly open, stunned that little wallflower Mia had been aggressive.
He leaned into his chair, disgusted.
“I guess I’ll call her back.”
“You can dismiss me, if you want, but your disrespect for my sister and your son is disgusting.”
“Is it possible you’re overreacting?” he said. “I didn’t disrespect your sister, I don’t even remember her. And as for the kid, he’s nice, but I don’t think I’m exactly father material.”
Mia’s hands shook and without warning or knowing what she was going to do, she smashed his phone on the table. Then, without a moment’s thought, she grabbed her drink and dumped it into Greg’s lap.
He sucked in a breath at the shock caused by the icy cold liquid, muttered some colorful expletives, and glared at her. Fortunately, there were only a few people in the bar. Mia didn’t give him a chance to speak. Instead, she leaned in and hissed.
“I hate you for the way you treated my sister. About the only good thing that’s come out of this meeting is that you will be permanently out of Ben’s life.” She grabbed one of the business cards sticking out of the portfolio on the table. “My lawyer will be in touch.”
“Fine,” he said, growling. Mia grabbed her coat and started toward the door and as she did, Greg stood and started blotting himself with a napkin. Maybe the cold shock did some good because when she looked back, he looked a little sad. Very little, but he was still sad.
“Mia.” She turned. His voice was low, serious. “How did your sister die?”
“She killed herself. Swallowed a bottle of pills, chased it with alcohol.”
He blew out a breath. “Because of me?”
Was it because of him? Was it?
No. Mia finally faced the reality of her sister’s death.
It was as if someone smacked her upside the head. At last, Mia saw things with complete clarity, understanding her sister for the first time in her life. And as Sara’s memory stepped down off the pedestal, Mia spoke, “As much as it would be easy to blame you, no. She died because she was weak, and because she gave up.”
Something Mia would never do.
She stood there in her coat waiting for something from him, anything.
“I’m sorry.” It was heartfelt, and she could see Greg wasn’t comfortable speaking from the heart.
Mia nodded and left him standing there with a napkin in his hand and a big wet spot on his pants. It was a pathetic sight, but it wasn’t nearly as pathetic as the shallow life he led.
It had been Sara’s life as well, and Mia didn’t want that for herself. She wanted her love story, and for the first time she believed she deserved one.
Adam’s face flashed through her mind, and as she slid into the cab that pulled up in front of the hotel, she hoped it wasn’t too late.