CHAPTER 22
Tobias
Scarlet had fallen asleep in my arms. While I would have been perfectly content just holding her for the rest of the morning, I had business to work out. Plus, she eventually had to check out of the hotel. Our time together was going to inevitably come to an end, at least for this particular day.
I checked the time, seeing that she still had a little over a half hour before her official checkout time.
I looked down. Her head rested on my chest, her breathing deep and content. It all made sense now. When I’d seen her the previous day, I knew there had been something different about her, but I hadn’t been able to place my finger on what. Now I knew. It was the pregnancy glow that she had, making her even more stunningly beautiful than she had already been. Her skin was luminous, her hair more luscious, and I had been right to notice that there was more fullness to her figure. How did I miss that in my office?
I had been so focused on being with her, I hardly even saw her.
I ran my hand through her silky hair and kissed her forehead. I wanted to wake her, but she looked so peaceful that disturbing her would have felt like a crime.
Gently, I lifted her off my chest and placed her on the bed beside me, having decided to let her sleep. After all, it wasn’t goodbye this time, and that felt good to know.
I climbed out of bed and gathered my clothes from the floor, quietly slipping them back on. As I headed to the bathroom, I heard her cell phone chirp. I stared for a moment, but the sound hadn’t woken her. Ignoring it, I continued on my way to the bathroom, to make myself look more presentable before returning to the office. All the while, her phone continued to chirp.
I poked my head through the bathroom door, only to find that she was still sleeping. The poor girl must have been exhausted. I really did tire her out.
Still though, the way her phone was blowing up, I worried someone may have been trying to reach her for something important. The last thing I wanted was to accidentally let her sleep through some kind of emergency.
I stood in the doorway of the bathroom for a moment, feeling torn as I stared at her phone while it continued to buzz with incoming messages.
I contemplated checking the phone for her so that I could determine whether or not I needed to wake her, but I thought that might be overstepping my boundaries. She may have been pregnant with my children, but we still didn’t know each other very well. Plus, we had just mended our fledgling relationship and I certainly didn’t want to mess things up between us again so soon by invading her privacy.
She’s the mother of my children though, I reasoned. I should be able to check her phone. What harm could it really be? She’ll understand that I just didn’t want to wake her if it wasn’t necessary. She’s clearly tired. She might even be annoyed if I wake her up.
I carefully crossed the room and took her cell phone from the nightstand. But just that instant, my own phone buzzed. I pulled it out from the pocket of my blazer, which was balled up at the foot of the bed.
It was a text from my sister: Just checking on u. Everything OK?
I walked over the dresser and leaned against it, replying: Yeah. Thanks again for the advice.
You’re welcome. Does that mean you’ve talked to her? she replied.
I glanced over to Scarlet in the bed, still sleeping soundly. Yeah…Everything’s good. We’re on the same page now, I typed back with a smile.
Joanna responded with a thumbs-up and a clapping emoji. I chuckled, wondering if she had bothered to keep my secret. Fingers flying across the screen, I typed: U tell Anderson yet?
Should I? she replied.
Before I could respond though, I received another message. I changed screens, seeing that Libby had just texted me.
I had been so preoccupied with Scarlet and the baby news that for the first time in forever, all thoughts of work and the firm had been pushed from my mind. I frantically tried to remember if any deadlines had passed that I had forgotten about, but my mind drew a blank.
I opened Libby’s message with baited breath. It read: Did you run the numbers on the latest reports yet?
Of course I hadn’t. I sighed, struggling to even remember what the last reports were. I then began to feel slightly panicked regarding what would become of my multibillion dollar business firm once the twins were born. Biting my bottom lip, I glanced toward Scarlet again, who had changed positions in her sleep, but still hadn’t woken.
If Anderson and Joanna were being kept so busy with one baby, what on earth was I going to do with two? Libby had been helping me out tremendously, but I didn’t want to put too much stress on her. There was no way she could do everything on her own once my time was soon thoroughly consumed with sleepless nights, changing dirty diapers, and keeping up with feeding schedules and doctors’ appointments.
I guess you’re busy…Libby wrote when three minutes had gone by without my response.
I stared, trying to figure out what to tell her.
It occurred to me that I was going to have a lot of explaining to do in due time, and that was going to be an absolute headache. It had been awkward enough having to let Joanna know what was going on. Not to mention I hadn’t even directly told my own best friend yet. So, what was I going to do when it came time to tell my co-workers and colleagues? This whole thing had been so abrupt, and with the exception of my secretary, none of them even knew anything about Scarlet yet.
I could already imagine the gossip and the way it would circulate around the office. Did you know Mr. Gentry knocked up some woman he hardly knows? It happened when he was supposedly out of town on a business trip…
I rubbed my temple, feeling a headache coming.
Across the room, Scarlet’s phone buzzed again. And like each time before, she continued to sleep through it.
I glanced back down at my own phone, hating to keep Libby waiting. Finally, I replied: No, not yet. I’ve been busy. Don’t worry. I’ll get to them soon.
She wrote back instantly: I can do them for you.
You don’t have to, I quickly typed back, feeling guilty.
It’s not a problem. Just give me a few days, she replied.
You are an angel, Libby. I’ll pay you back. Promise.
She replied with an angel emoji and a wink.
Scarlet’s phone went off again. I frowned. Placing my own phone back in my pocket, I headed towards hers. She stirred once more, and I contemplated waking her. But after she snuggled into the pillow and kept sleeping, I simply didn’t have the heart to wake her. Glancing at the time, I saw that she only had a little while longer to sleep anyway.
Deciding once and for all to not wake her, I reached for her phone. It lit up when I touched the screen, and I saw that she had several new text messages. Feeling mildly guilty but justified regardless, I opened the messages, simply wanting to determine their importance so that I’d know whether or not to wake her.
The first one read: Did you tell him?
I stared at it for a moment, not understanding it, but deciding it didn’t sound all that important. Unable to resist, I continued reading the messages after it.
Did he believe you?
Is it done?
Is he going to give you money?
I paused, an uncomfortable feeling forming in my gut.
I knew the importance of not jumping to conclusions. Carefully setting the phone down, I turned my gaze back to Scarlet. Suddenly, words that I hadn’t thought about in a while came back to me.
Headmaster Greene’s warning about Scarlet, not-so-subtly implying that she was no good…
My stomach gave another uncomfortable swoop.
Again, I didn’t want to jump to conclusions, but that didn’t mean I could silence the cynic inside of me.
The text messages replayed in my mind. Did you tell him? Did he believe you? Is it done? Is he going to give you money?
I was stunned, but by no means was I stupid.
I closed my eyes, not wanting to believe what was right in front of my face, but unable to ignore the obvious.
If I wasn’t the ‘he’ with the money those text messages referred to, who else could it be?
I clenched my teeth, anger starting to bubble inside of me.
Was it possible that Scarlet was using this pregnancy as a scam against me? Did I really just go through all this stress only to be made a fool of?
It had never once crossed my mind that Scarlet was trying to use me. Everything about her had seemed so genuine. Yet now, I had to look at everything from a different light.
When she got upset and left me at the dinner table, I had automatically assumed she’d been pissed about my reaction, thinking that I didn’t want to accept the responsibility of fatherhood. Was there a chance that her frustration hadn’t really been about my unwillingness to accept parental duty, but rather fear that she wouldn’t be able to get money from me?
What were the chances that she somehow knew about my wealth all along, right from the beginning? Had it just been an act when we first met and she pretended to mistake me for some guy she knew named Preston? Or did the act begin when I took her back to my hotel and out to a fancy dinner the next day?
Could I even trust her claim that she hadn’t been with anyone else, and that the babies were mine?
Did he believe you? That’s what the text message had said.
Did I believe what? That the babies were mine? That she was having twins? That she was really even pregnant?
She had hopped into bed rather easily with me, so was I being naïve to believe that she hadn’t been with any other guys since?
I stared at her sleeping, looking so peaceful and content. Had all her worries dissipated after my promise to be there for her and the babies, at all costs?
The headache I’d been developing intensified with alarming speed.
Gullibility was something that had never been a problem for me in the professional world, otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to create a multibillion dollar firm. It was an entirely different story when it came to my personal life, on the other hand.
I never thought anyone could break my heart more than my last ex, but now, it seemed that Scarlet Kale had finally given her a run for her money, no pun intended.
Casting one last glance at Scarlet, I tossed her phone onto the bed and headed straight for the door. While I didn’t want to think the worst of her, after those text messages, it was hard for me to think any better. I needed to keep my cool though. And I needed keep a close watch on how things played out because if one thing was for sure, it was that I would never again let another woman use me for my money. If Scarlet was trying to pull a fast one over me, she was going to be in for a rude awakening.
But for now, I would stay calm and play along until I had further information.
At the last minute, before heading out the door, I took the small pad of paper beside the hotel room phone and scribbled a quick note for Scarlet. Then I quietly left, once again, struggling to make sense of what I had gotten myself into with this woman.