Heart Breaker

by Parker, Weston

  “I’ll get on it. If that’s it, I need to get with PR.”

  “Thanks,” I muttered.

  He walked out of the office, leaving me alone with my anger. I hated that my decision to date Amber was affecting everyone in my company. She threatened all of us with her bullshit lies. I had made the mistake of trying to do what I thought was right, knowing it was wrong but not actually thinking there would be consequences.

  I heard my cell and reached for it, hoping it was Cherie. It wasn’t. It was my mom. She didn’t usually call me out of the blue on a workday unless there was something important.

  “Hi, Mom, what’s up?”

  “Hi, honey,” she said, and I could hear the worry in her voice.

  “What’s going on?”

  “I don’t want to bother you, but there’s been a bunch of guys following me and hanging out around the house. They’re taking pictures. They’re not doing anything threatening, but it doesn’t feel right. I’m guessing this has to do with you. No one cares about little old me.”

  I felt a vein throbbing at the side of my head. The fact they had gone after my mama was crossing a line. “Are you okay?” I asked her.

  “I’m fine. What’d you do now, young man?”

  I didn’t lie to my mother—ever. “It’s Amber. She’s claiming to be pregnant. By me.”

  “Oh, Evan, I thought we had this talk when you were young,” she lectured.

  “We did. She’s lying.”

  “I never did care for that woman,” she said in her best condescending tone.

  I laughed. “You never met her.”

  “I never wanted to. I could tell just by looking at the pictures of the two of you. She was trying to sink her claws into you. Sounds like she almost did.”

  “It was definitely close,” I said. I figured it was time to come clean about everything before she read it in the tabloids. “There’s something else I need to tell you.”

  “What did you do?”

  “Mom, I didn’t do anything wrong,” I argued.

  “Not according to the magazine headline I read at the grocery store the other day.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Don’t read that nonsense. But you might read that I’m seeing someone else.”

  She sighed. “That was fast. No wonder your ex is mad.”

  “It’s Cherie. Cherie Sanders.”

  There was a silence on the other end. I waited, nervous about what she would say. I needed her to accept Cherie. I didn’t want there to be drama between them. “I trust you,” she finally said. “You never did get over her. Just be careful.”

  “I will, Mom.”

  “I mean you be careful with her. Cherie is a good girl from a small town. She’s not used to the stuff you get yourself into. Don’t let this Amber girl drag Cherie through the mud.”

  “You’re right,” I agreed. “I’m doing all I can to keep her name out of this mess, but Amber saw Cherie at my house.”

  “Oh dear, that doesn’t sound good.”

  “It is definitely not good.”

  “What does Cherie think about the baby?” she asked.

  I grimaced. “I’m not sure.”

  She made a clicking sound with her tongue. “Evan, Evan, Evan,” she said just like she did when I was younger and did something stupid.

  “I know, Mom. I know.”

  “Evan, I’ve never weighed in on your decision to move into the world of fast living, but are you sure you should be there? I worry about you and David. You boys are good boys. All those clubs and fast women, I didn’t raise you like that.”

  I smiled. “No, you didn’t. I promise we’re not into the fast living. We live fairly quiet lives. Amber was a mistake.”

  “You keep your nose clean. You do not want me to go down there and whip you boys into shape. I will not have women going around telling everyone they’re carrying my grandchildren. If you made a baby, you will take responsibility for that child. Do you hear me?”

  “Yes, Mom. I didn’t make a baby. I’m going to prove that soon enough.”

  “All right then. Take care of yourself and your baby brother.”

  “I love you, Mom,” I said, glad she didn’t get going on one of her lectures. “I’ll talk to you soon.”

  I ended the call and immediately used the office phone to call Vaughn. I would not tolerate my mother being harassed.

  It was two days later when Vaughn walked into my office waving a file folder and wearing a big grin. “What do you have?” I asked, immediately giving him my full attention.

  He grinned wider as he handed me the file. “Just a little light reading that I think might interest you.”

  I reached for it and quickly opened it up. I scanned through the notes and couldn’t stop the smile from spreading over my face. “This is great. Thank you. Did you get my mom covered?”

  “I did. We’ve got two guys in Everglades City keeping an eye on things. It doesn’t seem to be much of an issue. I’m sure they were just looking for some B-roll footage to run with whatever story Amber concocted. We’ll keep them there just in case anything pops off.”

  I laughed. “I think once I have a talk with Amber, things will settle down.”

  He chuckled. “I think so too. I’ve got some other things to handle. Let me know if you need anything else.”

  “Thanks, Vaughn. I appreciate this. I’ll make sure there’s a little something extra for you on your next check.”

  Once Vaughn left, I picked up the extension to talk to Bonnie. “What do you need?” she asked.

  “Call Amber and ask her to be here tomorrow,” I said.

  “Amber?” she gasped. “Amber Marks?”

  “Yes.”

  She cleared her throat. “Okay. What if she says no?”

  “Tell her I demanded it. Tell her it will be worth her while.”

  “Will do,” she said and hung up.

  I reached for my cell to call Cherie. I wasn’t even sure she would answer the phone. She hadn’t come to the mansion. She was barely taking my calls and her texts were brief and to the point. She had put a lot of distance between us and I didn’t like it. I understood she was upset with what Amber had said. I needed her to believe me.

  I didn’t blame her for wanting to put some distance between us. I was toxic at the moment. If I didn’t stop Amber, my name was going to be dragged through the mud and anyone associated with me would find themselves caught up in the net. Cherie had a business to run and her reputation was important.

  Once everything was settled, Cherie and I could take our relationship public. We could get married and put all the bullshit with Amber behind us. I was looking forward to being married and out of the public eye. No one would care about an old married guy. Cherie and I would have our privacy and be able to live our lives in relative peace and quiet. There would be the occasional benefits and charity events where we would have to make an appearance and pose for pictures, but I wasn’t worried about the gossip.

  It would be nice to just go back to being boring me again. I was looking forward to mundane after living in Amber’s crazy world of clubbing and paparazzi.

  Chapter 28

  Cherie

  I had no idea why I was at his office. It seemed like a strange place to meet. He had been evasive when I asked him why yesterday. I was a little nervous. I had thought about not showing up at all. I would tell him I had an emergency come up or something. I couldn’t look at him. I was afraid he would somehow see I was pregnant and freak out on me like he had freaked out on Amber.

  I had spent the last several days trying to figure out how to move forward. He was breaking my heart. Now that I knew he didn’t want a family, how could I tell him I was pregnant?

  I hated that he had changed so much. He wasn’t the man I thought he was. He had everything to give and yet he didn’t want a family. I wasn’t sure how I felt about that.

  I wanted a family. I wasn’t necessarily planning on starting one right away, but things happened for a rea
son. I was going to be raising the baby on my own. I had no doubt that he would offer to support the child financially, but that wasn’t enough for me. I didn’t need his money. It was all or nothing.

  I cringed at the idea of my baby having a half-sibling with Amber as the mother. They would be siblings that were months, maybe weeks apart. Evan was going to have his hands full.

  Or I could just not tell him. It was a thought that had been fluttering through my mind. I could move my business and start somewhere fresh. I wouldn’t bother Evan and he could move on with his life whether that was with Amber or someone else. He could be a bachelor for the rest of his days if that made him happy.

  “You can go in,” his assistant said.

  My chance to run in the opposite direction was quickly slipping away. “Thank you,” I said and found myself going toward his office door.

  He got up from behind his desk and walked toward me. He smiled and dropped a kiss on my cheek. “I’ve missed you. Thank you for coming.”

  “What’s this about?” I asked him. “Why am I meeting you here?”

  He smiled. “Have a seat please.”

  I sat down, watching him and anxiously waiting to hear what he had planned. “Is this personal or professional?” I asked, trying to get some information.

  He grinned. “Baby, we don’t have anything professional between us. It’s all personal.”

  He was killing me with the baby. That slow drawl was like warm honey. I opened my mouth to ask him again when the phone buzzed. “Amber is here,” his assistant announced.

  My hands went to the armrest. “What?” I gasped.

  “Send her in,” he said as if I hadn’t said a word.

  “Evan, what the hell is going on here?”

  Amber came through the door, her eyes locked on Evan with a coy smile on her lips. When she swept the room with her eyes and spotted me, her smile slipped. “Why is she here?” she hissed.

  Evan smiled. “Because I want her to hear what I’ve discovered. Sit down.”

  Amber shot me a dirty look before sitting down in the chair a few inches from mine. She made a big show about scooting hers away. I looked at Evan, wondering what in the hell he ever saw in the woman. Evan smiled at me before he opened a file folder. The satisfaction on his face was very telling.

  “What are you doing, Evan?” Amber snapped. “Why is she here?”

  “You’ve made quite a bit of money selling pictures and information to the tabloids over the last few months,” he said, pulling a piece of paper from the file and pushing it across the desk. “This picture of me sleeping naked, that’s nice. Thankfully, the rag mags declined to print that one out of fear I would sue their asses off.”

  It was my turn to shoot her a dirty look. I was suddenly very possessive of his body. “Nice. Very classy.”

  “Shut up,” she snapped at me. “Evan, I didn’t do that. Someone must have hacked my phone. It happens all the time to celebrities.”

  “I have a list of payments you got, which just happens to coincide with times when the paparazzi stumbled upon us. Remember that time at the football game? You gave me your phone because I didn’t want you snapping selfies and tweeting it out where we were. You had already told them where we would be. Someone got hurt that day because a cameraman was trying to get a picture.”

  She scoffed. “It’s a picture. It isn’t like it hurts. I was trying to help your social profile. You were known as the reclusive billionaire. People thought you were weird. I helped you. None of that matters now. We have a baby to think of.”

  He smirked. “Do we? You sure about that? You want to stick with that story?”

  I looked at Amber to judge her reaction. She visibly flinched. “What are you talking about?”

  “There isn’t a baby. You were looking into in-vitro fertilization last week. If you were pregnant, why would you need to go to a fertility clinic? Oh wait, I know! Because you’re not fucking pregnant!”

  “Evan!”

  “You’re trying to save your ass and get pregnant. How do you think you’re going to pass the paternity test I would absolutely make you take when you tried to pass a kid off as mine?”

  Amber scoffed. “This is ridiculous.”

  “Is it? Are you telling me you were endangering your baby?”

  “I’m doing no such thing,” she retorted.

  “I have pictures of you at the club the other night. I have the tab you ran up as well. You drank quite a bit.”

  “I did not.”

  He tossed a stack of photos on the desk. I wanted to see the proof. I reached for one at the same time she did. She glared at me. I smiled and snatched the top photo from the stack. It was definitely her wearing a tiny dress and holding up a champagne bottle while she danced.

  “That’s some excellent mothering skills,” he said with sarcasm. “You’ll make a great mom one day, I’m sure. Marry rich because you’re going to need a fleet of nannies.”

  Amber threw the picture at him and jumped to her feet. “This is bullshit! You can’t stalk me.”

  Evan laughed. “I didn’t stalk you. Please, as if I would waste my time following you around. I had an investigator check out your story, and as expected, it was bogus. You’re lying through your teeth. You’re not pregnant. You never were pregnant. You’re too selfish to get pregnant. You would never do anything that could cost you your modeling career.”

  “You don’t know what you’re talking about!”

  “Really? Why hasn’t your lawyer reached out to me? Is it because he can’t hit me up for money for a baby that doesn’t exist?”

  “He’s putting together paperwork as we speak,” she shot back.

  Evan smirked, his eyes dancing in that way they did when he was excited. “You thought you could weasel your way back into my life with a fake baby story. It isn’t going to work. I can see right through you. You’re vapid and transparent.”

  “That’s not true,” she said, stomping a foot.

  “I’m with Cherie now. We’re happy together. You will never understand what it’s like to be in a real relationship. You will never understand what it means to love someone and be loved in return. You’re incapable of such things. Take your lies and go. Don’t call me. Don’t go to my house. Leave me alone. If you go to the tabloids again and slander my name, I will sue you. I will take you down. I will expose all your dark secrets to your adoring public. You’re not the only one who has pictures.”

  I looked at him, startled by his confession. I wanted to know where the pictures were and what they were. Did he have pictures of me?

  “You’re going to pay for this, Evan. You are going to be sorry you ever fucked with me.”

  “I already am,” he shot back as she walked out of the office, slamming the door closed behind her.

  I was in shock. Evan got to his feet and came around to the desk. He dropped in front of me, looking me in the eyes. I stared at him and slowly shook my head. “What just happened?” I whispered.

  “It’s over,” he said and pulled me forward. His arms wrapped around me. “I’m sorry it’s been such a shitty few days. I don’t think we’ll have to worry about her coming around again.”

  “You have pictures?” I asked.

  He laughed. “No, I don’t have pictures. I was bluffing.”

  “Oh,” I said, still not sure what I believed.

  “I’m really sorry she caused us so many problems. I hate that you have to be dragged into this mess. I think she’ll leave us alone from here on out. We can get back to being us again.”

  I nodded. I felt a little numb. I had never seen that side of him before. He was ruthless and vindictive. He had treated Amber like she was an enemy instead of an ex-lover, an ex-fiancée. He had her followed and photographed in order to get what he needed on her. He’d gone after her like a man on a mission.

  It terrified me. If I told him I was pregnant, would he react the same way? Would he dig into my life and then throw it all back in my face? I didn’t
like what he had done. I didn’t like the way he’d behaved. I didn’t necessarily like Amber either, and I definitely didn’t like what she had done, but that had been harsh. Very harsh.

  Amber had taken it like a champ and even fought back. I was not that tough. I wasn’t sure I could take it like she did. I would turn into a blubbering mess. His hands were on me, but instead of providing comfort, he was stressing me out.

  “I should go,” I whispered.

  “No, wait,” he said.

  I looked into his eyes, trying to find the answers to the hundreds of questions I had. What if he accused me of lying about being pregnant and then told me to get out of his life? Unlike Amber, I actually was pregnant. If he kicked me out of his life, I took his baby with me. I wasn’t sure he would even care. My idea to run away and start over somewhere else was starting to sound more appealing.

  “I have a meeting,” I said, trying to sound normal. “I need to get going.”

  “Are you okay?” he asked, reaching a hand up to my face. “You look a little pale.”

  “I’m fine,” I answered, afraid he would see I wasn’t fine.

  “Will you please tell me what you’re thinking?”

  I searched his eyes. I wanted to tell him everything. I wanted him to tell me everything would be okay. I wasn’t going to get that. I needed more time to think. I needed to work through what I was feeling. I didn’t even know how to describe what I was feeling. I was a hot mess.

  “Why don’t we talk later?” I asked, offering him a smile.

  He stood up, leaned against his desk, and stared at me. I could feel him sizing me up, studying me, trying to dissect me. He was going to figure it out if I didn’t get away from him.

  Chapter 29

  Evan

  My plan to show her that Amber was a conniving bitch had backfired. I could see how uncomfortable Cherie was. I didn’t know how to make her understand that I wanted her and only her in my life. She was my girl and always would be. We could be together without worrying about Amber’s bullshit. I needed her to know Amber wasn’t going to be a problem for us anymore.