“What makes you think I mind?” I was deliberately baiting him. His presence annoyed me and reminded me why I had to be careful about who I trusted. I wasn’t that naïve little girl anymore. I was a mother. Sadie’s mother. My Sadie was Griffin’s daughter. I tried not to think about the secret I was keeping from him as he seated himself directly next to me.
You could see the mood around the table change when Griffin sat down. I’m pretty sure he hadn’t been invited.
Jerry looked at him as if he was fly in his soup and took his attention away from me to talk to the pretty waitress who was coming around to take our orders. I sighed. Griffin was great at ruining things for me. I tried to jump into other conversations going on around the table, but that wasn’t very successful. The crowd was much more sedated now that an outsider was around. And why exactly was he there?
I tried in vain to inject myself into a conversation with Jerry, but he was now on his cellphone texting or doing whatever.
Griffin waved a hand in my face, as if to get my attention, and I slapped at it and glared at him.
“What? I was just trying to see if I were invisible to you suddenly.”
I ignored him and took a sip of my drink.
He shrugged. “Funny, I remember you being a lot more fun before.”
I gave him an evil look before saying, “Funny, I don’t remember the same about you.”
He laughed. “So what have you been up to all these years?”
“That’s my business.”
“So, secretive… no sense of humor… You’ve changed over the years.”
“You have no idea,” I said cryptically, looking for a polite way to end the evening and get the hell out of there. I didn’t like this at all. The last thing I wanted to do was sit around and chitchat with Griffin as if the past four years hadn’t happened. And to be honest, his nearness was bothering me.
I decided to just be blunt, a skill I’d learned to get out of all sorts of mommy expectations like carpools and playdates. Being a single mom, I didn’t have the luxury of blaming a spouse when I wanted to get out of things, so I’d learned to be direct instead.
“I’m heading out. See you guys later.”
“So soon?” Jerry said, standing up too. “Hey, let me give you a ride.” I had a sneaky suspicion that he was trying to wait out Griffin. I think his plan had been to ignore Griffin until he eventually left and then talk to me.
“She already has a ride,” Griffin said before I could speak.
“I’ll see you tomorrow, Jerry,” I said, ignoring Griffin and making my way towards the exit again. Of course, Griffin fell into step next to me.
I ignored him and headed towards a bus stop.
“Jerry seems to have a crush on you.”
I shrugged and sat down on the bench. He surprised me by sitting down next to me.
“This is a first, a billionaire sitting down at a bus stop.”
“I’ve caught my share of buses.”
“Really? When and where?”
He smiled. “Well, I could have if I wanted to. So why are you avoiding me?”
“I’m not avoiding you. I just have nothing to say to you.”
“Listen, I know things didn’t end well for us on the island…”
“That’s one way to put it,” I mumbled.
“And I had no idea that security had you escorted out when you dropped by the office. I knew you’d stopped by, but I had to take a call and my receptionist said you’d left abruptly. There must have been a misunderstanding.”
I scoffed. “I was thrown out by security, I didn’t leave abruptly.”
“Again, I’m sorry. I have no idea how that happened or why I didn’t know anything about it.”
I looked at him then, really looked at him. He met my eyes straight on and I knew he wasn’t lying to me. As I’d expected, his mother clearly had been behind the debacle that day in the office. But that didn’t explain what I’d seen that day on the beach. The anger towards him that I thought I’d buried years ago raised its ugly head.
“Got it. You’re pleading ignorance. Fine. Now go away.”
“Come on, Nina. You’re not the type to hold a grudge.”
I shot him a look and raised my brows. “Don’t go there. You don’t know anything about me, so don’t pretend that you do.”
He seemed taken aback by my hostility towards him. Good, I thought.
“Maybe. But I’d like the opportunity to get to know you… again. We met when I had a lot going on and I’m sorry that I didn’t follow up—”
“You had a lot going on! Care to share with me exactly what?” I challenged him.
He hesitated as if trying to decide how much to tell me, and my eyes narrowed. “Stop wasting my time, Griffin.”
“If I didn’t know any better, I’d say that you hate me.”
“Hate you? I don’t even think about you.” I was lying. I thought about him all the time. And that was the problem. Despite my cold demeanor, I’d spent years fantasizing that what I saw hadn’t been his real family, that there had been some sort of mistake. I’d never admit the time I spent searching for information about him and his family on the internet and how I got nowhere. He and his family stayed out of the public eye. At the very least, they weren’t socialites.
“If you don’t hate me then I guess you wouldn’t mind joining me for dinner tomorrow night?”
“I’m busy.”
“How about this weekend then?”
“No.”
“Ok, how about lunch then?”
“No thanks.”
“Come on, you have to eat. You might as well share a meal with me.”
My phone started ringing and I reached for it, becoming anxious when I realized that it was my mom. I stood up and walked away from him, not bothering to excuse myself. I walked out of hearing distance, not wanting to be overheard. “Mom, is everything okay with Sadie?”
“Oh yes, everything’s fine. Sorry to scare you. I just noticed that she has a little cough and I was wondering if you think it’s a good idea to take her to that preschool story time at the library.”
“She has a cough?” I asked, concerned.
“Just a cold, nothing to worry about.”
I breathed out in relief, not realizing that I’d been holding my breath. “Yeah, skip the library. I would hate if Patrick or any of her other little friends caught anything from her.”
“Ok. So have you decided whether or not you’re going to talk to her father?” That came out of nowhere and I rolled my eyes. I should have expected this call.
“Aha! The real reason for this call. We’ll discuss this later, Mom.”
“But, Nina—”
“Good night, Mom. I’m hanging up now.”
I found Griffin standing up, leaning against the bus stop staring at me with his arms folded.
“Still taking calls from your mother…” I knew he was teasing me, but I was pretty immune to his flirtatious teasing now.
“You’re one to talk,” I shot back.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Come on, Griffin,” I said angrily. “And don’t you have family that you should be checking up on instead of hanging out with a random woman at a bus stop in the middle of the night?”
He looked at me curiously. I didn’t wait for him to answer as I saw Jerry walking out of the restaurant.
“Hey, Jerry!” I called, “Can I still get that ride?”
Jerry looked at me in surprise and then looked at Griffin.
He gave a boyish shrug, though his tone was clearly unsure as he said, “Uhh yeah… sure.”
Without a backward glance, I walked away from Griffin. And I hoped this time it was forever.
Chapter 7
“It’s creepy how you just pop up on set uninvited,” I said to Griffin as he handed me a cup of coffee. It was the next day and I was feeling a little drowsy. I hadn’t gotten much sleep that night. I’d spent most of the night tossing and turning
, wondering if I should tell Griffin about Sadie now I had the opportunity.
Part of me felt guilty for not telling him and then I reminded myself that he never gave me the opportunity. Well, his mother never did. But from what it seemed, we were both keeping secrets… at least I had attempted to tell him mine all those years ago. He hadn’t shown me the same courtesy. So as far as I was concerned, Griffin was still the enemy.
“I’m a friend of the director,” he explained. I doubted that was true.
“Of course you are…”
“You don’t believe me?”
“Sorry if I don’t find you exactly truthful.”
“I’m not sure why. I’ve never lied to you…”
The nerve! It took all my self-control not to scream at him or toss my coffee at him.
“You’ve never lied to me? Seriously?”
He put both his hands up as if warding me off. “Woah. Stop aiming that coffee at me. And what makes you think I lied to you?”
I sat the coffee down, placed my hands on my hips and was ready to tell him exactly what I saw all those years ago when out of nowhere Jerry appeared.
“Hi, Griffin.” He stood between us and kept his back turned to Griffin as he greeted me. “Hey, Nina… I just wanted to double check that we’re still on for this weekend?”
“What?” I was clueless as to what he was talking about. And then I remembered briefly about some sporting event he had asked me to… ultimate frisbee or something. I had at the time thought it would be harmless so I’d agreed. Now I was regretting it. Jerry was nice, but I had other problems, like the one standing behind Jerry who was glaring at both of us.
“I’ll be there,” I chirped, wanting to make Griffin angrier and not caring that it was just a frisbee game…I had no problem letting him think it was something more serious.
“Great!” Jerry said, placing a hand up and I awkwardly high-fived him. I couldn’t help but smile. He was so cute. He was smart enough to not say anything else to Griffin who stood there looking ready to hit him.
“Calm down,” I said, a small smile on my face as Jerry walked away. I was enjoying this.
“So, you can go to dinner with him but not me?”
“Sure looks that way.” I deliberately kept my voice nonchalant.
“What do you see in that kid?” He scoffed. “Is he even old enough to drink?”
“Stop being jealous, it’s not a good look on you.”
He placed his hand on his chin as if pensive and said teasingly, “Maybe I can get Jerry reassigned.”
“You wouldn’t!”
“Yes, I would.”
“How do you even have the authority to do that?”
“I know the casting director… Richard.”
I looked at him inquisitively, “Richard? Richard Hayes is the casting director? I didn’t know. I only met with an assistant each time. He’s the guy who hired me to work at the resort.”
“Yeah, Richard’s my cousin.”
“Small world,” I said, now finally understanding why Richard had known exactly where Griffin would be all those years ago. It also explained why Griffin always spoke about Richard as if he knew him very well. I don’t know why I didn’t figure this out before.
And suddenly another piece of the puzzle fell into place. I bet Mrs. Wallace had insisted on coming to the auditions to ensure Richard only picked women she approved of to be around her sons. I had clearly been a last-minute addition, a wild card.
“I wouldn’t figure Richard would be related to you.”
“Well, he looks a lot different from me, but—”
“No,” I said looking him squarely in the eye. “He’s a decent person, which is more than I can say for you.”
I walked away, not giving him a chance to answer and went to my place on set. He didn’t leave, he just watched me. Any time he tried to approach me during a break I made sure I was busy talking to someone else, especially Jerry. By the end of the day, I was feeling quite accomplished and I was thoroughly enjoying making Griffin jealous.
He finally caught up with me about six hours into production when I was in makeup again.
“Hey,” he said to the makeup artist, giving her a charming smile that brought back memories I’d rather forget. “Do you mind giving us some privacy for a second?”
She looked at me and then up at Griffin and shrugged. “Two minutes. I need to do a few touch-ups.”
I sighed as I sat up in my chair. “Griffin. Don’t you work? Don’t you have a corporation to run? Why are you hanging out here like a sad puppy?”
“I’m not a sad puppy. I’m an alpha wolf. Remember that.”
I spun around in my chair and gave him a long look. “Ever since you overheard my conversation with Jerry, or rather, eavesdropped on my conversation with Jerry, you’ve looked like a sad puppy. A sad Great Dane puppy.”
He perked up. “At least Great Danes are feared and respected dogs.”
“I was thinking more along the lines of Scooby-Doo.”
“Ouch, now that was low.”
“I shouldn’t have insulted Scooby like that. After all, Scooby doesn’t have an issue with his moral compass.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” He narrowed his eyes at me.
I looked down at his hand meaningfully, not seeing a ring there.
“How’s the missus doing? How’s your kid?” My tone was even, light even as if what I found out all those years ago didn’t matter, as if I hadn’t been unforgivably hurt by him.
He gave me a puzzled look and was about to say something when the makeup artist reappeared. “Time’s up,” she said, unceremoniously pushing me back into the chair.
“What makes you think I’m married?” he asked, standing on the opposite side of the makeup artist.
I was shocked that he wanted to have that conversation right here and now within listening distance of a complete stranger.
“Lower your voice,” I hissed. “I’m working, in case you haven’t noticed.”
The makeup artist sighed as if she wanted to be anywhere else but around us and I instantly felt bad.
“Sorry,” I said to her.
She shrugged. “This isn’t the worst I’ve heard by far. People think bartenders and stylists have to hear more than they want. Ha! They should try being a makeup artist. It really sheds light on how much people suck!” And with that she walked away, leaving me alone with Griffin again.
“Explain.”
“I don’t have to explain anything to you, Griffin. Quit acting dumb,” I said and my Southern accent deepened as I became upset.
“I have no clue what you’re talking about… I’m not married.”
“Maybe you aren’t married now but all the evidence supports that you were married then.”
“What evidence?” he said crossing his arms over his chest. He was wearing a plain white t-shirt and jeans and jeez he looked good. I tried not to notice that as I responded.
“Let’s see… you sleep with me and then randomly leave the island and when I do try to contact you again, I’m escorted out by security.”
“That was all a misunderstanding.”
“Really? Your mother didn’t seem to think so.”
“My mother? You’ve met my mother?”
“Unfortunately, I’ve had several run-ins with your mother!”
“What?”
I shook my head. He really had no clue about what was going on outside his own little world. That realization just served to piss me off even more.
“Listen, I don’t know what’s going on here, but I need some answers. And I don’t know how my mom’s involved in all this, or why she’s involved in all this.” He placed his hands on his hips and stared past me in deep thought. “I need to get some answers.” He turned away from me and walked away, leaving me staring after him.
“Miss Charles! We’re ready for you!” called the production assistant and I hurriedly made my way to set wondering what answers Griffin might find.<
br />
*
To my surprise, there was no sign of Griffin for a few days after our confrontation. I didn’t know what to think about that. My feelings, whenever Griffin was concerned, were always conflicted. I thought about him as I sat on the couch eating fancy cupcakes with Kenny on the edge of the couch watching me.
“Girl, like really, girl… you haven’t stopped eating since you got here. Can you slow down? You do want to fit on the plane when you head back to Georgia, right?”
I punched him in his thigh. He was wearing really short shorts so my punch actually hit skin.
“Ouch,” he said giving me a hurt look. He was lanky and wasn’t very muscular, so maybe my half-hearted punch had hurt a little. “I’m just worried about your blood sugar level,” he complained. “You’ve eaten two pints of ice cream and four cupcakes and it’s only been one hour.”
“I’m depressed.”
He sighed. “Honey, you shouldn’t eat your emotions. You beat them up instead. Come on. I have to sub a kickboxing class. You’ll love it. You can beat your emotions away or pretend to be beating up a certain someone who shall remain nameless.”
He knew all about Griffin and had volunteered to have his car booted. Kenny liked to think he knew people in high places.
I felt like throwing up suddenly. I’d had one cupcake too many. He was right. I put the cupcake down and said, “Alright, let’s do this.”
We rode in Kenny’s car and on the way there I filled him in on my most recent encounters with Griffin.
“Oh, my God, so he’s just playing stupid. You can’t trust them. You just can’t trust men, Nina!” He said hitting the steering wheel really hard.
I gave him a long look. “Having trouble with Cyril?” I hadn’t seen Cyril since I’d arrived, but I’d been so wrapped up in my own problems, I hadn’t asked Kenny about what was going on.
“Trouble… girl, you don’t know trouble,” he growled.
“Alright tell me everything. What’s going on?”
“He wants to move. He wants to leave L.A. and go live somewhere in nowhere Texas and own a winery.”
“What? There are wineries in Texas?”
“Exactly! That’s what I said!”
“Why would he want to do that?”
Billionaire Retreat Page 8
