by Bella Grant
I used the bathroom before getting dressed and walking to the kitchen where the girls were sitting at the table, their eating utensils in hand but their plates empty. Jarrod stood at the counter, and I avoided his eyes as I entered.
“Good morning,” I said softly.
“Good morning. How’d you sleep?”
“Okay,” I answered, my head bent. If he caught a glimpse of my red-rimmed eyes, he would know the truth: that the night had been fitful for me.
“Daddy, Laurel’s here!” Annabelle announced in a whiny voice.
“Can we please eat now?” Isabelle added.
“Oh, I was holding up breakfast?” I asked and walked over to Jarrod to help him, but he waved me over to the table.
“It’s fine. I’ve got this.”
And he did. He served us a breakfast I knew he must have bought from the little restaurant up the beach. I was ravenous, which must have been from the activity last night. I dug into the plate of ackee and codfish with fried breadfruit and biscuits. I would miss this when we left. The food was amazing. Every single morsel I had put into my mouth since arriving on the island was delicious.
After breakfast, the morning consisted of packing and driving to the airport. I was glad the girls were with us, chatting, which filled the silence between Jarrod and me. We didn’t communicate unless it was necessary. The ride in his private jet back to Dallas was equally silent. I was so exhausted from the lack of sleep that I fell asleep and only woke up when we were landing.
We bustled from the airport, transferring all our luggage from the jet to the limousine, which picked us up. I wondered if Jarrod owned the limousine too, as his regular driver was behind the wheel. If we were talking, I would have asked the question but decided to let this one remain unanswered. Nothing would be affected by the answer anyway. It wasn’t like Jarrod would fall in love with me too.
I never had the opportunity to ask him about our sleeping arrangement. The twins headed for the rec room immediately upon landing, and I climbed the stairs for my bedroom. Jarrod went to his office to check his messages.
I sighed upon reaching the bedroom. I dropped down onto the bed. Finally. I was home. Home? For the next ten years, and then what? I suddenly felt like I hadn’t given this enough thought before agreeing to be Jarrod’s wife for ten years.
Rolling off the bed, I walked to the closet to find something to wear and discovered all my clothes had been removed. I checked the drawers and they were empty too. Where could all my clothes… Had Jarrod moved me into another room without consulting me? Like his bedroom? Don’t be foolish, girl, I warned myself. He had no reason to move me into his bedroom.
Hurrying from the room, I scurried down the stairs and to his office. I knocked once and pushed the door open before he said, “Come in.” He sat at his desk, his phone to his ear while he scribbled on a notepad.
“Give me a sec,” he whispered to me, covering the mouthpiece before returning his attention to whomever was on the line. “Okay, uh huh. Did Pembrooke get in touch?” He listened again before continuing. “Great! Thanks, Pearl, you’re a gem.”
I placed my hands behind my back so he couldn’t see my clenched fists. I should have known the first person he would call when we returned would be Pearl. I couldn’t help wondering how he had planned to juggle both of us at the same time. I’d never taken him for a player. Clearly, I knew nothing about him.
“All right, I’ll see you at the office tomorrow morning at seven,” he said. “Bye, Pearl.”
Why did he have to meet her an hour before his staff was due at work?
“Is something wrong?” he asked, barely glancing at me before returning to the notepad before him.
“My things,” I told him, my voice huskier than I would have liked. “My bedroom is empty. I don’t know where my things are.”
“That’s because they are right where they belong,” he answered without looking up.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I demanded, irritated at him for not reciprocating my feelings. “Where did you move my things?”
He stopped writing and lifted his head, his blue eyes piercing mine. “They’re in my bedroom—sorry, our bedroom, of course. Where else did you expect them to be?”
Chapter 20
Jarrod
“Jarrod!”
“Huh?” I spun around in my chair and peered at a frowning Pearl. From the cross expression on her face, I would hazard a guess she had been trying to get my attention for a while now. I’d been zoned out, my mind taking me places it had no right to take me. To my wife and the way we slept together in the same bed every night so our marriage wasn’t suspicious. Sleepless nights listening her soft sighs while I was tortured with wanting to lift her leg and slip my cock into her moist heat.
She had been right. A sexual relationship between us would mess up the details of our contract. Although the way I fantasized about her, such as in moments like these, I believed our relationship had already changed. We should never have had sex on the beach in the first place. But damn, it had felt good sliding into her body, feeling the softness of her body beneath me.
How I’d managed to sleep in the same bed with her for two weeks was beyond me. I usually worked in the office and waited until I knew it was safe—safe meaning that she was already asleep before I went to bed. I was often exhausted, but even in exhaustion, sleep sometimes eluded me just the same.
Our marriage looked like the description on paper. Laurel spent time with the kids, instructing them in their lessons during the day as well as performing the duties of a nanny. Once per week, according to the plan she had outlined for me, she would take the kids outside the house for lessons. Last week, they went to the Dallas Art Institute where the girls had taken art lessons and had been eager to show me when I arrived home. Yesterday, they had talked about their day at the Arboretum & Botanical Gardens, making me wish I’d taken the day off to go with them.
For once, work wasn’t the most important thing going on in my life. I couldn’t thank Laurel enough for the work she had done with the girls. They weren’t as timid as before, which brought a smile to my face, and when I heard childish giggling or laughter in my house, I often joined for no other reason than I’d heard it. I was also filled with a pang of sorrow as I considered how different everything would have been if I had raised these girls from infants.
“Jarrod!” Pearl’s waspish tone yanked me from my thoughts before I could become submerged.
“Sorry. I was thinking,” I said, focusing. “What is it?”
“Care to share what you were thinking about?” she asked inquisitively. “You’ve been spacing out a lot lately. Ever since you returned from your vacation. Come to think of it, you never did say where you went.”
And I didn’t intend to. Pearl’s subtle flirtation was no longer lost on me. As long as she didn’t cross the boundaries, we should be fine. I’d taken off my wedding band every day that I came into work before she could see it. At first, I’d felt guilty removing the ring while I worked, but then I remembered Laurel didn’t want to have an intimate relationship with me. She insisted on the fake marriage, so what did it matter if I wore my ring or not? I was smack in the middle of some important meetings and needed Pearl to work with me. The last thing I needed was for her to freak out over the ring and create friction between us.
She was still the best damn executive assistant someone could ever have.
“Just home stuff,” I responded to her. “What do you need? The meeting with Lawrence isn’t for another two hours, right?”
“Yes, but there’s something I want you to have,” she purred seductively.
I eyed her suspiciously. “What are you talking about?”
“Your birthday!” she exclaimed with a smile. “You didn’t think I’d forget, did you?”
I glanced at the calendar on my desk. Yup, today was my birthday all right. With Laurel on my mind all the time, it was a wonder I achieved anything these days.
&nb
sp; “I completely forgot,” I confessed.
“Well, thank God for wonderful assistants like me,” she said with a smile and walked backwards to the door. She waved, and one of the male office attendant walked into the room with a large, wrapped present. He nodded towards me and set it down on a chair as Pearl indicated then left.
“Come and open it,” she encouraged me.
“Really, Pearl, you didn’t have to get me anything,” I said awkwardly. I didn’t remember her giving me a gift last year or any other year.
“It’s just a birthday gift.” She chuckled. “Come and see. You’ll like it.”
I sauntered reluctantly to the chair and took my time unwrapping the gift. Her change of attire, flirting, now this gift—I really needed to talk to Pearl about what could never develop between us, but I hadn’t come up with how to have such a talk. I didn’t want to lose her as an employee.
“Pearl, this is way too much,” I told her, unveiling the landscape painting. Before I saw the signature at the right corner of the painting, I recognized the style of the artist, because there were two similar artworks done by him in my office. I also knew this particular painting must have cost over a thousand dollars and I couldn’t accept such a gift from her.
“But you like his work,” she announced with a satisfied smile. “I thought it would make a good addition to your collection.”
“Yes, but it’s too ostentatious,” I affirmed. “The gesture is kind, but it’s too much. I do hope you can take it back or let me pay you for it.”
“I wanted to give you this,” she insisted, her smile waning. “It’s not a big deal.”
“I’m sorry. Either I pay you for it or I can’t accept it. A pen, a necktie, a journal, those would make a good present for a boss, but not this.”
Before she could respond, the telephone on my desk rang and I pressed the button to activate the loudspeaker. “Simpson speaking.”
“Mr. Simpson, it’s Suzanne from front desk,” came the voice over the phone. “There’s a Mrs. Laurel Simpson here to see you. She says she’s your wife. She also has your daughters with her.”
“Laurel Simpson?” Pearl gasped in shock. “Jarrod, you married her?”
I ignored her question to respond to Suzanne. “Thanks, Suzanne. Can you send them up, please?”
“You want me to send them up?” the receptionist asked. From her tone, it was obvious she’d thought Laurel’s claim to be absurd and was reaching out to me before she had the security guard escort her from the building.
“Yes, that’s exactly what I said, Suzanne.”
“Yes, sir.”
“You married her?” Pearl repeated as soon as I ended the call.
I turned to regard her coolly. “Yes, Laurel and I are married.”
“That’s why you went away for that week!” she exclaimed, her eyes narrowing in accusation. “You were on your honeymoon. But why didn’t you say something?”
“I didn’t want to mix business and my personal life,” I explained to her. “None of my other employees know about it. It was a personal decision not to tell anyone yet.”
“But I’m…”
She trailed off when a knock sounded at the door and Laurel walked through the half-opened door with the girls on either side of her. She paused just inside the door when she saw Pearl and me, looking unsure of herself. Today, she wore a blue and white A-line skirt and a red top with red flats on her feet. Her hair was plaited in two as she had done my daughters’ hair as well.
“Uh, is this a bad time?” Laurel wondered aloud. “We can always come back.”
“No, no. Is something wrong?” I inquired in concern. Since she had started working for me, she hadn’t ever come to the office.
She nudged the girls, who brought their hands from behind their backs and handed homemade cards towards me. “Happy birthday,” they said shyly.
“How did you know?” I asked in surprise, forgetting about Pearl as I claimed the cards and popped one open. I read the short messages inside and had to blink at their ‘I love you’ scribbled in a decent enough penmanship for children their age. “Thank you so much,” I told them, and it was only fitting for me to hug them and plant a kiss on top of their heads.
“I remembered the date of birth from the marriage certificate we signed,” Laurel replied shyly. “Ana and Isa have been working on them all day. We also want to take you out for lunch.” She glanced at Pearl then back at me. “If you’re free, of course. If you’re not, we understand.”
“I am free,” I assured her.
“You have a meeting in an hour, Jarrod,” Pearl piped up.
“Oh, that’s right,” I said, but the look of disappointment on my daughters’ faces was arresting. “Will you do me a solid and postpone that meeting for me, Pearl? Let them know I’ll get back to them.”
“Jarrod, we’re almost at the end of this negotiation,” my assistant reminded me. “Surely you can wait until you get home after work to play father.”
“This is a family matter and doesn’t concern you,” I retorted in irritation, annoyed at Pearl and her comment. I took offense at her referring to my relationship with my daughters as ‘play.’ I was about to ask her to leave so I could when Laurel gasped and her eyes widened. I noticed her gaze was trained on my left hand. I remembered too late I wasn’t wearing my wedding band. I’d placed it in my pocket before I walked through the front door of the building this morning. Her eyes held a trace of hurt before she schooled her features and placed her hands on the children’s shoulders.
“It’s fine,” she remarked. “We’ll see you when you get home. Enjoy your meeting.”
I was having none of that. “No, I’ll stand by what I said,” I announced. “Pearl, please cancel the meeting for me. And take the painting with you.” I added the latter gently so as not to hurt her feelings.
“Sure,” she answered stiffly and grabbed the painting a little vigorously before stalking to the door. Laurel stepped aside so she could leave the office.
“So, where are we going?” I asked, trying for a jovial tone, but Laurel’s eyes returned to my ring-less hand. She probably regrets coming here.
“We’re not supposed to tell,” Annabelle giggled.
“Yeah, it’s a surprise,” Isabelle agreed.
“Laurel?” I asked, turning to her.
She shook her head and gave me a tight-lipped smile. “You heard the girls. It’s a surprise. You’re either coming now or we’re leaving you.”
I watched how Anabelle and Isabelle ran back to her side and took an arm each. I marveled at how this woman had wormed her way into their hearts and made a complete difference in them. They were smiling, their eyes no longer chased with shadows of unhappiness.
I left my jacket but reached for my wallet from the desk and placed it in my pocket. I also slipped my wedding band on my finger, but not without Laurel noticing. Except for raising one eyebrow, she didn’t say anything as she shuffled the girls from the office.
It turned out that lunch was to be a picnic at White Rock Lake Park. I was surprised since I thought we would go to a restaurant, but being in the open air was a wonderful feeling after being cooped up in the office all day. We located a good spot by the lake where we could people-watch while eating the meal Laurel stated had been prepared by Mrs. Philpott.
“Thank you for doing this,” I told her when we’d eaten until stuffed. I was touched by the effort she had made. She’d obviously put a whole lot of thought into pulling everything together. From the cards the twins had made to the cake they had helped to bake. It didn’t even matter that it was a little dry.
“It’s the first birthday with their father,” she remarked, avoiding my eyes and watching the girls where they were off at a distance but within sight, playing with a ball. “I wanted to do my job for them.” She swung her eyes to me then. “After all, isn’t that why I am here?”
I sighed heavily. “I’m sorry about the ring,” I apologized sincerely. “I just hadn’t
told anyone at work yet and—”
“Pearl, you mean,” she interrupted, her face crimson. “I’m sorry. It’s none of my business.” She changed the subject quickly. “There’s something I want to talk to you about. I’m going to my mom’s this weekend.”
Time stood still as I stared at her in wonder. She was leaving me? “You’re breaking your contract?” I burst.
“I know the contract didn’t say anything about me taking a break,” she answered, “but I hoped since it was only to stay with my mother for a few days after her surgery, you’d overlook it.”
Relief calmed me and I exhaled deeply. She wasn’t leaving me, merely visiting her mother. For a minute there, I’d felt panic clawing its way into my stomach.
“Is that okay?” she asked. “Will you be able to fend for yourselves while I’m away? The most I’ll be gone for is the week.”
I swapped my gaze from her to the little girls playing with each other. A month ago, before Laurel had walked into my life, I would have said no if asked that question, but she had bridged a gap between my daughters and me. I could do this. I could be a single father for a week while she was away, and I would do a better job than I had been doing.
“Yes. We’ll be fine,” I assured her with a smile.
Chapter 21
Laurel
“Goodbye, Jarrod,” I said, shaking my head in wonder. Who called wanting to know what type of cookies his kids liked best? He’d been calling every so often since I left two days ago. Some of his queries were legitimate but others, not so much, and I wondered if he was simply calling because he missed me.
“Hold on, the children want to say hello,” he stated just before I hung up.
“Laurel, it’s Ana. When are you coming home?”
I smiled, feeling appreciated. “I’ll be home this weekend, Ana.”
“But that’s days away!” her twin complained.
“I know, sweetie, but I need to be with my mom right now,” I explained. Yesterday, when Jarrod had called—one of the times he’d called—they had said the same thing.
