by Zante, Lily
But when Colt’s image flashed inside her angry mind, she got up, spurred into action and called him from her cell phone.
“Savannah,” he drawled, picking up eventually as she was about to hang up.
“Jacob’s been ill.”
“Yeah?”
“He had a bad asthma attack and was in the hospital for two days.”
“How’s the little runt now?”
She grit her teeth, trying not to let Colt push her buttons. “He’s recovering. I’m keeping him at home for a couple of days so that he can get his energy back.”
“He always was a weak little thing. Takes after your side, I reckon.”
“He’s not weak,” she snapped. “He never was. He’s sensitive.” Unlike you, she wanted to say, but stopped herself, not wanting to get into another argument again. “The hospital bill came through. It’s over $3500.”
He said nothing for a few moments, then, “Why’re you telling me? Ain’t like I can help you out. I’m still trying to find work.”
“Maybe you should try a little harder.” It had already been years. She had a feeling that getting a job was low down on his list of priorities because it would mean he’d have to pay something towards childcare. “You already do nothing for him, it’s not like I’m beating down your door for alimony.” She had trouble keeping her voice calm. “But a little help—”
“Can’t do it. You’re working now, ain’t you?”
How did he know? Savannah flared her nostrils. She’d have to tell her parents to keep their mouths tightly closed although she had a feeling it had probably been her mom. Her dad hated Colt with a passion and barely acknowledged him. “Sounds to me like you’re doing okay, living in New York and all that.” He drawled on, making her wince.
She didn’t want him to know more than he needed to but hearing him talk, any worry she’d had that he might have had some interest in coming to see Jacob, was instantly dismissed. This man never had and never would give a shit about their son.
She pressed the heel of her hand into her chest and thought of her little boy and all at once she wanted to slam the phone down and be done with this man. But she was stuck. She was so broke, and holed up in a corner with nowhere to run, that she’d had to call the man who’d hurt her and sworn at her and made her life a complete misery. And all because she wanted to get some money from him. She should have known better.
How had her life hit rock bottom so quickly? One moment she was getting by, the next she was feeling grateful but the first sign of an emergency and she had fallen into the gutter. She had no rainy day money, she’d only ever had getting-by money.
“It’s not cheap, here. I can barely get by.”
“You shoulda thought of that before you moved your ass out of North Carolina.”
I wanted to get as far away from you as possible.
“You can’t help me out at all? Not even with your beer money?”
“You’re scraping the barrel, Sugar, if you’re coming to me asking for money.”
“He’s your son.”
“Is he? Sometimes I’m not so sure myself.”
“You bastard. You know I’ve never been with anyone but you.”
He snorted at her and she knew why she’d been putting off calling him. It hadn’t even occurred to her to call him to let him know that Jacob had been hospitalized. Colt Brookes didn’t care for anyone except himself. He’d put her off men for life. Almost. Tobias’s kiss floated back to her, and she closed her eyes for a few seconds. “Thank goodness I never waited around,” she said, fighting to keep the vitriol out of her words.
“Waited for what?”
“For you to turn into a man.” She hung up on him and this one simple act gave her a feeling of small triumph. She stared at the phone, wondering what it was she’d ever seen in him.
Desperate, she called her parents next. They had called every day, from the moment they’d found out about Jacob going into the hospital and they, along with Rosalee, had been her only source of comfort. She wasn’t sure if Briony would have understood, not having a child herself, but she’d left her a voicemail message yesterday telling her that Jacob wasn’t well. She would explain fully when she returned to work. The only people who could really help her would be her parents, and even though she hated to do it, she had no option. The urge to pay off the soul-sucking hospital bill stuck in her throat like a sewing needle. She couldn’t rest until it had been dealt with.
She called her parents’ home and dropped her head into her hand when her father picked up. It would have been so much easier to ask her mom for the money. She didn’t want to worry her dad because she knew he already worried plenty about her; they both did, but her dad, she knew, worried all the time. She knew that if she told him of her money worries, that he would do whatever it took to help her and get the money to her and she didn’t want to put that kind of burden on him.
But she had no choice.
“Hey, Dad.”
“Hey, Ruby Red,” he said, He sometimes called her by the nickname he’d given her when she was a child. It had come from her favorite ragdoll of the same name and she’d been inseparable from it. “How’s the little man doing?”
“He’s resting up, Dad. I’m keeping him from school today as well but he’ll be fine to go back tomorrow.”
“Only two days? Why don’t you give him the whole week off and let him recover properly?” Savannah brushed her hand over her forehead. “I don’t want to take more than two days off work, Dad. I don’t get paid if I don’t turn up.”
“It’s so hard for you, Red. It breaks my heart to know that you’re struggling alone.”
“We’re better off alone, Dad.” She forced herself to sound stronger, even though her soul had been bruised. “It’s not so bad, really it isn’t. The job I have is great. This is a minor setback but he’s okay now and things are looking good.” It couldn’t be further from the truth, but it was better not to spread her woes around.
“Are they?” She heard the anxiety in her father’s voice and knew that he was already worried. Her idea of asking for financial help choked in her throat.
“Did you call his father and tell him?” Her dad found it hard to refer to Colt by his name, ever since she’d turned up at her parents’ doorstep with a black eye, and Jacob in a stroller. It had taken her mom and the neighbors to stop her father from going over and ‘kicking the shit of out him.’ And she’d convinced them not to call the police either, fearful that any restraining order Colt might have gotten would only have made things worse for her, or her parents. In the end, with the decision made to leave him, she thought it best to leave the home town in North Carolina where she had lived for most of her life and go far away. Kay and Aunty Sylvie were a godsend.
“I did.”
“I don’t expect he’s coming up to see the boy?”
Her head fell to her chest and she squeezed her eyes shut. “No, Dad.”
“Did you ask if he might pay for the hospital bill?” The real reason her dad had wanted to know if she’d called Colt. Already he was worrying about her bill.
“No need, Dad.” She exhaled sharply. “The place I work at can help out.”
“They can? I didn’t think you had any insurance, being a temporary worker and all.”
“They can help.” She hated lying to him.
“That’s something, Red. Do you need any extra?”
“Uh.” She couldn’t make herself say the words. Do you think you could loan me some money please, Dad? “I think I’ll be okay.”
“You let me know if you need a helping hand. Did you get the Christmas money?”
“Yes, I did. Thanks, Dad. I already told you.” That was two hundred dollars she could put towards it. She chewed her lip. One hundred, now that she’d spent some on her wardrobe and getting her hair done last weekend.
Her father lowered his tone. “I’ve booked a cruise from Miami to the Bahamas in the summer. Your Mom always talked about going on on
e and we’ve never been. One of her friends has just come back from one and she won’t stop going on about it. So I bit the bullet and booked one for your Mom and me to go on.” He sounded so proud of himself.
“Aaaw, dad. That’s a fantastic idea.”
“’Course, it’s going to set me back some, but she’s worth it. It’s a surprise for her 60th, so don’t you go saying anything to her.”
“I won’t, Dad.” Her eyes filled with tears. Thirty two years of marriage and he still wanted to surprise his wife. “That’s such a thoughtful idea, Dad. Mom will be over the moon.” There was no way at all that she could ever ask for the money now. “Your Mom and I want to visit but I’m waiting to get my energy back. This infection knocked me out over Christmas, otherwise we would have come and spent time with you guys.”
“I know, Dad. It’s good you didn’t come. The weather here’s been getting colder. I think it set off Jacob’s asthma. There’s no point coming until you’re fully well.”
“We were thinking maybe during the mid-term break. You let us know when.”
“You can come any time you want.” She pursed her lips together into a tight line, felt the lump stick in her throat, and fought back a sob. “I miss you guys. We can’t wait to see you.”
“Same here, Ruby Red, same here.”
She hung up and crossed her arms over her pushed up knees and buried her head.
She had nowhere else to turn to, unless…
Unless she could get the company to somehow help her out. Maybe she could ask Tobias Stone.
She rocked her head from side to side, considering the idea. She had been feeling jittery about her first day back at work, confused about how to face Tobias but how could she now approach him and ask about money on top of everything that had happened between them?
Was it wise?
But did she have any other choice?
At the hospital while she’d sat by Jacob’s bedside, it had given her plenty of time to analyze that kiss. She had wondered, with that dream she’d had about him, whether her slow building interest in Tobias had been a one-sided fantasy, or whether it was something that he also wanted. Each time she now relived that moment, she sensed that it was something he had initiated; something he had wanted, too. Wasn’t he the one who had insisted she could ask him anything? And the way he’d stood so close to her, with his piercing eyes burning into her soul—the way he’d grabbed her again and pulled her towards him, wasn’t that him coming onto her?
He wanted her.
There was no use lying to herself about it anymore—she wanted him as much. The man had a magnetism about him which had slowly reeled her in. She didn’t know how it had happened, or when it had started. Had it been that night at the toy store? Or when he’d accused her of stealing the Dalton file? Or when he’d sent her the gift basket…or all of that week when it had been only the two of them at work?
Heat coiled between her legs at the thought of him and she shivered as goosebumps prickled over her arms and chest. His penchant for paying for sex excited and repulsed her.
But not only was he the CEO of the company she worked at, but he was a troubled man. The death of his wife had scarred him and she had no idea what she was dealing with. As much as she wanted to believe there was a decent man buried beneath that cold exterior, she also came to think of him as someone who blew hot and cold.
In her mind, she’d shared his bed, his body and let him use hers. She had dreamed up fantasies so hot that she had trouble sleeping. Thoughts, dirty and delicious that left her so turned on she was ashamed to be sitting in the room next door to her son, fantasizing.
Did he want her—for her? Or was he after her because she wasn’t so easily obtainable? Not being sure of where she stood made her uneasy and her earlier idea to ask for his help vanished as easily as it had appeared.
She had no idea how she was going to react when she saw him again. She had no idea what he wanted, or what would happen. But she found the idea that he paid for sex to be sickly fascinating.
How could she ever face him again?
Chapter 15
Wednesday rolled around quickly and it was back to the frenzy of juggling school and work again.
“Why can’t I take the whole week off, Mommy?” Jacob had asked her as she ordered him to get ready for school.
“Because you’re perfectly fine now, Jacob.” She’d checked obsessively that he had on his scarf, hat and gloves, and that his coat was zipped up to the top and they had gone to school together, him looking like a little Eskimo.
Rosalee was like a second mother to Jacob, and Savannah couldn’t put a value on the help the woman provided for her. Each day Rosalee picked Jacob up from school and somedays he would go to Rosalee’s place, other days Rosalee would bring him to Savannah’s apartment. Savannah paid her a small amount for her trouble.
This morning Rosalee offered to help again, but Savannah wanted to take him in herself just as school started, instead of leaving him at the Early Bird Breakfast club and rushing off to work like she normally did. Now, as she walked into work, she felt better for having spoken to his teacher about his asthma attack and making sure that the school were aware of his asthma care plan.
As a result she’d turned up at work a little later than usual but this time she was determined not to stay after work in order to make up the time. She popped her head into Briony’s office as soon as she got in, to the chorus of ‘hey how are you?’ and ‘feeling better now?’ from the other women.
“Yes, thanks.” Savannah replied. “Is Briony around?”
“She’s in meetings all morning. You won’t see her until after lunch.” Crestfallen, she murmured her thanks and left. Returning to her office, she closed the door behind her. Days had passed since she’d last been here, standing in this very position after that encounter with Tobias. Unable to think straight, her first reaction had been to run away and she’d rushed out of his office after their kiss, feeling dazed, confused, and giddy. Even if Jacob’s asthma attack hadn’t happened, it would have been awkward enough, facing him again.
And now?
How was she going to do this?
What kept her going was the thought that he had helped them before, with the Christmas gifts, and the advance payment into her account a month early. Maybe it wasn’t completely crazy, this idea of hers. Maybe he would understand since he already seemed to have an understanding of her circumstances.
But she was still surprised, and a little reassured, to see a couple of emails from him, sent a few days ago.
We need to talk, and I promise that’s all it will be.
Tobias
He’d sent that on Monday and a day later:
I see you are away for a few days. Not avoidance issues, I hope. I need to speak with you on your return.
Tobias
What did he want?
Was he ashamed of what had happened between them? Was that it?
She shook her head. It couldn’t be. Things were electric between them, or at least in her head they were. It couldn’t have been one-sided. He’d initiated it and she’d given in, but he had initiated it first. Then she remembered the time when the boxes had fallen on her and he’d come rushing to her side. She recalled his fear that she would slap him with a lawsuit.
Was that what he was afraid of?
Not knowing was as insanely crazy as the thought of knocking on his door and asking to speak to him. His emails had left her none the wiser. But she had to bury her thoughts of what he might want, and put on her best professional face and ask what she had to. But the memory of that searing kiss, and along with it her fantasies of him naked in her bed still lingered at the forefront of her mind. She was suddenly scared that he’d read her easily.
An advance for a few months wages wasn’t asking for too much, was it? Even though, technically, her contract was due to run out in a few weeks’ time. She was desperate, and in her desperation she was choosing to hold onto Briony’s words that ‘she wa
s working on something’ to keep Savannah at Stone Enterprises. She would worry about her contract expiring later, for now she needed the money.
If she sat and thought about it, it would haunt her all day long. She would be in a state of frenzy within the hour. Her inbox was already full of emails, and she no doubt had a stack of queries to deal with as well.
Her hands trembled, and her legs felt like jelly as she forced herself to stand up and walk to his office. Bile soured in her throat and she was tempted to run away but of the many lessons her life had taught her, facing her fears and jumping in, despite her anxiety levels, was the one that had made the most difference. She would not allow herself to be talked out of doing what she needed to, not with the weight of three and a half thousand dollars sinking her soul.
She knocked on his door, once, twice, three times. But there was no answer.
“He’s in meetings all morning.” Candace sneered, calling out from her desk as Savannah moved into view. The door to Candace’s office was wide open. “What do you want?” Candace’s sour face was exactly the impetus she needed to bolster her resolve.
“To see Tobias.”
“Anything I can help with?”
“Of course not.” Candace was the least of her problems. She walked away, closing her eyes and letting out a silent sigh of relief but as she turned the corner and headed towards the elevator bank, she found Tobias walking towards her. He stopped as their eyes met. She looked back at his face and it was as if small sticks of dynamite exploded in her chest. Boom, boom, boom. She’d been crazy to do this. Desperate crazy. He nodded, acknowledging her, his lips twisting, but no words came out.
“You wanted to see me?” Her voice shook, despite her best efforts to keep it level, and the trembling in her stomach spread out towards her legs.
“I did.” He had one hand in his pocket and brushed his other one through his hair. “Come,” he told her. Once inside the elevator, she was too fraught to question why they were heading up to the 30th floor. In the silent minutes it took to reach the door to the penthouse, she tried to control her breathing which had rocketed out of control.
