Devil's Deal

by Michele Arris

  Ugh, why am I such a screw-up?

  Just the thought of having to tell Lucas made her stomach lurch. He’d looked ready to gag at the mere sight of the children attending the Movie on the Mall, and she could guess how he’d react to the news of becoming a father.

  It was killing Bailey to not have Sienna to talk to, especially now with the pregnancy issue hanging over her head. She wanted to call Sienna, but what would she say to her after how she’d walked out on her best friend at the art competition. It was rude and unkind regardless of how upset she was over what Sienna and Lucas had done to her. What’s more, she hadn’t answered any of Sienna’s calls after everything happened. Things between them had been too raw. Now she longed to talk to her.

  Lucas. Her heart ached and her stomach knotted tight whenever she thought of him ... which was practically every waking minute and restless night. She’d ruined that relationship as well. Sienna was right. Instead of talking everything out like he’d wanted, Bailey had run away scared, and he ended it. Why would he waste his time with someone who jets at the first sign of conflict? No wonder Faith hates me. She’s right, I am pathetic. The tow truck pulling off on the shoulder behind her cut short her self-condemnation.

  The waning sunset reflecting off the truck’s windshield prevented Bailey from seeing the driver. She brought her hand above her sunglasses to aid in getting a better look at the man getting out of the truck. As he came out of the glare, she realized that it was Marcel Duncan, her ex-boyfriend from high school.

  “Oh my God, Marcel, how are you!”

  “What’s up, girl?” He came up and gave her a hug. “I got a call from your pops about the truck out here. Sorry for the wait. I had another tow.” He took a step back. “Let me get a good look at you. Still beautiful as ever.”

  “You’re easy on the eyes yourself.” Aside from the goatee, he still looked the same—tall, dark, and handsome. “You’re driving a tow truck now?”

  “I own it.” Accomplished pride was heard in his voice. “I opened an auto repair shop over on Kingston Wood.”

  “Really! Congratulations. You were always great at fixing things. You’re the reason I still have my Honda.”

  “You still have that hunk of metal?” He chuckled.

  “Hey, leave my baby alone.” Bailey playfully punched his arm. “It finally stopped running a few weeks back.”

  “It’s really good to see you again, Bailey. You’re still a sight to behold. That beautiful face of yours hasn’t changed a bit.”

  “Thanks. I-I’m glad to see that things are good with you.” Bailey nervously rubbed her moist palms up and down the sides of her jean shorts. The overly affectionate way Marcel looked at her made her a bit uncomfortable.

  They chatted a bit more, and she was surprised to learn that he hadn’t married as most of their friends had. Marcel was a good man. He’d make some woman a good husband.

  In high school, a lot of the girls were jealous of her for snagging the quarterback. Several even tried to tempt Marcel to cheat on her. It was common knowledge that they weren’t having sex. She’d been labeled Bailey “Chastity” Walters by her peers after she’d refused a kiss from a boy at a birthday party during a Spin the Bottle game. That title was held all through high school, but Marcel remained faithful to her. For that reason, she hadn’t felt it was fair to have him wait on her for four years. Had she not gone away to college, would they have married?

  “So, can you fix the bucket of nuts?” she asked to redirect his attention. Immediately, she thought of Lucas, reminded of what he’d said about her knack at deflecting when she felt uncomfortable. She touched her sunglasses to reassure herself that they were in place to hide the melancholy in her eyes.

  “I’ll take a look.” Short minutes later, he called out from under the hood. “I think I found the problem.”

  “Really? That’s great.” Bailey waited at the rear of the truck, appreciating the distance.

  She looked over when Marcel closed the hood. He retrieved the cloth hanging from his back pocket to wipe his hands as he walked back to her. With a playful smirk, she asked, “What’s your diagnosis, doctor? Will it survive or suffer the same end as my Honda?”

  “I’m afraid it’ll have to spend a night at my garage. I’ll hook it up.”

  “Okay. Let me get my satchel and groceries.” She retrieved the items while Marcel maneuvered the tow and hooked the truck up to the wheel lift. He then came back over.

  “Hop in. I’ll take you home.”

  As she climbed in, she also wondered if it was fate at work with the truck breaking down and Marcel coming to her aid. Would they have made a point to reconnect if not for the truck?

  • • •

  “Had to tow it?” Bailey’s dad asked as they stepped onto the porch.

  “I’m afraid so, Mr. Walters. I’ll take a look at it in the morning and give you a call,” Marcel said.

  “Good, good.” He turned to her. “Marcel has his very own auto repair shop.”

  Bailey shifted the grocery bag in her arms. “I know.” She smiled again at Marcel. “I’m really happy for you.”

  “He’s doing so well that he’s had to turn away business. Marcel, am I right? And you said that you were considering opening another location, didn’t you?”

  Bailey stared back at her dad’s wide smile as he championed the man’s accomplishments, a bit perplexed by his behavior. Again, she said to Marcel, “That’s really great. Thanks for the ride. It was good seeing you.” She hugged him and kissed his cheek, and he returned the same.

  “You, too, Bails. Anytime.”

  As Bailey turned to head inside, her dad asked Marcel, “Have you eaten? We’re about to have dinner. Why don’t you join us?” She eyed her dad warily. Was this whole thing somehow orchestrated by him? He couldn’t have predicted the truck breaking down, she told herself.

  “If it’s not too much trouble?” Marcel looked at her.

  “Uh, sure, Marcel, please join us.” Watching her father as he grinned and slapped the man on the back in the way a teammate would after scoring the winning point, she realized something actually had changed in Darlington.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  “Just call her. You know you want to.”

  Seated behind his office desk, Lucas’s eyes came up from his computer and met his buddy Sean’s gaze over on the couch. “Like I’ve told you, she made her choice, and I’m good with it.”

  Sean leaned forward with hands clasped. “You’re good with it, my ass. Dude, you look like hell. You look like you could use about a month of continuous sleep.”

  “Thanks. You’re so great at pep talks,” Lucas mocked, his features tightening in annoyance. “Maybe you should give up that CEO chair over at Grant Enterprises and start your own counseling center.” Sean Grant was his buddy from their prep school days. Notably, Sean was CEO to the renowned Grant Royal Hotels and Resorts found around the world. However, today, his chosen profession was being a pain-in-the-ass relationship consultant.

  Sean chuckled, looking not at all bothered. “I’ll consider it.”

  The office door opened, and Gavin entered. Dax filed in behind him.

  “Great, another wise man and soothsayer,” Lucas groused, now realizing what was going on. This was his intervention. Damn them.

  “I call dibs on soothsayer.” Dax grinned as he unbuttoned his suit coat, then dropped down in the armchair.

  Daxton Pattarozzi completed their brotherhood pack. Like Gavin’s role at MVC, Dax was chief operations officer at Grant Enterprises. Lucas loved each and every one of them and considered them his brothers in every sense. That said, their hovering was annoying as shit right now. He just wanted to focus on his work, be left alone. He couldn’t keep up with the countless emotions that continued to try to crash down on him. Work was his only refuge to hold the overwhelming feelings at bay.

  “I see he’s still biting off heads.” A wide grin stretched across Gavin’s mouth, he, too, looking unaffec
ted by Lucas’s petulance. Taking a seat on the couch, he said, “Sean, my man, I saw the press release on your purchase of the site to build a Grant Royal Hotel and Resort on the National Harbor. Congrats, bro.”

  “Thanks. Now I just have to waddle through the political red tape before I can break ground.”

  “Brutal shit, no doubt,” Gavin said.

  Sean gave a look at Lucas. “I’ve been trying to get our boy to get off his ass and call his lady.” A small smile. “What’s her name? Lucas wouldn’t tell me.”

  “Bailey Walters, and he’s got it bad, bro.”

  “I can see that. It’s worse than Stacy Pelligren. Remember her? The man didn’t leave his bed for a week.”

  “Yeah, and remember the love letter he wrote her?” Gavin cleared his throat, stifling a laugh.

  “It was a sonnet,” Sean corrected and pinned his lips together tight, resisting a smirk.

  “Are you girls done gossiping? I’m not deaf,” Lucas grumbled and could see all fighting back a laugh.

  “Is this her?” Dax angled his cell phone toward Gavin to show the Facebook picture he’d found of Bailey.”

  “Yep, that’s her.”

  Dax turn the phone toward Sean next, and they looked at Lucas and voiced in concert, “Call her.”

  Lucas sighed out his growing frustration, trying his best to ignore them.

  Gavin strolled over to the bar and poured himself a shot of Patrón as he asked, “Where’s Kara? She wasn’t in her office? I need Sienna’s tour itinerary.”

  With his eyes never leaving the computer screen, Lucas replied, “She’s visiting her mother. I gave her the rest of the week off. She’s been putting in a lot of hours with me over the past few weeks.” His attention shifted briefly to the sidebar. “I see happy hour has begun.”

  Gavin raised his filled glass. “As it should. I’m Irish, every hour is happy hour.” He swallowed the contents, then went back to the couch. “I thought I’d go to New York—the art tour—see how Sienna is coming along. MVC’s in between contracts right now.”

  “Sienna’s from New York, she’ll do fine,” Lucas said dryly.

  “I know, but it would be appropriate to have an MVC rep there, you know, for marketing purposes.” To Lucas’s shrug, Gavin added, “Before Sienna left, we met for coffee. All she could talk about was Bailey and how much she missed her. That whole ordeal has been hard on her.”

  “You’re not going to New York for MVC.” Lucas eyed him. “Sienna’s still resisting your charms?”

  Gavin smirked. “I think I’m slowly rubbing off on her. Like I said, we met for coffee. Those dark eyes ...” He dragged a hand down his face and shook his head. “Man, she’s smoking hot. I’m jonesing for that woman.”

  “Wonderful for you,” Lucas muttered sardonically.

  “Bro, you and Bailey have had well enough time to cool off. You know where she is. Go to her. Look, I’m going to say this and I know you’re not going to like it. You’re—”

  Lucas shot him a loaded-barrel stare in warning. “Mind your fucking business, Gavin.” He looked at them all. “I mean it.”

  Not backing down, Gavin sat forward, meeting his challenge as he said, “You’re in love with Bailey, but you’re too damn prideful to go after her. You made a mistake. Fine, it’s done. Should she have stuck around? Absolutely. Now the two of you need to sit down and work this shit out because quite frankly, man, you’re a ... what was it Sienna said to you that day when she stopped by? Oh yes, a hot-ass mess.”

  “That he is.” Sean nodded.

  “Lucas, man, call her, text her, something. I’ll bet she’s waiting by the phone to hear from you,” Dax said.

  Silence. Then conceding to their persistent pestering, Lucas finally said, “She wants space.”

  “Space? It’s been over a month. Fuck space,” Gavin said.

  Lucas sighed long. “Look, it’s not like she’s made any effort to reach out to me.”

  “Who called it quits, you or her?” Sean asked.

  “I did.”

  “Then, shit, man, it’s on you to make a move, not her,” Dax put in. “You dumped her, and you expect her to ring your phone?” They watched as Lucas abruptly stood up, pulled on his suit coat, and headed for the door. “Where are you going?”

  “Home to work out.” He was done with their meddling.

  “Isaac and I worked out with you this morning. You need to work out that shit with your woman,” Gavin called out as Lucas swung open the door and stepped out with it closing behind him.

  • • •

  Bailey had never heard her dad jabber on with Marcel as much as he had throughout dinner tonight.

  Back when she and Marcel were dating, her dad acted as though he disliked the boy, always kicking him out at nine o’clock on a school night, and precisely 10 P.M. on weekends. Now here he sat chatting up a storm with the man as though they were old buddies.

  She wondered how her dad would react to Lucas. Would he treat him the same as he did Marcel, the man? He wouldn’t have a problem with Lucas’s race. However, he would take issue with Lucas possibly getting her pregnant out of wedlock. He was old fashioned that way. That was one of the reasons why he hadn’t wanted her to go away to college, fearing she might get taken advantage. Bailey was sure her dad wouldn’t want to hear that she was a more than willing participant in sleeping with Lucas.

  Her head came up from rolling her peas around on her plate at another of her dad’s loud laughing outbursts.

  “Bailey used to love the festival, didn’t you, baby girl?”

  “Pardon?” She looked at her dad, over at her mom, who smiled, and then back at her dad. She’d missed the entire conversation.

  “Marcel mentioned the annual festival going on in the square this week. I told him you used to love it.” Charles relaxed back and hooked an arm over the back of his chair saying, “How about you two go for a spell? You remember how you used to love the bottle ring toss, baby girl.”

  Baby girl? Bailey hadn’t been called that by her dad since she told him she was accepting her admittance to Georgetown University. As for the bottle ring toss, she hadn’t been interested in that since age ten. It was clear to her now what her dad was up to and was curious if Marcel was privy to his scheme. Studying them both, still laughing it up, she would guess it was highly likely.

  “Baby girl, what do you say?” Her dad eyed her as he resumed in the cutting and eating of a piece of his roast beef, chewing while wearing a rather festive grin.

  “Charlie, Bailey hasn’t been feeling up to par lately. She’s still adjusting back to the climate here, dear.”

  Bailey gave her mom a faint, appreciative smile at her attempt to save her from the apparent date her dad and Marcel were concocting.

  “Nonsense, Nena,” Charles argued. “The fresh air would do her good. It’s exactly what she needs.”

  Seeing her dad’s hopeful grin directed at her, Bailey decided she’d give him this one. “It’s been a while since I’ve been to the festival. It should be fun.” She thought her dad’s cheeks would split from the wide smile that formed across his mouth ... Marcel along with him. Just this once.

  “How about tomorrow afternoon?” Marcel suggested.

  “I don’t know, Marcel, Bailey really shouldn’t be walking about in the heat,” her mom said. “It’s been ridiculously hot lately. Maybe you two could go see a movie indoors where it’s nice and cool.”

  “Nena, honey, they’re young. A little heat will do Bailey good,” Charles countered. “She needs to reaccustom herself to the weather here. What better way than a day at the festival?”

  Bailey’s eyes bounced between her parents. They were acting as though she’d just returned from the moon for goodness sake. As for the movie idea, that was definitely not happening. She could hardly watch television without images of Lucas and their first date, the erotic high he gave her in his limo, flooding her brain. A warm shiver ran through her at the mere thought of his mouth on those sensi
tive, intimate parts of her body. Absolutely no to the movie idea.

  “I—” Her cell phone rang in her pocket. She pulled it out. Sienna. She skidded her chair back and jumped to her feet. “I have to take this.”

  “What about the festival with Marcel tomorrow?” Charles asked.

  “That’s fine. See you tomorrow, Marcel.” With a quick wave to him good-bye, she hurried off to her bedroom and dropped down on the edge of the bed.

  “Hey, Sie.”

  “Uh, hey, Bailey. I—”

  “I’m so sorry for being such a jerk to you,” Bailey blurted out. “I was wrong. I miss you, girl. I ... I—” She began to cry.

  “Bails, I was afraid you still hated me. When you wouldn’t take my calls …” Sienna broke into tears.

  “No! I don’t hate you. I could never hate you. You’re my sister.”

  “I’m so sorry for what I did, and I miss you, too. “Kevin told me you went to your parents’.”

  “Yes. Sie, I wanted to call you. I didn’t think you’d want to hear from me after I walked out on your award presentation. It was wrong of me. I’m truly sorry.”

  “Don’t be. We ...” Sienna sniffled and cleared her throat. “Bails, he misses you.”

  Knowing she meant Lucas, Bailey’s tears became a river down her cheeks. “Did he say that?” She swept away the wetness with the back of her hand.

  “Not exactly, no. He knows that you’re at your parents’. I didn’t tell him, but you know Lucas—if he wants something, he’ll find a way to get it.” They both knew what that meant, and the conversation grew silent for a moment. “He asked me if you were okay, if you needed anything. I haven’t seen him much. I’ve been dealing with his assistant, Kara, when it comes to my art tour schedule. Lucas had your car towed to his mechanic a few weeks ago. That was the last time I spoke to him. He’d called to let me know.”