“Okay.” I looked down to my fidgeting hands and chewed on my lip.
“I want you and Arianna to move in. I know you said it was too much and you couldn’t but hear me out. If you want it to be a trial situation, that’s fine with me. I’ll have the guest room turned into a nursery, and you can have a room too. That way you’ll have a place to get away if you need one. But I think you should move in this weekend, and we’ll take it from there.” He was almost babbling; he was so nervous.
Perhaps his worry didn’t come from the enormity of what he was offering, but for the fact that I’d very likely say “no.”
“Sinclair,” I started, not sure how I was going to finish my thought. I wanted to move in, but it was all going too fast.
“If you say no,” he added, “I want an impressively great reason why it’s not something we should at least try.”
“Um, let’s start with the fact that we just started dating on Monday, and it’s Wednesday. And what reason is there for us to do this? You said yourself commitment wasn’t your thing, so why are we even trying a micro-commitment situation that will inevitably end in my heartbreak?” And there it was.
We only had about nine minutes left of our drive, and I’d finally voiced my biggest fear… inevitable heartbreak.
“Well, let’s go through the list of things I’ll never do and assess where we are. One, I said I’d never date my assistant, well…” He looked over at me. “I hired you partially because I wanted to date you. Two, believe it or not, I’ve never had a one-night stand in costume. Three, I never planned on being a father. Four, I’ve never had a woman sleep over at my house… and five, I’ve never loved someone like I love you. If you think I’m not putting my heart on the line here, you’re very wrong. This is scary for both of us, but I’m a go-getter, and I’m going to get this. We already have a kid; we’re here Reyna… just jump with me.” His sweet face was so convincing; I couldn’t refuse.
“I’m probably making the biggest mistake in my life,” I gave him a silly face, “but how can I not? I’ve already jumped.”
“Then it’s settled.” He was beaming with delight when we pulled into the parking garage.
He parked the car in a private section reserved for executives. We decided I should go into the office before him and we’d switch it up daily, so it looked more realistic. We were playing with fire, but I didn’t care. I was starting to love him too much to let this go.
Chapter 23
Sinclair
Reyna moved in that weekend. Lorna and Michael helped me decorate the nursery, with Reyna’s approval. I initially offered her to take my credit card and decorate it herself. When I saw her on the Target website ordering a bunch of cheapo things, I stopped her and canceled her order. She didn’t want her and Arianna to be an imposition on me, so she just ordered the cheapest. Crazy girl. She refused to spend my money, so I fired her from decorating. Since I loved decorating and creating amazing spaces, I took over the task and made a sanctuary for our little daughter. As for Reyna and her room, I didn’t want to put too much effort into it. Selfishly, I hoped she’d spend her time in my room. I caught her looking at the Ikea website and shut her down from decorating her room as well.
“Seriously, Sinclair. You’re being a control freak. Let me just order cheapo stuff.”
I think she might have been sincerely pissed at me, but I didn’t care. “No, no cheapo stuff in my house.” I realized after I said it, I was wrong. Her glare proved it. “I mean, our house… it’s our house now.” Ugh, she got me. “So, what’s your style?” I segued on our way home from work.
We only had a day to order everything and have it delivered. While I already had a bed in the other guest room, I wanted everything in the space to be hers.
“Bohemian artsy-fartsy,” she finally conceded still slightly annoyed I was planning on spending much more money than she would have spent on the space.
I picked her some gorgeous handmade prints for her bed. A local artist’s artwork for the wall and little artsy-fartsy tidbits I knew she would love. I was absolutely right; she adored the space. It fit her style perfectly. By Sunday, they were all moved in. I think she was still in shock, but I wasn’t. The moment I closed the door to the mansion and locked it, I felt safe and whole for the first time since I was a child. I began to understand the phrase “you complete me.” I felt so complete and whole having them there.
Over the following week, Reyna came forward as one of Christopher’s victims, which, rumor had it, made him crazy angry. We were settling into our lives together. The only challenge to living with each other was trying to hide it from our co-workers, and baby Arianna was a lot of work, yet worth every minute. I was almost as in love with that beautiful baby girl as I was her mother. I had to reorganize my time, making space for her schedule and blocking out time to make love to her mother. Reyna and I also needed to be alone to pursue our own dreams. Reyna had her writing, and I had my company to run. All of it was hard work, but for the first time in a long time, I felt truly alive.
We were cruising along fine until I came into work after Reyna to find her talking with Ken.
“So what’s the deal with you and Sinclair?” he whispered to her after I walked into my office.
“Nothing… he’s fine, just a little barky sometimes,” she dismissed.
“No, I’m not talking about what an ass he is. I mean, what’s up with you two hanging out with each other after work? Molly saw you getting in his car after work last night,” he said pointedly. “And it isn’t the first time. I’d be careful. Everyone knows you’ve thrown your name into the hat with the Christopher Regent thing. You might wanna be mindful of who you ‘hang out with.’” He used air quotes and laughed. “I mean if you want anyone to take you seriously, I suggest you not look like you’re screwing your boss. I’m just being real with you.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” she asked.
I wanted to come to her aid but wasn’t exactly sure how.
“At least I know why you won’t hang out with me. Do you do it for the money?” he pressed on being a complete fool.
“I’ll have you know I didn’t date you because you’re an asshole, and this conversation proves it.” She was fuming as she stood up and was about to leave, probably to cool down.
“Calm down, sweetie. I was just feeling you out. Seeing what my chances might be. But it looks like I was right. Christopher Regent and Sinclair have a lot more than hit movies in common. Alright girl, get your boss on… or off as the case may be; just watch your back. This #metoo thing is vicious.”
“I’m not doing this,” she said as she walked away.
After she left, it gave me the opportunity to confront Ken… a moment I’d been waiting for a long time. I exited my office and approached him, calm but menacing.
“I couldn’t help overhearing your conversation with my assistant.” He went as white as a ghost. “And… if I hear you talk to her in that kind of condescending manner ever again, I’ll have you fired on the spot. In fact, I’m just going to Molly’s office now to let her know as much. I don’t care how good you think you are. If you talk to Reyna like that again, you’re gone.” I stared him dead in the eye.
He was shaken, but bold. “Is it true then? Are you and she being inappropriate? ’Cause if you are, I’m sure HR will have my back.” He eyed me back with the same intensity I was giving him.
“You have no jurisdiction over my private affairs, so don’t pretend you do.” With that, I left him to talk with Molly.
She wasn’t surprised to hear that her cocky assistant was being a dick, so she called him in to discuss the situation. When I met Molly later in the hall, she revisited the conversation saying Ken was adamant that Reyna and I had an affair. Molly mentioned she’d seen us together a few times as well. She kindly cautioned me to be careful. I knew Reyna and I will have to have to tell the company we were together. It was going to change a lot for us, but it was time. As much as I hated it, Mo
lly and Ken were right. Our days as boss and assistant were numbered.
Later that day, Reyna and I had a legitimate reason to stay late at the office. We asked Lorna to pick up Arianna for us as we did a set visit for one of our movies. When we came back to the office, I was surprised to find my brother Shelton sitting in Reyna’s chair.
“To what do I owe this unfortunate visit?” I confronted him, having had far too many run-ins with people I didn’t like for the day.
“Just coming around to investigate the lawsuit against my client, little brother,” he said, not making a move to leave Reyna’s chair. “I’ve done a bit of digging, and it turns out your little assistant here has decided to accuse my client of sexual harassment.”
“You’re representing Christopher Regent. You can’t talk to Reyna, it’s illegal,” I yelled nodding my head to Reyna to go into my office. “I’ll take you home in a minute, as soon as I get this douche out of my face.”
I was very on edge.
“Why are you telling your assistant you’ll take her home? Seems strange. Considering she’s in a lawsuit against her previous boss for unwanted advances.” He knew how to get me, and he was going for it. “If I had fucked Chris’ assistant on Halloween night last year, then hired her out from under him I’d be very worried if he was still fucking her, even though I was her boss,” the asshole threatened. “Especially, if I was hiding a secret love child. It could get really, really, messy. I don’t judge. If you wanna stick your cock in every slut in Hollywood, be my guest. Just don’t unleash her on Chris because we’ll drag her through the dirt and find every man she’s spread wide for.”
He got me. I had a choice: continue to lie or face the truth and fight for Reyna and the others who had been so hurt by Christopher Regent.
“Trust me, Shelton, you don’t want to go down this road. You’ll end up being disbarred for intimidating a witness. I am not Chris. I don’t have anyone claiming I’ve sexually harassed them, and as you’re counsel for the defense, your being here can be considered intimidation.” I was livid.
“I’m also your brother… so there’s that.” He was overly confident and unrelenting.
Hearing all of this, Reyna was a mess. She was sobbing when she passed us. I hadn’t even thought to check on her; I was just so caught up in fighting with my brother.
“I called an Uber, Sinclair. Thanks for your offer, but I have a ride home.” She left without saying anything else as she rushed out of the office.
My heart fell on the floor.
Chapter 24
Reyna
Why didn’t he defend me? His brother called me a slut; Ken pretty much did the same thing, and Sinclair… I was so heartbroken. I wasn’t really sure what he could do as we had to keep our relationship a secret. But he could have fought for me, for us. And yet, he couldn’t, not if he wanted me to keep my job. All I could do was cry. It was hard to keep my tears hidden from Lorna when I picked Arianna up.
She was really confused as to why I was taking the baby, but I just told her my roommates missed her, so we were going for a visit. I couldn’t think of a better lie on the spot. I was too devastated. I think she suspected something was wrong. I had been crying so much my eyes were red and puffy. I didn’t care; I just had to get Arianna and me out of there. I needed to breathe.
Everything had moved too fast. The nursery was more beautiful than anything in a magazine; it was crazy over the top and my room the same. Sinclair had bent over backward to accommodate Arianna and me into his life. I loved living with him even though he was overbearing at times, insisting he’d change Arianna and choose what we eat, etc. It was all in the name of love, but it was too much love. I needed air.
As soon as I opened the door to the apartment, Melody and Charlynn freaked, but in a good way.
“Oh my God, finally you bring our baby back!” Melody squealed as she grabbed for the baby. “Oh, hi, Reyna… we miss you. It’s too quiet here without you and Arianna.”
“What happened? Did you forget some stuff? I thought you were gonna leave some of your things here, you know, safety net and all ...” Charlynn stopped talking when she saw how red and painful my eyes looked. “Oh wait… you’re falling, huh?”
That’s all I needed; I burst into tears.
“OK, we’re here,” she said as she directed me to the couch.
“I don’t think I can do this,” I confessed through my tears.
“I knew he’d end up being a jerk, what did he do? I’ll kill him,” Melody said, rocking the baby in her arms.
“No. He’s been great, too great. But this Chris thing… people are sniffing around, and pretty soon they’re gonna find out about Sinclair and me and then… I just think we… I can’t work for him and do this and us and…” I was babbling, I knew it, but my brain and emotions felt so scrambled.
“Okay. First, calm down. You haven’t committed a crime. If you want to stay with him, you’ll just have to get another gig. I’m sure he can help you. You don’t love being an assistant. Maybe he’ll help you sell one of your movies. He had you move in, so it’s time you bring this thing out of the closet, girl.” Charlynn held my hand.
“I know, but it might make things worse.” I was so worried and confused; I felt like I’d fallen into an alternate universe. “Maybe I should pull out of the lawsuit against Chris.”
“No, maybe you should just put on your big girl panties and deal with this. I know you got a lot going on Reyna, but you can handle it. We’ve got your back. I think down deep inside Sinclair is a solid dude; you just have to slow this train down a little. You don’t know him. Just chill it out and do what normal people do. Date, hang out, text, then move in. I mean you guys are like bam, have a baby, bam work together, bam you’re married. Chill it out some.” Charlynn was giving me great advice.
The advice I didn’t want to follow. At that moment, there was a knock at the door, and I nearly jumped out of my skin.
“I bet you a million dollars I know who that is,” Melody said as she took the sleeping Arianna to my room.
Charlynn got up and opened the door. “What do you want to do? Do you want me to send him away, let him in, kick him in the nuts… where are we going from here?” Charlynn was so cool; I loved her.
“Let him in.” My heart was still pooled on the floor, but it really wasn’t his fault, he didn’t do anything wrong.
I had high expectations for what I thought he should do, but I knew he couldn’t do it. Charlynn opened the door to Sinclair standing there with a bouquet of flowers.
“Hi Charlynn, may I come in?” he asked, the perfect gentleman.
“Mi Casa es Su Casa,” Charlynn said as she stepped aside to let Sinclair in.
He looked around the room to see Charlynn, Melody, and I looked back at him.
“These are for you.” He handed me the flowers. “I know they don’t make up for the horrible things that were said today, but at least they’re pretty.” He shrugged his shoulders. “Can we go someplace to talk?” he asked, being a businessman again.
“Thanks for the flowers. We can talk in my room.”
We went to my room. I sat on the bed, and he walked over to Arianna’s crib to see her sleeping.
“Lorna was so upset. She thought you were leaving us.” He turned and looked at me. “I have to be honest; when she told me, I wasn’t sure.”
“We have to rethink this, Sinclair.” I felt the tears welling in my eyes again as I choked that out. “I don’t want there to be any repercussions for you. You don’t deserve to be dragged into this. I’ll just withdraw my charges and…” I couldn’t hold them back, the tears just flowed.
He scooped me into his arms and held me tight. “We do have to rethink this, love. I agree. I want you to continue with the lawsuit against Christopher; he needs to be behind bars. I’m not going to get in the way of that. It’s time we were honest about our relationship and our daughter. It probably means you getting a job at another company. I don’t want that for you, and
I don’t think you want that for yourself either.”
I stayed in his arms, quietly stunned.
“Hear me out before you say anything.” He rubbed my arm, coaxing me to stay calm. “I’m going to give you some money to take care of the baby and focus on your writing. You can’t come back to work, but this allows you time with Arianna and your dreams. I want you home with me, where you belong, but it’s your choice. I just think we should lay low until Christopher is in prison.
“I love working with you, Sin,” I protested.
“And I love working with you, but now you can do what you really want to be doing with your life. You barely have time to write, and when your little troll film goes into production, you need to focus on that. I haven’t even heard you talk about your scripts for a while. I don’t want you letting go of your dreams for me or anyone. This might be the best thing…”
I cut him off. “I don’t want you to pay for me. I’m not a whore. I’m not a slut. I’m…”
“Of course you’re not. And I’m certainly not paying a whore! I’m taking care of my family as a father should. It couldn’t be more different.”
“Is this what you really want?” I knew there was no way I was going to win this fight.
“No, but this is what we should be doing. This is ethical and right, and in the long run, I think it will be better for both of us.” I was numb; I couldn’t feel a thing.
He was punishing himself for this and in doing so also punishing me. I wasn’t able to see it for what he was offering; a chance to raise my daughter and write movies. I saw it as being a kept woman who wouldn’t have an independent income or any independence. It would be awesome to spend my day working on my scripts and pursuing my dreams, but I would resent him paying me… I was so stressed.
I sort of hoped he’d leave so I could sit with my feelings, but he stayed, ordered pizza and hung out with us. He spent the night with me, and we made love very quietly with him entering me from behind as we laid on my tiny bed. We practically laid on top of each other all night. At some point that night, he heard Melody get up and jam on her guitar. She had the door closed, but we could still hear it. I laughed and just told him she had trouble sleeping.
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