by Lewis, L. K.
Chapter 16
Adrian
“What the hell just happened?” Alina asks. She and I stand together stunned as we watch Drake run out of the hotel in the same direction as Morgan.
“I think it’s safe to say our plan has failed,” I say.
“Failed? Don’t you want to catch up to them? We can try to convince Morgan that I’m here with Drake? This plan can still be salvaged you know,” Alina says.
“No it can’t. I saw the way they were looking at each other. Morgan doesn’t love me like that and never will. I’m not one to go down without a fight, but this is one I will never win. Plus, I’m totally fucked if I lose my contract with Baylor Industries, so I should just walk away,” I say, realizing that the idea of getting Morgan back was never something that was going to happen. I saw the way they looked at each other in Vegas. True love like that never really dies.
“So what are you going to do now?” Alina asks.
“I’ll go back to my room and crash. I’ll head out on the first flight tomorrow morning and try to do some damage control with Drake Baylor Sr. before Jr. contacts him and totally kills the deal my company has with them.”
“So you’re saying you have a few more hours before you take off? I may have a few ideas for how you can lick your wounds…” Alina says with a wink.
“Let me get back to my room and start packing Morgan’s stuff. I’m sure once Drake finds her she’ll be crashing with him tonight and I want our goodbye to be as painless as possible. When we are done I’ll call your room and you can show me just how you might help someone lick their wounds,” I say with a grin, and head to the elevator.
When I get back to the room, I take a deep breath, then call Lana to update her. This is not going to be pretty, but I need to get it over with and I might as well do it with a little alcohol in my system. It’ll take the sting off the verbal bitch slap I know I’m in for.
“Adrian, it’s just past midnight over there, are you calling with good news?” Lana asks as she picks up the phone.
“Actually, no. I’ve had a setback.”
“A setback? You are in one of the most beautiful places in the world, how could you have a setback? Did you forget where your balls are?”
“No, Lana, I have intimate knowledge of the location of my balls, thank you very much. Drake has been living in Switzerland for the past few months. His father sent him here after he found out about his relationship with Morgan. I formulated a plan with Drake’s assistant to have Morgan catch them here together enjoying a lover’s holiday weekend. I figured once Morgan could see that Drake has moved on with a new beautiful girl and is off ringing in the New Year with her instead, it would steer her straight into my arms. Unfortunately Drake found Morgan before our plan could be properly executed and Morgan took off with Drake hot on her tail.”
“So what are you doing talking to me? Go find her and convince her that Drake has been off playing playboy while you’ve been drying her tears. We had a deal, Adrian, now go keep your end of it up.”
“It’s over, Lana. You need to deal with the fact that your daughter belongs with Drake and I need to deal with it too. What might have started as a game for you to get your daughter away from Drake Baylor and for me to score a hot trophy wife has not ended well for us, now it’s time to move on. I’ll no longer be your little errand boy either, find someone else to manipulate. Goodbye, Lana,” I say before I hang up.
I finish packing Morgan’s stuff as I contemplate what I want to say to her when she gets back to the room to get her things. I’m tempted tell her everything; her mom’s plan, my involvement in sending Drake away…my actions have not been admirable and my intentions have not exactly been pure, but I do love Morgan and always will. I think it’s just best for now to say goodbye then go find Alina. I still have a few hours before my flight leaves and I don’t want this night to be a total loss after all.
Drake
I will never forget what it feels like to be in this moment with Morgan. To kiss her at midnight on New Year’s in one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been. I don’t know what I did right to deserve this moment but I will be forever thankful. My love is back. Now I just have to get her back to my room so I can explain everything to her then take her to bed. I know it’s a little presumptuous to think about sex tonight but I don’t think my body will stay away from hers for that long. She has never looked as beautiful as she does tonight. I pull away from her and stare into her gorgeous hazel eyes.
“You have never looked so beautiful, Morgan. Happy New Year, my love,” I say as I wrap my arm around her shoulder again and continue back towards the Ritz.
Morgan leans her head into my shoulder and echoes, “Happy New Year, my love.” We spend the rest of the walk to the hotel in blissful silence, both understanding that the vast amount of talking that needs to be done tonight can wait until we get back to my room.
We arrive back to Morgan’s room and she asks me to wait outside while she talks to Adrian. I assume she doesn’t need me to be there making their goodbye any harder or more awkward than it already will be, so I give her the space she needs. She returns a few moments later with red eyes and I take her bags from her, but before I lead her to my room I ask, “Morgan, are you okay? Do I need to kick Adrian’s ass before we head to my room?”
“No,” she says with a sort of giggle sniffle sound, “Adrian was pretty sweet actually. He said he would never again try to come between the love he can see in our eyes. He wishes us well.”
“Then why have you been crying, my love?” I ask.
“Because I wasn’t sure if I’d see you again, and this has been a very overwhelming evening,” she answers with the same little giggle sniffle. I slip my arm back around her waist and lead her to my room.
The fact that she assumes she will be staying with me fills my heart with hope that all will be okay between us. I’m not sure how we will move forward and forget these past few months, but I’m sure our talk this evening will be a good start.
“After you,” I say as I open the door to my room and let her walk in before me. “Can I get you a drink?”
“No thanks, Drake. It’s been a long night and I feel like it will turn into a long morning with the amount of talking we need to do.”
“I can order down for some tea if you’d like. Would you like something to eat?” I ask.
“Sure, whatever you would like, I am a little hungry.”
“Okay. Feel free to use the bedroom or the en suite bath to freshen up or change into something comfortable while I make a call down to the kitchen,” I say, and Morgan gives me a shy, thankful smile as she grabs some things from her bag and kisses my cheek softly before she walks into the bedroom.
Morgan
I walk into Drake’s bedroom and release the breath I feel like I’ve been holding for the last three months. I want Drake to tell me what has really happened since we’ve been apart and what the true cause for this is. I want to know why he cut himself off from me as completely as he did.
As he explains his actions to me, I need to explain Adrian to him. I need Drake to know that he has always been on my mind and in my heart. I also need to tell him about the baby. I’m not sure if I’ll tell him tonight or tomorrow. I have to judge the situation. I won’t go back to the States without telling him though, and I hope he’ll be going back with me too. Either way he needs to know he’s going to be a father and I’m just so happy I get to tell him this in person. I wash the makeup off my face and slip on a loose sweater and some yoga pants so I can be comfortable and also hide the bump until I tell Drake about the baby. When I’ve taken as much time as I need to center myself and get my thoughts in order, I exit Drake’s bedroom and join him in the sitting area.
“Room service was just delivered, can I pour you some tea?” Drake asks, and I nod yes as I find my way to the couch and take a seat, curling my legs behind me. Drake joins me on the couch a minute later and hands me a cup of tea with a few scones tucked o
nto the saucer.
“Thank you,” I say, feeling suddenly awkward not knowing how to start the conversation.
“You are so welcome. I have to admit I’ve been dreaming of the moment I get to see you again for the last three months, but I never quite figured out what I’d say when the moment comes,” Drake starts.
“Why don’t you start with telling me what happened the day you left,” I suggest.
Drake frowns slightly as though remembering a heartbreaking memory and takes a deep breath before he begins to explain. “When my father excused you from the meeting with Adrian I thought we were off the hook. Adrian said his goodbyes to my father shortly after you left and as he left the room, he smiled at me with this weird menacing look on his face before telling my dad he thought it was genius to send us both to Vegas to close the Scottsfield deal. He knew exactly what he was doing, Morgan.”
“But he told me he had nothing to do with your departure. He said he got my voicemail and didn’t say anything,” Morgan says.
“I’m sure he said that to you, Morgan, but I’m also pretty sure he was trying to get you back. Without being able to defend myself, Adrian could say anything to you and with your longstanding friendship there is no reason for you not to believe him.
“After Adrian left, my father asked me how long I had been fucking you. It disgusted me how he could speak so lowly of you. I told him we weren’t fucking. I told him how madly in love with you I am and that I intend on marrying you someday, and not to speak about you like that. He was obviously pissed that we had broken the rules and I pleaded with him to keep your job.
“I told him how much you deserve your career and that I’d do anything for you to keep it. The only choice I had for you to keep your dreams alive was for him to send me to Zurich to save the European division of our company. This is my last chance to become CEO. In order to do that I can’t have any communication with you. That is why I’ve stayed away.
“I’ve been living every second of every day for you. For us. To come home with a clean slate and a Fortune 500 company to run. I want for us to run it together because there is no one else on Earth that could do a better job at this than you. I’m so sorry I never got to say goodbye to you, my love, and I swear I would have if I thought my father wouldn’t find out. I figured he would talk to you and see the hurt in your eyes at my departure if I told you. Everything I have done has been for our future,” Drake says, while wiping the tears from my eyes.
“I understand, Drake, but you have to know that these have been the hardest months of my entire life,” I say. “I looked for you. I searched the world for you.”
“I know,” Drake interrupts.
“What do you mean?” I ask.
“I saw you in Paris. I watched you collect your bag in the baggage claim at Charles De Gaulle.”
“You what? Drake, how could you? You must have known I was looking for you. I wouldn’t have told anyone. I can’t believe you would let me continue to torture myself by searching for you when you could have explained what was going on. I knew it was you in the baggage claim. I sat there calling your name like an idiot. I wanted to run and throw my arms around you but the soldiers patrolling with their heavy artillery scared me and I didn’t want to cause a scene. How could you stand there and not turn around?” I’m so hurt and so pissed I can’t even see straight. I slam my tea down on the coffee table before me and run to the bathroom, locking the door behind me.
All I’ve wanted for the past three months is to have Drake back and now that I do, I suddenly need space from him. I’ve thought about how it would be if we were ever reunited…would we find our happy ever after? Can we survive this separation? We love each other more than anything, but I’ve been so hurt I don’t know how to see past this. And now we have a baby on the way, how can we not be together? It’s getting late and I’m confused and tired and emotional. I feel like putting this conversation on hold until the morning when we have both rested and can think clearly.
I’m about to exit the bathroom to go crawl in bed when I hear a light knock on the door and Drake starts speaking in a soft, almost broken voice. “Morgan, I was torturing myself too. Don’t you have any idea how hard it was to walk away from you? You are my breath, my life, my everything. I would have never done this if I had another way to keep you forever. I promised you I would always fight. I was fighting to keep your job at Baylor. To support your dreams. I have been fighting every God damned day for the past three months for us. If I would have talked to you in Paris it would have put us in jeopardy. There was no way to be sure my father wouldn’t find out than to leave you alone. That was my only certainty.
“I’ve already said there is no way for me to ever show you just how sorry I am for everything. Please forgive me, Morgan. That’s the only way we will be able to move on,” Drake says. I open the bathroom door and lock eyes with Drake. I can see the hurt in his eyes and I know he’s been just as miserable as me. I take a step towards him, and he whispers, “I love you, Morgan. I never in a million years wanted us to have to go through these past few months,” while reaching out to pull me into his arms.
I go willingly, curling myself into his embrace and crying into his chest. “I believe you, Drake, and I forgive you,” I whimper into Drake’s chest. “It’s going to be hard to forget that though.”
“I know, baby. Please just tell me you’ll try. Let’s figure out how to move forward together,” Drake says as he showers the top of my head with kisses.
“Drake, you know I’ll always fight for you. I promised you that as well. I quit Baylor. Your dad told me your position had been dissolved and that you were off someplace tropical licking your wounds in the arms of another woman.”
“Morgan, please tell me you didn’t believe him. I’d never do that to you. I haven’t been with anyone else.”
“I know that. When your dad told me that though, he also told me that I could keep my job but had to earn his trust again and that I’d be on thin ice. I could never work for someone like that. No one deserves to be spoken to like that. I had to defend your honor and our dreams so I quit. I’m so sorry that you’ve been working to save my job these past few months and I had already left the position.”
“I might have left to save your job, but really I’ve been working these past few months to save our future,” Drake says.
“I’d like to explain Adrian to you though,” I start to explain but Drake interrupts me again.
“I got your emails, Morgan. Garrett set that account up for you and gave me the account and password so I would know you were okay. He felt so badly that you were so sad and didn’t know what else to do. He knew I wouldn’t respond so he told you it was an old account that I never checked anyway so you wouldn’t get your hopes up.”
“You’re kidding me. Why would he do that?”
“Morgan, Garrett saw the devastation in your eyes. The hopelessness in your face when you asked him about me time and time again. He wanted to do something for you and also help me out because I was just as miserable as you. This was a way for us to both remain connected. For me to still be a part of your life even though I’m a world away.”
“So if you’ve been getting my emails you knew I was here?”
“No, I haven’t checked my computer since I’ve been here so I didn’t get that email. It broke my heart every time you asked me to come home though. I know I’ll always be your home, Morgan. Just like you’ll always be mine. I still have about six months here but I’m going to call my father tomorrow and say my time in Zurich is up. I’m coming home with you. I can’t stand to be away from you for another moment, Morgan.”
“Drake, are you sure that’s a good idea? What if your father takes everything away? I don’t want these last three months to be in vain.”
“He was pissed and now he’s punishing me. He is using my love for you against me but I’m not willing to let that happen any longer. I did my time, I fixed the problems here, and now I’m coming home and ta
king my rightful place at the helm of Baylor Industries. My father wants to retire, and I want our future. I’ve learned enough by being here that if he fires me I’ll figure something else out. I just want to be the man you can be proud to call yours, and I’m not sure if I can be that man if I’m not CEO of Baylor. You deserve the world, Morgan, and you deserve a man by your side who you can work with to work towards our future together,” Drake says as he bows his head.
“Drake, please look at me,” I say, tilting his chin to meet my gaze. “You are the man for me. You always will be. We promised to work together for our future. I’m doing really well at Thompson. I can provide for us while you figure something out if need be.”
“Thank you, my love. I really appreciate that. I’m not worried about providing for us financially though; I’m set for a very long time. I just mean that you deserve someone who is going somewhere. Someone you can be proud of, who your parents will be proud to call Son,” he explains.
“Drake, I’ll always be proud of you. My father adores you and admires how far you have come almost as much as me. I just need you by my side,” I say.
“Then that is exactly where I’ll be, forever,” Drake says as he pulls me in for a long, sensual kiss that takes my breath away. I open my mouth to him and Drake dips his tongue into my mouth caressing mine with his.
“Take me to bed, Drake. I need to feel your warmth inside me again,” I say while pulling out of his embrace. Drake doesn’t waste any time taking me by the hand to lead me to his bedroom. When we reach his bed, Drake slowly undresses before me. I haven’t taken the time to fully admire just how beautiful he looks in his tuxedo until I watch as he starts removing his bowtie then works his way down. I’m practically drooling when he finally drops his boxers, his erection springing free.
I take Drake in my hand, slowly massaging his velvety smooth girth as I reach behind his neck with my other hand to pull him down for a kiss. “I love you, Drake, I’ll never stop fighting for you either,” I say as I continue to slowly stoke him.
