by Ella Brooke
I shook my head. “Didn’t your mom shell out tons for Taylor Swift to perform?”
She put a hand on my shoulder and squeezed. “Selena, nothing matters if I go off and have a good time and just forget my best friend.”
“You have tons of friends.”
“They’re mostly people who like to hang out with me because of Daddy’s name or because my stepdad is loaded, too.”
I snorted. “I get it. You’re pretty damn rich, Tam.”
“Yes, but they’re not usually the kind of friends who stick with you; who want to help you. You’re the kind of friend who’ll stay up with me till four a.m. when I can’t figure out how not to suck at a term paper. That’s friendship. So, if you’re not feeling up to it, I don’t care what Taylor has to do. We’ll just have it on another day. It doesn’t matter to me. What does is that my best friend is by my side.”
I swallowed hard, and the difficulty had nothing to do with the nausea roiling through my stomach. Now, because of Brandon, I lied to my best friend all the time. It was necessary to preserve everything, but I felt like an asshole. She gave me a place to live and understood during months where I was a little short on rent. She was the best friend I had on campus, especially since I hadn’t felt comfortable with my sorority post-Ashley. How had I repaid Tammy?
By doing things with her dad that would make a porn star blush.
Some friend I was.
Sighing, I shook my head. “I just need a few minutes. I’ll get a quick shower, clean up, and I’ll be ready to go.”
She bit her lower lip and studied me. “You sure?”
“You’d have to chain me to the radiator to keep me from going, trust me.”
Tammy laughed. “All right, but if I think you’re feeling shitty, I’ll still call the party earlier.”
“Trust me. I won’t. This is the big day, and I will so not be ruining it.” I breathed a sigh of relief when she closed the door behind her. Standing, I made my way to the sink and turned on the water. The cool drops soothed my worries and the rising flush of my cheeks. Looking up in the mirror, I tried to ignore the reflection.
Was it even possible to judge yourself?
I mean it was, but I was scared to see some angry scowl reflected back at me. I knew what I’d done, what a fraud I was, and Tammy didn’t deserve that. I had to get ready, but later I’d find a quiet corner at the party—their estate in Connecticut had like nine bathrooms—and do my test. Whatever else happened, I had to call all of this off. I couldn’t hurt Tammy anymore, no matter how hot Brandon was.
No matter how happy he made me.
As much as I cared about him, it wasn’t worth losing the best friend I’d ever had.
My family.
I just had to say no.
Chapter Eleven
Brandon
I knew something was wrong with Selena when I caught her by the main stairwell at Mel’s house. She was pale, quite a feat considering her olive-hued skin. She also looked like she was wavering on her feet. It didn’t mean she still wasn’t hot. She was in a short bright pink summer dress that made every curve pop and made my dick leap to attention. Still, there was something off about my tiger.
I slid up to her and worked to play the correct role; the vaguely aware boss and father of her best friend. It was too crowded downstairs to do more than that. However, I could give her the hint of exactly which bedroom upstairs I knew would be the most secluded, and easiest one to be in and out of. I hadn’t been here often, but, begrudgingly, I’d shared a couple of Christmases over here for Tammy’s sake. As a result, I knew the lay of the land just well enough to make everything work.
“Hello, Miss Cole,” I said. Keeping my distance from her was necessary, but it made me itchy. I wanted to reach out and stroke her hair, lean close enough to pinch the tight firmness of her ass. But I couldn’t. That was what disappearing discreetly was for. “How are you today? I can’t thank you enough for coming out to Tammy’s birthday party.”
She narrowed her eyes for just a moment, apparently not amused at all about the reminder for why we were brought together. Tough. I wasn’t going to let a chance to see her go by without also fucking her rotten. We’d be fast, we’d be hidden, but we were damn well going to do it.
“Mr. Duncan, you know I couldn’t leave Tammy to celebrate the big twenty-one on her own. Actually, I think she’s by the bar with the signature cocktail. Nice use of rum by the way, almost feel like I’m in some place tropical even in New York.”
I winked and fell easily into the chitter-chatter. “It’s August and about a hundred degrees. I think it’s easier to think of this as the islands than any other time. However, I don’t think you need to rush off to see her.” I looked over my shoulder to make sure that nothing else was invading our space. “In fact, I think you can come with me upstairs.” I lowered my voice. “I know the perfect place.”
She bit her lip as her eyes darted around her. “I’m not sure that’s the best idea.”
“It won’t take long.”
Selena smirked; some of her humor finally returning to her hazel eyes. “Then it’s definitely not a winning idea.”
“Oh, don’t impugn me, Miss Cole,” I said. “Come upstairs. Hell, just come.”
She cast daggers at me with her glance but followed me several steps behind up the stairs, then followed me through the twisting hallways to the bedroom farthest away from everything. Despite the pounding bass of the music, and the animated conversation below, when we slipped into the bedroom, it was quiet. So quiet that I could hear her breath, its ragged gasps confusing me since we hadn’t even started yet.
I sat on the bed and waited for her to follow my motion. “Okay, what gives?”
She pulled her purse closer to her and clutched it so tightly her knuckles went white. I wondered what she had in there. Maybe I didn’t want to know.
“Everything’s fine.”
“Then why do you seem jumpier than I’ve ever seen you. Selena, I can tell that something isn’t right. You’re halfway between looking like you want to set me on fire and looking like you might just pass out from dizziness. Are you okay?”
She sighed, but her grip remained on her bag. “I’ve had the flu lately, that’s all.”
“That’s good to know it’s nothing more serious. You look pale.”
Her lower lip seemed to wobble for an instant before she spoke again. “Great, it’s always good to know that I look like shit.”
I reached out my hand and stroked her hair back from her forehead. “I didn’t say that. I do think you seem off, and I don’t know why. I’m worried about you. Please, Tiger, let me know what’s going on.”
Selena shook her head. “Like I said, just haven’t been able to keep food down much the last couple of days and feeling more woozy than normal. I’m fine.”
“Something’s wrong though.” She leaped up and started to the door. I followed after her and backed her against the wall. “You don’t want to do that.” My hips were practically pinning hers, and my breath was hot on her cheeks. “Tiger, please, you’re upset, and I want to know what’s happening. How I can fix it?”
Tears brimmed in her eyes and it felt like a hot poker in my heart. I’d never seen her like this.
“Trust me,” Selena said, her voice ragged, “you can’t help me.”
“I think I can and—”
The door opened, and we both jumped back from each other as if we’d been scalded. Well, in Selena’s case, she pushed herself into the wall and then, once she realized it was just Jonathan, brushed past both of us and disappeared down the hall.
“Fuck, man, what’s the big idea?” I demanded.
Jonathan shook his head. “Do you really think I’m the only person who noticed you and then Selena follow you up the stairs? Come on, Brandon. You’re usually smarter about these things. The merger is still going through the final approvals. You want a page six disaster at your own daughter’s big bash?”
“I don’
t need a babysitter.”
“You didn’t even bother to lock the door. If I had been anyone else, you’d have been fucked. I mean, think about this. What if it had been Mel? Do you really want to have to explain to your ex what you’re doing or whatever the fuck you think you’re doing?”
I balled my hands up into fists at my side and tried not to let my temper rise further. It was a struggle. Part of me just wanted to beat Jonathan down for all his meddling, even if, rationally, I knew he was right. If it had been anyone else, both Selena and I would have been royally screwed.
Not in the fun way.
“I know, but we weren’t actually doing anything this time. I was trying to get her to open up to me.”
“I’ll say.”
I clenched my jaw and then spoke. “I’m serious. Something’s bugging her, and I almost had her ready to explain what it was. Then you burst in.”
Jonathan sighed. “I didn’t know that.”
“Well, no shit.”
“I’m sorry, but you had to let her go. Here, you’re just the CEO of the company she’s interning for and the best friend’s dad she’s only officially met once. You can’t let that façade fall. It’ll ruin you both if you do.”
Chapter Twelve
Selena
I couldn’t stop my hands from shaking. I’d scurried around the top floor of the mansion until I’d found a free bathroom, someplace I could lock the door behind me, slide in without anyone noticing, and pull out the pregnancy test. Peeing on the stick proved harder than I anticipated. It was a sloshing mess, and I’d been happy to wash my hands afterward. I mean, you’d think I could have control, but the truth was that I was a ball of anxiety. Seeing Brandon today had made me even more nervous. If that were even possible. I’d been tired, scared, and exhausted. Now, I realized that as much as I wanted to break things off with Brandon, do the right thing, even if I weren’t pregnant, then I wasn’t sure if I could.
It was like his very presence called to me, made my blood pound in my brain, and left me overheated and overeager. Being in that bedroom with him, I’d felt my heart thudding all over again. Even when I felt the deepest depression and fear of my life, I was still quivering underneath it all, still wet with need for him.
But it was all insane.
I glanced at my cell phone as I sat on the lip of the giant Jacuzzi tub. It was the longest five minutes of my life, waiting for whatever the test would tell me. I wasn’t even sure what I wanted. Obviously, if I had a child with Brandon, it would be a disaster. I could never think about getting rid of a child, but, at the same time, I couldn’t be public about it. Frankly, I couldn’t even finish college with a baby. I guess I’d run back home, tail between my legs, and be every bit the failure my mother was. Just another cautionary tale about not being careful while having sex.
What I couldn’t do was drag him down with me, ruin his reputation and make Tammy hate him. If I were pregnant, I didn’t think that Brandon could ever know.
I knew him now. He’d step up, do the right thing, but it could cost him his company, and Tammy’s love and adulation. I wasn’t about to ruin a family.
Then, as crazy as this was, a small part of me wanted to be pregnant, wanted to have that spark of life inside of me. A child with Brandon was an impossible clash of our worlds, but I knew it now, after over two months with him. I loved him. It was more than just the way he made my body feel. It was how he cared about my history; the life I’d had and struggled through before coming to New York. It was about how he seemed to know what I was thinking and feeling even before I did. The expert eye he offered on reviewing my pieces. If circumstances were different, we could be a happy family.
But they weren’t.
And everything standing between us was impossible.
My posture went rigid when the timer on my phone rang. God, the moment of truth. I inched over to the sink and stared down at the blue plus sign that was mocking me, that really only confirmed the changes I’d felt in my own body.
“Oh God.”
I was pregnant.
Jesus, God, what the hell would I do?
Tears stung my eyes, and I grabbed my purse. I could Uber home… Do anything to get out of here. I couldn’t hide the happy party façade when my very life and future was crumbling around me. As I reached for the positive test, the lock tumbled loose and the door open. I froze there, like a deer in the damn headlights, and gaped at the person before me.
Mrs. Stewart stood there with a triumphant smile plastered across her face. “I knew I’d find you here.” She eyed the test I hadn’t managed to grab yet. “I didn’t anticipate that but, knowing Brandon, I can’t say I’m surprised.”
My heart went cold as ice. “What?” I croaked out.
“He had mistresses during our marriage, but you knew that. I’m sure Tammy told you. I just never saw a little tramp like you working your way so close to our family to try and get Brandon’s money.”
“It’s not about the money.”
Mrs. Stewart nodded. “It won’t be. Like I said, Brandon’s got a way of avoiding pregnancy scares. I assume at some point he’s paid women to go away.”
I reached for the key from Tiffany’s around my neck. That wasn’t possible. I couldn’t just be a stupid girl he’d tricked, could I? “He’d never do that to me.”
“Do you want to stick around? Work for some sugar daddy money, you tramp?” Mrs. Stewart’s voice was glacially cold. “How is this going to work? Are you going to be the new stepmom for Tammy? Are you going to raise her baby brother or sister like everything you’ve done isn’t a slap in all of our faces?”
“I don’t know.”
She shook her head. “I think you do. Tammy means everything to me, and if you’re even a fraction of the friend you’ve pretended to be all this time, you’ll get lost. I’ll write you a check. A nice amount that my current husband will never miss, not with my shopping record. You take it, you disappear, and you never bother Brandon or Tammy again.”
“I don’t want to.”
“I don’t care what you want,” Melanie said as she leaned in closer to me. “Do you not get it? What you want doesn’t matter anymore, you child. I don’t care about Brandon. I’ve been used to his stunts for years, and that’s why I left him. He doesn’t care about anyone but himself, but I do care about Tammy, and I hope you do too. You’re going to take the money, and you’re going to disappear like you never darkened NYU’s doorstep or lived with her. I don’t give a shit what excuse you have to make, but you are not going to break her heart.”
“I…”
Icy blue eyes met mine, something reptilian and devoid of emotion simmering in them. “I’m not the one who was fucking around, Selena. You’re the one who made this choice, who was so damn irresponsible. I’m just presenting you with a way out so that you can avoid destroying an innocent girl, someone caught up in all of this bullshit. Do you understand me? Unless you have a couple million stashed around, which is what it can cost to get a child from infancy to eighteen.”
I swallowed, hard. “I don’t want your blood money.”
She laughed; a cold, barking sound. “You only want Brandon’s. Trust me, you aren’t the first person to do this, to drag yourself to him. And you won’t be the last. Your mistake, Selena, is thinking you’re special, but you’re not. All I’m asking you is to be a decent friend—a friend at all—and get the hell out of here. Seriously, child, do you think he’ll still want you when you’re dragging him down with a family?”
“I don’t want to ruin anyone’s life. I’d never want to be that person.”
“You’re a homewrecker. You’ve betrayed my daughter’s trust. The best you can do, Selena, is run far away and hope you’re never discovered. After all, even the other bimbos who seduced Brandon over the years were smart enough to do that. Honey, you think you’re special, but you don’t get it.”
“I don’t?” I asked, my voice hoarse and barely recognizable as my own.
“
No one’s special to Brandon. Now, are you taking the deal or not?”
Chapter Thirteen
Brandon
Two months later…
I didn’t understand any of it. The Monday after Tammy’s party everything changed. Selena quit her internship a couple weeks shy of it ending naturally because of the school year starting back. She informed Tammy that she was moving and changing schools from NYU, and by early September was just gone. I’d gone to the apartment on the guise of offering to help her move her few belongings. I’d tried to get her to listen to me to stay, to just talk out what had happened. She’d refused. Every day, I still emailed and called her, but I was screened every damn time. Even Tammy hadn’t heard from her. That both confused and scared me. They’d gone from being so close that they were almost sisters to now Selena not being able to be in the same city as her best friend.
None of it made one goddamn ounce of sense, and I couldn’t even get her to so much as shoot me back an email. It angered and frustrated me, but mostly it scared me. This wasn’t like the tiger I knew, and something was happening.
I just couldn’t stand being shut out of her life. I knew where she was; she’d moved back home to a tiny shit town in West Virginia. She wasn’t living at her home, seemed to be renting an apartment and going to a local state school, but I had no idea what had caused the drastic flight from New York and from me. I was planning to go down there soon. I’d only held off this long because I didn’t want to seem like some kind of in-person creepy stalker. But I couldn’t live without her.
I’d suspected that since the day I’d taken her to Tiffany’s, and I’d first defended our relationship to my CFO, Jonathan. I needed Selena, and whatever was wrong with her, we’d figure it out together. Fuck, if she was sick, I had all the money she’d ever need for treatment. I could convince Tammy to come around. Now that the Orbit merger was over, even Jonathan didn’t have leverage over me. There were no rules for me to follow. Whatever was going on, I was going to get to the fucking bottom of it.
