Although it had taken her a week to contact her mother, she’d informed her immediately of Joshua’s diagnosis. She’d appeared to be grief stricken; promising to return home as soon as she could, but she never did. She had called now and then; swearing that she would come home soon but Paige had learned to ignore her mother’s hollow commitments somewhere around her fourth try. Her father’s parents were her only tower of support as her mother’s family was so estranged she doubted they even remembered she and her brother existed.
Joshua had come home from school, two days ago, with a swollen stomach. Conscious of the severity of his illness and its symptoms, she had rushed him to the emergency room where he was immediately admitted. She hoped he would be released today as she was at her whit’s end. She needed him to come home; to know that she had more time to come up with the money for his transplant surgery.
She shook aside her morbid thoughts as she drove into the Hospital’s Parking Lott and plastered a smile unto her face. It wouldn’t do to let Joshua see her melancholy mood; he needed to stay strong to battle this God forsaken illness and she was his only source of strength.
CHAPTER THREE
JOSHUA WAS ASLEEP WHEN she got to the hospital so she took a few moments to stroke his wan cheeks; willing the tears that sprung to her eyes to keep at bay. She traced the lines of his fragile face and her heart broke; like it had so many times since his diagnosis. How many times had she questioned why such a horrible thing had to happen to her brother? At least he was still alive she consoled herself.
She sunk into a chair next to his bed; content to watch the gentle rise and fall of his fragile chest. The nurse had told her on her way in that Doctor Walsh wanted to speak with her; she hoped it was about Joshua’s release.
“Ms. Sinclair”, Dr. Walsh’s voice broke through her silent musing, “Can I speak to you in my office please”, he smiled reassuringly but there was a hint of sadness in his grey eyes.
“Sure”, she said apprehensively, following him through the throng of people in the Hospital’s lobby to a small office with medical diagrams decorating the walls.
“Sit”, he instructed as he sat behind the sole desk in the office and her stomach clenched painfully.
He sighed heavily. “Your brother is not coping well with his illness at all”, he said, “he has been admitted to the hospital four times this month alone, as you are aware, which we believe is as a result of not following our dietary instructions”.
She hung her head in embarrassment. She supposed the Doctor believed that she was not paying keen attention to her brother’s food intake.
“I’m sorry Dr. Walsh”, she said apologetically, “I promise I’ll keep a closer eye on him”.
She wondered if such a thing was possible as it seemed that Joshua had no intention of fighting his illness. Since his diagnosis she had ensured that there was no food in the house that he was not supposed to eat, informed his teachers and sitters of his dietary constraints, yet, he somehow managed to eat whatever he wanted.
"We’ll have to keep him here until his condition is stabilized”, Doctor Walsh said, “and to be honest his prospects are not looking so wonderful at the moment”.
“What do you mean?” she asked in a trembling voice; fear knotting her gut.
“I suggest you start working on that transplant”, he said, “the disease is getting worst and it’s only a matter of time before his Kidneys fail completely”.
A strangled cry broke from her lips. “No, no. Not J. He’s just ten years old”, she choked.
She had known from the beginning that such a fate was possible but somehow hearing it from the Doctor made it seem all the more real.
“There’s no need for you to panic”, he said without much conviction, “you can work through the particulars with the Hospital’s administration. It’s best to start before his condition worsens as organs are not that easy to come by.”
She knew what the ‘particulars’ were; had known since the day Joshua was diagnosed and so did Dr. Walsh as he had been one of the Doctors assigned to Joshua from that first day. Where was she supposed to get that amount of money from?
There was a knock at the door and Doctor Walsh bade whomever enter. She barely heard as the Nurse told him that he was needed in the Emergency Room and he ushered her back to the lobby. She was numb to her very soul as she retraced her steps to Joshua’s bedside; not wanting him to wake and see her crying; she kissed him on the cheek and left. She was halfway home when her eyes became so blurred by tears that she had to pull over on the side of the road.
Desolate and inconsolable, she leaned her forehead on the edge of the steering wheel and let it all out; gut wrenching sobs tearing from her throat. What did a ten year old, innocent boy like Joshua ever do to deserve such a horrible fate and she couldn’t even help him; she cried harder at the thought.
Eventually she composed herself enough to drive home without killing anyone or herself in the process. She was fishing for her keys in her purse when her eyes caught sight of something; the card that Sebastian Bradley had given to her.
She had not given the encounter much thought because of all that had happened with Joshua. The incident was quite bizarre. Now that she thought about it, why would a guy like Sebastian Bradley need to hire a girlfriend? More importantly, how on earth had he found her? Now that she thought about it, there must be dozens of people in New York with her name. Was faith offering her some sort of salvation by leading him to her? She mulled over the facts as she prepared a pot of tea to boil and went to shower.
Perhaps he was lying, she concluded. Besides, where could anyone get that sort of money he had mentioned. She substituted her languorous soak for a quick shower as a thought occurred to her. She rushed to her room; hauled a night shirt over her head and turned on her laptop and Googled his name. If he was all Maya had claimed; there must be an article about him as well as photos.
To her astonishment, a horde of articles and pictures emerged with details about Sebastian and his family. Apparently, he was the only child of the Real Estate tycoon William Bradley and his mother Julia Bradley had died of a Brain Tumor when he was two years old. He had expanded his father’s business into Construction some years ago and according to the article, he was doing remarkably well.
So he wasn’t bluffing then, when he’d spoken of the substantial amount of money he would pay her to be his girlfriend. She sat up straighter as a thought occurred to her; she needed money to pay for her brother’s transplant and he was willing to pay her to pose as his girlfriend. What if she posed as his girlfriend? No absolutely not, she scolded herself. What if her deception was uncovered? She could not expose Joshua to such a life and she couldn’t imagine what posing as his girlfriend would entail. Shrugging aside her silliness, she put aside her laptop and went downstairs to prepare a cup of hot chocolate before she went to bed.
She went to the hospital the following morning to see Joshua and similar to the evening before, she broke down in tears afterwards. She’d felt as if her heart was being ripped from her chest as his soft brown eyes had pooled with tears as he had begged her to take him home. She went to work with a damper on her spirits and remained so for the entire day. She tried to shirk her melancholy mood as she went back to the Hospital but she was barely able to keep it together through her visit.
She spoke to the Hospital’s administration as she had when Joshua had just been diagnosed; beseeching them to offer her any assistance they could and they promised that they would try to help her but procedures would have to be followed and it could take time. Time, her brother did not have; his name needed to get on their donors list, immediately. She left their office, feeling thoroughly depressed. They had given her that same response more than a year ago, only to inform her a few weeks later that she did not qualify for such benefits as her earnings were above their threshold.
As the days went by and the severity of her situation grew worst, the more tempting Sebastian’s offer became. Each nig
ht she eyed the card on her nightstand broodingly until finally, three nights after his visit, at her whit’s end, she threw aside her reservations and dialed his phone number.
She cursed her rash ways as the phone rang; she should have at least rehearsed what she was going to say. She didn’t have much time to brood as there was an answer on the first ring. She was taken aback when an impeccable female voice emerged from the other end of the line.
“Hello. This is Sebastian Bradley’s Personal Assistant, Sophia Francis speaking. How may I assist?" the voice said.
Paige summoned her most professional tone and said, “My name is Paige Sinclair. Is there any chance that I could speak to Mr. Bradley please?”
“He has been expecting your call Ms. Sinclair. Please hold while I put you through to him”, Sofia said.
“Thank you and I’m sorry for the late hour”, Paige apologized.
“That’s ok Ms. Sinclair”, Sofia said, “goodnight”.
Paige paced the floor as her courage faltered. She had not considered that this was not his personal number or she would not have called at this hour. What would she say to him? Her mind groped for words but it seemed as if her mental capabilities had taken leave of her.
“Paige. I see you’ve decided to accept my proposal”, he said in his smooth baritone as if it was the most normal thing in the world for her to be calling him.
“Yes I…” she faltered, her usually glib tongue sticking to the roof of her mouth.
“Meet me tomorrow at noon”, he said brusquely, “I’ll send my chauffeur to get you”.
“OK…”
“Goodnight”, he said and the line went dead; no preliminaries or polite niceties.
She stared at the phone in her hand. “Well hello Mr. Bradley. Hello Paige. How are you”, she role-played, trying and failing to imitate Sebastian’s deep tone, then switching back to hers, “I’m fine Mr. Bradley. I’d like to pretend to be your girlfriend”.
She fell unto her bed and laughed at her own silliness until a sob broke free from her lips. What was she doing? Playing with fire, she told herself. But she would do it; she stiffened her spine, anything that would ensure that Joshua would return home and lead even a semblance of a normal life. With that, she pulled the covers to her chin and closed her eyes; tossing and turning as calculating brown eyes haunted her dreams.
CHAPTER FOUR
SHE AWOKE AT DAWN THE following morning; both dreading and anticipating the day’s outcome. She called in sick at work and lugged out of bed to make breakfast; which she hardly ate because of the knot that was lodged in her stomach.
She went to her usual morning visit with her brother and for the first time in almost a week; she didn’t cry. He seemed a little perkier than the day before and they played a few games of scrabble before she hugged him, warmly and left. Apprehension settled in the pit of her chest as she drove home and her moment of reckoning drew nearer.
She went straight to shower; thoroughly washing her long red-gold tresses with her favorite strawberry shampoo, the familiar scent offering a modicum of comfort as she sifted through her closet for something to wear. For once, she wished she had her mother’s extensive collection of designer clothing as she had the sudden urge to appear chic for her meeting with Sebastian. Concluding that it couldn’t be helped, she settled for a dreary cream pants suit that she had bought for a formal school function shortly before she had quit.
She was startled by the ringing of her cell phone and she answered it with shaking fingers. It was Sebastian, of course, and he instructed her, in much the same tone as the night before, that his Driver would be at her house in, exactly, forty-five minutes. She cursed his calmness as she brushed her hair frantically, until it shone, and dressed. Why was he so calculating when she was literally losing her nerves?
She added a touch of makeup; deciding to wear her hair down and rushed downstairs. She was just in time to see a slick black Cadillac Escalade Hybrid drew to a halt in front of her driveway and the extremity of what she was about to do settled in. She walked to the car on wobbly legs as a willowy man, with thinning brown hair, dressed in an immaculately tailored black suit, emerged from the car and opened the door for her.
“Hello”, she said as pleasantly as she could muster under the circumstances and he gave a curt nod of acknowledgement as he ushered her into the car and closed the door. She scanned the plush leather interior with open admiration; the cozy environs reminding her of a luxurious sitting room. Her appraisal of her surroundings died of a cold death as the car pulled away from her house and her brain went into overdrive.
Why hadn’t she even bothered to ask where they were going? What would she say to him? Were they even going to talk? Her mind clamored with unanswered questions. What had she been thinking considering something like this? Too late, she decided, as the car stopped and the driver led her into an exquisite restaurant. Her heart hammered in her chest as they skirted the main dining area to a private balcony.
Her breath caught in her throat as she saw Sebastian sitting around a table set for two; one leg propped on his knee and his head buried in his iPad. He placed the iPad inside his jacket pocket and lifted his arrogant head to face her and she was jolted by his sheer magnificence. He had such beautiful brown eyes, she thought, with long fringed lashes; certain she could stare in their compelling depths forever without losing interest. He was wearing a grey suit and his shirt gapped at the collar; displaying a peek of toned chest muscles. She had a distinct image of him without that shirt and she swallowed hard; a flutter of excitement burgeoning in her stomach.
“Hello Paige”, he said and her eyes flew to his face, a hot blush staining her pale cheeks as his lips curled into a knowing smile.
“Hello Mr. Bradley”, she responded, in a surprisingly calm tone, considering her state of mind and being.
“Sit”, he instructed waving a hand in the direction of the vacant chair, “and please; call me Brad”.
She stumbled into the chair, chastising herself for gawking at him like a love-sick teenager, as a waitress came and took their orders. She was thoroughly disgusted as the waitress flirted shamelessly with Sebastian, conveying no regard for her presence. She wondered for the hundredth time, why a man of his attraction and affluence would resort to such a ruse when it was evident that women were literally tripping over themselves to be with him.
“Now, where were we?" he said as soon as the waitress left to fetch their meal, “I have drafted a contract and a Non Disclosure Agreement for you to sign”, he added, handing a folder to her.
She prayed that he didn’t see the slight tremor of her hand as she took the pro-offered folder, unnerved by his air of indifference. She read the detailed three page document carefully, during which, the waitress returned with their meal; flabbergasted at some of his demands.
According to the contract; she was expected to move in with him immediately, attend all events stipulated by him and of course she could not disclose any information about their relationship during, after or before the contract period; which was four months. She could have no other means of employment, during the contact period, as it would be considered as a conflict of interest.
There was also mention of her expected mannerism and poise along with a few other minuscule details such as her wardrobe and proportions and intervals of payment.
She couldn’t do this, she thought, as soon as she had finished reading the document. She hadn’t expected him to ask her to move in with him. Where would Joshua live? If he ever came home from the hospital, a cruel voice in the back of her head whispered.
She glanced at Sebastian; apparently enjoying his meal, totally oblivious to her inner turmoil. If only she had more experience with relationships; perhaps then it would be easier for her to make a decision, she thought as she pushed the food around on her plate.
“Do you need more time to consider my offer?” Sebastian asked; his voice startling her from her reverie.
“Why are you doing this?�
� she asked suddenly.
He seemed taken aback by the question; as if he was unaccustomed to others questioning his authority.
“Helen is insistent on that dinner date we promised”, he said finally, when she had begun to think that he wouldn’t respond.
“Who’s Helen”, she asked and could have kicked herself when she saw his expression.
“My father’s wife”, he said, his voice tinged with annoyance and suspicion, “you met her at my dinner party”.
She laughed nervously, “I think… I had too much champagne that night”, she stammered idiotically, “I don’t remember much”.
“You didn’t seem drunk to me”, he said, his brown eyes wary, “although there’s not much to remember, except that you disappeared without so much as a goodnight kiss”, his voice fell to a seductive murmur that raised goose pimples on her skin.
She made no comment instead she chewed her lower lip; deep in thought. Although there wasn’t much to consider; it was either accept his proposition or forfeit Joshua’s only chance of survival. She had no choice; she would have to work out the particulars as she went along, she told herself.
“Umm there’s no mention of umm…sex in the…” her words trailed off and she colored all the way to her hairline.
His face broke into an impish grin; his eyes sparkling with lust. “When you decide to sleep with me, it won’t be because I’m paying you to”, he murmured softly and she scoffed; her cheeks burning; liquid heat pooling in her belly.
She affixed her signature to the documents with shaking fingers and returned them to him. He then stashed them into a black attaché case and retrieved an iPhone from the case and handed it to her.
Unlawful Escort (Unlawful Series book 1) Page 2
