Pulling back, he says in a husky voice, “Go to the ball with me?”
“Yes,” I reply. All the fight in me has left. Besides, didn’t I say I was going to defy McHottie? As if my thoughts alone summons him, Grayson walks in, eyeing us both with his usual scowl on his face.
“Jade, what are you still doing here?” he asks me, but it’s Tyson he’s looking at or is it our matching swollen lips?
“Jade had some last minute work to do for me,” Tyson answers smoothly.
“Are you finished?” Grayson asks with clenched teeth, finally turning to look at me. We get into an epic stare down where he tries to read my mind, making me feel like we’re playing the blinking game.
“Yeah, I’m done,” I answer. My words have meaning and I hope McHottie is smart enough to catch on. I’m not a toy and I refuse to be fought over.
“Let me help you take your fruit out to the car,” Tyson volunteers and I break the stare down with Grayson.
“You don’t have to go to the trouble. I can help her,” Grayson interjects and Tyson immediately shakes his head.
“I got it. I know you’re a busy man.” With those words, Tyson grabs the arrangement with one hand and holds his other for me to take. I do so as I give Grayson a pointed look. I’ve made my move, making it clear he’s not the king I’m protecting. The game is all about the queen and it’s me I’m looking out for.
Once we get to the car, Tyson places the fruit arrangement in my passenger seat and even goes as far as to buckle it in. When he’s done, he walks over to the driver side and leans in. “You know, I can follow you home and help you bring it inside.”
“I think I got it from here,” I say, patting myself on the back that I didn’t cave.
He smirks before leaning over and kissing me lightly. “Be safe,” he says before closing the door and striding away. Oh man, I’m in big trouble. I don’t know what it’s like to be persuaded by Tyson Garfield, but what I do know is that by the end of this, I’ll be completely wrecked.
Grayson
“What do you expect to gain by messing with my surrogate?” I confront Tyson as soon as he strolls back in the office. I know he’s the one who sent Jade the fruit basket. It’s his MO. He’ll send women pretty little gifts here and there, go on a couple of dates until he gets what he wants. Then he’ll fuck them and leave them without another word. That isn’t what I want for Jade. She deserves better than that.
“The question you should be asking is, why do you care? For someone who is just your surrogate, you’re awfully invested in her. Shouldn’t you be looking after your wife?” he asks, raising his brow.
“I’m invested because she’s carrying my child, and I don’t need you stressing her out,” I yell. I’m glad everyone is gone home and it’s just him and I.
“Are you sure that’s all it is? I’ve seen the way you look at her. The same way I look at her, like you can’t wait to ravish her.”
“You’re delusional. I’ve already told you why I’m invested in Jade, and just like you said, I have a wife to look after. I don’t think Nichole will take it well that our surrogate lost our child from stress because you fucked her and threw her away like day old mail. That’s why Nichole wrote that no dating clause in our contract. To prevent shit like that from happening.”
“Oh, I know all about your little contract,” he sneers.
“What the hell does that mean?” I growl. I was starting to get even more pissed over his cocky attitude. Why can’t he just leave Jade alone? There’s plenty of fish that wouldn’t mind dipping in his pond.
“Don’t you want to know why it took so long for me to pursue Jade?” he asks with a cheshire smile on his face, and I couldn’t help feeling like I’m walking into a trap.
“Not particularly,” I lie.
“Grayson, you make a fantastic lawyer, but I can tell when you’re lying. But fret not, I won’t leave you in the dark for long. You see, I was curious about your little arrangement, so I sent my people to investigate. Imagine my surprise when they came back reporting you’re not a client at the fertility clinic here in New York. I was even more surprised to learn that Jade isn’t even employed by them, that she didn’t pass the initial screening process.”
“So? I never said we were using an agency. My wife met Jade, she liked her, and hired her, end of story,” I reply. I will not show weakness. Like all the lawyers here, Tyson is a shark and can smell blood in the water.
“Are you still going with that? Since you’re not a client and Jade isn’t an employee, the people at the fertility clinic were real chatty, for the right price that is. I know what you and your wife asked for.” At his words, my skin grows cold as all the blood drains from my body. What the fuck? I’m going to sue the shit out of those assholes for breach of privacy.
“You might want to cancel that thought. You can’t do shit to them. It’s not like they were under contract to protect your privacy, but rest assured, they are now. I rather not have Jade ruined by your mess.”
“Why? Why do you even care? You still haven’t answered that.”
“I have my reasons and none of them involve you, but if you get in my way, or detour Jade from me in any way, I will reveal your little secret and tell everyone just how that baby in Jade’s stomach was conceived.”
“Do that and Jade will never forgive you,” I retort.
“I’m betting on the fact that it won’t come to that. That even if you don’t care about your own reputation, you do, on the other hand, value your wife’s over anything else. I know it’s her that’s driving this bus, the one calling the shots.”
He had me and he knows it. He’s also right. I don’t give a shit what people say about me, but Nichole is another story. She’s my Achilles heel. I don’t say shit else to the prick in fear I’d punch him in the face. Instead, I ball up my fist at my side, turn, and walk away. Halfway to my office, I hear him say, “Grayson, this isn’t an idle threat.” No shit Sherlock. I know it’s not.
At my desk, I pull out my bottle of expensive scotch. Elbows on my table, I run my hands through my hair. This shit show Nichole has put me in is starting to go downhill fast, resembling more of a circus and I’m the dancing monkey. Slowly, I drink my drink as I ponder a way out of this mess. Truthfully the cards are all in Jade’s hands. She’s the one with all the power. Hopefully she’ll be able to see Tyson for the snake he is, or if not, be prepared because his bite is poison.
14
Nichole
As I hurl my guts out into the toilet, I think to when I was healthy and whole. Most of my thoughts are of Grayson and how I stalked him in college. He always had girls following him around, enamored by his beauty. He was the total package; rich, good looking, and driven. You just knew he was going to be somebody, but unlike those girls, I knew Grayson Hastings well. We grew up in the same well-to-do circles, but he never saw me like he didn’t see them. All Grayson cared about was the end game. Graduating Harvard at the top of his class and landing a lucrative position into a leading law firm in New York. Only once he achieved those things would he turn his eyes on the opposite sex. Until then, no pussy would thwart him off his path. If I wanted to get his attention, I had to beat him at his own game.