An Heir At Any Price: The Billionaire's Obsession - Contemporary Romance (15 page)

Holly.

I looked at him one more time before I
left. I needed to hold that sight of him drunk and disheveled in
the forefront of my mind to know that I was doing the right thing
for me, and the baby. Why did the right thing always have to hurt
so much?

~

Chapter
Fourteen

~

I went back to the hotel I’d stayed at
before that first night. I wasn’t sure what I would do, or where I
would go, but I knew when I’d heard Aiden on the phone talking to
that other woman and telling her what a failure I had been, that I
couldn’t be there with him any longer. Some might say it was
partially my own fault for not telling him right away that I was
pregnant. That may be true, but the coldness he had shown, over and
over was a fact. My own heart was at stake as well as the welfare
of an innocent child. I had to be strong and do what I needed to do
to protect us both. I wasn’t going to hand my child over to someone
who drank away their problems. I’d lived with that for far too long
and it would be horrible of me to knowingly subject my child to the
same kind of life. I didn’t think that Aiden was an alcoholic, but
if he continued to turn to alcohol to solve his problems then it
was a strong possibility for the future.

Aiden hadn’t called me the first time
I left, but he did call this time, after he sobered up and realized
that I was gone. He called and text over and over again. I was
afraid at first that the doctor had told him about the pregnancy,
but as I listened to the messages, it was apparent that he didn’t
know.

First
Voicemail
:
Holly!
This is ridiculous. I had a few drinks and it’s not like we’re
married and you even have a right to be upset. Call me
back.

Second Voicemail:
Holly, you’re right. I should have just talked to
you. I shouldn’t have gotten drunk. I was upset and I started
drinking and it got out of hand. I’m sorry. Come home, or at least
call me.

Third voicemail:
Damn it, Holly! This is absurd. If you’re this
immature than maybe I don’t want to do business with you after all.
Call me back!

They were all pretty much variations
of the same view, like he was cycling from angry to remorseful and
back again. It was another thing that reminded me of my mother. It
was what she did after going on a bender and making a fool out of
herself. She would throw blame at me and then she would apologize
and when it was all over, my head would be so messed up that I
wouldn’t know for sure who really had been at fault.

The messages went on for days and they
got more desperate and angrier with each day that passed. It was
beginning to look like I’d have to change my number to get him to
leave me alone. I couldn’t make myself pick up the phone and talk
to him, and it got even worse or at least more embarrassing when I
got a call from first Rose and then Myra. He was calling the café,
telling them that he knew I would have told them where I was going,
and begging them to tell him, or at least to tell me to call him.
Rose said that he would start out as sweet, sad and charming and by
the end of the conversation, he would become angry and somewhat
rude. I apologized profusely which of course they both told me was
unnecessary. I wanted to tell him to stop calling them, but I was
still afraid to call him back. I knew that I didn’t have the
strength. He would be remorseful and charming and before I knew it
I would be right back in the same situation. I had to make a clean
break. Myra told me that he’d actually come in one day and got a
little confrontational. But like Rose, she told me they were
“handling it” and for me not to apologize or worry. They were
really good friends.

The day after I’d talked to Myra, I
got a call from a nurse at my mother’s facility.

“Miss Valentine, this is Nurse Jacobs.
I’m sorry to bother you…”

“It’s fine, Is my mother okay?” I
asked. I was worried that she’d gotten sick, but more worried that
she had managed to get drunk.

“No, she’s fine. I didn’t mean to
worry you. It’s just that a gentleman showed up this afternoon.” My
mind went straight to Aiden. Dear God, how did he find out about
Mom and how did he know where she was? I realized then that the
nurse was still talking. She said, “He was very polite, but he was
asking for confidential information. He wanted your contact number
and/or your address. When I told him he couldn’t have that, he
wanted to talk to your mother. I explained to him that she couldn’t
have visitors yet, so he left, but I thought I should let you
know.”

“I appreciate that, thank you for
keeping our confidentiality. Did he get confrontational with you at
all?”

“Oh no, like I said, he was polite and
respectful, just disappointed that I wouldn’t tell him
anything.”

“I’m really sorry,” I said. I could
feel my face flush red. I hoped they wouldn’t hold my
“relationship” issues against my mother.

“It’s no problem, Miss Valentine, it
happens more often than you think.” I was at least glad to hear
that. I thanked her again and hung up. That was when I knew I had
to go talk to Aiden. He had to leave the people I cared about
alone. I gathered every ounce of courage within me and I took a cab
to the penthouse. When I got there, his doorman acted shocked to
see me. Aiden must have said something to him about what to do if I
showed up. He told me that Mr. Scott was at the office but I could
wait in the lobby and he would call him. I politely declined,
knowing full well that he called him as soon as I left. I took
another cab downtown to Scotto Enterprises. I’d never been there
before and the building itself was slightly overwhelming. It had to
be over thirty stories high and it was all one company. I couldn’t
wrap my head around running a business of this size. I definitely
got a renewed respect for what he did every day. I got there and
pulled the heavy glass door to the lobby open just in time to
nearly run head on into Aiden rushing out.

“Holly, I just got a call that you
were at the penthouse.”

“I was, now I’m here. We need to
talk.”

“Yes, we do,” he said, getting over
his surprise to see me. “Let’s go up to my office.”

We got on the elevator and I could
tell by the way he was looking at me that he had a lot to say. I
wasn’t at all sure I wanted to hear any of it. I wasn’t surprised
to find out that his office was on the top floor as well. We got
off the elevator and I realized that it wasn’t only on the top
floor; it was the entire top floor. He had a receptionist, or
secretary who sat behind a short partition a few steps beyond the
elevator. I could see her eyeing me curiously, but only when Aiden
wasn’t looking. He opened the door to his office. It was the
largest office that I’d ever seen. It had a full bar, literally
like the bar you would see in a restaurant, a pool table, a sink
area with all the kitchen amenities you could think of, a large oak
table with six chairs around it and a huge desk that sat right up
against the glass wall that looked out over the Manhattan
skyline.

“Have a seat,” he said, indicating to
the full couch also in the room. I sat, nervously. My resolve to
stand up to him and/or tell him I was pregnant was fading. “So,
have you come to ask me to let you return to the
penthouse?”

I had to force the words to come out,
“No, Aiden. I’m not coming back.” His face registered first shock
and then anger.

“I’ve invested quite a bit of time and
money in you Holly.”

That was exactly what I thought he
might say and it gave me back my determination.

“I apologize for your time,” I told
him but without much conviction. I can’t give that back. I can give
the money back though. Give me an accounting of what I owe you in
dollars and cents and I will begin making payments to you right
away until it’s all paid back.”

He snorted and said, “I don’t want
your money, Holly. It’s not about the money.”

“You just said that it was,” I
realized that we were only sniping at each other. “This isn’t why I
came here.”

“Why did you come here?” he asked. I
had it on the tip of my tongue, I swear. I was going to tell him
that I was carrying his baby but just as I was about to spit it out
he said, “Are you holding out for more money? Is that your angle
here?”

I was appalled, but I laughed. It was
absurd that he’d known me for the past two months, lived with me,
talked to me, seen me with my friends and through all of that he
had not discovered that wasn’t at all what I was about. I suppose
that meant he was paying very little attention.

“I am so insulted I don’t even know
how to respond to that.”

“Maybe try a little truth,” he said,
like maybe I’d been lying to him about things all along. Granted, I
did lie about the pregnancy, but so far he didn’t know about that
one.

Angry, I responded, “No, Aiden. I do
not want more money. I came here to ask you to please leave my
friends and family alone. Some of them genuinely don’t know where I
am staying and the ones who do are very loyal and would never tell
you, no matter what you offer them. So please, just leave them
alone. You and I and this deal are over. Like I said, get me an
accounting of what I owe you and I’ll send you weekly payments. It
may take me a while because I won’t be able to afford large
amounts.”

He raised only one eyebrow and said,
“I really don’t want your money but if it will make you feel better
about yourself, okay. Where should I send this
accounting?”

I handed him a piece of paper. I was
prepared for him asking that. It had a P.O. Box number on it. He
laughed and said, “Are you treating me like a stalker
now?”

“You showing up at a facility my
mother is receiving treatment at when you shouldn’t even have a
clue that she’s there makes you look like one, among other
things.”

“I’m sorry about that, truly. I
realized that was a mistake as soon as I did it. I’m glad they
didn’t let me talk to her. I wouldn’t have wanted to frighten her.
I’m not a monster, really. I just wanted so badly to talk to you
Holly.” I stood up.

“It’s funny, but now that I came here
and you finally have the chance to talk to me, you have nothing new
to say.”

He glared at me and said, “I’ll have
my assistant send you a bill.” I could feel the heat of his stare
on my back all the way out of the office and into the
elevator.

***

I allowed myself the rest of that day
to wallow in my self-pity and then I spent the next week searching
online for a job. I changed my number before I started filling out
applications and Rose, Myra, Joe and my mother’s facility were the
only people I gave it to other than potential employers. I trusted
them all not to give it out. I doubted Aiden would bug them again
anyways. I do think he got the message when I went to see him. I
was actually relieved now that I hadn’t let myself blurt out
anything about being pregnant. His attitude was as bad as ever, if
not worse. I was more convinced now than ever that I was doing the
right thing.

I called and talked to my mother again
and she said she was doing so well that they were going to start
letting her have visitors and then day passes not long after that.
I started thinking that it might be nice to be closer to where she
was. Maybe she and I could work on getting our relationship back,
and I could get a fresh start at the same time. I found a
restaurant in Scarsdale that was hiring and filled out an online
application. I was surprised and happy when the next day I got a
phone call from the manager of the restaurant.

“Hello is this Holly
Valentine?”

“Yes it is,” I said. For a second I
got a little worried. I was afraid it was a trick and Aiden was
going to get on the phone. I was getting paranoid. I had already
changed my number. The man on the other end continued.

“This is Frank Grant. I’m the manager
of Tagus Ranch Restaurant. I was looking over your application and
it looks great. You seem to be just what we’re looking for here. I
was wondering if you might be available to come in for an interview
on Friday?”

“Yes,” I told him, ecstatic. “Thank
you. Friday would be perfect.”

“Good, let’s say, two o’clock. Does
that work for you as well?”

“Two o’clock is good too. I will be
there, thank you again so much.” I hung up, ready to dance on the
rooftops. That only lasted a few minutes before I began to wonder
what I should do about my pregnancy. I was only two and a half
months along so it wasn’t apparent yet, but it would be soon and I
hated to start off a new job with a lie. Would he be willing to
hire me if he knew that I was expecting? It would be a headache to
him when it was time for me to go on leave, I’m sure. But I
couldn’t wait until the baby was born to get a job. I had some
savings but not enough to last for six months and get ready for a
baby in the process. I decided to go see Joe. He would know what my
chances were of getting a job while I was carrying a child. He
would also know how bad it might be if I lied about it. After I
already had the job, he couldn’t very well fire me for being
pregnant. I hated lying though.