OLDER MAN: The Secretary's Secret Baby (Best Friend Brother Pregnancy Romance) (New Adult Sport Comedy Romance) (3 page)

When the wedding lunch arrived I was so apprehensive. My sister Jessica was in my loft to keep an eye on Jared and to help me pick an outfit. The wedding lunch was kind of easygoing formal and it was the first of numerous occasions to happen before the genuine wedding.

"What do you think of this one?" I said as I exited displaying a maroon fitted dress with my long blonde hair down.

"It's ideal," she said. "Try not to be anxious. It is simply lunch. You look incredible."

"Much thanks to you." I looked over at my child playing with toys.

Jessica, detecting my tension said, "Don't stress. It is just one more week.

"OK yes, you're correct. I simply need to stay calm. Do the bridesmaid stuff and leave with a neighborly hello to Matthew and I will be fine," I said as I gave Jared a kiss and Jessica an embrace and left to the luncheon.

When I arrived some individuals were at that point sitting while other's mingled with mimosas sitting tight for it to begin. When I strolled in I saw Matthew. He looked more appealing than on television. I began to sweat.

"Gina! I am so happy you came!" Melissa said as she stood up and gave me a major embrace. I embraced her back and grinned glad that she came to me with the goal that I would not need to gracelessly enter. At that point I turned upward from her and my eyes bolted with Matthew's. I solidified for a brief moment as I became mixed up in his blue eyes. I broke out of my frozen state and grinned. Melissa saw the exchange and pulled me over to him.

"Matthew, its good to see you," I said as I embraced him. When I touched him my entire body woke up.

"It’s good to see you too Gina," he said.

"Kindly come sit by me Gina. We have such a great amount to make up for lost time with," Melissa said making the meeting amongst Matthew and I brief. I was appreciative for it. Since the first meeting was over now, I could breath a bit. I sat with Melissa and each time I looked toward Matthew I discovered him gazing at me. It made me feel energized and anxious.

After the lunch everybody stood up and mingled and I got another glass of champagne. I think it was my third glass as I required something to quiet my nerves. I found an edge of the room far from the gathering so I would not be compelled to talk with Matthew. In any case, I didn't think he would discover me and single me out alone.

"You look good Sara," he said, as he strikingly took a gander at me here and there.

"You do too Matthew. Congrats on your career you are doing so well. I am extremely proud of you," as I took a sip.

"Much obliged to you. How have you been? I heard you had a child," he said.

Crash! The glass slipped out of my hand as I was so stunned by his inquiry. His eyes extended at my reaction and I kind of remained there solidified. Did he think about Jared? What amount did he know? Did he think Jared was his?

"Whoa! Are you okay? Get back don't walk on the glass," he said moving me far from it.

"Yes, sorry it slipped from my hand," I said as I moved away.

"It happens," he said with a grin.

"So tell me about your child. What is his name?" he said again.

"Yes, I’m sorry. His name is Jared," I said squirming.

"I would love to meet him. Will he be at the wedding?" he inquired.

"No he is excessively too young for such things," I said attempting to step far from him as I looked around the room for another conversation to join.

"Well then I will simply need to drop by your place to meet him,"

I didn't reply. I just remained there, staggered. He knew. He had to know. He was acting peculiar and direct about it. Why was he doing this? I didn't realize what to do when all of a sudden…

"Gina there you are! Come the bridesmaids are getting together to discuss the bridesmaid dresses. Sorry brother" Melissa said as she pulled me far from Matthew without a moment to spare. I was appreciative for the obstruction yet something let me know that wasn't the end of Matthew prying about my child… our child.

Now that I had made it through the luncheon and meeting and seeing Matthew again for the first time in years I felt a sense of relief. I finally felt a bit of a weight lifted off my shoulder after having to go through all of that. I sat at my desk at work and thought about everything that had happened when I saw him. I thought about how he had stared at me from across the table. Then I thought about how he had asked me about my son. I knew that I had got really nervous and that it made me look suspicious but I didn't know what else to do.

"Are you going to sit there and daydream all day or are you going to work?” my boss said as he stood behind me.

I snapped out of my gaze and then began to work, "I am sorry."

I worked hard in order to distract myself from thinking about Matthew, but that was not good enough because Matthew ended up showing up.

"Matthew Jenison! It is so good to see you! Do you think I could get your autograph?” my boss shouted as the front door opened.

I looked up to see Matthew strolling into the insurance office.

"What the hell is he doing here?" I whispered to myself.

"Yes, of course no problem," Matthew said as he shook the hand of my boss and signed a photo for him and then he said, "I am actually here to see Gina. She does work here does she not?" Matthew asked my boss.

My boss looked stunned for a second and then said, "Gina, of course yes she is right over there. She is one hell of a star worker. We love having her working here," my boss said lying through his teeth. Matthew looked in my direction and I smiled and waved a little like an awkward dork. He waved back with a grand bright grin and his blue eyes lit up. Then he said his goodbyes to my boss and walked straight over to my desk. I was in such shock that I did not even have time to feel embarrassed by my work situation. Because he was a very successful and rich man, and here I was in a dumpy small office in our small town getting low wages.

"Hey Gina," Matthew said as he sat on the top of my desk in a casual way.

"Hey Matthew, you came here for me?" I said with a confused look on my face.

"Yes I asked around a bit and was told that you work here. So I thought I would come see you in action. Maybe we can go grab lunch, or I could take you to dinner later," he said as he looked at me locking his eyes with mine making my heart skip a beat.

"You asked around about me?" I said arching my eyebrows at him.

"Yes, of course I did why is that so unusual? We really didn't get to finish talking yesterday at the luncheon and you sort of ran out of there before I could get another word in. If I didn't know any better I would think you are avoiding me," he laughed out the words a little. It made me very nervous and all I could say was, "No, that is not the case at all. I am just a very busy woman."

As he talked and flirted with me I could not believe that he was seeming interested in me. Considering that he is a famous professional athlete and that I am a small town nobody from his past, I did not measure up with the models that he dated. I was in disbelief about his attentions toward me. Then I realized that I knew exactly what he was doing. He was known as a player off and on the court. He had a reputation for being a womanizer, and he must be here in order to make me his small town fling. He must be very bored. In fact I was shocked that he did not bring a date here to his sisters wedding like a famous actress or a model. Now, he must be regretting that choice and he is looking for some hot action. After what we had experienced in the past he must think that I would be OK with such a thing. That I could handle a quick casual encounter and have some fun. If the circumstances weren't what they were perhaps I could, but they weren't. Having a casual encounter with Matthew would only hurt me and make me feel worse than I already did. I would not be able to handle such heartbreak after all these years. It would be too much for me. But now that I knew where he was going with this I felt better about turning him down.

"So what do you say? Want to grab lunch?" He asked me with a delicious grin.

"Oh Matthew that is very kind, but I really can't. I have so much work to do that I can't take a break. I am so sorry," I said nervously trying to make sure that he did not see right through me.

"OK, I can understand that. How about if we grab dinner then, I can come pick you up at your place."

"No!" I accidentally shouted as I did not want him to show up at my apartment unannounced and see Jared. I suddenly felt silly for yelling and then I laughed a little. He laughed and said, "OK, I didn't realize dinner with me would be so horrific."

"No, I am sorry I did not mean for it to come out that way. Dinner with you would be great, but I am just so busy and I would have to get a babysitter and that takes time. Maybe some other night before you leave back to Los Angeles," I said trying to make him feel hopeful that dinner would happen eventually, even though I knew that I would not go. But I just needed to get him out of here because he continue to ask questions and would not take no for an answer. If my boss were to overhear that I was turning down lunch with him in order to work, I'm sure he would step in and say that I could take two hours for lunch if I wanted to.

"Thank you for stopping by Matthew. Let me walk you out side," I said trying to get him out the door.

He stopped and gave me a very awkward look for a long time and then I thought I saw a flutter of sadness. Then he turned toward the door and then turned back to me and said, "That is all right I think I can show myself out."

"Thank you for stopping by," I said with a week smile. I was holding back tears. I wanted to tell him everything. I wanted to let loose and just get the truth out in the open. I bit my lower lip as he looked at me as though he knew that something was wrong but he knew that I was not going to tell him. He nodded a goodbye to me and then said, "I'll see you at the wedding."

Then he walked out as my boss trailed behind him lavishing compliments on him and walking him out the door. I sighed in relief. Then I grabbed my purse and ran to the ladies room. As soon as I closed the door the floodgates opened and tears ran down my face. This was why I grabbed my purse, in order to camouflage my tear stained face with my make up bag.

Now that I had made it through the luncheon and meeting and seeing Gina again for the first time in years I felt a sense of relief but also a sense of wonder. I wondered what she was hiding. I had known her almost all my life. She practically grew up in my house and therefore I knew her mannerisms. It was easy to know when she was feeling uneasy about something. It wasn’t hard to see it on her face. She was such a nice and gentle heart that lying made her feel uncomfortable and it was obvious on her face when she did lie. During the luncheon when I started to ask her about her life, she got very nervous and dropped the champagne glass. It was a big show of, and even my sister had said that Gina was very mysterious. That she sat with her for coffee and learned absolutely nothing about her. No one knew where she lived, or where she worked. Heck, no one even knew who the father of her child was and we could all only assume it happened from a casual encounter or a boyfriend that was no longer around. It was all a big mystery. The more that Gina seemed mysterious, the more I wanted to learn about her. The more I needed to know what she was hiding. I was feeling very intrigued by her secretive way of living. This was a small town and everyone knew everything about everyone. That’s how it worked around here. Now that I was a celebrity athlete everyone knew about my life. So I set about trying to learn more about her. It was going to be easy in this place.

“Hey Matthew! Good to have you back!” the manager of the local Dairy Queen said as I walked in. This used to be our hang out as was standard for a small town.

“Hello, Virginia!” I said giving the old woman a kiss on the cheek.

“Here for your sister’s wedding I hear?” she said.

“Yep, the big day. Could I get a root beer float maybe?” I said sitting down casually acting like I did not have an ulterior agenda but I did.

“Yes, of course. Well tell your sister our congratulations for us,” she said.

“I definitely will,” I said as I grabbed the straw of the root beer float she put in front of me.

“Mmm just like old times,” I said.

“Excellent, glad you like it. Speaking of old times are you having fun seeing your old high school friends? Must be strange after being a big celebrity basketball player to come back here and talk to them,” she said wiping the counter with a towel.

“Yes, it is. In fact I wanted to visit Gina, my sister’s friend today at her work,” I said.

“Oh yes, Gina she’s working over at the insurance office on Main Street. Been working there for a few years now. She is still a beauty isn’t she?” Virginia said.

“Yes, she is,” I said smiling and agreeing.

“And that son of hers is absolutely beautiful! Gorgeous blue eyes and blonde hair and tall for his age! My goodness!” she said as she moved away to take an order from customers.

“Yes, I can’t wait to meet him,” I said under my breath.

Now that I knew where she worked I would be heading straight there.

I walked out of the Dairy Queen giving autographs and taking photos with people when they asked then I got in my car. I drove down Main Street to the only insurance office in our town. I parked and then looked at myself in the mirror fixing my hair and making sure there was nothing in my teeth. This was unusual for me. I rarely cared about such things before seeing a woman. It was usually the other way around. I got out of my car and walked into the small office. It was fairly bare and casual and had not changed much since I lived here. The owner was always such an ass and I hated the idea of Gina having to work for him. In that moment I wanted to rescue her, a very strange and unusual feeling. As soon as I walked in the glass door, the annoying man himself was already up and coming my way with his hand out for me to shake.

"Matthew Jenison! It is so good to see you! Do you think I could get your autograph?” he shouted in an obnoxious enthusiastic manner. Well at least he was a fan and would probably let me take Gina out for a long lunch without any opposition.

"Yes, of course no problem," I said as I shook his hand and took the opportunity to look around the office for Gina. Then the man pushed a photo of myself in my hand to sign. "I am actually here to see Gina. She does work here does she not?" I asked nicely.

The man looked stunned for a second and then said, "Gina, of course yes she is right over there. She is one hell of a star worker. We love having her working here,” I could tell that he was lying and probably treated her badly. But I would deal with that later. For now I wanted to see and talk to my mysterious Gina. I looked in her direction and I smiled and waved. Then I said goodbyes to the boss man and walked straight over to her desk. She had a look of shock on her face and I sort of liked having that effect on her.

"Hey Gina," I said as I sat on the top of her desk in a casual way.

"Hey Matthew, you came here for me?" she said with a confused look on her face.

"Yes I asked around a bit and was told that you work here. So I thought I would come see you in action. Maybe we can go grab lunch, or I could take you to dinner later," I said as I looked at her locking eyes with her.

"You asked around about me?" she said arching her eyebrows at me. It was very cute.

"Yes, of course I did why is that so unusual? We really didn't get to finish talking yesterday at the luncheon and you sort of ran out of there before I could get another word in. If I didn't know any better I would think you are avoiding me," I laughed out the words a little but I knew that there was some truth to it and I wanted to know why. "No, that is not the case at all. I am just a very busy woman,” she said shifting in her seat a bit.

As we talked and flirted a little, I wondered what she was thinking. It seemed like old times but she seemed very guarded toward me. It seemed like she didn’t trust me. I wondered if my player reputation has effected how she saw me? It was true that I was a player, but I would never treat her like that. Gina was different.

"So what do you say? Want to grab lunch?" I asked with grin.

"Oh Matthew that is very kind, but I really can't. I have so much work to do that I can't take a break. I am so sorry," she said nervously. I knew that she was hiding something.

"OK, I can understand that. How about if we grab dinner then, I can come pick you up at your place." I continued.

"No!" she shouted. I laughed and said, "OK, I didn't realize dinner with me would be so horrific."

"No, I am sorry I did not mean for it to come out that way. Dinner with you would be great, but I am just so busy and I would have to get a babysitter and that takes time. Maybe some other night before you leave back to Los Angeles," she said in a rambling sort of nervous way. Now she did not want to spend time with me alone. This was getting more and more mysterious.

"Thank you for stopping by Matthew. Let me walk you out side," she said trying to get rid of me. It was something that astounded me. I had not been treated like a regular person in a very long time. Usually people were doing everything they could to get to spend time with me and here was this woman trying to get rid of me. It both wounded me and turned me on at the same time.

"That is all right I think I can show myself out,” I said feeling a bit pissed off by her treatment of me.

"Thank you for stopping by," she said with a weak smile. Then she bit her lower lip as though she was trying to hold something back. It was very strange. I nodded a goodbye to her and then said, "I'll see you at the wedding."

Then I walked out and her annoying boss trailed behind me lavishing compliments on me and walking me out the door. I don’t know what the man said exactly because I stopped outside my car and peered back in through the glass just in time to see Gina running for the bathroom holding her hand over her mouth. Was she sick? Was she going to throw up? Perhaps she caught what her son had and that was why she did not want to go to lunch with me or dinner. Or was it something else? Was she holding back a wail of tears? It was all so strange and unusual. I leaned against my car as I pretended to listen to the boss man rattle on about his favorite basketball game that he saw me play in, but I was not paying attention. I stared at that door inside waiting for Gina to emerge but she did not. I almost went back inside to see if she was alright but I could not do that to my pride. She had already pretty much kicked me out of her workplace, and I did not want to be kicked out twice by her. It would be too much to deal with. I said my goodbyes to the boss man and then got in my car and drove away. For the rest of the night I could not stop thinking about Gina. What the hell was she hiding? Why did she turn me down? I had not been turned down by a woman in years. It was all very unusual.