The Billionaire's Forgiveness (A Winters Love Book 3) (6 page)

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CHAPTER SIX

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AARON

I followed Robyn to the bathroom and saw her once again vomiting into the toilet. She’d gone completely pale and her hands were trembling before she ran into the bathroom. It seemed to be happening often and when you coupled that with the fact that she’d been just a little off in her moods lately and really emotional, I started to think maybe she was pregnant. It surprised me, but I would have thought that I’d freak out just at the thought. I wasn’t freaking out though. I was worried about her, but I was thinking of all of the scenarios in my head that went along with being a father. None of it frightened me any longer. I was kind of hoping that I was right.

I decided to just ask her outright. When I did, she looked up at me with wide eyes and then she started laughing like a crazy person. She laughed until she had tears streaming down her face and then she said, “Oh God, I’m so sorry!” She started sobbing. I got down on my knees next to her and tried to take her in my arms but she pushed me back. “No, don’t be nice,” she said. I was thoroughly confused.

“Baby, I’m not mad. I’m actually happy…”

“Oh God! I’m not pregnant, Aaron.” She turned back to the toilet and began heaving again. I didn’t know what to do. When she finished I helped her up and over to the sink.

“Can you take the bread out of the oven for me, please? I’ll be out in a minute.”

“Are you okay?”

“No,” she said. “But, I will finally tell you why. I just need a minute.” I was hesitant to leave her. She looked terrible all of a sudden. I started to argue but she said, “Aaron, please!” I left her there and went out to the kitchen. I took the bread out and turned off the oven. Then I poured us both another glass of wine. Realizing that wasn’t going to help, I poured the wine out and got a cold bottle of water out of the refrigerator for her. I waited, restlessly for about fifteen minutes before she came out at last.

“Baby, I’m so worried about you,” I told her.

She sat down and said, “I know, I’m so sorry.” Robyn took a deep breath and said, “What I’m about to tell you is going to be shocking and upsetting… and I promise you I will tell you everything. I’m going to ask you to let me get through it though before you ask any questions. I’ll answer them all, but after I get through this, okay?”

She was really scaring me, but I was definitely willing to listen. I nodded and said, “Of course. You can tell me anything.”

She swallowed hard like her mouth was dry and then she said, “Please don’t let them put Hayley in jail.” I started to say something and she held up her hand to stop me. Tears were quietly streaming down her face as she talked. My heart was breaking for her, but I kept my mouth shut. “I need to start at the beginning,” she said, dragging a hand through her hair. “When my parents died, I had just finished High School. I had decided to get a job in New York to help fund my College tuition and was paying rent and utilities on my own apartment. I found out after they died that they were in debt. I never knew they were… but anyways, that’s not the point. The point is that after I buried them and sold their house and paid their bills… I had nothing. I lost my job because of the anxiety attacks; I lost my apartment because I couldn’t afford to pay my bills… I didn’t know what to do and the two people I would normally have turned to were gone. I was alone. A friend of mine at work told me about her aunt. She said that her aunt had gotten into some financial troubles and she had found a strange but effective way to get out of it. She said there were men who needed a wife so that they could stay in the country…”

I was beginning to feel sick to my stomach myself. I wasn’t sure where she was going with this, but I could tell that is was going nowhere good. I had to force myself to stay quiet. I was tempted to stop her there… I didn’t want to hear anything bad about her, even if it was a bad decision that she made. But I kept my mouth shut and I waited for it.

“I met with a man from Russia. His name is Igor Razinsky. I married him four weeks later. I was paid fifteen thousand dollars. I used that money to pay off all of my parents’ bills and my student loans and then I came here to start my life over. I was never supposed to see him again.”

“But you did?” The wheels were turning in my head now. There had to be a reason she was telling me this now. He must have shown back up, and from what I know about these things, he was demanding something from her.

She nodded. “The night of the party when I told you I was sick. He stopped me on my way out to get air that night, blind-sided me. He told me he needed money and if I didn’t get it for him he would go to you and prove we were still married. He said he would talk to the media… sell his story…”

I couldn’t sit still any longer. I pushed away from the table and stood up. I knew now in my gut what she was about to tell me, but I still didn’t want to hear it. I didn’t want to believe it.

“How much money did he want?” I asked her.

Sobbing, Robyn looked up at me and said, “Seventy-five thousand dollars. I spent two weeks embezzling it. I gave it to him and he gave me the marriage certificate. I planned on paying it back, I swear I did…”

“Why Robyn? Why would you steal from me… not just me, my stockholders, instead of just asking me for the money?”

“I was so afraid. I was sick for three days. I didn’t know what to do at first. I convinced myself that you would think I was only with you for the money and I swear that’s not it… Oh God Aaron, I’m so afraid of losing you. I don’t know… I don’t…” She was crying so hard that she was gasping for breath. She could hardly speak but she went on to say, “I don’t expect your forgiveness… I know that I’ve screwed up too badly! Please call right now and make sure that Hayley doesn’t spend a second in jail! Oh God! What have I done? I’ll go to jail, I should… I deserve to… But then that sullies your reputation still! Oh God!” She had herself wrapped in a bear hug and she was rocking back and forth. I was just standing there, looking at her.

Finally I said, “You’re such a smart woman. I can’t believe how stupid you’ve been about this.” Maybe I should have phrased that better. All that statement did was release another torrent of sobs and tears. She needed to hear this though, so I went on, “This man is not going to go away. People who will resort to blackmail and strong-arming someone… they will not just easily fade into the sunset. He’ll be back and he’ll want more.”

Between hiccups and sobs Robyn said, “He gave me the marriage certificate, the original one…”

I felt like my head was going to explode. “Dear God, Robyn! Do you think that’s the only record of it. Use your head! It’s on record with the state and the county that you were married in. All he has to do is show his I.D. to get another original copy. Hell, it’s public record, anyone can pull a copy offline.”

She started crying again. I didn’t know if I wanted to hug her or throttle her. I was shocked that she would resort to stealing, that she would risk jail to keep from having to come to me. What did I seem like to her? Was I some kind of tyrant? I would have been annoyed that she hadn’t told me all of this before, yes. But, I would have helped her… we could have done it right… Damn! I needed to call off the investigators and start the process of re-instating Hayley… poor thing.

My thoughts were interrupted by the ringing of a telephone. Robyn looked at me like she expected it to be mine. I shrugged, mine was in the car. She looked over at the counter where hers was laying, it was silent. She got up and went into the living room and I followed her. The ringing was getting louder. She reached for a parcel sitting on a table by the door. That was what was ringing. It stopped and before Robyn got the parcel opened, it started again. When she pulled it out she put it to her ear and said, “Hello?” Then she pressed the speaker button and I heard a strong male voice with a Russian accent.

“Hi babe, it’s me.”

“Igor, what do you want? We’re finished with each other.”

“I’m sorry babe. I need a little more cash.”

“No! I gave you all you’re going to get!”

“I don’t like your tone. I’m standing here with a fresh copy of our marriage certificate, should I just call Mr. Winters right now?”

Robyn looked at me, her eyes pleading. I mouthed to her to tell him one week. She put the phone back to her mouth and said, “No, don’t call him. I’ll get the money but I’ll need time again…”

“I cannot wait two more weeks…”

“One,” she said. “Give me one more week.”

“Okay baby, I’ll expect a call in three days.” The line went dead. A blind rage was coursing through my veins. If the man had been standing in front of me, I may have done something that would send me to jail.

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CHAPTER SEVEN

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ROBYN

I was standing there still holding the phone looking at Aaron and wondering where we would go from here. He looked so angry and I felt so bad. I started thinking about it all again and before I knew it, I was hanging over the toilet again, heaving and coughing and trying to breathe. When I finished my dry heaves I sat back against the wall and pressed my face into the towel. I couldn’t get my breath, I literally felt like I was going to die. I looked up and saw Aaron standing in the doorway looking at me again. I remembered earlier when he asked me if I was pregnant and actually seemed happy about the possibility and my whole body started shaking and I started crying again.

Aaron came over then and sat down next to me. I couldn’t believe that he hadn’t walked out yet. I was waiting for him to get on his phone and call the authorities and have me hauled away. I was a thief and a liar… I deserved it. In spite of all of that I suddenly felt Aaron’s arm stretch around me. He pulled me into his chest and held me there and that act of kindness after everything I’d done put me over the edge once more.

He sat there on the floor of the bathroom with me, Aaron Winters, CEO of Winters Inc. One of the youngest billionaires in the world, the smartest man I’ve ever known, was sitting on the floor of my bathroom holding me after I had both lied to him and stolen from him.

He reached down and took my chin in his fingertips. Tilting my face up towards his he said, “All I want is you. I don’t care about the money, or the business or your past. I care about your present and your future and I want to be a part of that. I wish that you would have come to me, but maybe I played a part in you being unsure that it was okay to do that.”

“You’re not going to leave me?” I said, in a pathetic sounding sob. I was beginning to annoy myself.

“No, not unless you want me to,” he said. I clutched onto the shirt he was wearing with both hands, the shirt I probably ruined with my running make-up.

“There is nothing I want less than that. I tried to imagine what my life was going to be like when you left me… I couldn’t do it… I love you so much.”

Aaron kissed me on top of my head and said, “I love you so much too. We can fix this… together. You have to trust me though, always. Please don’t ever lie to me again. I don’t know if we could get past another one.”

I felt like a house had fallen on me and Aaron had just lifted it off. I was still afraid it wasn’t real. I was in utter disbelief that he would forgive me. “Never, ever, ever! I will never lie to you again. I do trust you and I will do anything to earn your trust back. I’m so sorry, Aaron. I’m so very sorry!”

He pulled me back against his chest and sat there rocking me like a baby saying, “Shh, it’s going to be alright. Everything is going to be okay.”

AARON

I finally got Robyn up off the floor. We never did eat the lasagna. I spent the rest of the night holding her and reassuring her that I wasn’t going to leave her. I didn’t believe for a second that she was with me for my money. I had come to know her well and she was the least materialistic person that I’d ever known. I had also seen the diamond necklace I gave her for Valentine’s day laying on her dresser. If she was interested only in the money, she could have pawned that necklace easily for fifty of the seventy-five she needed. The fact that she didn’t reaffirmed that she loved me.

I was still angry, but at this man who would take advantage of a young girl in need the way this Igor person had. If he hadn’t seen a photo of her with me in the paper he probably would have left her alone. But, once he found out that she was involved with a billionaire, the opportunistic bastard jumped on it. The thought of how upset and frightened she must have been upset me terribly.

The next morning I told Robyn to take the day off work. I left her in bed with assurances that I would be back later. The first thing I did was call off the internal investigation on Hayley. My men knew better than to ask any questions, they just did as I asked. The next thing I did was make a call to the bank where I held my personal accounts. I had seventy-five thousand dollars transferred back into the business account. Once that was done, I checked online to make sure it was back in place. I saw that a five hundred dollar credit had been made on Monday morning. Robyn had started paying it back already… she hadn’t even told me that she’d done that. It again reaffirmed my faith in her character.

I had Jeffrey take me to city hall then and I went to the mayor’s office.

“Hi Sarah!” The mayor’s assistant was at her desk. She was an older woman who had been with him for years. She and I were well acquainted.

“Well hello Aaron! How nice to see you. How have you been?”

“I’m doing well, thank you. I need to have a word with his honor if he’s not too busy.”

“He’s never too busy for you,” she said. She pushed a button and said, “Sir, Aaron Winters is here to see you.”

“Send him in,” was the reply.

I went in and found him seated behind his desk. He got up and shook my hand.

“How the hell are you?”

“I’m doing well, for the most part,” I told him.

“I saw a photo of you and your lovely lady in the paper the other day. You both look happy.” “We are… for the most part,” I said. “Robyn’s actually the reason I’m here. We have a problem and I need your help to deal with it.”

“Of course,” he said. “Whatever you need, you know that.”

“I need records of a marriage to disappear off the face of the earth.”

The look on his face might have been funny if I was in an amused kind of mood. “I’m sorry, I don’t understand…”

I proceeded to tell him the story. I didn’t mention the embezzlement but I told him about Robyn’s marriage and the man’s blackmail. When I finished he said, “Oh dear, it sounds like he should be in jail.”

“That’s my next step,” Aaron told him. “I’ll be going over to One Police Plaza as soon as I leave here. “

The mayor was nodding, “Under the circumstances you’ve described… I may have a clerk who can take care of something like that for you. Meantime, I’ll call over to the police chief and make sure he helps you out however you need him to.”

“I can’t tell you how much I appreciate this,” I told him.

“I know you do,” he said. “This city appreciates all you do for it, I’m sure. You go take care of your lady and tell her she doesn’t have any paperwork to fear here in city hall any longer.” I thanked him again and shook his hand before I left. When I got back to the car I gave Jeffrey the address of our next stop, Hayley’s apartment.

I knocked on the door and I heard, “Who is it?”

“It’s Aaron Winters.”

I heard a sharp intake of breath and just that small sound was enough to make me feel awful. She was frightened of me, or at least what I had the power to do to her. I didn’t like that at all.

Hayley opened the door a crack and peered out at me. She looked like she’d been crying. Her eyes were swollen and her nose was red. “What can I do for you?” she said. “I spoke to an attorney and he said that I shouldn’t talk to any of you when he’s not present…”

“It’s okay Hayley. I’m here to do the talking. May I just have five minutes of your time, please?”

She still looked worried, but she stepped back and let me in the door. The place was small, but neat and tidy. I actually felt huge standing in the middle of her living room. She didn’t invite me to sit down however and I didn’t blame her.

“First of all Hayley I owe you a very large apology.”

“For?” She was looking at me, suspiciously.

“For accusing you of something that I have since found out you had nothing to do with. As a matter of fact, the money had just gotten moved somewhere else and no one had taken it at all. So from my heart Hayley, I am so very sorry for whatever you’ve been through the last couple of days.” She looked hopeful then as I went on, “I realize that you may not want to keep working for me after this, but I assure you if you do I will change your job status from “Paid Intern” to “Full Time Employee” effective immediately. I also have a check here for you,” I said, taking it out of my wallet. “In hopes that this might compensate somewhat for the humiliation of what you’ve been through.”

Hayley was looking at the check in my hand like she couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Finally she swallowed and said, “Thank you, Mr. Winters. I’m so glad you found out that it wasn’t me. I love my job there and I would love to keep it. I realize that everyone makes mistakes, and I heartily forgive you for yours. But as far as that check there goes, you don’t have to do that…”

“Please, Hayley. I know it seems like a bribe, but I’m not asking you for anything. I just want you to have it in order to ease my own conscience.” She looked at it again. I could see just in the room I was in that there were many things she could use it for. I didn’t doubt that she, like Robyn, had plenty of student loans to pay off.

She finally, shyly took the check from my hand. She looked at it one last time and now with tears in her eyes she said, “Thank you so much!”

“You’re welcome. I’m so sorry.”