A Sweet Deal (Crimson Romance) (17 page)

The journey from the parking garage to Yvette’s office seemed interminable, until he finally reached the correct floor and approached her office. Her assistant sat at a desk outside her door, apparently prepared to keep her safe from unwanted visitors, such as the father of her child. The young man smiled up at Richard pleasantly and asked how he could help.

Richard looked down at the name plate sitting at the front of the desk and gave him his most disarming smile. “Good afternoon, Tate. Richard Morgan to see Ms. Cruz.”

Tate turned to his computer screen, brow furrowed. “Mr. Morgan, I don’t have an appointment for you, and Ms. Cruz is not receiving visitors right now. May I tell her you stopped by?”

He gave the assistant a smile he hoped would put him at ease, a smile that smacked of camaraderie, and leaned closer. “I know she told you to refuse me, but I really need to see her. Is there any way we can work this out?”

Tate sat back in his chair and met Richard’s gaze. “Ms. Cruz isn’t receiving visitors.”

He put his hands up and took a step back. “Okay, I get it. She’s your boss and I’m just someone you’re supposed to keep out. Would you mind letting her know that I’m here? That way she can decide for herself whether or not to see me, and you stay out of trouble.”

“Mr. Morgan, I can see that you really want this, but Ms. Cruz mentioned your name specifically when giving me my instructions. She will not see you. She was very clear on that matter, and I’m sorry, but I will not go against her wishes.” Tate raised the receiver on his phone, his eyes never leaving Richard’s, as though he were prepared to contact security.

“Then I’m very sorry to have to do this.” Richard rushed past the desk, ignoring the look of confusion on the young man’s face, and threw open Yvette’s office door.

She whipped her head up then gasped, her eyes wide as he stood in the doorway. She looked guilty … trapped. Trapped by her betrayal, by her callous mistreatment of what they’d shared. When he’d arrived at Saffron, he was ready to forgive her on the spot, anything to get back to the way things were before. One thought of how she’d left him in the hospital, how she was so quick to use the situation to her advantage, and he couldn’t let it go. Not here in the office where it all began, at least.

A confrontation had to happen; there was no way around it. Steeled against the emotions that threatened to derail his plan, an icy calm washed over him and he finally spoke. “You’ve avoided me and refused to talk about any of this, and I’ve indulged you, for the baby’s sake, but now I’m done. We will have a child together, and only last week we were planning a life together. You don’t get to simply flit off whenever it suits you.”

She swallowed hard, but lifted her chin. “Maybe I’m done, too.”

That was rich. He’d come to her to air their problems and forgive her so they could move on. “You can be done, if that’s what you want, but today, right now, I need you to tell me why you left me at the hospital, mere hours after my father had a heart attack, without a word, without explanation.” A bit of the anger faded, and his voice softened. “I think you owe me that much. We deserve that much.”

“Fine.” She said tightly, looking as miserable as he felt. “Come in and sit down.”

He took a seat across the desk from her. “Why did you leave? Is this about my father?”

“Yes, I suppose it is.”

His head dropped, and his shoulders fell. Hearing it confirmed shot through his gut. “I was afraid of that, but it doesn’t make it any easier to take. You’re not the woman I thought you were, the woman I’d hoped you were.”

“
I’m
not the woman you thought I was?”

He ignored her, continuing on. “I guess there’s not much left to do but decide how to proceed.”

“How to proceed?” She sounded confused. Did she really think he would walk away from his child?

“I can’t lie to you; this is bad. It hurts, worse than anything I can imagine. But I still want to be with you, to raise our child together. It’ll take some time, but I will forgive you and we can move on.”

She tipped her head back, her brows knitted together. “What the hell are you talking about? I don’t need you to forgive me, because we’re done.”

“Wow. Well, even if you and I aren’t together, we need a plan for how we’re going to manage the custody of the baby. I still intend to be involved in his life, so we are most certainly not done.”

“So that’s it?” She asked, her temper finally piquing. “You want to make custody arrangements? Wow. You know, not so long ago, I thought we had a chance, that things had changed between us. I might have even thought we could fall in love.” She scoffed, displaying the fire and fury that was missing earlier. “What a joke. Only you, Richard, could betray me, lie right to my face, and then simply discard the relationship without so much as an apology. I’m glad I uncovered your true colors when I did. Obviously, I saved myself a lot of heartache down the road.”

His laugh was harsh, surprised. “What do you mean? I didn’t betray you. You’re the one who left when my father was too ill to negotiate a deal with you and your company. Once you figured out that I would be in charge, you knew that there was no way you’d make any headway on the merger.”

“Is that what you think? Unbelievable!” Her voice rose, but she quickly caught herself and reverted to an unflappable professional persona. “You’ve got half of it right. I did leave you because you gained control of your company.”

“I still can’t believe it.” He spit out the words, furious but wanting badly for it not to be true.

“I left because of
how
you gained control of Morgan Confectioners. I heard everything that night in the hospital, Richard—everything. I know why you proposed, and it makes me sick. Your father offered you control of the company if you got married, and you took the deal.”

He felt the blood drain from his head, and for a moment he was speechless. “Oh God, Yvette, you don’t have the whole story. That’s not how it is at all. I can explain everything.”

“What’s to explain? Did your father offer you control of the company if you got married or not?”

“Yes.” Richard almost whispered. Her face fell, and she tilted back in her chair.

“But that’s not why I proposed! I never accepted his offer, and my feelings for you are genuine. I never considered using you to get what I wanted.” He sat forward, wishing he could get closer but knowing she would rebuff him. “Yvette, I have been falling in love with you.”

“You—” she paused, seething. “You have been lying to my face. To my face, Richard! Why did you even want me to stay here if you thought so little of me? If you thought I was the kind of person who would leave because I didn’t get what I wanted in business?”

“Yes, I thought that you left for selfish reasons, but I put that aside for the sake of your health. Yours and the baby’s. That’s all I was thinking of.”

“How very noble of you. You know, I thought my job was getting in the way of your heart’s desire, that I was responsible for threatening your legacy. I felt horrible, like I shouldn’t be doing it.” Her voice cracked, and she swallowed hard. “Now I just feel like a fool.”

“No, don’t. You’re not a fool. I am. I can’t believe I let it go this far.” He reached across the desk to touch her hand, but she snatched it away.

“Do you have any idea how difficult it was for me to let my feelings for you dictate what I did at work? I had to face losing the chance at becoming vice president for you, Richard. Vice president! But I almost did it for you, for your happiness.” The anger was deflating from her voice, turning into sadness, finality. “All along, you knew it didn’t matter what I did, and you just let me suffer. You let me worry about it, about you. Turns out you’re just fine without me.”

“I’m not, though. I’m so sorry about everything, and if I could take it back or do things differently I would.” Richard shook his head. “I need you, Yvette. I need you in my life.”

“I can’t believe a word you say. Everything that we’ve shared in the last month has been a lie.” Her eyes brimmed with unshed tears, but she held her head high.

“I know it sounds bad right now, but please, I’m begging you, let me explain.” He pleaded with her, knowing he sounded desperate but unable to care.

“What is there to explain? Even if I could get past the deal you made with Michael, could believe that it had nothing to do with your proposal, am I supposed to be okay with the fact that you still thought so little of me that you believed I left you the night your father could have died because of something I had to do for work? I think that says more about you and your attachment to your precious company than anything about me. It’s time you took a long look in the mirror, Richard. You really thought that my professional ambition was strong enough that nothing else mattered to me. If you think so little of me, why would you want me to stay?”

“I don’t think I ever really believed that you left because of my father, it was just the easiest explanation. I think I was too afraid to face the possibility that you might not feel the same way about me, and I assumed the worst, that I’d been burned by someone who I’d cared about. Just like before.” Her face was impassive, and there was nothing more he could add, no way to make it better. “If there’s any way I can make this up to you, I’ll do it. Anything.”

“I don’t know what would make this better. I really don’t. This baby, the fact that I was able to get pregnant at all, is a miracle, and it’s tainted with your betrayal. You’ve treated us like a business transaction, and that’s why I have to go. I have to do what’s best for the baby.”

Her hand flew to her stomach, and he was immediately sorry for the confrontation, for the betrayal, everything. He rushed to her side and knelt beside her chair.

“Are you okay? I’m sorry, so sorry. I never meant for this to happen.” He laid a hand over hers, only to have her jerk back as though she’d been burned.

“What more do you want from me, Richard?” She sounded defeated, bullied even. With rising concern, he took in the dark circles under her eyes, her waxy pale complexion, and sucked in a breath.

“What’s wrong?”

She winced and quickly recovered her neutral expression. “I’m fine.”

“You don’t look fine.” He took her hand, relieved that this time she let him.

At his touch, fat tears fell from her eyes, dripping onto her lap and darkening the purple fabric of her skirt. Yvette slumped over and shook her head. “Of course I’m not fine, Richard. None of this is fine.” She grimaced and tensed up, sending an icy fear through him.

“What’s happening?”

“Just cramping, a little nausea. I probably just need rest, and time alone.” She sniffled and wiped tears from her cheek as she straightened her spine, appearing determined to appear strong again. “I’ll be fine.” She took a deep breath and visibly calmed herself.

“This doesn’t sound fine. Let me take you to the doctor and get everything checked out. Then we’ll know for sure.” Suddenly nothing mattered but Yvette and the baby. Not the argument, not their relationship, nothing.

She winced again, this time not trying to minimize her pain. “Okay, I guess that won’t hurt anything.”

A uniformed security guard arrived at her office door, hands on his hips and a stern look on his face. “Is everything okay in here, Ms. Cruz?”

Richard stood and faced the security guard as Yvette waved her hand dismissively. “I’m fine, everything’s fine. False alarm.” She offered him a weak smile, and the officer narrowed his eyes.

“Do you need me to escort this gentleman from the premises?” The security guard widened his stance and straightened his back.

“No, it’s fine. I’m sorry that Tate called you.” She waved him away again before suddenly doubling over in pain. Her fingers dug into Richard’s hand, and she looked up at him with panic in her eyes. “Can you take me to the doctor’s office?” She uttered the last word through gritted teeth as she squeezed her eyes shut.

“Of course, let’s go.” He helped her to her feet, steadied her in his arms, and walked her to the door.

The guard stepped to the side, and she leaned on him as they rushed down the hall together.

• • •

Yvette sat up on the vinyl exam table and adjusted her clothes as she got comfortable. The paper liner rustled beneath her, and she moved her gaze to the sonogram monitor screen, the tiny counter holding tubes and jars, the poster on the wall. Anything to avoid making eye contact with Richard.

She’d let her guard slip in the rush of getting to her doctor’s office, had let him care for her. She’d accepted his loving touches, his concerned eyes giving her port in the storm. The baby was fine, she was fine, and with the haze of panic lifting, she needed to reclaim her distance from him. Restoring the buffer of space between them was the only way she could guard against her feelings for him. Now was the time to remain strong, to forget how her heart leapt when he appeared in her office.

How had she been so stupid? So foolish as to think that he had turned around? Of course his feelings for her were and always had been motivated by his own selfish desires. He’d proposed to gain control of Morgan Confectioners and end her bid for acquisition, nothing more. Why had she let herself believe that their relationship could be real?

“Mrs. Cruz, it looks like everything is as it should be. The baby’s heartbeat is strong, and everything looks good. I think you just had some round ligament pain, which can be frightening, but isn’t dangerous. I’d like for you to get some light exercise and gentle stretches into your routine. That will go a long way towards keeping your body healthy.” The doctor squeezed her ankles and legs, gently assessing for swelling. “Your blood pressure is a little high, but you don’t have any serious swelling. That’s something we’ll need to keep an eye on. Pain and stress can increase blood pressure, and that’s what I think happened today, but I do want you to be mindful and let me know if your symptoms persist or get worse.”

“Okay.” She swallowed hard before finding her voice. She’d let Richard Morgan have too much power over her, had given him too much influence in her life. Now that she had a baby to worry about, it was more important to insulate herself against him and the damage he caused. “Do you think this has anything to do with my radiation treatment? Is the pregnancy too fragile?”