Bound: The Pentagon Group, Book 3 (26 page)

I rolled my eyes, and gave him a ‘goodbye’ hug.

“I’ll see you on Friday,” I said, kissing him on the cheek.

“You need to be clear of your intentions, Perla, or you stand to lose everything,” Carson warned before I pulled away.

I nodded, already knowing the truth of his assertions.

“Will you still be around to pick up the pieces for me?” I asked, knowing the answer.

“Always,” he yelled as I walked away.

“Then that’s all that matters,” I shouted back with a smile on my face and dread in my heart.

*****

It was a good thing Matt didn’t show up at my apartment because I was deliriously exhausted. I reheated another fabulous meal prepared by Glynnis, understanding further why he kept her around for so many years. I had taken a picture of my sonogram on my smart phone, hiding the actual picture in my office. I fell asleep to all of the thoughts of our future, imaging Matt holding our baby.

The next work day, I was anxious. Nerves assaulted me, awaiting my reunion with Maggie for the first time in over a decade. I didn’t want to disappoint, or be disappointed by making her more special in my mind.

Brady greeted me at the entrance of Stock Well restaurant on Newbury Street. Josh remained in the entry area, refusing to wait in the car. “Who’s this?” Brady asked surprised.

“This is Josh, my body guard.”

“Matt still has security on you?” he asked.

“No. I’ve contracted for him to take care of me,” I said as I walked toward the table, seeing Maggie.

Maggie had changed so much in the last sixteen years. She aged beautifully. Her creamy skin remained pale as porcelain. Her dark brown hair was now completely gray devoid of the usual dullness in color and sheen. Her bright green eyes remained soft and loving. She was simply a sight for sore eyes, and all I wanted to do was burst into tears and remain in her embrace.

“Perlita, you still look as beautiful today as you did long ago. Let me look at you,” she said, turning me around.

I wore a simple magenta summer dress with a shawl to cover me up in case of indoor chills. We sat, ordering our drinks. Our conversations were plentiful as Brady watched us talk about our lives over the years.

“What do you think of my boy? Didn’t he turn out to be something amazing?” She asked in her fading Irish accent.

“He certainly did,” I smiled, not daring to look at him for fear he would interpret it differently than I intended.

We tried the first course while Maggie asked me questions about present day. “I hear you’re working for Pentagon. You’re some big mucky-muck like Shay, so how did you come about working for them? Did you know about Shay’s company?”

I took in a deep breath and didn’t know how to respond. Fortunately, Brady saved me.

“It was purely coincidental. She applied for a new position, and she was the most qualified. Could you ever imagine our little Perla ending up an executive at Pentagon? I thought she’d be a dancer in a big Ballet program in New York City or something,” Brady stated.

Maggie smiled, nodding and listening to his fictitious explanation.

“So are you dating? Tell me, are the men beating each other to get to your door?”

I decided it was best to be honest.

“Actually, I am dating,” I started. I explained my divorce and how I’ve grown from the experience.

“I’m thinking about dating Perla,” Brady chimed.

The second course was served, stopping the conversation temporarily. I looked at him with darkened eyes and knitted brow.

“Really? That’s not a good idea,” Maggie replied.

Relief overwhelmed my senses.

“What do you mean, mom?”

“Perla’s like your baby sister. You can’t date your baby sister. She needs to date someone who she can see as her partner in life and in bed,” she said, winking at me.

I smiled shyly.

“Mom, you don’t know what the hell you’re talking about,” Brady rebuked.

“I absolutely do know. Over the years we’ve talked about you, honey, and it is always the same. ‘Oh, how I wish Perla was my little girl. She would be a great daughter to me, and a sister to you. I would love for her children to consider me a grandmother or at the very least an aunt of some sort’,” she concluded.

Brady’s eyes were lit bright with anger.

“Well, I’d like to make her more than a sister, mom. As a matter-of-fact, I’m trying to date her, so she can eventually be my wife.”

“Are you mad?” Maggie asked. I sat back and watched the interplay between the two of them. For as furious as he got, Maggie was more incensed. “You can’t enter a young girl’s life as a friend, a brother figure, and then expect to reenter her life as a lover.”

“Time would show differently,” he countered.

“Let’s ask Perla,”

I was immobilized, rendered incapable of reply.

“Do you want to date, Shay?”

“I don’t know how to answer that, Maggie. I’m in love with someone else, but you’ve raised a fine man, and he’s so accomplished any woman would want to spend the rest of her life with him. Timing is all wrong, and I’ve met someone I’m very much in love with,”

Brady interrupted, “Perla and I are working through many of those issues you’ve raised, and I think we can work through them to be a really great partnership.”

“You sound like it’s a business deal,” she assessed.

“Partnerships need set limits and expect—,” he said. In response, she sucked her teeth and shooed his words with a wave of her hand.

“Unfortunately, Brady, I already had a marriage of convenience, and I learned I will never again participate in a marriage for business,” I interjected.

“Oh, should I cite the recent agreement you accepted?” he gritted. He silenced me with the truth.

“What a ‘relationship’ needs, Seamus Michael Clay is two people who are committed to making a loving relationship work,” she said.

`The waiter interrupted with the third course. I sat and listened, my eyes volleyed from mother to son and back again. I hoped Maggie’s words would sink in and understand she wouldn’t approve of our union.

When Maggie placed her hand on my shoulder, I looked to her and smiled, leaning into her for a hug. In an instant, several flashes came from my right side and I looked over to the window to see several flash bulbs going at once. I turned away, looking at Brady.

“What’s happening?” Maggie asked, and I realized she didn’t read the tabloids.

“Just some paparazzi taking pictures. You know how they like to know where I go around Boston,” he assured.

My brows furrowed. Matt warned me about the exposure. No longer naïve about Brady’s intention, I suspected Brady set up the paparazzi to take pictures at Stock Well and while in the Dominican Republic.

“These things happen, Maggie. My significant other warned me about how much Brady and the boys get followed.”

“Oh, does he know Brady?”

“Yes, he . . .”

“Mom, what do you want for dessert?”

“Shay, don’t interrupt Perla,” she slapped his hand.

I looked at Brady, “I’m dating Matt Keene.”

“Mattie?” She asked with excitement. “Oh, he’s perfect for you,” she affirmed.

“Really?” I asked with relief.

“Yes, honey,” she approved. “I think he’s a wonderful man. It was a shame it didn’t work out with his wife, but from what I’ve learned, there was no love lost,” she exclaimed with a wink.

“What would you think if he and I married?” I asked.

Brady cleared his throat, and snapped his fingers to get the attention of the waiter. When the waiter arrived, he ordered bourbon-neat.

Without missing a beat, he replied, “This isn’t about Matt, tonight. It’s about the three of us, mom.” I could see the tendons of his jaw flexing. “We should keep this about us,” he repeated with a whine.

“He’s right Maggie. You and I can get together at another time and do a ladies day out,” I smiled.

“Oh, Perlita. I would love it,” she beamed.

The waiter came over to take our dessert order while Brady shot daggers at me, and I looked away to attend to her.

Our dinner ended in my exchanging numbers with Maggie. She gave me a strong hug, and I melted into her body, needing an infinite amount of motherly love. She gave it freely, and promised to see me at the performance. Maggie took off to the bathroom. When Brady attempted to give me a hug, I stopped him, and extended my hand for a shake. “What’s this?” he asked surprised and offended.

“A tabloid wrote about our ‘love triangle’ with pictures in DR. Tonight, paparazzi took pictures while we were having a cozy dinner with your mom. Do you really expect me to hug you in public? I’m not interested in providing more fodder for their trash? That story has caused me enough trouble, Brady.”

“Brady? What happened to Shay?” He asked in an offended tone.

“When I believe Shay is present, I will call you that. Good night,” I concluded, and turned to see Josh watching us. I was relieved by his efficiency at being at the right place at the right time.

*****

When I unlocked my door, I found Matt standing in the living room waiting for me. I saw the question in his brow, “What’s this?”

I turned to look at Josh.

“Josh ensured my safe return home. Thank you, Josh. I will see you in the morning,” I extended, giving him a nod. Josh nodded, placed my briefcase inside, and without a word walked away as I closed the door.

“Why do you still have a guard? I stopped services when you returned. Is there something wrong?” Matt asked with worry in his deep voice.

“With the article you mentioned and the paparazzi following me, I thought it best to have security,” I answered half-truthfully. “Don’t worry. I’m paying for it,” I said.

He sighed and shook his head, ignoring my retort.

“So I was right?”

“Unfortunately, they were at the restaurant, clicking away, so I’ll have to deal with that at some point.”

I sighed as I took off the last heel, tossing them to the wall. I walked to my bedroom, taking clothes off as I walked toward my master bedroom. I didn’t want to deal with him or anything else. I was tired and annoyed. Matt’s coming and going as he pleased grew tiresome and obsessive.

Matt watched me as I brushed my teeth. We locked eyes when I closed the door to relieve myself. When I ran the shower and entered, I heard the knob turn. I smiled to myself, and started rinsing. He opened the shower door and entered gloriously naked. I ignored him, keeping to the task at hand.

“So how was dinner?” He asked calmly.

“It was nice to connect with Maggie. She was lovely as always. Lots of great memories were brought up,” I said with eyes cast downward. Matt lifted my chin with his cupped hand. His heavy breathing fanned my face while he went in for a deep kiss. I obliged, but stopped and pulled away to soap myself.

“And Brady?”

“What about him?”

“How was he?”

I would have preferred a more direct question, but I answered what I thought he wanted, “He behaved like a man trying to get his mother’s approval of the woman he was bringing to her. But Maggie was not interested in what he was selling,” I answered. His brow lifted.

“She told him I’m like a sister. When I told her about you, she was pleased. Needless to say, he was not,” I replied.

The satisfactory smile on his face made me happy for him, but it didn’t mean any of this was over. I remained reflective of the night’s events. I didn’t need to win over Maggie as a future mother-in-law, but I would with Matt’s mom. I had a day to mentally prepare for her to either embrace me or be opposed to our union. I feared the worst.

I rinsed myself off, ignoring his attempts at seduction, leaving him in the shower. I walked into my bedroom to dress in my nightclothes. If he had intentions of punishing me, I wasn’t going to make it easy. When he entered the bedroom with a towel wrapped around his waist, he watched me as I slathered my legs with lotion. Before he spoke, my cell phone rang in my living room and I ran to retrieve it.

“Hello?” I answered hurriedly without checking the caller id.

“Perla, it’s Irena. I have uncovered some things,” she informed. I heard footsteps behind me.

“Yes, I can talk, but I may not be able to respond much because I’m home and I don’t have the file before me,”

“I understand you can’t speak, so should I call back in the morning?”

“No, of course not. I’d like to hear more about the project.”

“I saw Aida today at the detention center. She refused to say much, but what she told me, put the case in a very different light than what you experienced. She claimed she hired Eric Pierce when she was looking for a private investigator to help her retrieve information. An online search gave her his information. She was concerned because he was traveling from California to Massachusetts for a simple investigation on Brady Clay. Aida claims Pierce was the one who masterminded a lot of the ideas implemented. He helped her with the false suicide, new identity, and assisted with managing her finances. Pierce got the job at Pentagon, which allowed him access to inside information. He sought the membership at Duration to get close to you. Aida relied on him for everything, even the first kidnapping attempt was his idea. She never had to think of anything because he suggested and she would always agree. In essence, Pierce helped foster her obsession and desire for revenge on both you and Brady,” she summarized.