healing-hearts (15 page)

Yasmine leaned back, then slid down until her head was resting on the top of the chair. She struck this pose when she was contemplating a heavy decision.

“The morning I went up to Jason’s room to ask him about why he asked me to marry him—” Yasmine began.

“What did he say?” Leigh prodded.

“He said that it sounded to him like I really wanted the twins and he wanted to help me get them and at the same time help himself.”

“How?”

“Some deal with his boss and getting the vice-president position.”

“What?”

Yasmine explained, “From what he told me, a lot of top level people—including him—tend towards some serious medical condition from stress. Well his boss is leaning toward giving him the job, but thinks he needs a family or
something
to keep his life balanced.”

“Oh...now I get it. What did you tell him?”

“The same thing I told him when he asked me on the beach. No.”

“Let me guess, you’re bringing it up now because after seeing the kids you’re thinking about going through with it?”

Looking up toward the ceiling so she couldn’t see her friend’s expression she said, “Do you think I’m stupid for considering it?”

There was a long pause, until Yasmine finally looked at her friend.

“No, I don’t. It just proves how much you love those children to even think about it.”

Standing up, Yasmine walked around her desk. “Leigh, even as much as I love Joshua and Jessica—I don’t know if I can do it.”

“I don’t even know if I could, after all you’ve been through.”

“I feel like I’m volunteering to walk into hell again.” Yasmine paced back and forth across the carpeted floor. “I promised myself I would never risk my own sanity and safety again. If I married Jason, it would already be for the wrong reasons; than to have another marriage turn out like my relationship with Blake. I don’t know how I put up with it for the years I did. After a while I just went numb and began to take it...he beat all of my fight out of me. I got tired of fighting back and just took it.” Taking time to get herself under control, she could feel her throat becoming thick and the strong urge to cry was upon her, but she had forbidden herself to shed another tear over Blake again. “After a while, Leigh, it just became automatic that I would wake up in the morning and pick out the right outfit to cover up the bruises or stand at the mirror and add just the right touch of make up.”

“Then don’t do it.” Leigh declared.

Stopping, Yasmine glanced at her friend. “You know, Leigh, one day I’m going to get on with the rest of my life.”

“Move at your own pace. Well, you have a lot to think about and I have a patient who should be walking in any minute.” Getting up, Leigh strutted to the door. When she passed by Yasmine she hugged her. “Yassi, everything will work out. Just do what feels right. This is your life and you have full control, remember that.”

“I will. Thanks.”

Yasmine sat down at her desk and began to do some client paperwork. She wanted to do something to keep her thoughts occupied and not think about anything important for a little while. She even went as far as finding her Robin Thicke and Sam Smith mix on her MP3 to block everything out.

Yasmine had the habit that when she was worried about something she would get into the music she was listening to so deeply that she would become oblivious to everything else around her.

So, when Mr. Newton, the postman, came in to deliver their mail he scared her and she jumped, dropping all of the files in her hands.

“Sorry, Yasmine. Didn’t mean to scare you.” The older man beamed a warm smile at her.

Yasmine stood with one hand on her desk and the other over her heart trying to calm herself down. “It’s okay, Mr. Newtown, I just wasn’t expecting anyone at this time.”

“I saw you nodding your head and enjoying your music and I hated to disturb you, but Leigh’s door was closed.” He handed the stack of mail to her.

Yasmine took the mail saying, “No problem. How are you doing?”

Mr. Newton had been their postman for all the years they had rented the office space.

“Everything is going very well. I start teaching karate self defense classes at a women’s center tonight.”

“That’s great. You decided to put all of those black belt trophies to use, aye?”

The older gentleman actually blushed. “I was pretty good in my day.”

“Too bad I missed it.”

“Well, I’m off to the rest of my route. Sorry the mail was late. There was a traffic jam on 64 West and it bled onto the main street.”

“There’s always a traffic jam in the summertime.”

“All those tourists. See ya later.” He exited.

“Bye.” Yasmine called to his retreating form.

Yasmine continued to hum in tune with the music as she picked through the mail and began to separate her own from Leigh’s.

After she finished, she picked up her stack and began to flip through it. She was excited when she came across a letter addressed to her. It didn’t have a return address, but that didn’t stop the excitement from bubbling up inside.

Yasmine tore open the letter and anxious to read it.

She began to read and her heart stopped as she could almost hear the menacing voice coming from the words on the paper. It read:

Yas-mine,

You have been in my every thought. Why did you leave me? You know you ruined everything, our dreams and our future. You killed our child with your selfishness. You will never be happy without me. No one will ever fulfill you like I did. You’ll have no life without me. Yasmine, you are mine, I will never let you go.

Yasmine shredded the venomous words and dropped them into the trash where their poison belonged. Blake had destroyed enough of her life while she had stayed with him, she couldn’t allow him to continue his vile intimidation.

Opening her bottom desk drawer, Yasmine grabbed her purse and headed out the door.

“Yassi, where are you going?” Leigh called out to her as she passed her now open office.

Without pausing in her stride or missing a beat, she announced. “To do what I should have done a while ago.” Yasmine pushed the front door open and rushed out of the building.

“Yasmine...” Her name came out in a soft whisper, when a soft knocking at his door drew his attention.

“Your secretary wasn’t at her desk and I saw your door was open.” Yasmine stood in his doorway looking nervous as one hand fidgeted with the hem of her shirt.

Rising from his seat, he walked over to her. “Please come in.”

She entered the office and sat on the chair in front of his desk crossing her legs.

Today she wore her normal work ensemble of khakis and polo style shirt. There was nothing alluring about what she was wearing, but for some reason the neat hug of her pants to her hips and the form fit of her top did a job of turning him on as quickly as if she were dressed in a negligee.

Jason closed the door and walked back to his desk, as he wondered why she had come to see him. She made it clear the last time they had talked that she wanted nothing do with him, or any man for that matter.

He balanced on the front corner of his desk. “So, to what do I owe the pleasure? I assumed after our last meeting...I wouldn’t see you again.”

“Trust me, that’s what I thought also.” She kept her gaze down toward her lap.

“So, what changed your mind?”

Raising her head, she looked at him, unwavering. “I’m here to find out if your offer is still on the table.”

Jason just looked at her for a moment. She was giving him one of her intense looks.

“The marriage offer?”

She nodded her head in response.

“Are you here to reject it again?” Jason asked. He didn’t take Yasmine to be the type of girl to have a twisted sense of humor, but he had to admit to himself—he didn’t really know her. “If you are, you can save it. One rejection a month is all I allow myself and I’m already past my quota.” Jason attempted to add a little humor into the atmosphere, she seemed so tense, and she had lost her usual vibrant glow.

“No, Jason I’m not.”

Jason lifted a brow.

Then he watched her chest rise as she took a deep breath.

“If your offer is still on the table, I’m saying yes.”

His face relaxed. “Why?”

“I’m a woman, don’t I have a right to change my mind?”

Jason’s eyes were drawn down to the nervous smile that graced her lips.
That was a mistake.
Jason thought her lips always looked luscious, as if they were waiting to be kissed.

Slowly he lifted his gaze back to hers. “What has changed?”

Yasmine took a long pause, for a moment, Jason had doubts whether she was going to answer.

“I went to see the children yesterday. There was another adoption fair and they didn’t get adopted, once again. The only difference is that they were extremely upset about it this time.”

“What happened different this time that made them and
you
obviously so upset?”

“A couple wanted to adopt Jessica only.”

“Yikes, they’re not just brother and sister. Didn’t you tell me that they were twins?”

“Yeah.” Yasmine confirmed.

Shaking his head at the audacity of some people Jason continued with his questions, “So, you decided after that to marry me?”

“We both have our reasons, right?” Her voice was flat, giving no hint to her emotions.

“That we do.”

“So, are you still willing to do this?”

He had to give her credit, she might have been nervous about coming to see him and having to make the decision to marry him, but she hadn’t wavered from looking him directly in the eyes with confidence.

“Yes,” he assured her.

That one word seemed to relieve some of her tension, because he could see her relax a little.

“There are a few things I would like us to discuss about this...arrangement.” She appeared to struggle with the right word to describe what they would have between them.

“I’m listening.” He leaned forward on his raised knee supported underneath by the desk.

“Jason, I don’t want you to misunderstand what I’m agreeing to here.”

“I thought I had it pretty clear. You’re agreeing to marry me for the twins and I’m marrying you for a solid footing in the vice-presidency seat. What’s there to discuss, Yasmine?”

She stood, leaving her purse in the chair and walked around behind it, holding on to the back of the seat facing him.

“It’ll be in name only.”

One of his eyebrows shot toward the ceiling. “Explain.”

“Look, I’m sacrificing a lot here, Jason.”

He could see the tension beginning to return to her body.

“And you think I’m not?” Jason hated to argue and he was hoping that this wasn’t going to be their first. “If I had it my way, it would have been years from now before I ever decided to get married.”

“I’m going to be up front with you, Jason, so you can understand where I’m coming from.”

Jason lifted his hand and signaled for her to continue.

Letting go of the chair she crossed her arms under her breast. “I was married before.”

He remained silent, not wanting to say anything that would interrupt her.

“We met in college. He pretty much entangled himself so deeply into my life that I forgot which way was out.” She gave him her profile then started to pace his office. “I thought I was in love with him, even though everything inside of me screamed no.” She fell silent and her feet stopped moving.

“So, what happened?”

“A nightmare. He had always been controlling and overbearing, but in some ways that was part of his charm. What I thought at the time I had fallen in love with.”

“Why’d you divorce?”

“It got physical.”

Jason couldn’t say anything. He could never understand how some men and women felt the need to lash out at someone they were supposed to love.

“I tolerated it for too long. In some ways it hadn’t cost me enough.”

“How did it end?”

“One day he came home in a jealous rage because he found out I had gone to lunch with a male co-worker. I tried to reassure him, he was way beyond the point of reason.” A mocking little laugh came out of her; “He had probably passed that point before he talked to me. Things turned physical really quick.”

“So how did you get away?”

“The ambulance. One of the neighbors had mercifully called the police. They heard the fighting, then they said the house went quiet and it scared them. They thought he had finally killed me.”

“Well, he didn’t.” Jason sighed, trying to relieve the tension surrounding his heart. “Thanks to them you’re alive and well.”

“Alive yes, well...that still remains to be seen.” She turned toward him. “The sad thing is that I probably would have gone back to him when I left the hospital.”