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  My phone suddenly goes off, causing everyone to look around the room angrily. Under normal circumstances, phones are forbidden in our meetings, but these aren’t normal circumstances, and there’s no way in hell I was leaving my phone in the office.

  What’s the use in being the boss if I can’t occasionally bend the rules a little?

  I check the caller ID and realize this is the call I’ve been waiting for, so I jump up from the table, leaving my stunned business associates behind.

  “Yes, hello, Nathan? Did you find her?” I ask, already making a beeline for the elevator.

  “Yes, sir, I found her. She’s in a hotel, and I’m texting you the information now,” he says. “Unfortunately, I didn’t get the room number yet, but I figured you would want what I have as soon as possible.”

  “What you have is fine, I’ll figure out the room number myself even if I have to knock on every door until I find her.”

  I jog the rest of the distance to the elevator and hit the button several times.

  “Asher, wait!” Joe calls after me. “What’s going on? Is someone hurt? Do you want us to finish the meeting or wait for you to come back?”

  Right now, I don’t give a shit what they do.

  “Honestly, I don’t care.”

  I’m a man on a mission and I have somewhere to be. I step inside the elevator and push the button to close the doors just as Joe makes it to me. I hate to run out on everybody like this, but Jade is far too important to me and I can’t sit here waiting for the meeting to end.

  I have to get to her and see for myself that she’s okay.

  “Thanks, Nathan, you’ve been a lifesaver,” I say into the phone. “I don’t know what I would have done without you.”

  “Any time, boss,” he says. “I’m just here to help.”

  I haven’t slept well since Jade disappeared and I know Nathan hasn’t either. He’s been working around the clock to find her and I know he hasn’t billed me for all the hours he’s invested.

  “Make sure you update your timesheet so I can get you squared away,” I say. “I know you’ve logged a lot of hours on this, and I’m eternally grateful.”

  “Boss, don’t worry about me, worry about getting to Ms. Sinclair. You and I both know you can’t put a price tag on what the heart wants. I wanted to find her just as much as you, and now I can rest easy knowing I’ve done my job.”

  “Thanks again, Nathan,” I say.

  “No problem,” he says, “and good luck.”

  I end the call just as the elevator reaches the lobby, and I sprint to my parked car. For days now, I’ve kept Ed on notice to stay right out front just in case I need to make a quick getaway.

  Luckily, most of the reporters who’ve been camped outside the building have somewhat dissipated, leaving only a handful of stragglers behind.

  “Mr. Jordan, where are you going? Where’s the mystery blonde?”

  “Give us a smile for the cover story!”

  I brush through the small crowd, ignoring the questions they’re firing at me.

  “Do you have a lead on you know who?” asks Ed in a hushed voice. He flicks his cigarette butt on the ground, and crushes it with his foot.

  “I sure do, Ed,” I say, sliding into the car. “Let’s go get her, but I want you to shake these reporters off. The last thing I need is them interrupting what’s bound to be an awkward reunion.”

  I give him the address and hold on to the armrest to keep from falling over as he speeds off into traffic. He cuts this corner and the next, making last-minute turns to help keep the press at bay.

  While I know he’s driving as quickly as he can, I still count the passing seconds as they grow to long agonizing minutes. We get closer to the hotel with each passing moment, and I find myself transforming into a ball of nerves. Part of me wants Ed to stop the car for a little time to rein in my frazzled nerves, but I know that’s not possible.

  What if she won’t see me? What if she starts yelling and screaming that she hates me and never wants to see me again?

  I can’t allow such thoughts to invade my mind, not right now, because Jade should see me, she has to. Once I fully explain what happened and get everything off my chest I’ll force myself to accept whatever decision she makes.

  Damn it, I should have gotten flowers.

  I glance down at my watch, but there’s no time to make any stops. I don’t want to risk missing my last chance with Jade.

  We pull up to the hotel at the same time a car resembling Jade’s pulls in.

  It is Jade, and she looks just as stunning as the first day I ever laid eyes on her.

  “Do you want me to pull up next to her?” asks Ed. “Or should I stay out of sight?”

  “Let’s definitely stay out of sight. I don’t want her to see me and drive off. Just give me a second to pull myself together,” I say reluctantly. My palms are sweaty and my stomach is doing a series of backflips. I wasn’t this nervous when I closed my first million-dollar deal, but now I’m sitting in the back of my car sweating bullets.

  I watch Jade step out of her car as she practically skips inside the hotel with a thick folder tucked under her arm with a wide grin spread across her face.

  She looks so… happy. For a split-second I consider just leaving her alone. Maybe she’s better off without me?

  The thought is fleeting, because deep down I’m selfish, and I know I won’t be able to live with myself if I don’t at least try. I always proclaim not to give up easily, and I’m not about to start doing it now.

  If nothing else, she deserves to know the truth, and the chips can fall where they may.

  I take a deep breath and prepare myself to exit the car. She needs to know everything, and she needs to hear it from me firsthand. It’s the least I can do considering the hell I’ve put her through.

  “Good luck, sir,” says Ed. “I hope you get her back. Ms. Sinclair is a very special woman.”

  I nod and pull my lips into a tight line, praying luck is on my side. I close my eyes, exhale again and stroll into the lobby like I own the place. Confidence is key when you need someone to do you a favor.

  “Hello there, Mr. Jordan, I don’t believe we have a reservation on file for you,” says Barbara, the concierge behind the desk. She searches for my name and checks the clipboard in front of her. “If you’ll give me a few moments, I’ll get you booked into the penthouse suite in no time. I hope one of our newer employees didn’t goof on your reservation, if so, please accept my apologies.”

  “No,” I say. “That won’t be necessary, I’m actually here to surprise someone and I’m hoping you’ll be a doll and give me the room number for a Ms. Jade Sinclair.”

  “Oh, Mr. Jordan, that’s against hotel policy. I can lose my job if I give that information out, it’s private.”

  I lean over the counter and flash Barbara my widest smile. I hate to do it, but I’m not above flirting just a little to get what I want. She obviously knows me well from my previous reservations, and while I’d typically never ask such a favor, I’m sure she can fulfill the request.

  “I’d never want you to lose your job, but my heart is on the line, and I certainly won’t tell if you don’t. I’d never wish to go against hotel policy, but I’d certainly appreciate a favor just this once. Besides, I conduct a lot of business with this hotel, so I’d never do anything to harm that relationship on purpose. I swear to be on my best behavior if you can find it in your heart to do this for me.”

  Barbara sighs and looks around nervously. “I’m sorry, Mr. Jordan, I can’t tell you anything about the guests here in the hotel, but if you look around, you may stumble across something useful.”

  Her finger taps the notepad in front of her where she has scribbled a room number in red ink.

  “Thank you,” I say with a wink. “You’ve helped me out tremendously.”

  Barbara smiles and promptly discards the tiny slip of paper into the paper shredder.

  It pays to be well known and connected
sometimes.

  I pull out my phone and call Jade’s room, hoping she’ll pick up. The only problem is, I’m not exactly sure what I’ll say if she does.

  Do I immediately apologize? Ask her to meet me in the lobby?

  My heart pounds in my chest and suddenly I feel my tie is cutting off my air supply. No other woman has ever made me want to jump through such hoops to win her back. Normally, I write them off as a lost cause if I’m no longer satisfied with their company, but I can’t do that with Jade. She not the type of woman you let go without a fight, and I’m willing to risk it all and go down with the ship, all for her. The phone rings once, twice and then finally on the third ring, she answers.

  “Hello?”

  “Jade, it’s me, please don’t hang up.”

  Chapter 31

  JADE

  ASHER.

  The sound of his voice on the other end of the phone takes my breath away, and suddenly the cloud nine I’m riding on comes crashing to the ground. My emotions collide into each other, and I’m not sure which one is right. Part of me is relieved to hear a familiar voice on the phone and the other part of me remembers everything Magdalene revealed.

  Both the first and last person I want to talk to is on the phone right now, and I’m not sure what I should say. If he wasn’t the cause of my heartache, he would’ve undoubtedly been the first person I called to help comfort me, but unfortunately, he is the cause. He is the sole contributor to this disaster and he had the power to stop it at any time, but he didn’t. Asher made his bed, and he needs to deal with the consequences of his actions. He doesn’t deserve my time or my attention.

  “How did you get this number? And why in the hell are you calling me?” I ask angrily.

  Suddenly it’s very hard to breathe, and every breath I take feels like a labored exercise as I force myself to confront Asher yet again. My lungs are burning, but I know I’ll lose my nerve if I don’t get everything off my chest and out in the open while I still have the chance. I’ve got one shot to say what I need, because my heart won’t let me go through this again.

  “You know what, don’t answer that because it doesn’t matter. We have nothing to talk about at this point. Magdalene told me everything. Believe me when I say she went through great lengths to describe how you are just using me to get back at her, and how Jacob is your son. I have no idea how Heath fits into all of this, but it’s no longer my problem. What kind of low life does such a thing to another person? You basically targeted and manipulated me into your sick little game, and I didn’t deserve this. If you wanted to play cat and mouse with Magdalene, you could have left me out of it.”

  “Jade, if you’ll let me explain, you’ll see it’s nothing like you think it is,” he says. “Please just give me a chance.”

  I angrily run my fingers through my hair, resisting the urge to pull it out.

  Maybe the pain of that will hurt less than what my heart is feeling right now.

  “You don’t have to explain anything to me,” I argue, but even I can hear the lie in my voice. I try to choke back the tears, but a strangled sob manages to escape my lips.

  “I gave myself to you, Asher. I let you into my heart and my body. All you did was use me! Honestly, there’s nothing for us to discuss. What you did was cruel and completely unforgivable.”

  “You have every right to be upset,” he says. “I should have told you about Magdalene the second I found out you worked for her.”

  “So, it is true? You’ve been lying to me all this time. I thought you were distant because of Heath or something dealing with your business, but I never imagined it would be because of Magdalene. Hell, I would have accepted you ignoring me once you found out I was a nanny, but this takes the cake,” I say, pacing the room. “Not to mention you’ve allowed me to care for your son, and you didn’t even say a word about that either. I cared for Jacob like he was my own.”

  The thought of Jacob is like a hard punch to the stomach. I’ll never see those big green eyes again, or run my fingers through his soft dark curls. Who’s going to make sure he has his elephant and not his giraffe during nap time, or pretend to bite his toes when he first wakes up?

  It’s all gone… Jacob, Asher… everything… is just gone, and my heart feels like it’s in a vise grip. I don’t wish this pain on my worst enemy, this slow tortuous destruction. My entire world has come crashing down around me in a matter of days.

  My mind screams for him to say something, anything, that will make me feel better. I want him to say it’s a lie and tell me I’m wrong, but deep down I know the truth.

  “I don’t know what Magdalene said to you exactly, but I want to tackle this with a cool head. You may not believe me, but I have proof and I want you to see it.”

  “Proof of what?” I ask. “I don’t need any proof to know what a liar you are and how you used me. Why didn’t you tell me from the very beginning? You took things too far, way too far. I’m not a plaything, I’m a human being with real feelings and I deserved better than that. I really thought you cared about me, Asher.”

  I lose the battle with myself and the floodgate of tears flows free. The sobs are uncontrollable as I finally release the pent-up anger and sadness I’ve been holding in for days.

  I didn’t do anything to deserve this. I was good to Magdalene, and even better to Jacob. If nothing else, I regret the day I confronted Asher Jordan. I should have reported him and left it at that, but I didn’t. My big mouth led to this heartbreak. I did this to myself.

  “Jade… Jade, please say something,” he says. “Don’t cry, please don’t cry.”

  My mouth opens and closes several times, but I can’t bring myself to say more. Instead of any words coming out, I sit there on the edge of the bed, sobbing.

  This is wrong, all of it. I thought I could handle confronting him, but I was wrong, this hurts too much.

  “I’m sorry. I’m so damn sorry, Jade,” he says in a soft voice.

  I hear him, but his words may as well be falling on deaf ears. His apology is hollow in my opinion. This is the second time I’ve been in this same position with him apologizing and it has officially gotten old.

  Sorry doesn’t fix my broken heart or get my job back. Sorry doesn’t repair the shattered relationship I now have with Magdalene and Jacob. Sorry doesn’t do a thing for me right now.

  Chapter 32

  ASHER

  MY PLAN IS going to hell in a handbasket, and I can’t bear listening to Jade sob into the phone like this. She needs me, and she needs me now. I don’t know what made me think I’d be able to smooth things over on the phone, but I was dead wrong, and I need to enact a new plan, because I need her too.

  I head over to the elevator and push the button for Jade’s floor, with no set plan in mind other than getting to her.

  “Jade? Hello? Can you hear me?”

  She’s no longer yelling at me, but I know she’s still there because I can hear her crying in the background. This isn’t what I’d envisioned. Listening to her cry and hearing the pain in her voice is like a knife twisting in my heart. If I’m hurting this bad, I can only imagine what she’s going through.

  Clearly Magdalene has lied to her about the details, but I hope Jade lets me clear the air and set the record straight.

  I bulldoze my way out of the elevator and head down the hall in search of Jade’s room. Once her door comes into view I close the distance in two fast steps.

  “Jade!” I scream her name and pound on the door with my fist. “Please open the door!”

  My fists pound the door over and over, until suddenly it flies open, and there she is, with her red tear-stained face. Her hair is pulled back into a ponytail and her eyes are puffy.

  Everything unfolds within a split second, even though it feels like a lifetime. I step forward and wrap my arms around Jade and to my surprise she doesn’t fight back.

  “I’m sorry,” I say over and over like some type of meditative chant.

  She buries her face into
my chest as she sobs loudly. “How could you betray me like this?” I hear through the cries.

  I tighten my grip and rock her back and forth slowly.

  “I didn’t,” I whisper. “I didn’t betray you. You mean too much to me, and if I don’t know anything else, I know I would never betray you, at least not on purpose.”

  “But Magdalene said—”

  “Magdalene is a liar,” I proclaim boldly. “I’m going to tell you the truth if you just give me a chance. I know it probably won’t change your mind about the situation, but I still want you to know.”

  I lead Jade over to the bed and we sit on the edge, facing one another.

  “Yes, I dated Magdalene, but it was brief, nothing serious. She was a part of the social circle I’m in and one thing led to another on a few of those dates,” I say.

  Jade grabs a tissue out of the box on the nightstand and dabs at her eyes. “Go on,” she says. “Tell me everything.”

  I exhale and run my fingers through my hair. “There was no real chemistry between us so I stopped seeing her and stopped taking her calls. She thought she would get back at me by dating a friend of mine. Heath was just looking for a good time, but he got more than he bargained for.”

  “That’s for damn sure,” Jade says under her breath.

  “Magdalene ended up pregnant, and I’ve asked her on numerous occasions about Jacob’s paternity. She said he wasn’t mine, but the dates were too close for comfort, so I set out to find the truth once and for all. Let me be clear though, I didn’t decide that until after I started seeing you. I didn’t go into this with the intentions of using you to get to Magdalene or Jacob.”

  “Is that it?” she asks.

  “No, there’s a little bit more,” I admit. “I’m wrong and I know it. I should have told you about Magdalene and the questionable paternity in the very beginning, but things between us were going so well. Honestly, I was afraid to say anything because I didn’t want to lose you, so I kept my connection to Magdalene and Jacob a secret. Just so you know, Magdalene has consistently assured me that Jacob isn’t my child, but I now know otherwise.”