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Taking a deep breath, Rodrigo narrowed his eyes. “How could you keep my child secret? I never thought even you could sink so low.”
Lola’s cheeks turned white, then red. “I was going to tell you I was pregnant the night you threw me out. But you stopped me—remember?”
Rodrigo did remember that awful night, how she’d shown up at his beach house with joy in her eyes.
I have something to tell you—
Me first, he’d said flatly. I saw the pictures. I know what you did. He’d looked over her scornfully. I know who you are.
Lola’s beautiful face had fallen, her expression suddenly tortured and guilty. Uncharacteristically for her, she hadn’t tried to argue or fight. She’d just accepted his accusations with slumped shoulders. Until, finally, trying to get a reaction out of her, he’d written out the million-dollar check and tossed it in her face.
That’s what you’ve wanted, isn’t it? You were tired of being my assistant and hoped to upgrade your position to be my mistress or, better yet, wife! If money is what you want, here—take it!
Rodrigo had waited, heart pounding, for her to explain. He’d waited for her to throw the check back in his face. He could have forgiven her past. No one was perfect. Certainly he was not. What he couldn’t forgive was her deliberately playing him for a fool, convincing him that she loved him, when all along she’d only had her eye on his wallet.
With a bowed head, she’d looked down at the million-dollar check. Then she’d crushed it in her hand, and left the beach house without a word. And he’d known his worst fears about her were true.
“You lied to me,” Rodrigo said coldly now. “You moved three thousand miles away to keep your pregnancy a secret.”
“You clearly didn’t care about me.” Her hazel eyes glittered. “So why would I think you’d care about our child?”
“It wasn’t for the baby’s sake. You did it to punish me.”
Lola lifted her chin. The cold rage in her expression matched his own.
“You fired me. Tossed me out of your house. Told me you never wanted to see me again. You called me names and threw a check in my face. Why would I ever tell you I was pregnant?”
“So you stole my child away from me. Like a thief in the night.”
She lifted her eyes furiously. “You made it clear you hated me. Why would I want to give you rights over my baby?”
Rodrigo refused to concede her the slightest bit of sympathy. Lola was a greedy, coldhearted gold digger. Hadn’t she proved that, when she’d taken the check?
But she’d taken the check to provide for their child.
Suddenly, he sucked in his breath.
She’d known she was pregnant when she left. If she’d really been a gold digger, she wouldn’t have simply taken his money and disappeared from California. No.
She would have told him about the pregnancy immediately, knowing that, as mother to Rodrigo’s only child, she could have gotten far, far more than a mere million dollars.
But she hadn’t.
Had he been...wrong about her?
He pushed down the emotion rising in his heart. No. He couldn’t believe that. He clenched his jaw.
“So you moved to New York and replaced me with another rich man.”
Lola shook her head. “Sergei was just my boss. I worked for him during my pregnancy, until the baby was born.”
He frowned. “You worked?”
“As his secretary.”
He wasn’t surprised Lola had easily found a new job. She’d been a stellar assistant, and after their breakup, when he’d fired her, he’d still directed his HR staff to give her the glowing reference her work deserved. But, he didn’t understand. “Why would you work? You had my check.”
She lifted her chin. “I’ve kept that money in reserve to provide for the baby. I got us a nice apartment, and have stayed home since he was born, to take care of him. And—” she mumbled, looking away “—I studied for my GED.”
