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“I’ll have to end it with Hailey.”
CHAPTER11
HAILEY
Ex-wife? Daughter?
More tears pour down my face as I recall how I left Gareth’s office in a daze after that stunning woman barged in. Dazed and needing answers, I had gone to Jackie. Susan wasn’t at her desk.
“Wife, my foot!” Jackie said, upset at the way the woman had treated her. “She’s his ex-wife. They have a daughter, Amber. She’s a sweet girl who, thank God, is nothing like her mother. I simply told Mrs. High and Mighty that the boss was in a meeting, but I’d put a call through to him to ask if she could come in. She walked past me as if I didn’t exist.” Jackie clicks her tongue before adding, “It’s not my fault she couldn’t keep a man like him.”
Unable to process the information, I go to my office and stare unseeingly at my laptop. Unable to focus, I feign a headache and leave.
* * *
Later that evening,at home, I weep at my folly while eating my favorite strawberry ice cream. How could I have been so foolish? I told him the story of my life, down to my sexcapade with only one man before him, while he sat there and said nothing about an ex-wife and a daughter. A tall, blonde, striking ex-wife with long legs. What is he doing with me?
How could I have fallen into bed with a man I know virtually nothing about? I’d almost asked him that night we shared a pizza why he’d never taken a woman down the aisle. I’d felt it would sound like I wanted to be the woman. So, I kept quiet, not wanting to seem like a desperate gold digger.
“I wish I’d asked,” I sniff.
And if he had told you? Would it have stopped you from allowing him to make passionate love to you here and everywhere else that you’ve done it in the past two weeks?
A thick flush covers my face at my inner’s voice astuteness. Our desire for each other had gone wild.
Still, I would have loved to be told that there was another woman and a daughter in his life. Gareth lived such a private life that the press had nothing on him. I once heard a rumor about his marriage and thought it was only that—a rumor to keep the gossip magazines going. But it was true in the end. When Jackie, Susan, and I met for lunch, we avoided talking about work. So, I never had the opportunity to ask about our boss’s life. Other than the day that Susan warned me not to fall for him, we’ve never spoken about him again.
“No wonder his ex looks familiar. I must have seen their wedding picture somewhere. Or maybe she’s indeed a supermodel.” I hit my hand against my head. “Gosh, I’m such a fool.”
What will I tell my mom? She’s raised me to be a sensible woman. I’d lied to her that I was so busy these days that I barely called. I also haven’t spoken to Melissa in a while. I am afraid that while talking to her, I’ll spill the beans that I am having an affair. Mom and Melissa always know when something is off with me.
A knock sounds on my door, startling me. It must be Kendra. We usually do movie nights on Fridays. Well, that was before I started sleeping with Gareth. My entire life revolved around him for two weeks. Not anymore. Wrapping my blue dressing gown securely around my body, I head for the door to tell her I’m not in the mood for movies and popcorn.
My jaw drops when I see Gareth standing there. He looks perfectly pulled together and in control, as always. His gaze rakes from my hair piled at the top of my head to my bare feet. I try not to squirm at his heated gaze.
“I owe you an explanation.”
I fold my arms across my chest. “You sure do.”
“Can I come in?”
“I don’t think it’s a good idea.”
When I hesitate, he adds, “I’m just here to talk.”
Shrugging, I move aside and let him come in. The whiff of his cologne mixed with the familiar scent of his body has a devastating effect on me, but I control myself. He lied to me, even if it was by omission. He sits on the sofa, looking at me.
“Would it be too harsh if I said I hate my ex-wife?” he questions with a short laugh. “Linda Craig is not a nice person. If it weren’t for our daughter, Amber, I would wish I’d never met her. I’ve made mistakes in my forty-two years of existence, but she’s the greatest one.”
I realize with empathy that he indeed only wants to talk and lament over his life. I sit on an armchair and curve my legs to the side as he carries on. I listen to how he grew up in New York with a loving family. Like me, he was an only child. He lost his dad when he was five and his mom when he was in his twenties. He tells me about growing up as a whiz kid. No one was surprised when he got a spot at MIT. He graduated with honors and then decided to start his own company.
He met Linda Craig a few years later and married her on a whim. After Amber was born, their relationship went downhill. They were married for seven miserable years and got divorced five years ago due to irreconcilable differences.
“Thank God I made her sign a prenup, or she would have taken me to the cleaners. Tell me, what kind of a woman keeps a child from her father?” He pauses. “A selfish one. Granted, I know I messed up with Amber. Trying to set up my company after I made an erroneous business deal cost me the relationship with my daughter. I made a mistake putting my business before my child, and I realized it too late.
“Now, I’m trying to make amends and win Amber back, but Linda won’t let me. She keeps giving me excuses not to see her. It was a grave mistake allowing her to take full custody of my baby girl. But I thought it was best for Amber because back then, I was always traveling. I can go to court and try to get joint custody, but I don’t want to disrupt Amber’s life.”
He rakes his fingers through his hair, looking like a little boy who has lost his puppy. “I don’t know what to do. I want to win back my sweet little girl who used to enjoy sleeping in my arms. I love her and miss her so much. The few times we’ve been together, even though she was cold to me, I had hopes that she wanted to spend more time with me because she always asks when we would meet next.
