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Oh, this was a disaster!
It was only when she stopped at a red light that she realized that she’d made another blunder in her long list of blunders. Why was she going to the office? Tazeem might not have figured out that Jay was her son yet. But if she showed up and Jay called her mom, then he would immediately know.
Maybe the best thing to do was to find a way to separate her ex and her son without showing up at the office. She ruminated over ideas for a couple of seconds before reality slapped her in the face. Those two were with Donna – the biggest gossip in Synovent. There is no way she hadn’t told Tazeem that Jay was Chess’s son.
He probably already knew.
By not going to the office, Chess was just postponing the inevitable. Even if Donna hadn’t already spilled the beans, Tazeem was bound to find out about Jay. By thwarting Chess’s attempts to seduce him so thoroughly, he’d proven his determination to stay in her life. And if he stayed in her life, then he’d find out about Jay eventually anyway. Maybe this was God’s way of forcing her to deal with her sins sooner rather than later.
Fine then! She decided. If this was happening now, then she’d let it happen. She wouldn’t run away.
Even though she was terrified as hell, she headed to Synovent.
TAZEEM HAD BEEN SILENTLY STARING at the child for quite a while now. At first, he’d been sure that he was just making assumptions and that this boy wasn’t who he thought he was. But just a few minutes ago, Donna had confirmed that the child was indeed Chess’s son. And from that moment on Tazeem was certain. Jason Khan Winters, or Jay as he’d heard him called, was his son.
I have a son. Tazeem was still too overwhelmed by shock to experience any other emotions.My son is not dead.
“Stop staring at me,” Jay ordered without looking up from the comic book he was now reading.
“Sorry,” Tazeem muttered while looking away from the child. But seconds later, his gaze was back on Jay.
How had he not realized that this was his son from the very second they’d met? Tazeem had seen some of his own childhood pictures, and Jay was an exact copy of him. The boy might have his mother’s attitude, but had Tazeem’s whole face.
This was his kid.
“I said stop staring at me.” Jay shot to his feet. Taking his comic book with him, he walked to the reception desk. “Miss Donna, that man is creeping me out. Can I go wait for my mom in her office?”
“I’m sorry, baby.” Donna threw an annoyed look at Tazeem. “Your mom locked her office before she left.” Donna pulled a gray mini-ottoman from beneath her desk. “Here! Come and sit next to me.”
With one last scowl at Tazeem, Jay settled next to Donna.
Immediate disappointment overwhelmed Tazeem. He was creeping Jay out? But he was his father.
Disappointment soon gave way to a rush of rage like Tazeem had never felt before.
This was Chess’s fault.
This was ALL Chess’s fault.
The rage pulsing through his blood was so intense that he could feel its fangs sinking painfully into each vein, cell, and nerve in his body with each minute that passed. The only sentence running through his thoughts was ‘How could she do this?’over and over again.
He bent his head and, while supporting his elbows on his knees, cupped his face with his hands.How could she do this? How could Chess do this?
Tears stung at the back of his eyes even while the fury kept boiling in the pit of his belly. He raised his head just so he could see Jay’s face again. Unfortunately, the ottoman was pretty low and Donna’s high desk obscured Tazeem’s view of the child. That sent fresh hurt and anger through Tazeem. He couldn’t see him now just like he hadn’t seen him for the last eight years.
Eight years. Chess had hidden his son for eight years. He’d missed out on eight years of his child’s life.How could she do this?
Tazeem was so focused on trying to see Jay that he didn’t hear the elevator chime as the door opened. He didn’t even notice the person who’d just walked into the reception. That is until Jay shot to his feet.
“Mama!” The boy rounded Donna’s desk and raced to his mom. He threw his arms around his mom’s waist and tucked his little body into hers. “You’re here.”
Tazeem’s world screeched to a halt as his brain absorbed the fact that she was finally here. Bile rose in his throat as his and Chess’s gazes collided.
Even though Chess’s arms were around Jay, all her attention was on Tazeem. In her eyes, he saw fear. Obviously, she knew that he knew.
“Hi, baby!” Chess took her eyes off Tazeem to greet her son. Though she was smiling, it was very obvious that the smile was forced and there was a slight tremble in her voice as she added, “Have you been waiting for long?”
“Ages and ages and ages. Ugh!” Jay tossed his head back to dramatically demonstrate just how long he’d been waiting. “I was so bored.”
