I could feel the heat from his gaze. His eyes slipped down to my swollen belly and for a flash of a second his expression changed. It was…charmed, like he at least appreciated the way I looked pregnant, if not the fact that I didn’t tell him. I wasn’t surprised that he was there; I knew he would find me eventually.
“Hi Aiden,” I said, for lack of a better opener.
“Hi? That’s what you have to say for yourself?” My hands were shaking and I was starting to feel a little light headed. He looked so angry. I reached forward and held onto the counter just as Frank came out of the back. He looked from Aiden to me.
“Holly, is everything okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine Frank. I’m getting back to work right now. I’m sorry.” I started to move and suddenly felt off balance. I had to reach for the wall this time to keep from hitting the floor.
“You don’t look fine, Holly. You’ve worked here for almost two months and you haven’t been so much as a minute late ever. Take the rest of the day off. Get some rest. You look like you need it.” Then he looked back at Aiden and in a protective, father-figure voice he said, “If there’s anything else you need me to do…”
“No, Frank. It’s really okay. I’ll take you up on the time off this afternoon though if you really don’t mind. Thank you. I think the lunch rush is pretty much over now. The other girls should be able to handle it.”
“No problem. If you need to call off tomorrow just let me know, okay?”
“I will, thanks.” Frank was as nice to work for as Joe. I looked at Aiden then who hadn’t moved or spoken and I said, “Give me a second to get my purse.” He maintained eye contact but he didn’t as much as flinch. I tore my own eyes away and went to get my purse. When I reached into my locker I felt dizzy. I laid my head against the cool metal door. Frank appeared again.
“Holly, is that guy bothering you?”
“No, he’s upset with me, but he has good reason. He won’t hurt me though, not physically.”
“Okay, I just had to be sure. It’s hard for me to imagine that you would do anything to make anyone angry.”
I smiled and said, “Thank you, it’s nice to be looked after. And believe me, I have my moments.” I got my purse and as bad as I didn’t want to, I headed back out front.
Aiden was still standing in the exact spot where I had left him. He still had that smoldering look in his eyes as well. I found myself once again wishing that he wasn’t so damned good looking.
“Do you want to go get some coffee down the street?” I asked him. “We can talk there.”
“Sure Holly,” he said, looking down at my belly again. “It looks like we have a lot to talk about.”
I led him out of the restaurant and down the street to a little coffee shop that had some nice bistro tables out front where we could have a private conversation, but not private enough that our emotions could get too out of control. I looked at Aiden’s face and hoped anyways. Our walk was quiet and uncomfortable. Neither of us looking forward to the confrontation, I think.
We got our coffees and Aiden looked satisfied when I ordered mine decaf. We took them and had a seat at one of the tables outside. Aiden’s silence was beginning to make me really uncomfortable. I wondered if he was plotting my demise…that was a joke, I think.
Once we were seated I decided to break the ice.
“Aiden, I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you I was pregnant…” He stopped me there by holding up his palm. It was the rudest gesture, but I suppose since I quit talking it had its desired effect. He reached into the little briefcase he was carrying and pulled out a pile of paperwork. He tossed the papers onto the table in front of me. All it took was a glance for me to recognize them as our “contract.”
“You remember these papers?” he said.
“Of course,” I told him.
“Oh, because I thought perhaps you’d forgotten that you signed a legal document that said when that child is born you’re to hand it over to me and disappear. This contract expressly states that child you’re carrying is mine, and mine alone. You didn’t not only fail to tell me you were pregnant, you lied right to my face. I never would have pegged you for a liar, Holly…obviously.”
“I’m not a liar, usually,” I said, not intimidated. “But you’re right, I did lie in this case, and I shouldn’t have. I just decided that I wasn’t capable of leaving a child in the hands of someone so emotionally damaged.” I was trying to keep a stiff upper lip. I wasn’t scared or intimidated, but I was shocked at how cold he could be.
He smiled, but it wasn’t humor I saw in his eyes, “You find me emotionally damaged? Perhaps I am, but I would have to give the credit for that to women like you. And by the way, you are more naïve than I thought if you think you can just change your mind and walk away from a legal commitment. Did you not realize this was a legally binding contract?”
“I’m sure that you’re not going to allow me to just walk away, Aiden, but I’m prepared to fight for my child. I will go to court and do that. I made a mistake when I agreed to give him over to you, and I’m sorry my mistake hurt you. But I’m not going to sacrifice him to keep from hurting you.”
“Him?” he said, I wasn’t certain, but it seemed like his eyes may have softened just a touch. “Do you just call it that, or do you know for sure?”
“Yes, it’s a boy,” I told him.
He almost smiled…almost. Then he remembered again why we were here.
“So, you want a court battle that could drag on for years? Are you financially prepared for that, Holly? Unless you have some big money socked away that I’m not aware of, I don’t think you are. It would ruin you, probably after the first two or three rounds.”
He sounded so arrogant. He was making it all about money again. If it wasn’t business, it was money. Did he have any human emotions left at all? I was angry now.
“I will do whatever I need to do for my child.”
With gritted teeth he said, “So will I, but you forget that it’s my child. I have that in writing.”
My head was pounding and I knew that we were getting nowhere.
“Aiden, I’m not feeling very well. Can we do this later?”
“How much later?” he asked. I could tell he was torn between saying no, that we needed to finish this now, and being worried about the baby. I guess he is human after all.
“How about you come to dinner at my apartment tonight, around seven?”
Aiden stood up. It was like he could hardly bear to look at me any longer. He took out his phone and said, “1120 Wyndcliff Rd.” I tried not to look perturbed that he’d had me investigated. I should have known that he would, especially once he found out that I was pregnant. I suppose that I may have done the same thing. It was ironic that we were both fighting so hard for the same child, yet working against each other instead of together.
“Yes, that’s it,” I finally told him. He gave me another look of smoldering disgust and then glanced down at my belly once more. It was incredible to watch the change in his face from one look to the next.
~
Chapter Seventeen
~