I didn’t know what to say to her. She looked so sad.
“What time is the spelling bee? Maybe I can come and watch you.”
Tony looked at me through the rearview mirror.
She reached inside her backpack and pulled out a note, handing it to me.
“It says here that the spelling bee is at one o’clock. One o’clock is a good time for me. I’ll schedule you in.” I gave her a wink.
“Really?” she said in excitement. “You’ll really come?”
“Sure. Since your mom can’t be there, I will be. But do me a favor, let’s not mention this to her because she’ll feel really bad that she can’t be there and we don’t want her worrying about it.”
“Deal.” She smiled. “Will you study the words with me after we visit my mom?”
“I think I can do that. But after we visit your mom, we’re going to have Mr. Tony take us to the store. We need to get some food for the house.”
“Okay.”
We arrived at the hospital and Hope ran to Lorelei’s bedside and gave her a hug.
“I’ve missed you so much, baby.” She kissed her head. “Thank you for leaving Luna here to keep me company.”
“You’re welcome. How are you feeling?”
“A little bit better. How was school today?”
“It was great. Mr. Sutton forgot to pack me a lunch, but he sent one over to the school and it had a cookie in it.”
Lorelei glanced up at me and a small smile crossed her lips.
“He burnt the eggs this morning, so we had to hurry and get breakfast from a diner down the street. We were late for school.” She giggled.
“I see. Well, at least you made it there.”
Reaching into my pocket, I pulled out Lorelei’s phone and handed it to her.
“Thanks, Jack.”
“You’re welcome. Any more news from the doctor?”
“He said I’ll still be in here for a couple of more days.” She coughed as she rested her hand on her chest.
“It’s better that way, Lorelei. You need to get a hundred percent better. You don’t want a relapse.”
“That’s what the doctor said. How’s everything going at the office?”
“The office is fine. I don’t want you worrying about that. I brought you something else.”
“You did?”
“Hold on a second and I’ll go grab it.” I walked out of the room and met Tony in the hall where he handed me Lorelei’s sketchbook.
Her face lit up as I walked back into the room and handed it to her.
“I thought you would like to have this in case you get bored.”
“Thank you, Jack. I can’t believe you brought this.”
After visiting Lorelei for a while, Hope and I headed to the store. I knew nothing about grocery stores because I never shopped. Madeline always took care of that for me. I grabbed a basket and Hope and I walked around as she threw some snacks into it.
“What do you want for dinner?” I asked.
“Hot dogs and macaroni and cheese.”
“A hot dog I can make. As for macaroni and cheese, I don’t know how to do that.”
She picked up the blue box of Kraft macaroni and cheese and handed it to me.
“The directions are on the side. All you have to do is follow them.”
I raised my brow as I looked down at her. “Is this stuff any good?”
“Yes. It’s one of my favorites.” She smiled. “You never had that before?”
“No. I haven’t. But if you say it’s good, I’ll take your word for it.” I winked.
When we arrived back at the penthouse, I grilled a couple of hot dogs and made the macaroni and cheese according to the box while Hope sat at the island and looked over her spelling bee words. I set our plates down and took a seat next to her while we ate and I helped her with her words.
Suddenly, I heard the elevator doors open, and when I turned around, my mother walked into the kitchen with a shocked expression on her face.
“What is going on here? And who’s that?” she asked.
“Mother this is Hope, Lorelei’s daughter. Hope, this is my mother.”
She walked over to the island and stared down at our plates.
“Are you eating hot dogs and macaroni and cheese?” she asked with a look of disgust on her face.
“Yes, we are.” I took a spoonful of macaroni and shoved it in my mouth with a smile on my face.
“Oh for God’s sake, Jack. May I ask why this child is here in your home? Where’s Lorelei?”
“My name is Hope and my mom is in the hospital with pneumonia.”
“Oh. Sorry to hear that.”
“Mr. Sutton is looking after me while she’s getting better.”
“He is?” My mother looked at me.
“I am.”
She slowly shook her head in disbelief and then asked to speak with me in my office. Following behind her, I shut the door.
“What’s going on?”
“Bradley didn’t steal the money from the company. I had him put the money in an offshore account for Joshua.”
“Joshua? What the hell does he have to do with this?”
“He’s blackmailing me.”
There was a light knock at the door. “Mr. Sutton?” I heard Hope speak.
“We’ll be finished in a minute, Hope. Go study your words.”
“Okay.”
I turned back to my mother. “You better tell me what’s going on now!”
She took in a deep breath and took a seat behind my desk.
“He found out about something I did.”
I cocked my head and narrowed my eyes at her. “And what did he find out?”
She looked down and crossed her hands.
“Mother?”
“He found out that I had hired someone to go to work for Flourishing Fashion Magazine. I had them spy on Dee Sanders and then report back to me about their plans for their seasonal debuts.”
“What?” I gasped. “You sent in a mole to steal their ideas and report back to you?”
“I’m not proud. But you need to understand that they were a new, upcoming magazine that was taking off way too quickly and Sutton magazine was suffering because of them. I wasn’t about to let my company that I built from the ground up go into ruins.”
Anger riveted throughout my body. “So you stole their ideas and made sure that Sutton Magazine’s issues went out first?”
“Yes, and I don’t have any regrets.”
“So you were responsible for Flourishing closing their doors.”
“Yes. I suppose so.”
“My God, Mother. How can you live with yourself?”
“This is a cut throat business, Jack. You know that. I’ve sacrificed my entire life for this company.”
“I know, and you also sacrificed your children.”
“That’s not fair, son.”
I ran my hand through my hair as I paced around my office. “So Joshua’s blackmailing you to keep quiet?”
“Yes. He said if I don’t pay him the money, he will go to the press.”
“I can’t talk to you about this right now. I have a little girl out there that needs me to help her study for her spelling bee. We’ll talk about this tomorrow.”
“Our company could be at stake here, and all you can think about is that child and a spelling bee?”
“Yes. Because her mom is in the hospital and she needs someone. Just like I needed someone growing up. But unfortunately, Coco and I were always pushed to the side.”
“That child isn’t your responsibility, Jack. She’s your PA’s child, for God’s sake.”
“It doesn’t matter whose child she is. Now I suggest you leave. We’ll talk about this further as soon as Coco gets back from LA.”
I opened the door and walked out into the living room. Hope was sitting on the couch with her spelling list in her hand.
“It was nice to meet you,” Hope spoke.
My mother turned a
round, frowned at her, and stepped into the elevator.
“She seems kind of mean,” Hope spoke as she looked at me.
“She is.”
Chapter Thirty-Five
Jack
I looked at my watch. It was almost twelve thirty. Shit. I grabbed my briefcase and just caught the elevator going down before the doors closed. Running through the lobby and out the building doors, I slid into the back of the limo and told Tony to step on it. There was no way I could be late for Hope’s spelling bee competition. I arrived at approximately twelve fifty five and there were only seats left in the very back row. I scanned the people sitting in their seats, looking for someone who might be nice enough to give up theirs and move to the back. Walking down the aisle, my eyes diverted to the second row where a young man was sitting.
“Excuse me, sir.”
“Yes.” He looked up at me through his brown-rimmed glasses.
I reached into my pocket and pulled out a hundred-dollar bill.
“If you let me have your seat, this is yours.” I flashed the bill at him. “There are plenty of seats in the back.”
“It’s all yours.” He grinned as he got up from his chair and I handed him the money.
“Thank you.” I nodded and took my seat just as the ten students walked out on stage.
I pulled my phone from my pocket and set it to video so I could record this for Lorelei. Hope saw me sitting in the second row and smiled as she excitedly waved to me.
One child down.
Two children down.
Three children down.
Four children down.
Five children down.
Six children down.
Seven children down.
This was utterly nerve wracking. Hope was one of the last three students standing.
Eight children down.
It was Hope’s turn and the word she was given was one she struggled with last night. I clenched my fist and brought it up to my lips. She looked frightened and unsure and I was terrified she’d get it wrong. I was holding my breath and my phone up. She spelled the word correctly and I let out a sigh of relief. This round went on for another fifteen minutes until the other kid messed up on a word and Hope spelled it correctly. There was silence in the room until I stood up and yelled, “YES!” Everyone clapped as they announced Hope as the winner and placed a gold medal around her neck. I don’t think I had ever been more proud of anyone in my life as I was of Hope.
“You did it!” I bent down and held out my arms.
“I know! I can’t believe I won.” She wrapped her small arms around my neck.
“Your mom is going to be so proud of you.” I kissed her head.
“Mr. Sutton?”
“Yes, Hope.”
“Can we go see her now?”
“We sure can, but one thing first. I want you to call me Jack. No more Mr. Sutton.”
“Okay, Jack.” She smiled.
****
Later that night after I tucked Hope into bed, I took Charlotte’s Web from the nightstand and opened to the page where I had left off. I had reached the part where Charlotte was dying and I won’t lie and say I didn’t get choked up. Looking over at Hope, I saw that tears were streaming down her face as I read.
“Why did she have to die?” She sniffled.
I didn’t know what to say to her, but I was just as broken up as she was.
“Let’s continue the book and see how it ends,” I spoke as I wiped the tears from her face.
“So Wilbur took care of Charlotte’s children and became friends with them. Kind of like you, Jack.”
I closed the book and looked at her. “Yeah, I guess so.” I smiled.
I turned off the light and headed to my bedroom. Climbing into bed, I took my phone and dialed Lorelei.
“Hello,” she answered in a low voice.
“Hey. How are you feeling?”
“I’m feeling a little better. The doctor was in here earlier and said I can go home in a couple of days.”
“That’s great news. I’m sure you’re anxious to get out of there.”
“I am. I just want to go home. I miss my bed and my daughter.”
“I know you do. Hey, listen, I was thinking that I would stick around for a while tomorrow after I drop Hope off at school.”
“You don’t have to, Jack. I know you’re a busy man.”
“I know I don’t have to. I want to. And as for the office, the work can wait. I’ll let you go so you can get your rest. You sound tired.”
“Good night, Jack.”
“Good night, Lorelei.”
I set my phone down and sighed. I missed her and I couldn’t wait to spend time with her tomorrow, even if it was in a hospital.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Lorelei
Jack walked in and I smiled when I saw the Starbucks cup in his hand.
“I thought you could use some real coffee.” He smiled as he handed me the cup.
“You are the best. Thank you,” I spoke as I brought the cup up to my lips. “How’s Hope?”
“She’s good. We finished reading Charlotte’s Web last night.”
I cocked my head as I stared into his eyes.
“You read Charlotte’s Web to her?”
“Yeah. She asked me to read to her while she fell asleep. Did you want me to tell her no?”
“Of course not.” I laughed.
“Have you read that book before?” he asked with seriousness.
“Yes. I read it all the time when I was a kid.”
“That’s quite a tearjerker. I was choked up, Hope was crying. It was a sad night last night.”
“You, Mr. Jack Sutton, got choked up over Charlotte’s Web.”
“Yes, I did. When Charlotte died, it was a little too much for me to handle. Wilbur losing his best friend like that and all. Such a shame. She was a great spider.”
“She was wasn’t she?” I tilted my head at him, trying to hold back the laughter.
“Are you making fun of me, Lorelei?”
“No.” I snorted.
As we were both laughing, the doctor walked in. “Good news, Lorelei. I’m sending you home today.”
“Really?” I smiled.
“Yes. Really. Your chest x-ray came back good and your blood work is good. Your fever is gone and you can finish getting better at home but with restrictions. No going out anywhere. That includes work. I’m writing you a note for the rest of the week. You may return on Monday if you’re feeling better.”
“You won’t have to write a note, doctor. This is my boss right here.”
“Ah. Well, Lorelei is to be off the rest of the week.”
“I wouldn’t let her back anyway until she was one hundred percent better.”
“I’ll go get your discharge papers ready.”
When he walked out of the room, I did a little wiggle in my bed. “I can’t believe I get to go home.”
“It’s a good thing I stayed here with you today.”
“I can’t wait to be at home with Hope. I miss her so much.”
“She misses you too.”
An hour later, I was discharged from the hospital. The first thing I did was change into my warm two-piece cotton pajamas and curled up in a blanket on the couch.
“Can I make you anything? Coffee? Tea? Do you even drink tea?” Jack asked.
“I do drink tea and I would love some chamomile. The tea bags are in the cabinet above the stove.”
“Have you heard from your parents?” he asked as he reached up and took down the box of tea.
“My mom sent me a text message saying they’re having a blast, but they miss me and Hope. I didn’t text her back because of the charges and because I didn’t want them to worry.”
“Good idea. What about Stella?”
“I was going to tell her about my illness yesterday, but she sent me a text message saying that Sebastian’s father passed away and they had so much funeral planning to do that she’d talk to me when s
he got the chance.”
Snuggled up on the couch, I watched as Jack stood in my kitchen and put the tea kettle on the stove. The fact that he took care of Hope, read to her at night, went to her spelling bee so someone would be there for her, overwhelmed me. This wasn’t the man I worked for. This wasn’t the man that I slept with and then was told that it was a mistake and to forget about it and move on. He was different on so many levels that it sort of worried me.
“Here’s your tea.” Jack smiled as he handed me the cup. “Are you hungry?”
“No. Not really.”
He walked back into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator and then looked inside the cabinets.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“You don’t have any food. When was the last time you went shopping?”
“I was going to go this past weekend, but then I felt so lousy that I didn’t have a chance.”
“Then I guess a trip back to the grocery store is in order. After I pick up Hope from school, we’ll go and bring some groceries back.”
“You don’t have to do that, Jack. You’ve done enough already.”
“You need food, Lorelei. Especially for Hope. It’s not a big deal. Why don’t you make me a list of the things you want?”
“Fine. There’s paper and a pen in the drawer over there.” I pointed.
He walked over to the table and pulled out a piece of paper and a pen and handed it to me. As soon as I wrote down a few things, I handed it back to him.
“That should be good. Let Hope pick out a few things she wants. Can you hand me my purse please? I’ll give you some money.”
He put his hand up. “You aren’t giving me money. I can buy your groceries.”
“No, Jack.”
“End of discussion, Lorelei. Now I’m going to go and collect Hope’s things from my place so when I pick her up, we can just go to the store and head back here. Do you need anything before I leave?”
“No. I’ve got my tea, so I’m good.” I gave a small smile.
As soon as he left, I got up and grabbed my sketchbook to finish working on the two-piece outfit I had started in the hospital. Suddenly, the door opened and Jack walked back inside.