That decided, Raina felt brave enough to tackle the official looking letter she held in her hand, and ripped it open, mentally bracing herself for what was inside.
It was from her insurance company and she shuddered inwardly at the sight of their letterhead.
She smoothed out the letter and began to read. As Raina took in the contents of the letter, her eyes grew wider and her fingers shook.
Finally, her fingers let go and the letter dropped back into the plush sofa cushions.
She sat unmoving, her mind blank, unable to fathom what she was reading. Then she seemed to gather herself and the first emotion she felt was a great relief accompanied by the urge to cry and scream at the same time. She gave in to the tears and she covered her face with her hands.
It was over! The struggle was over.
Raina took the letter again and reread it, taking time to absorb every word.
The letter was from her insurance company. The insurance from the driver who had killed Mira and Byron had come through. They would be sending her a check for $500,000 in exchange for not bringing a lawsuit against the trucking company that had employed the driver.
Raina could not breathe at the thought of so much money. It was more money than she had thought possible. Her problems were solved.
There was so much to think about.
So many worries had disappeared in that instant. Her mind raced with the possibilities that the money opened up for her.
She would pay off her mortgage and the medical bills.
But! The best part of it all was that the worry over losing her job was gone! She let out a small shriek of joy, jumping up and crying out. “Thank you, God. Thank you!”
She thought of her long-held dream of opening up a small bed and breakfast. A mixture of anxiety and excitement tingled in her stomach. Was it something she could now do? It was risky starting a new business but it would mean so much for her.
The fear of having another boss like Roger would be gone and she could concentrate on building something that was her own. Her own business would also give her the flexibility of being there for the children. The anxiety begun to dissipate.
If only there was someone she could share this with. If only … Christopher was there to celebrate with her, she thought sadly. She tried to reassure herself that he would come around. It would work out. It had too.
He had to give her a chance to explain … didn’t he?
She missed the evening cup of coffee that they shared together.
She missed feeling his body next to her, holding her so tight that sometimes she worried he might crush her with his large frame.
Oh Christopher, where are you? Images of her and Roger in the lobby floated in her mind. For the first time since it happened, Raina saw with clarity, how Christopher could have misjudged the situation.
Her head had been angled to the side in an effort to shield her neck from Roger’s slimy hands. To someone watching however, it might have seemed like she was caught up in the throes of passion. Raina felt a stab of fear.
What if Christopher didn’t believe her? No, she wouldn’t think like that. He just had to hear her side of the story.
12
Christian poured over the documents he had just printed.
How he had misjudged her.
He still could not believe that Raina—sweet, funny, kind, loving Raina—was the culprit.
Out of all the women who had betrayed him, this one hurt the most.
What an idiot he had been. He blamed himself most of all.
He thought of her wide brown eyes and the honesty and sincerity that shone from them. His mind and heart just could not accept that it was Raina stealing form the company all this time. It seemed so out of character …
But then again, trading sex to get a promotion had seemed out of character too, he reminded himself.