Tammie was quiet for a long time, and I began to worry that she thought I was insane. I probably was a little crazy, as I was twenty-two and thinking of becoming a mother. But I was already a mother in some ways, having taken care of my little sister since she was thirteen. I was no stranger to hard work and knew I would have to work extra hard to support a child.
"No matter what, remember? I got your back, always. Call me dependable Auntie Tammie."
I laughed and squeezed her hand. "Thank you, Tamz. I'll need all the free babysitting I can get."
She smiled. "Well, as long as you are happy to pick up your baby with a dirty diaper, I am not going anywhere near that."
I laughed again and wiped my eyes. "Got it. I'll have him potty trained by the time he's two months old."
"Or her," she pointed out.
"Or her," I agreed.
Only time would tell if the little one inside me would turn out to be a little girl who took after me. Or a little boy who would take after a father he would never know.
6
Michael
"Sometimes, I think you forget whose name is on your paycheck every month!"
My assistant, Daisy, raised a brow at me, and I reigned in my anger. I took a deep breath and faced the windows, taking in the beautiful view. I listened to the man on the other end of the line apologizing, but I was not interested in apologies. Never, in the history of my family legacy, had the Fletcher fortune been enhanced by apologies. And what people didn't realize was that it wasn't my vanity that fueled my passion for succeeding but the responsibilities that I had. To most, I was just a thirty-four-year-old man who had been born with a platinum spoon in his mouth. In truth, I was just a couple of millions shy of becoming a billionaire, but that wealth supported many people.
I had thousands of employees and charities that needed me to be the best I could be. There were scholarships in my family name that sent hundreds of kids to school each year, not to mention the medical donations that saved thousands of lives. If I allowed everyone to sit around and not do their jobs properly so that they could apologize, all that would be lost. That was the most frustrating part.
"Just fix this," I said, then hung up.
"Everything is set for your twelve o'clock, and I've made a lunch reservation for you at one-thirty."
"I'm not-" I started to protest, but she quickly cut me off.
"You've been working nonstop since you got here last night and skipped breakfast. A little break will help."
"I wouldn't need to work nonstop if people did what I paid them to do."
"New city, new problems. Don't worry. They will all catch up soon."
She was right, but I was too impatient. And something about being back in Savannah again, even after almost seven years, was putting me on edge. The last time I'd been here, I'd not only been helping my mother with her charity event but also scouting new business opportunities as well. Not it was finally coming to fruition, and I was opening up a new factory here. My company was working on cutting-edge technology for medical equipment, and the land we had acquired was large enough for everything we needed to do. It was an exciting venture for me, or it would have been exciting if everyone didn't keep messing everything up. I didn't allow myself to dwell much on the woman who had run away from me the last time I had been here, which would worsen my sour mood.
I gotready for my meeting, and it went better than expected. And since Daisy had been working just as hard, I asked her to join me for lunch. The restaurant she had chosen was very quaint, and the food was amazing. We got a table outside, and I enjoyed the break from the hotel food. I had been traveling a lot lately and spent more time in hotels than at home, so I enjoyed a nice, quiet lunch, grateful that Daisy knew me well enough not to talk when I didn't want to.
I was about to ask for the check when someone caught my eye as they passed by. I had a clear view of the sidewalk where I was sitting, so when the redhead walked by, she quickly drew my attention. For a moment, time stopped, and I forgot where I was. A few months after Jade had vanished, I'd seen a woman walking by as I drove home. I had parked my car and gotten out, only to see that the woman was too tall and the shade of red was all wrong. I wondered if the same was happening now.
The woman was just within my sight and bent down to speak to a child. It had been years, but I had never seen that shade of red anywhere else. I would bet my last dollar that I was right this time, and that was Jade.
I handed my card to Daisy. "I'll be right back."
I didn't wait for her to respond or ask where I was going. I just walked out of the restaurant and went to the woman I suspected to be Jade. I was hoping it would be her. After all these years, just looking into those green eyes would be satisfying enough. I hadn't mastered how to erase the woman from my mind over the years, and more often than not, it felt like I had made her up.
But the woman in front of me was no figment of my imagination. She was curvier than I remembered, and my hands itched to explore the new developments. That fiery mane was in a ponytail, the shade still as natural and beautiful as I remembered.
But that wasn't all that I remembered.
I remembered how I had woken up alone, her side of the bed cold and empty. I remembered how I had looked for a note or anything to let me know where she was. I also remembered how she had made me laugh and relax, only to use me for an orgasm and bail in the middle of the night.
The following weeks after I left Savannah had been torture. Mostly because I found myself uninterested in any woman who looked my way. I hated that one encounter had turned me into some love-sick puppy, and I couldn't even recognize who I had become. I had never pined after a woman, ever! Or spent years remembering a one-night stand. Yet somehow, Jade had managed to weasel herself into my mind, and I couldn't get her out.
"Jade."