"I called the modeling agency and requested the girls' portfolios at the charity auction that night."
She looked confused for a second. "But I wasn't-"
"Your friend was the only one who wasn't there," I said, cutting her off. "She was part of the lineup, but she wasn't there, andyouwere there but not part of the lineup. Nor was there any record of you at the agency. So, I just concluded that you replaced her without the agency knowing, and I took it from there."
"And used Tammie to find me," she added, her eyebrows knit together.
"Exactly," I replied with a scoff. "After I got her contact information, I gave her a little ring. I don't know why I hadn't thought of that in the first place. Maybe we wouldn't be here if I had."
"Was that even legal?"
"I learned, a long time ago, that there is nothing that I can't get when I want it. I even got you."
"I am not some item, Michael," she snapped. "If you called me here to confess that you are some creepy stalker who managed to convince me to sleep with him, then you didn't have to. A text would have sufficed."
She stood up, and I followed suit, making her look at me. She was so tiny, but I could sense that the anger churning inside of her was of magnificent proportions.
"You think you have a right to be angry with me?" I asked with a humorless laugh. "You have some balls; I'll give you that."
"And you haveto be out of your mind to think that I'll sit here and listen to you bragging about 'getting' me," she said, using her fingers to quote the word as she said it. "Newsflash, Michael, wehadeach other. And now I'm starting to think it was a mistake on my part."
"You only think it was a mistakenow? I thought that was evident from the very second you decided to run!"
"This is just a waste of my time," she replied with a sigh. "Do not call my friend again or threaten her. You will leave her out of this."
"Or what?" I challenged, taking a step toward her.
"Just stay away from us," she demanded, then tried to walk out.
I caught her arm and turned her to face me before letting her go. "Where do you think you are going?"
"Home. Coming here was not a good idea."
She turned to leave again, but I stopped her.
"You are not going anywhere. You have something to confess, or have you conveniently forgotten about that?"
She looked into my eyes. "I have nothing to say to you."
I didn't take my eyes off her as I asked my next question. I would not let her get off the hook that easily, no matter how many tantrums she decided to throw. We could be here for the whole night for all I cared, as long as I got the answers I deserved.
"Nothing at all. Are you sure about that? What about Robin? Don't you have something to say aboutyourson?"
She quickly looked away from me, but I put my finger on her chin and made her look at me again. Her eyes were wide like a little deer caught in a trap, but I would be damned if I let her fool me now.
"Let's start with the simple questions, shall we? Your name really is Jade, correct?"
She nodded after a few seconds. Her friend confirmed it when I called her, so at least she wasn't lying about that. My assumption had come from the fact that I hadn't been able to find her at the agency the first time, but now I had one truth about the mysterious woman in front of me.
"And we spent the night together seven years ago, correct?"
"You know it is. What's your point?"
"Just making sure we are on the same page here and agree. I spent the entire evening thinking about that night several years ago. You were beautiful and perfect, and I was lost in you. So lost that I didn't use any protection."
She looked away again, but I made her look at me again.
"And your son is just the right age to have been conceived around that time."