Page 27 of Boss with Benefits (Boss of Seduction #6)

Where was everyone?

Jessica waited outside the courtroom for Brady and her attorney. Jill Crawford had promised to take the case on herself, but she hadn’t shown up yet. No one on her side had shown up. The hearing was about to start. Where were they?

Brady hadn’t returned home last night, but Deacon called her on the sly. They were having a beer at their favorite bar. He told her Brady planned to stay the night at his house, but he would be on time for the hearing.

He wasn’t.

She checked her phone again. No texts. She paced in front of the courtroom doors, constantly checking her watch. Her muscles ached from clenching, and every nerve-ending she had was stretched tight enough to snap. How could they do this to her?

One of them running late would have been bad enough, but both of them?

Brady knew how important this court hearing was to her, so she knew he had to have a good reason for not showing up on time. She loved him and trusted him. Brady wouldn’t let her down.

The strange thing was she hadn’t seen Randy either.

She turned to retrace her steps and saw Ms. Crawford coming towards her.

Relief flooded her system. A dozen questions lined up on her tongue, but the woman lifted a hand to stop them before the first one came out of her mouth.

She could tell by Ms. Crawford’s expression she had something important to say.

“It’s over,” Jill Crawford said. “The custody hearing has been called off.”

“Called off?” Jessica blinked. “You mean it’s been postponed?”

Ms. Crawford shook her head. “Your ex has dropped the lawsuit and will not be seeking custody of your son. Congratulations.”

It was good news, sure, but Jessica didn’t feel like celebrating yet. “What changed his mind?”

Maybe he’d realized he didn’t have enough of an advantage to win yet and was going to collect more evidence against her before pursuing it.

“Doesn’t matter,” Ms. Crawford said. “The point is, you have full custody of your son.”

“What if he changes his mind again? This nightmare will never be over.”

Crawford handed her a large envelope. “This is a signed termination of parental rights. Your ex no longer has a claim on your son, so he can’t go for custody again. It is truly over. You can relax.”

Jessica’s hands trembled as she held the most precious document she’d ever received. She opened it carefully, needing to see his signature for herself.

And there it was. He had actually signed away his parental rights. Axl would never have to deal with him again.

“Thank you,” she gushed, tears in her eyes. “Thank you so much.”

“Don’t thank me.” Crawford quirked an eyebrow. “Thank Brady.”

“What did Brady do?”

The woman gave her a half-shrug as she backed up. Then Ms. Crawford turned and walked away without another word, leaving Jessica to stare after her in confusion.

What did Brady have to do with this?

And where was he?

∞∞∞

Forty minutes later, Jessica opened the front door of Brady’s home to another surprise.

There was a bottle of champagne chilling on the coffee table with a box of chocolates and a bowl of strawberries nearby.

Soft music played in the background. When Brady walked into the room wearing one of his expensive suits, she ran to him and jumped into his arms.

“Guess Jill told you the news, huh?” He spun around with her twice before setting her back on her feet. “I sent Axl home with Bridget. Hope that’s okay.”

“It is more than okay.” She kissed him full on the mouth. “What did Ms. Crawford mean when she said I should be thanking you and not her for Randy backing down?”

He shrugged. “Not important.”

“It’s important to me.”

“Look around you, woman.” He grinned, deepening the dimples in his cheeks. “I went to a lot of effort to make this a night of celebration.”

“I can see that.” She pointed at the champagne. “Do you think champagne is a wise move after what happened last time?”

“You only get half a glass tonight. Just enough for a toast or two.”

She nodded and laughed. “Good idea.”

Brady steered her to the dining room where food from her favorite Chinese restaurant was waiting.

He held her chair for her. Then he sat next to her instead of on the opposite side of the table.

She thought it was sweet, and she realized Brady had done so many sweet things for her she couldn’t keep track.

She should do something nice for him. No.

Forget nice. She should do something spectacular to knock his socks off.

“I feel like such an incredible weight has been lifted off my shoulders.” She passed on the chopsticks and used a spoon on her fried rice. “And I really appreciate all you’ve done for me and my little man.”

“You don’t have to keep thanking me.” He looked slightly irritated. “I did it because I wanted to. You are such a good mom, and no one has the right to take your son.”

She nodded in full agreement. “I wish I knew why Randy changed his mind. You didn’t threaten him, did you?”

Brady shook his head, but he didn’t give her a verbal answer.

They ate their dinner in relative silence, but it wasn’t an awkward silence. She didn’t know how he was feeling; she was totally relaxed and at peace. Until they finished their meal...

Brady walked her back to the living room and sat with her on his sectional sofa. He stroked her cheek. Then he said the last thing she expected to hear at a moment like this. “I wanted tonight to be special, because it’s going to be our last night together.”

Her smile froze, and her heart dropped to her stomach. “What? Why?”

“You know why.” He grimaced. “This marriage was for the sole purpose of winning custody of Axl. We did that. So it’s time for us to go our separate ways.”

She blinked rapidly to keep tears from filling her eyes. “What if I don’t want a divorce? What if I don’t want this to be our last night?”

“Jessica, don’t—”

She bolted to her feet. Standing over him while he was still sitting made her feel more in control, more powerful. “Don’t you feel anything for me?” she asked. “Maybe it’s not love yet, but the way you look at me, the way you touch me, you have to feel something .”

He refused to look at her now.

Words weren’t necessary.

A surge of anger eased the pain and kept the tears at bay. “You used me,” she said in a voice robbed of breath. “I thought you were different from the other men, the other photographers. Guess the joke is on me.”

He stood with an apologetic expression. “Jess—”

“No. Don’t bother. I thought you gave me a home and a wedding band to save me from losing my son. But you did it so I would keep sleeping with you. This has all been about you getting your way. You wanted the upper-hand. You wanted to be the one to end things.”

He stared at her, lips compressed, and she wanted to physically hit him. She wanted to hurt him like he’d hurt her. What stopped her was the outcome of his long-con. She had her son, and he was all that mattered.

“I’ll be out of here tomorrow,” she said. “It’s your house. If anyone is leaving, it needs to be me.”

He shook his head. “Stay. I’m leaving the country, so I won’t be using the house.”

“Wow.” She scoffed. “You must really want to get away from me if you have to leave the whole damn country.”

He sighed and rubbed the place between his eyes that throbbed when a headache was coming on. She knew the feeling. But she didn’t feel an ounce of sympathy for him.

“I’m not leaving because of you,” he said. “I’ve been thinking about going back on the road to photograph wild animals and exotic locations. I’ve been thinking about it for a while now. You can either sell the agency or get someone to replace me. I’ll sell you my seventy percent if you want.”

Her brain felt like it might explode, so crammed full with new information she couldn’t think. She needed to take a moment to breathe. How was she supposed to make life-altering decisions when her world was falling apart?

“No rush,” he said. “I’ll drop you a postcard, and you can let me know what you want to do about the business.”

“This is happening too fast.”

“I have my airline ticket, and my bags are packed.”

She gaped at him with her mouth slightly open. What was happening? She gestured to the champagne, strawberries, and chocolate. “Why did you do all this if you were planning to walk out on me.”

“I’m not...” He raked a hand through his thick dark hair and turned away for a moment.

“I am not walking out on you, Jess. This was the deal from the start. I promised you I wouldn’t let you lose Axl, and I kept my word.

I feel like I need a fresh start somewhere else, and I hope you can understand. ”

She twisted her fingers while desperately searching for something to say.

He was right, of course. Somehow, he had gotten Randy to change his mind and sign over his parental rights.

She couldn’t be mad at him. So what if he got sex out of the deal?

She’d already been sleeping with him before Randy got the not-so-brilliant idea to take her son away.

“You say you’ve been thinking about this for a while?” She shrugged. “Can’t say I’m really shocked. You haven’t seemed happy with the business lately.”

He looked surprised she’d noticed. “Making coffee and mattress ads isn’t exactly my dream. You know that.”

“You’ve had some successful art showings at galleries around the country. I figured you would do it on the side.”

“I’ve been in touch with a few places wanting to showcase my work, but I need fresh photographs. Better ones. I need to blow them away if I want to be on top and stay there.”

Jessica nodded. “I’ll support you in whatever you want to do, of course.

But can’t you work at the agency and follow your dream?

You can take off every two or three months for a week.

Maybe more often. I can do the parts you hate, pick the models and meet with clients.

Can’t you take your artistic photos here and there while still working with me? ”

A wistful smile came to his face, and his feet ate the distance between them. He placed a long, lingering kiss on her mouth. It was a goodbye kiss. She didn’t need to be a psychic to know that. He was saying his final goodbye.

Then he kissed her forehead. “I am going to miss you like crazy.”

Emotion choked her, and she couldn’t speak for a moment.

She nodded as tears filled her eyes. “Right back at you, stud.”

He walked around the corner to the hallway, headed for the bedroom alone.

She took shaky breaths and tried to get a grip on her emotions. If he wanted to leave them, there wasn’t anything she could do about it. Poor Axl would be crushed by the news. He loved Brady, too.

Several minutes later, Brady returned with his packed suitcases. He gave her a quick kiss. It was all happening too fast for her. She couldn’t think straight.

There were things she wanted to say to him, important things, but her vocal cords refused to work. She simply stood there staring at him. Her eyes devoured the sight of him, every inch, while her mind tried to memorize everything.

“Stay here as long as you want,” he said. “Seriously. You’ll be doing me a favor by not leaving the place empty. I’ll call to let you know where I am as soon as I can.”

Then he was gone.

She wanted to chase his car down the street, but her legs refused to move. Instead, she crumpled to her knees on the fur rug and let the dam burst wide open. Tears flowed down her cheeks. Sobs wracked her body. How was she going to survive without him?

She had her son, but she’d lost her heart all the same.

Living without Brady wouldn’t be living at all.