Page 5 of Nothing to This (Nothing to… #8)

She’d swear she’d only just sat at her desk when her phone rang. Okay, maybe she’d been there an hour, but it had taken that long to orient herself and get her schedule in order. See, frazzled.

“Rylee Hampton,” she answered.

“Ry, can you come upstairs?”

Whose voice was that? She didn’t recognize the extension either.

“Who is this?”

There was a pause and then a mocking laugh. “The father of your children.”

“Oh my God,” she hissed, grabbing the phone closer to her mouth with both hands. “JD?”

“How many fathers of your kids are there? Did we get paternity on both of them?”

She scanned the open plan office around her, hoping no one was listening in. “Don’t say that here. You better be alone.”

“I am,” he said with curiosity. “Will you come upstairs, please?”

“I…”

Hmm, dilemma. JD was her boss, but he wouldn’t want to talk about anything professional. Still, maybe seeing him without the kids around would give her the chance to set a few things straight.

“Rylee,” he said, drawing out her name.

Was he about to play the boss card or did he think he was being cute?

“I’ve never been to the top floor.”

“Get in the elevator, press the button for the top. Walk straight ahead, through the bullpen and up the staircase that takes you to the mezzanine. From there, my office is right in front of you. You can’t miss it.”

“Will you be alone?”

Another pause. “In the office? Yes,” he said. “Are you okay?”

“I’ll be up in a minute.”

Hanging up without waiting for another word, getting out while her supervisors were in their daily meeting was the best chance. Grabbing her purse, she dashed to the elevator, pleased the morning rush was over.

Why did JD call? She still wasn’t totally clear on why he’d showed up at her place last night either. While the twins were around, they couldn’t speak about certain topics. If JD was going to live in her home, she’d have to make that clear.

Thinking about him moving into her apartment put her into a trance for the rest of the elevator ride.

Eyes focused straight ahead, lost in a swirl of what-ifs, she got through the bullpen.

Only after running up the stairs and seeing three sleek, young blondes seated outside JD’s office did she snap out of the daze. Why the parade of underwear models?

Walking straight into the double-doored office, she stopped inside, attracting the attentions of the four men present.

So much for him being alone. The three on her side of the desk stared at the intruder.

Ted, the CFO, and the COO. At least they were the former CFO and COO, she didn’t know if they still held positions.

JD stood at his side of the desk. Apparently, if his held breath was any indication, she’d interrupted him mid-sentence.

He exhaled. “Gentlemen, would you give us the room,” he said, without hesitating to dismiss them.

Shuffling aside, she let the men depart without taking her focus from JD.

The COO closed the door.

“Who is he?” JD asked.

“Uh…” She wasn’t exactly following. “Ted Carmichael is the only name I know,” she said. “The other two I know by position, not name… former position anyway. Are you restructuring?”

JD frowned. “What?” he asked, confused, then shook his head when he figured her out. “Them? No, the boyfriend. Who’s your boyfriend? What’s his name?”

“Baxter,” she said, looking around the room with its pale gray carpet and heavy black furniture. “This room isn’t very finessed, is it? It’s too eighties. Though they are coming back… but not like this. It was Ted’s, right? You’ll have to redecorate.”

“Are you serious?”

She admired the sparse-on-accessories bookcase to the right and the leather couches to her left. Both were too big to send the right message.

“Yes! Get a decorator in here fast. It seems like you’re compensating for something you don’t need to be compensating for.” She rethought her words and smiled. “I probably just insulted Ted.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

His abrupt tone startled her. “The furniture,” she said, confused by his scowl. “What are you talking about?”

“The boyfriend. Are you serious with him?”

“Oh, uh, I don’t know.” How was this his business? “Maybe.”

In time. If they were together that long.

The relationship was still in its infancy.

They hadn’t even discussed exclusivity. It seemed only fair that Baxter should live his life between their hook ups without her constraining him.

The kids were her focus; she didn’t need the complications men brought. JD didn’t need to know any of that.

“Does he know you have kids?”

“Yes,” she said, starting toward his desk opposite the door.

“Has he met them?” She shook her head and he exhaled. “Good.”

“Good? What business is it of yours?”

“How long have you been seeing him?”

“A few months,” she said and put her purse on the desk. “What’s with the interrogation?”

“When do you see him?”

“JD, my life is not your business. Is this why you called me up here?”

“No, I called you up here to talk about work.”

“Good, because that’s why I came,” she said and gestured to the chair behind him. “Let’s sit and talk about work.”

He sat, as did she, roles reversed. The office was his, yet she’d sort of taken the lead.

“I hear good things about you.”

“Please tell me you’re not asking about me,” she said on a semi-groan. “No one knows the identity of my children’s father and I intend to keep it that way.”

His instant expression of offence was almost laughable.

“What?”

“Before the twins were born—you probably won’t remember this—a squad of your lawyers descended upon me. You weren’t present, ever, for the zillion meetings I attended. Suffice to say, I had to sign a contract. Yes, it was for child support and visitation, but it had other clauses too.”

“Other clauses?”

“I was never to breathe a word of their paternity to anyone.” She took a breath.

“It worked for me. The kids have my name, I have my job. Your mother moved close, which was the concession I got for granting weekend visitation and child support… and paternity… without going through a court. Or going to the press probably. Marjorie has built her life here, been an excellent grandmother, and a friend to me. She manages to do both without ever encroaching on my life in any way that might compromise the situation.”

“What are you saying?”

“You buying the company I work for, moving into my life, it compromises me. My children go to daycare here. Our lives work. Until now I didn’t have to worry about answering questions on who their father was or how much money he had…

I don’t know why you chose to do this, if you have some underlying motive or if it’s just coincidence, but you have to abide by the rules. ”

Resting his forearms on the arms of his chair, he leaned back. “Which are?”

“First and foremost, you can’t reveal to anyone that you’re the father of my children.”

“You said they go to daycare here.” She nodded. “Inside Spotlight Solutions?”

“Yes.”

“Our children are in this building and you’re telling me I have to deny them?”

“I’m telling you it’s in the contract,” she said. “You don’t have to deny it. No one will ask you; they’ll have no reason to ask. Just avoid daycare in the lobby.”

“Avoid it?”

“I will not ask our children to lie. Four-year-olds are terrible at it anyway. If they see you, they’ll react. It’s not just my life you’ve compromised, it’s theirs too. Did you even think about them when you bought this place?”

“I didn’t know you worked here,” he said. “It just never came up.”

They never talked and from what she knew, her name didn’t arise in conversation with his mom or sister either.

“You expect me to believe this is all one big coincidence?”

Linking his fingers, he landed his forearms on the desk. “My mom moved to this city to be close to her grandchildren.”

“I know.”

“My sister followed a year later.”

“I know that too.”

“Until now, my goals have always been related to building up the business. It’s taken up all my adult life.

Amassing money is fun, building an empire is challenging, but you know the one thing I never had?

Roots. When I took a step back, I realized I needed a base.

I don’t want to ping-pong around the planet anymore.

I need somewhere to run things from… When I started thinking about where that might be, only one place came to mind. ”

Okay, that was… unexpected. A home; he was seeking a home.

“You meant what you said about settling down and buying an apartment?”

“I did,” he said. “Where else would I do it? My family is here. My children are here.”

“I’m not saying that you shouldn’t have moved to the city,” she said. “The kids will love seeing more of you. And I’ll have one less thing to bitch about if you actually start showing up for them. I’m all for being wrong.”

“But…?”

“But did you have to buy the company I work for?” she asked and took a deep breath. “It doesn’t matter, it’s done now. Until I have the chance to consult a lawyer, I’d appreciate it if you didn’t say anything to anyone about… our link.”

“Our children,” he said. “Why do you have to consult a lawyer? I’m not here to take them away from you. You’re an incredible mom.”

Another surprise. A compliment? Was he trying to sweet talk her or did it just slip out?

“Thank you. But I meant the gag order,” she said. “While it’s okay for you to run around telling everyone who you are to my children, I could be sued for acknowledging it. I’ll have to explore the language around the kids acknowledging you too. If you start telling people, and they start asking…”

“It puts you in a precarious position,” he said, bobbing his head in understanding. “You know I would never sue you. At least, I hope you know.”

The soaking guy elbow deep in her bathtub that morning wouldn’t sue her. The slick businessman in front of her… she wasn’t so sure about him.

“You’re not like regular guys,” she said. “You’re not just… you.”

“What does that mean?”