Tailored for Trouble (Happy Pants #1) - Mimi Jean Pamfiloff Page 0,106
to do.
The next morning she called his office, and it was exactly as she’d feared.
“I’m sorry, Ms. Reed,” Robin said, “but Mr. Wade is out of the country. I’ll let him know you called.”
“Do you know when he’ll be back? It’s kind of important.”
“I’m sorry, Ms. Reed. I’m not allowed to share Mr. Wade’s itinerary. But I promise I’ll tell him you called.”
She knew Robin would keep her word, but would Bennett call?
Taylor could only hope for the best.
She spent the next week dusting off her resume, researching companies, and applying for jobs. Her heart might not be ready to move on, but her bank account and credit cards were itching for some attention. She figured she would work as a consultant in the HR field, because they paid the best, and she’d have more flexible hours for the baby. It would also allow her to pay back Jack every dime.
Yes, she’d swallowed her pride and asked him to let her return that money he’d loaned her a little later so she’d be able to send Bennett a check for the full fifty K right away—the only right choice given everything.
Strangely, when she’d asked Jack for help this time, it wasn’t so hard. Somehow, out of all this, she’d learned that being independent didn’t mean doing everything alone.
Which was why she’d also decided to tell Jack her big news almost immediately. She’d never seen her brother so shocked. And happy. And so convinced it would be a boy. But when she told him she’d planned to get a place of her own once she’d paid him back and had a little money saved, he immediately protested. “Hell no. I’m not letting my little sister go live in some studio apartment with my nephew. You’re staying here with me until he’s born and you’re back on your feet. Or forever. I’ve got this big house and no plans to ever date again. And forget about marriage.”
It was a sweet, sweet gesture, but Jack would eventually get over his broken heart and change his mind. As least she hoped so. But her being there for any length of time would only discourage him from getting back on the horse. It’s pretty easy to ignore the holes in your life when you have very noisy, time-consuming distractions like a baby.
“Thank you, Jack. But I need to stand on my own two feet again. I won’t move far, though, so you can always help with her.”
“It’s going to be a boy. Another Reed man. I’ll teach him everything a guy needs to know about scalpels and fishing and celebrity gossip.”
She loved that Jack was so into this and better yet, hadn’t pushed her to talk about Bennett or what role he would play. Maybe he just knew it wouldn’t help the situation.
An entire week passed before Taylor attempted to call Bennett once more, but she got the same answer from Robin. Only this time, Taylor felt a thousand times more pathetic. She imagined she wasn’t the first woman Robin had had to shoo off.
“Okay. Thanks, Robin. Tell him…never mind. I know you’ve already passed along my first message.”
“I’m sorry, Ms. Reed,” she said remorsefully. “I will tell him you called again.”
Taylor hung up and stared at that phone with the tracking device. She’d been keeping it charged since she’d turned it back on, unable to bring herself to sever the connection. What would happen if she turned it off? Would he even care at this point? Would he come running to see if she was all right? As she stared at the thing she remembered there was one other option: Bennett’s mother.
Oh God. She probably hates me, too. Taylor had broken the promise not to tell Bennett. But what other choice did she have? She dialed the stored number, and it rang twice.
“Hello?”
“Mrs. Wade? This is Taylor Reed. Please don’t hang up.”
“Taylor, why the hell would I hang up, child?”
“I figured you must be mad at me.”
“No, dear. Not at all. In fact, I’ve been meaning to call and thank you.”
“Wh—what for?” Taylor asked, a little stunned by the warm reception.
“Dear, people assume I’m the sort of woman who speaks her mind, but the truth is, I’m not that ballsy. I should’ve told Bennett months ago about my cancer, but I didn’t have it in me. And now that the cat’s out of the bag, it’s brought us closer. He’s…well, he’s a changed man, Taylor. I think I have you to thank for that.”