His Hired Girlfriend (30 page)

Kelly thinks this would be
a good chance for her to interrupt them. She says, “There’s
something else you both should know.”

Both Gracie and Beth turn
to Kelly in surprise. Obviously, they thought that they were
alone.

“
Britney asked Kyle to
spike Alex’s drink last night so he could rape her.”

“
What?” Beth is
shocked.

“
This is simply
outrageous!” Gracie says. She’s seething with anger. And Gracie
never gets angry.

Beth shakes her head. She sighs as if she’s exhausted and
can’t take any more in. “I need to go and lie down.”

Both Kelly and Gracie
watch as Beth makes her way toward the house, her head low and her
shoulders slumped. They know she has a lot to think
about.

In her luxurious bedroom, Beth gazes into space. In her
mind's eye, she remembers her time with her husband, David
McCartney—that handsome man she fell in love with at first sight.
She remembers how much he loved her and how much he wanted to give
the world to her. In a way he had, and she found that it had never
been the luxury of their wealth or social status. It had always
been their love for each other.

Is she really hurting Jayden and Alexandra?

She squares her shoulders
and agrees that she was wrong. She turns on her heels and walks out
the door.

At Jayden’s door, she
hesitantly knocks three times.

“
Come in,” she hears
Jayden’s voice.

She opens the door and
steps in. She sees Jayden eyeing her in surprise. Then she glances
at Alex. The young woman looks pale and sick.

“
I need to speak with
Alexandra alone please, Jayden,” she says.

Jayden nods. Beth notices
that Alex is holding onto Jayden’s hand tightly, as though she’s
afraid she’d lose him.

“
It’s okay. I’ll be back,” he says gently.

Alex reluctantly nods. She
looks like a frightened child.

At the door, Jayden says
to his grandma, “She’s still not herself.”

Beth nods. The drug hasn’t
yet worn off. Once Jayden is gone and the door is closed, she comes
to sit down on the side of the bed and takes Alex’s hand into
hers.

“
I’m sorry I treated you
the way I did, Alexandra,” she begins. “If you could just find it
in your heart to forgive me. I—I just couldn’t handle the thought
of Jayden—” She sniffs, tears brewing in her eyes. “I love Jayden
so much. He reminds me of his grandfather, my dead husband. I want
what is best for him. I want great-grandchildren. I know Kelly is
getting married, but she can’t have kids. She’s infertile. She has
this condition which means she can’t have kids. She tried
everything, but there was only disappointment. Finally, she and Sam
gave up. I don’t blame them. So I want Jayden to get married and
give me great-grandchildren. And I’m so glad that he is able to do
that.”

Beth moves her hand and
gently touches Alex’s flat stomach. “I’m so glad,” she says. “Can
you find it in your heart to forgive me, Alexandra? I welcome you
into our family with both arms. And the little one, too.” She pats
Alex’s stomach again.

Alex bites her lip. She
nods in response to Beth’s apology.

“
Thank you, Alexandra.
Thank you so much. Now, you must rest. I won’t bother you anymore.”
She stands up, tucks Alex in and then leaves.

Alex has no idea the meaning of Beth’s apology, but she
knows she’ll find out later, when her mind is clearer. She closes
her eyes and drifts off to sleep, a smile on her lips.

* * *

T
wenty-
T
hree

Alexandra softly
groans and flutters her eyes open. She stares for a moment up at
the chandelier above her, lost and confused. The sunlight hits the
many crystals and makes beautiful spectra across the room, and she
gazes at them in wonder. Slowly, everything comes back to her. She
realizes that she’s in Jayden’s room and in his bed. She frowns,
touching her forehead as she remembers the dinner with the girls at
Parcha, dancing in the club, and Kyle annoying her. She remembers
running from him through the crowd, him catching up with her in the
corridor, and then—
blank.

She groans and sits up,
her head pounding away like a bad car engine that’s about to
explode.

“
Don’t sit up too fast;
you’ll hurt yourself,” comes the male voice that sends her pulse
racing. She glances up and sees Jayden coming to her. He sits
beside her on the bed and tests her temperature by touching the
back of his hand on her forehead. “Cool,” he says.
“Good.”

Alex shyly removes his
hand from her and glances down, a light rose color creeping up her
cheeks. That’s when Jayden knows she’s back to her normal self. The
drug has worn off.

“
So what can you remember
so far?”

She frowns at him.
What can she remember?
Of course she remembers everything that happened last
night.
Had it been really
last night though?

She groaned depressingly.
She hopes Kyle hasn’t violated her. She’s pretty sure he hasn’t
because she doesn’t feel like her body has been violated. She feels
fine except for the headache and cloudiness of her vision. In fact,
she feels all warm and cozy, like someone has been looking after
her particularly well.

“
Well?” he
asks.

“
I don’t remember anything,” she lies, glancing up at him.
She gasps. His face is so close to her she can feel the warmth of
his breath on her skin. She stares into his eyes and
then—
Bam!
It’s all there right before her. Everything
flashes back to her. She remembers Jayden kissed her forehead, his
words of love as he cuddled her in bed, and his hard, warm body
against her. And yes, she remembers Beth’s apology. Her cheeks burn
with embarrassment.

“
Well?”

“
Leave me alone,” she
mutters and turns away, intending to avoid him.

Jay grabs her arm gently
and pulls her back. Then he moves his head to her and takes her
lips against his, kissing her gently.

Alex is at first shocked.
Oh, my God!
He’s
kissing her again. She feels his firm lips against her soft ones,
and her body melts under his touches. She feels warm and fuzzy
inside. She closes her eyes and sighs, her headache
gone.

When he moves his head
back, he says, “Miss Alexandra Stewart, I’m sorry I lied to you,
but I’m not sorry you’re my hired girlfriend and that I’m in love
with you.”

Alex’s heart beats so fast she thinks she’ll die from a
heart attack at any moment now. She licks her lip and whispers,
“Really?”

Jayden chuckles, “Yes,
silly.”

Her heart nearly bursts
out then, with happiness of course. She has to tell herself to calm
down before she starts hyperventilating. She bites her lip, her
eyes gazing up at him shyly. “Are you going to kiss me again
now?”

“
Hell, yes,” he chuckles.

“
Oh.” She widens her eyes,
and not a moment after, he claims her lips. She quivers deliciously
as he plunges his tongue into her mouth.

Alex surrenders herself to him, allowing him to claim all
of her. This is it. This is the moment she has dreaded and waited
so long for, the moment when she is finally loved.

She wraps her arms around
his neck and responds to his deep, passionate kiss. Her body is
alive with fireworks.

Jay pulls her onto his lap
as he explores her mouth. When he releases her, he gazes into her
eyes. Alex catches her breath at the back of her throat. Desire
burns in his eyes. Instantly, a rush of excitement builds up in the
pit of her stomach.

“
Jay,” she whispers
breathlessly.

“
I love you,” he breaths
against her mouth.

“
I love you, too,” she
says softly.

He grins, and before she knows anything, she is on her
back, and he starts to undo her shirt. When his hot mouth touches
her bare breast, she nearly dies of pleasure. She has thought such
sensations only exist in books, but it’s real—
with Jayden it’s all real.

As Jay continues to touch
her soft body with his warm hands and hot mouth, Alex closes her
eyes and allows the new, beautiful sensation to take
hold.

* * *

Beth picks up the delicate china cup and takes a sip of her Earl
Grey tea. Though she knows the tea is simply delicious, she does
not taste the flavor. It’s bland.

She puts the cup down, and
glances at Britney, who she now thinks is dressed way too sexy for
a simple afternoon tea in a cafe.

“
Thanks for coming to meet
me on such short notice, Britney,” she begins.

“
No problem, Beth,”
Britney says, waving her hand in the air.

“
I want to get straight to
the point,” Beth continues, eyeing the young woman
sharply.

“
Yes?” Britney says.
“Look, Beth, I’ve tried my hardest.”

“
Yes, I know
that.”

“
What did you mean things
have changed when I was at your house the other day?”

“
Things certainly have
changed, Britney. You must know already that Jayden and Alex are
engaged to be married?”

“
They haven’t officially
released that information yet,” Britney argues. “You know
that.”

“
Yes, that is true. But I
have come to the conclusion that I shall let bygones be bygones. If
Jayden loves Alex, and they want to get married, I have no
objection to that.”

“
What?” Britney snaps. “This isn’t right, Beth. You said so
yourself you want me as your granddaughter-in-law and not that
bitch!”

Beth narrows her eyes dangerously at the choice of words
Britney used. Why she never saw this side of Britney before is
beyond her. Perhaps she was blind to Britney’s real character
because she was convinced that Britney would be the perfect woman
for Jayden.

“
Things change, Britney.
Jayden doesn’t love you,” she says simply.

“
I can make him love me,”
Britney replies sharply.

“
If he could love you, Britney, he would have done so a long
time ago. You had many opportunities.”

“
It’s because of her. She
ruined our plans,” Britney grits out in frustration.

“
Is that why you asked
Kyle to rape her?” Beth queries, her brows raised, her face a mask
of anger and disgust.

Britney is shocked, her
eyes large. “How did you know that?”

“
I’m such an old fool,
aren’t I, Britney? You know very well what I can do to you in light
of society. But since your father is a family friend, you are still
invited to Kelly’s wedding. Mind you, don’t you do anything stupid
because I won’t put up with it.” She stands up, smiles coldly, and
then leaves.

Britney grits her teeth
and then growls loudly. She picks up the pot of tea and smashes it
to the tiled floor, pieces of china shattering everywhere. A waiter
comes rushing, only to stop short in shock as Britney shoves him
back and stalks to the door.

In her convertible, she
flips her cell on, dials the numbers, and shouts into the phone,
“It’s time for plan B!”

* * *

DUNEDIN, NEW ZEALAND

The BMW convertible comes to a screeching stop in a quiet
cul-de-sac. Mary puts the car in park, hand brake on, turns the
engine off, and steps out. She scans about the 1920s bungalow in
distaste before she heads to the front door. She waits impatiently
after giving the bell a couple of rings.

The moment the door opens, Mary smiles charmingly. “Hello?
Is this Alexandra Stewart’s house?”

Jacob nods. “Yes. But Alex
isn’t home.”

Mary shrugs her shoulder.
“I know. Can I come in?”

“
Are you a friend of
Alex’s?”

“
Sort of.” Mary moves into
the house without an invitation. “Nice,” she murmurs, looking
around.

“
You’re Alex’s work
colleague?” Jacob leads her to the living area.

“
No. I’m her ex-classmate.
We went to high school together.”

“
I see.” Jacob shows her
the seat, and Mary takes it without hesitation. “I didn’t get your
name.”

“
Oh, it’s Mary St. Clair
.”

“
Beautiful name,” Jacob
comments.

“
I know.”

“
Do you want something to
drink?”

“
No, thank you. Look, Mr. Stewart, I’m here for a reason,”
she begins. “It’s about Alex.” With Jacob’s look of confusion, she
continues, “I’m very concerned about her.” When Jacob just looks
blankly back at her, Mary continues, “Aren’t you? I mean she’s just
up and gone like that.”

“
It’s only for a couple
weeks.”

“
A couple of weeks? But
surely?”