Live-In Position (41 page)

“If you will, Ms. Gold, Mr. Dygger.” The judge motioned for counsel to enter his chamber. Then he turned toward Collin and Mr. Stryker. “Dr. Bishop, Mr. Stryker?”

Collin kissed Victoria on the top of her head before he kissed me on the temple, which caused me to tense.

“Please go along with what I do?” he whispered into my ear.

Mr. Stryker, Collin’s lawyer, stopped beside me before heading toward the door. I looked to him.

“I wanted to congratulate you.” He smiled and disappeared into the judge’s chambers.

Congratulate me? What the hell was he talking about?
The judge pulled me from my thoughts.

“Miss Ashwood.”

“Yes, Your Honor?” My eyes roamed to his face.

“Mrs. Foster will be coming for Victoria shortly.”

“Okay, thank you,” I smiled.

Mrs. Foster arrived quickly and escorted Victoria into the room across the hall. I could hear a small commotion in the judge’s chamber, and I wondered what was going on. I jinxed myself because the door swung open and Collin stepped out, looking at me with a strange expression.

“Sophia, could you please join us?” Collin held out his hand.

I got closer to him and he mouthed, “Please,” before he closed the door and pulled my chair out.

When he sat down close to me, I felt a bit uncomfortable. I didn’t know what was going on or what I was supposed to do. Why didn’t he tell me before we got here?

“Miss Ashwood.”

I looked up to the judge. “Yes, Your Honor?” My fingers seemed to have a mind of their own, twisting into knots on my lap. Suddenly, Collin’s hand was grasping my right hand. I stiffened, but he didn’t try to hide the fact that he was touching me.

“It’s my understanding that you and Dr. Bishop have developed a more personal relationship?” I nodded. “Okay, when did this relationship begin?”

Oh god, how was I supposed to know what he told them or when he thought that our relationship began? Was it the first drunken make-out session or was it—?

“Miss Ashwood?” I was snapped from my inner dialogue back to the reality in front me.

“Well, I can only speak for myself, but I would say it has been a few months.” I cleared my throat nervously. Collin rubbed circles with his thumb on the back of my hand.

“Honestly, my dear, I believe it started for the doctor much, much sooner,” the judge chuckled.

I swallowed hard. My mouth was suddenly dry, and I didn’t think I could answer another question.

“I don’t see what else I can do but to congratulate our couple here and to inform you, Ms. Gold, that you can visit with your daughter in the Bishops’ home. If you wish to ever have a chance for any type of custody of your daughter, you are required to attend parenting classes and therapy.”

Grace opened her mouth, but her lawyer silenced her. She furrowed her brow and continued anyway. “But it’s okay for him to cavort with the nanny in the presence of my daughter? How is that appropriate?”

The judged sighed heavily. “We‘ve already discussed that Miss Ashwood is no longer an employee of Dr. Bishop now that they are engaged.”

I froze. Collin’s hand tightened on mine – a silent pleading to hold in the words that would shatter this created pretense.

Engaged, no longer employed. Engaged?

With a quick glance to Collin he barely mouthed “please” again but kept his eyes toward those in front of us. There was a large lump in my throat, a scream threatening to explode.

Grace grumbled and pouted, throwing herself back into her chair. I was still trying to wrap my head around what had been said. Soon everyone was standing, and Collin was helping me from my seat. We emerged from the room. Victoria was quietly waiting with Mrs. Foster on the bench. She smiled brightly and ran to me.

It was so hard, but I had to pull myself out of the haze that had engulfed me. Clearing my head, I focused on Victoria.

“How was it?” I asked her.

“It was great. Look at all the stickers I got this time.” She beamed and pointed out six different stickers stuck to her school uniform.

“Those are awesome.”

“Can we go now?” she looked to Collin.

“Of course,” he spoke quietly. An unusual nervousness was evident in his voice.

The car ride was quiet. My mind was still processing the word engaged.

Did he plan this in advance and didn’t let me in on it before shocking the hell out of me? Is this his morbid way of proposing? Oh dear god, I really need a drink.

We pulled into the driveway. I got out of the car fast, helping Victoria from the back seat before walking to the door. Once inside, Victoria ran off to change out of her uniform and get her homework started. I went straight to the kitchen.

“Sophia?”

With my hand on the refrigerator’s steel handle, I looked at him. Nervous lines creased his forehead and worry filled his eyes.

“Why would you do this?” I whispered.

“You know why.” He stepped closer to me.

“Your fiancé? No longer employed? I no longer have a job?”

Now barely a foot away from me, the sigh that left him was ragged and washed over my face. He ran a hand through his hair.

“I terminated your contract with the service.” He looked into my eyes, but the tears pooling in them made his face look like an out of focus photo. “But you aren’t leaving.” His hands were on my shoulders. “You will still be paid just like—”

I swatted his hands away. “So, what, now I really am your live-in whore?” I shouted.

“Of course not,” he shouted back.

“Really, then what do you call it, Collin?” I gripped at the roots of my hair, wanting to scream with frustration. “You’re going to pay me to live here and sleep in your bed? That makes me a whore!”

His long fingers slid over my shoulder and turned me toward him. The moment I looked in his eyes, I drew back. He was furious.

“I do not pay you to sleep in my bed,” he ground out through a clenched jaw. “This is simply what I need to do to keep you both.”

The tears that had been clouding my vision finally fell. His hand quickly cupped the back of my head and his long thumb wiped away the tears. When I opened my eyes, my insides almost melted. He looked at me with so much adoration and want. It was more than I had ever known. Collin pulled me into his chest as I wiped at the remaining tears.

“I couldn’t risk losing either of you.” His voice was but a whisper over my head.

“But your fiancé?” I questioned. “You couldn’t just have made me a girlfriend?” I pulled back and looked at him. “Victoria is going to get hurt.”

“Why would she get hurt?”

“You don’t think she’ll eventually overhear something or read something that alerts her to this fiancé charade?”

The playful smirk that slipped across his warm lips made my knees weak, but it also worried me. His eyes shone brightly on me.

“What?” I couldn’t help but be suspicious.

“It doesn’t have to be a charade.”

My eyes widened at the small black box that appeared in his palm. I was going to hyperventilate.

C
hapter
T
wenty

-FOUR

EVERY LIMB SUDDENLY felt like stone. I thought I might collapse, but his arms wound tightly around my waist.

“Soph—”

My head shook back and forth.

“No,” I whispered with the little breath I could conjure from my lungs.

“No?” His face fell.

“Collin, you can’t honestly think that…that it’s a good idea.” The words came out harsher than intended, but the shock was still too much.

Was he really proposing marriage? He thought this was a good idea. Obviously he had lost his mind.

“Why not? I don’t want you to leave, ever. What is wrong with wanting to be together?”

“First of all, I never said I was leaving. As for why this is not a good idea, well, we‘ve been together for such a short period of time. It’s too soon to talk marriage seriously.” I pulled out of his embrace. “Now put that box away before Victoria comes in here and thinks—”

“Technically we’re engaged so you need a ring.” He flipped the box open and removed the oversized diamond ring.

“I don’t need—”

He grabbed my hand and slipped the platinum ring on my finger. I had to give him credit. It was beautiful, simple but beautiful.

“If we were truly engaged, you would wear a ring. Don’t you agree?”

I couldn’t help but notice the look on his face as if he had gotten me to agree to marry him.

“What about Victoria?” I glanced up from the new ring on my finger to his eyes.

“We’ll tell her we’re engaged. There’s no reason not to, since you won’t be going anywhere.” His eyes gleamed in satisfaction and his half grin was intoxicating.

“But—”

His lips cut me off and I melted into his body. A giggle pulled us apart from one another. Both of us looked to the kitchen door.

“Hi.” Victoria smiled wide.

“How long have you been standing there?” I eyed her playfully and pulled away from Collin.

“Who taught you to eavesdrop?” Collin asked her. Her body stiffened slightly as he walked toward her with purpose. When his fingers found her sides, the stiffness was lost to wiggles and giggles. I was filled with warmth and relief at their display.

I was thankful Collin didn’t just blurt out news of our “engagement.” Victoria carried her backpack to the table and began her homework. Collin went to his office after kissing my temple and whispering a promise to talk later. Carefully slipping the ring into my pocket and out of Victoria’s sight, I began dinner.

Later that evening, Victoria became curious about the day. Her questions started while we towel-dried her hair.

“Do I have to see Grace again?”

I pulled the towel from her head and turned her to face me.

“You will only see her if she comes here to visit you. Your father or I will be present when she is here.”

I sat on her bed and pulled her between my knees, facing away from me.

“Do you think she will come?”

There was no mistaking the worry in her voice, but there was also a small hint of hope. How could she not hope her mother would want to see her, regardless of the situation? Honesty was all I could give her.

“I don’t know.” Wrapping my arms around her shoulders, I squeezed her tight. Swallowing the tears threatening to spill, I put her back between my knees. “Can you hand me the hairbrush, please?”

She handed the brush over her shoulder and stayed silent. I only hoped she wasn’t upset or stressed over the situation.

“Can you hand me a hair tie now, please?”

She passed hair ties over her shoulder.

“What do you have going on in school tomorrow?” I attempted to change the subject. It worked. She started to talk about some projects and science experiments they were working on in class. Her usual enthusiasm wasn’t there but at least she was talking.

Back in my own room, I started my nightly routine. After showering, drying, brushing, and dressing, I decided to kill some time going through my email. There wasn’t much, and I had only killed about ten minutes. Sighing heavily, I walked to Collin’s room. His door was open, and I found him sitting in one of his chairs with the news on the television and his laptop on the table in front of him. He was wearing glasses, which I’d learned were for reading, paying attention to the news. I walked over to the other chair and sat down. It got his attention.

“Hello,” he smiled.

“Hey,” I pulled my feet up under me and leaned onto the arm of the chair.

“What’s wrong?”

I shrugged. “Victoria just isn’t herself tonight, and I don’t like it.”

“Is she okay?” His concern was genuine. I took some comfort in that.

“Yes,” I nodded. “I think she’s just worried that Grace will and won’t want to see her.”

“I see.” He dropped his head. Then his head came back up and he looked to me. I had so many questions about today. “I did what I thought was best to keep everything I love.”

My eyes met his. “I know,” I breathed.

“I want to tell Victoria tomorrow, before she hears it from anyone else.” His eyes searched my face. I could only nod in agreement though my stomach flipped.

“Where was the chaperone?” It was the one thing that bothered me the most about the entire situation. He sighed.

“Apparently, she received a call that there was a family emergency. The person who made the call told her he was a police officer and that she was needed immediately at the station in regards to her son.” He ran his hand through his hair. “She panicked, and supposedly, Grace told her she would contact me to let me know the situation.”

I opened my mouth to argue. She should never have believed Grace, but I could only imagine the state a mother would be in when she is faced with the fear of her child being in trouble.

“I can’t prove it, but I think Grace set the whole thing up for some reason.”

“Grace set it up? How could she know…?” Then it struck me. “There wasn’t an emergency.”

He shook his head.

“When she reached the station, they told her they didn’t know what she was talking about. She tried to call Grace multiple times, and by the time she got back to the park everyone was gone.” His hands rubbed roughly over his face. “She thinks it was Grace’s doing as well, but she has no proof.”

“Do you really think she would go that far?”

“I wouldn’t put anything past that woman.” His face hardened.

“But why would Grace do it? What could she possibly have been thinking?”

It was confusing. She got rid of the chaperone, yet instead of taking off with Victoria, she left her alone in the park. Why not just excuse herself from the two of them to go do whatever it was she did?

“I don’t know,” he growled, “but she won’t have the chance to do anything now that she has to have one of us present in the house during her visits – if she visits Victoria at all.”

He suddenly sounded so exhausted. I stood, removed his glasses, and grabbed his hand, pulling him up from the chair. Guiding him to the bed, I pulled him down with me. We wrapped up in each other, the side of his face against my chest, and quickly fell asleep.

The next couple of weeks finally brought some normalcy as well as the telltale signs of fall. Halloween would be upon us again in a little less than a month. However, what I hadn’t expected was to come home after an afternoon of running errands to find my room empty.

It took me a few moments, but then I stomped to Collin’s room. There were all of my belongings. My clothes were hanging on one side of his oversized walk-in closet, and a small desk had been set up with all of my writing materials and my laptop. My books, picture frames, and bathroom necessities were distributed throughout the room like they had been there all along.

In a moment of pure anger, I grabbed a laundry basket and filled it with some clothes, my notebooks and laptop, and a few other necessities. I dragged it back to my room and plopped down onto the couch. By the time I finished setting my things back up, it was time to pick up Victoria. Collin’s car was in the driveway when we returned home. I swallowed my anger as we entered the house.

Victoria’s evening routine was the same as usual, and there was no sign of Collin. I was partially thankful because I was sure I wouldn’t hold back my anger, even in front of Victoria, and that was something I definitely wanted to avoid. After getting her in bed, I went to my room and stayed there.

It didn’t take long for him to attempt to enter my room. When he realized it was locked, he was forced to knock.

“Sophia?”

I opened the door partially, just enough to see him.

“Yes,” I snapped.

“What is going on?” He eyed me curiously.

“Nothing,” I shrugged and pulled the door open more.

He took in the things I had returned to my room.

“Why are your things back in here?”

“Why do you still think you can make decisions for me?” I countered. His eyes hardened and focused in on mine.

“I told you I wanted to move your things—”

“What about what I want, Collin?” I snapped.

“You don’t want to—”

“That’s the point,” I growled. “You have no idea what I wanted because you didn’t think to ask me.”

“You’re right, I apologize, now let’s get your things—”

“No.” I tried to shut the door in his face. I was pissed. He was still doing whatever he desired and I was tired of being treated like his child. With a slap of his palm on the door, he pushed it back open.

“Sophia, this is ridiculous.” He stepped into the room. “The rest of your things are in my, our room.”

“Oh, you can have those things if you want them so badly. I have what I need here.” My tone was challenging. I hadn’t realized it at first, but then I knew, I wanted this fight.

“Don’t be absurd. I don’t want your things, I want you—”

“Well, you treat me as if I am just another thing,” I snapped.

“I do not—”

“What happened to my car?” I countered. “Where are my things?” I couldn’t stop. “You think it’s okay to decide what I drive, where I sleep, if I work for you, and even if we are engaged!” My chest heaved as adrenaline fired through my veins like gunshots.

“I...I didn’t mean to—”

“How many times do I have to bring it to your attention before you listen to me?” I threw my hands in the air when he didn’t respond. “What the hell is the point? I might as well not even be here!”

I hadn’t meant it the way he took it. His eyes enlarged in fear and shock, and his jaw clenched tightly.

“You’re leaving.” It wasn’t a question. It sounded more like an order. My confusion sent panic spreading through me.

“You want me to leave?” I whispered and braced myself for his response.

“That’s what you just said,” he choked.

“No, it’s not.”

“You said you might as well not even be here. Are you leaving us?” I knew he was actually referring to himself.