Melody Anne's Billionaire Universe: Unexpected Plans (Kindle Worlds Novella) (6 page)

Chapter Eight

The sound of the door closing awakened Keira. She knew he was gone. He didn't need to tell her, she knew he was just doing what she asked of him. The problem was, why did she feel so bad if she was getting exactly what she wanted?

From the beginning, she had come up with this plan. She wanted to focus on her career, and she wanted to move up the ladder at Turner and Turner. She wasn't sure about ever having a boyfriend, let alone a husband and kids. She couldn't imagine doing those things without having her parents as part of her life.

She thought about their talk this morning. She was so sure he was going to say that he loved her, but he didn't. The rational part of her wanted to say it was too soon for love. They had only been together for a week, and who fell in love that fast? But the more she thought about it, the more she knew that was a lie.

Griffin was always her one guy. He was that guy she never forgot about even though he never gave her the time of day. He was that guy who made her knees shake, her tummy flop, and her heart leap out of her chest. He was all the things she read about in romance novels or saw in the movies. Except he was real.

But she still turned him away.

She already regretted it. Not even a reminder of what her plans were was enough to make her feel better about her decision. She covered her face with her hands as she silently yelled at herself for being so inflexible.

Why couldn't she be impulsive like him? Even just a little bit?

She watched the room lighten as the sun started to rise. This was one of the many times where she wished her mother was still around. What kind of advice would she give her? She had no idea.

As the room lightened further, she noticed something out of the corner of her eye. She turned to see a purple orchid on the pillow with a note underneath. She recognized Griffin's handwriting from years ago. It was funny how some things never changed.

She pulled the note out from under the flower and read it.

Keira,

I promised to give you anything you wanted, but the only thing you took was my heart. Please take care of it and know that I love you. I always have. If you ever change your mind, you know how to reach me.

Always,

Griffin

"I love you too," she whispered.

Her eyes filled with tears as she read the note again. Love was never part of the plan, but neither was the pain in her chest. She thought she was protecting herself from getting hurt by sticking to her plan. Instead, she felt worse than ever.

She jumped out of bed and grabbed an oversized robe that hung behind the door. As she ran out of the room, she tied it around her and ran out of her villa and over to Griffin's.

The door was open a crack and she hoped he was still there. If she was lucky, she wasn't too late.

She pushed the door open and found the cleaning staff hard at work. She was too late.

As she walked back to her villa, Monica was standing in the doorway rubbing her eyes.

"What's going on?" she said with a yawn.

Keira handed the note to her friend without saying a word. She couldn't speak. She knew if she did, her facade would crumble, and she wasn't ready to deal with losing another person in her life. This was what she wanted, after all. She could focus on work and not think about anything or anyone else.

"He's gone?" Monica asked. "Then call his cell. He's probably still on the island."

Keira shook her head as she headed back towards her bedroom.

"Then call him when we get back home. Keira, what's wrong with you? He is
the
guy, remember? Isn't this what you wanted?"

              "I don't know, Monica," she said, her voice hoarse. "I really don't know anymore."

Chapter Nine

One Month Later

Walt Goodrich stared at the swaying trees outside of his home office window. He had forced himself to stay home instead of going back into the office, but he wasn't sure why. He missed work and without having any grandchildren to spoil, he might as well get back to it.

Griffin had returned from Bora Bora, but instead of the boisterous man Walt was used to, he found his son sullen and withdrawn. He wanted to ask him about the trip but didn't know how to approach him without giving away what he orchestrated.

He couldn't believe how easily everything came together. Sending Griffin away to the same resort as Keira and arranging for them to be next to each other was almost too easy. It made Walt think that there was a far greater plan than the one he had put together and that he was only helping that along.

But from the look on his son's face, he knew things hadn’t gone as well as he had hoped.

Walt's phone rang and he picked it up on the first ring.

"Walt speaking."

"Walter, it's Joseph Anderson. I was wondering how things were going with Griffin. Things moving along?"

"No, they've come to a standstill," he grumbled. "I thought everything was set up perfectly, but it looks like it didn't work out."

"Well, you might be surprised, but sometimes couples just need a little push. Have you tried making them work together? I did that with Lucas, and now he has two children and couldn't be happier."

Walt grinned as a new idea formed in his head.

"You're a brilliant man, Joseph. You just gave me an idea. Thank you. I'll give you a call next week."

"Best of luck, my friend."

Walt disconnected the call and then dialed the direct number for his attorney at Turner and Turner.

"Good morning, Walt," Isaac Turner said as he answered the phone. "I was just thinking we need to hit the links before it gets too muggy out there."

"You're right, we do. Unfortunately, this isn't a social call right now. I wanted to ask you how your newest attorney is working out for you."

"Keira Rivera? She's incredible. She's just wrapping up that mattress case I'm sure you've heard about in the news. I'm looking into my current case load to see where else I can put her."

"How about on Griffin's case?" Walt asked. "You know how much he's dreading those depositions. I think having someone like Keira there would make him more amenable."

"Hmm, well, you know him best. I'll talk to her about it today."

"Thanks, Isaac."

Walt made sure to forward his house calls to his cell, then rose from his chair and pulled on his sports jacket. If his plan was going to come together, he needed to talk to Griffin and find out what happened.

***

Walt entered the office building and rode up to the fourth floor where the executive offices for Goodrich and Son Construction were located. As he walked past photos of his first office and his first commercial project, he felt proud. Each project had been special to him. As the photos became more current with hospitals, hotels, and apartment buildings, Walt thought about all the hours and work he had put in to grow the company.

He was proud of his son and always had been, but now, as he looked at him sitting behind his desk staring at the computer screen in front of him, he felt bad. Maybe he shouldn't have interfered. Maybe Walt had crossed the line.

Griffin looked up and forced a smile at his father.

"That's pathetic," Walt grumbled. "You're the only person I know who can come back from an exotic luxury vacation and look miserable."

"Don't start right now, Dad. Please."

"Talk to me, son. What's going on?"

Walt sat on the modern black leather chair positioned in front of Griffin's desk. His son looked at him coolly, as if he was trying to decide what he should tell him. He opened up a bottle of water and took a long drink.

"You remember Keira Rivera, don't you?" he asked. "I think you told me you kept in touch with her."

"Yes, we don't talk very regularly, but I'm the one who convinced her to go to school out here. She was happy to return to the city she grew up in."

"Well, it's the craziest thing. She was in the villa next to mine that week I went to Bora Bora. That's a little too coincidental, don't you think?"

Walt searched his son's eyes for any type of accusation. Did he figure out he was involved? Based on his expression, Walt thought he was safe.

"Sometimes fate works in mysterious ways," Walt said.

Griffin snorted. "If you say so. I personally think fate needs to pay more attention to what she's doing."

Walt heard the pain in Griffin's voice.

"You want to talk about anything? Did something happen?"

"I know you and I have never talked about this before, but I always had a thing for her," Griffin said. “I can't remember how old I was when I first met her, but if love at first sight exists, then put me in that group there. We were only kids, but even then she had this huge impact on me. I really can't explain it."

"So what happened? Did you two reconnect? Does she feel the same?"

Walt was excited to hear Griffin talk about Keira that way. His hunch was spot on, he knew they could fall for each other. Now he just needed for Keira to feel the same way.

"I never forgot about her. I don't know why I never reached out to her, but I always thought she was the girl who got away."

"Did you tell her that now?" Walt asked.

"No, she didn't want anything more. She wanted to just focus on her career. She said that's what her plan was."

"Her plans," Walt grumbled. Just then, Walt's phone rang in his pocket. It was Keira calling him at home. It was a good thing he remembered to forward his calls.

"Yes?" he said, not wanting to give away who he was speaking to.

"Umm…hi, Mr. Goodrich, I mean Walt. It's Keira. I was calling because…Mr. Turner just placed me on Griffin's legal team. I can’t do it. I know he'll listen to you. I'm too close to your family, and this is unethical."

"Why don't you come down to our headquarters," Walt said. "I'm in the office today. We can talk this over."

"Sure, I'll be there in about an hour," she said.

As Walt hung up, he noticed his son's solemn face.

"Griffin, if you had the chance to do it all again, would you?"

"Absolutely," he said. "I wouldn't give it a second thought."

              "Well, you're getting your second chance. She's on her way here."

Chapter Ten

It had been a month since Keira returned home from Bora Bora. She immediately threw herself into work because it was the only way she could keep her mind off of Griffin.

Keira looked at her desk calendar and counted the crossed off days from her last period. No matter how many times she counted, she always found herself a few weeks late. She shook her head as she counted the days again, crossing them off one by one. None of it mattered; however she chose to count, the number was always higher than it should have been.

She had convinced herself it was from a combination of things, getting over strep, starting her new job, and just general stress-related stuff, but something Monica said kept echoing back into her head.

"Maybe you're pregnant," Monica said.

"How? I'm on the pill," Keira said.

"Remember you were on that antibiotic? They lessen the effectiveness of the pill."

"They do?"

"Yeah, it says so on the container."

"Well, I'm not pregnant, so it doesn't matter."

"If you say so. I still think you should call him."

"Shut up."

Could she be pregnant? She was on the pill, and she took it religiously every day at the same time. Could she be that 1% it didn't work for? Was it the antibiotic? Was she that unlucky?

Monica was just joking when she said it, but it didn't matter, it struck home.

Since they had returned from their vacation, Monica made it a habit of pushing Keira to call Griffin. She didn't understand why Keira was being stubborn.

Keira had never told anyone, but after her mother passed away just a few years after her father, she vowed to focus on school and work and nothing else. She was afraid of getting too close to another person and losing them like she lost her parents.

Monica was the only person she let get close to her. Walt was there too, of course, but she had known him through her parents so she didn't feel like he counted.

Griffin complicated things. She used to daydream about marrying him when she was a teen, and the idea still brought a smile to her face.

She stretched and yawned as her phone lit up. Seeing it was one of her bosses, she answered it right away.

"Good morning," she said.

"Ahh, there's my star," Isaac Turner said. "Can you come into my office? I want to talk to you about your next project."

"Of course," she said, stifling a yawn. "I'll be there right away."

She stood from her seat and blinked her eyes repeatedly. She couldn't remember being so exhausted before. As she headed to Isaac's office, she stopped by the break room on the way to see if there was still coffee available. She pulled out the coffee pot, and the smell of the roasted coffee beans overwhelmed her.

She shoved the carafe back in place and walked out of the break room. That was what she got for not heading to Isaac's office right away.

As she entered his office, Isaac motioned to the black leather chair in front of his desk.

"You did a great job with your first client. You were definitely a wonderful asset to your team," he said.

"Thank you. It was important for me to start strong right out of the gate."

"I was considering which client to put you on next, and I think you would make a tremendous asset to the Goodrich legal team."

"Goodrich?" she asked. She couldn't do it. There had to be something about it being illegal or at least unethical. She was too close to the Goodrich family to be impartial. "I don't think I can, sir. I mean I would love to, it's a tremendous account and I'm really honored that you thought about putting me there. But you know my relationship with them. Isn't this unethical?"

"No, you're not representing him. You'll be handling the depositions. We'll give you a series of questions to ask him, and everything will be recorded."

Keira shook her head.
No, just no,
she thought. She couldn't see him. She would be fine as long as she didn't see him.

She tried taking a deep breath to calm herself but caught a whiff of the stale coffee on Isaac 's desk. Her hand flew up and covered her mouth, and her eyes opened wide.

"Are you okay?" Isaac asked.

She didn't know how to answer. Was she okay? She didn't know what was wrong with her, but it wasn't just the physical things, she hadn't felt right since the morning Griffin left her. What was worse was that she only had herself to blame.

"Excuse me," she said. "I think I need some air."

Keira walked out of Isaac's office, grabbed her purse, and headed straight for the elevator. As she entered the building lobby, she pulled Walt's number up on her phone and dialed.

"Umm…hi, Mr. Goodrich, I mean Walt. It's Keira. I was calling because…Mr. Turner just placed me on Griffin's legal team. I can’t do it. I know he'll listen to you. I'm too close to your family, and this is unethical."

"Why don't you come down to our headquarters," Walt said. "I'm in the office today. We can talk this over."

"Sure, I'll be there in about an hour," she said.

An hour was more than enough time for Keira to get to the drugstore and buy a pregnancy test before getting to the Goodrich building. None of this was in her plan for the day or any day in her five-year plan. She felt out of control as she impulsively left her office. And she liked it.

***

Keira paced the tile floor in the ladies’ bathroom at Goodrich and Son Construction. Since buying the pregnancy test, she had stopped inside three different public restrooms, but they were all so busy she couldn't do it.

The ladies’ room at Goodrich only had two stalls, but it was empty. She rarely visited Walt in the office. Usually when they met, he took her out for lunch.

As she paced the floor, she couldn't help but think about how close she was to Griffin. Was he here? He had to be here. She wanted to see him, but she didn't at the same time. She didn't trust herself to be near him.

She looked at the box in her hand again. Talk about unplanned and unexpected. She couldn't believe what she was thinking about doing, but she needed to know. She had to put her mind at ease whatever the outcome.

Keira didn't need to think about what she would do if she was pregnant. While it wasn't part of her big plan right now, thinking about having a baby brought a smile on her face. She remembered all the things she used to do with her own parents and looked forward to doing them with her own child.

She unwrapped the cellophane around the box and pulled out the paper instructions. She wished it would tell her what to do about Griffin. If the test came out positive, she would tell him about it, no matter what, but she wouldn't expect anything from him. The last thing she wanted was to be that girl.

She looked at her watch and realized her time was almost up. She told Walt she would be there in about an hour, and she was never late. She refused to be late, even if sometimes her body had other ideas.

With a big breath, she put everything back in the box and carried it into a stall. In just a few minutes, her world might change and all her planning would be for nothing. But maybe, just maybe, planning wasn't everything it was cracked up to be.

***

While waiting for the pregnancy test results, a minute felt like forever to Keira. As more people came into the restroom, she felt self-conscious about taking so long. When someone knocked on her stall door, she jumped up, dropping the test into her bag and letting the woman have the stall.

Flustered, she washed her hands and rushed up to the fourth floor before she realized she never looked at the test results.

As the elevator door opened, she saw him. The man of her dreams, the father of her…no, scratch that. She didn't want to think about that now, not when she couldn't find out until later. With all her fretting about the pregnancy test and making it on time to meet Walt, she completely forgot that she might run into Griffin.

He was leaning against the wall opposite the elevators waiting for her. His black suit fit him perfectly, like the wrapping on a Christmas present. With a tilt of his head, his eyes met hers and one corner of his mouth slowly pulled up.

Griffin was undeniably sexy, and seeing him reminded Keira of their week in Bora Bora, a week she considered to be the best of her life. She smiled back at him as she exited the elevator and walked towards him like he was a beacon drawing her in.

"I know you're not here to see me," he said, "but there are a lot of things I need to say to you. Things I should have said before, a long time ago."

"Like what?" she asked.

Keira was aware that Walt was standing in his office doorway watching them. It didn't surprise her that he told his son she was coming, what surprised her was that Griffin must have told him something about their time together. She didn't think she mattered that much to him despite how he had left.

In the back of her mind, she was still that nerdy little girl ogling him. She didn't see herself as he did.

"Do you remember that Valentine's Day that you got a card from a secret admirer?" he asked.

"The Snoopy card?" She would never admit it, but she still had that card in her memory chest. It was the first Valentine she got that wasn't from a friend. "How did you know about that? Did my mom say something?"

He grinned at her while she connected the dots. She shook her head in confusion.

"But why? I don't understand. Why would you do that? That's mean. That was my first real Valentine's Day card. I thought someone really liked me."

He touched her cheek while he laughed softly.

"Someone did really like you," he said. "It wasn't a joke or anything mean. I was too young and stupid to say anything to you then, but I thought you were too pretty and too smart for me."

"Give me a break. How could you think that? You're full of it."

"Think about it. You were there at all my tutoring sessions. You learned what I was learning at the same time. It didn't matter that you were a few years younger, all that mattered to me was that you were you."

"But it makes no sense," she said. "I mean all those years we were apart, even before then, you dated constantly. If I meant that much to you, why didn't you just ask me out?"

"I dated so much because I was trying to forget about you. And by the time I was old enough to feel comfortable in my own skin, you were gone."

Keira was so confused, she didn't know what to think anymore. She believed every word he said, but it was too much to process at once. She made her plans, she figured out her life on her own and in her own terms, and now here was someone who just a month ago was asking her to move in with him.

"That day I arrived at Bora Bora when I saw you at the end of the pier, something called out to me. I knew then you were mine, and I didn't even know it was you. We were meant to be together, Keira."

"But none of this is how I planned," she said more out of habit than anything. "It's not how you planned it either."

The longer they spoke, the more Keira thought about the what ifs. What if he doesn't want children. What if he finds out I'm pregnant and changes his mind about me?

Deep down, she knew the answers to her what ifs. She knew she was just freaking out, but she couldn't help herself anymore. The test in her purse was like a ticking time bomb and if she didn't find out the answer soon, she was going to do the exploding.

"Not everything needs to be planned. Our meeting last month wasn't planned. None of what we did was planned. And you know what? To show you how serious I am about you, here's something else that isn't planned." He lowered himself down to one knee and took Keira's hand. "Will you marry me?"

Every single cell in her screamed ‘Yes!’ Here he was,
the
guy, down on one knee, and she didn't know what to do. Should she say yes? That was crazy. Who did anything so impulsive?

Her eyes met his, and for a moment she was lost. She would have run away with him to collect garbage on the side of the road if that's what he was asking, but the stubborn part of her, the part that was afraid of getting hurt had control of her mouth.

"No, I can't," she said.

Did she hear herself correctly? Did she just say no to the one guy, the boy she had a crush on her entire life, the man who gave her the most amazing week? Why did she say no when all she wanted to say was yes?

She turned around, looking for somewhere to hide, when she noticed Walt's caring face. She bee lined directly to him and closed his office door behind them.

As she leaned against the door, her eyes started to burn. She squeezed them tight as she tried to stop the tears.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

She shook her head. She couldn't answer because she didn't know the answer. Not knowing the answer was exactly what her problem was. She couldn't say yes to Griffin if she didn't know the answer, and he couldn't really ask her without his knowing that either.