by Sam Crescent
“So he handed him right back as if he didn’t have a care in the world.”
“I don’t know if you’re aware, Miss Michaels, but it’s not his responsibility to house all unwanted children.”
Temperance stared at the woman before her, and saw that even as she defended her boss, she didn’t believe in the words. “Speak the bullshit to yourself in the mirror.” It was the first time she had ever sworn to someone while she’d been working for them. Frances was an extension of Wayne. “Are those my marching orders?”
“This is the final contract and last payment.”
She took the file and glanced over the sum of money. It was a stupid amount, and looking at the settlement figure, she grabbed the pen, crossing out the amount and putting the correct sum.
“You shouldn’t be making changes without a lawyer present.”
“I don’t need a lawyer when I’m requesting the correct figure. I have the files at home to prove that. I don’t need anything more or less.”
Frances took the paperwork back, and her gaze went wide. “You want less?”
“I want what was agreed.”
“Mr. Myers arranged for that figure himself. He wants you to be paid properly.”
“I am being paid properly. Now, if you’d leave, could you please send a doctor in? I want to arrange to leave now.”
Her heart was breaking.
Wayne in a few choice moves had shattered her heart into a thousand pieces, or at least that was what it felt like.
Sex didn’t mean anything to him, and it never would. She had to remember that.
“Your stay at the hospital is also covered.”
“I don’t want it.” She gritted her teeth, feeling the tears that flooded her eyes.
Don’t be stupid!
Don’t let it get to you.
“Please, send in the doctor.”
Frances nodded and left the room. Temperance flung the blanket off her legs and eased toward the edge of the bed.
Her stupid leg wouldn’t work, and she was trying to move it.
She wouldn’t stay here, not for a moment longer. A change of clothes was on a chair in the corner, and Temperance was determined to get out of that damn hospital. She’d call Lilah and they could gather her things from Wayne’s apartment.
How had her life changed so easily?
She hated that it hurt.
The pain was unlike anything she’d ever felt.
Love shouldn’t be allowed to happen within a matter of days. The heart was one of the most important and vital organs in the body, and yet it was so easily broken, so easily hurt.
There was no secret way to protect herself.
She was well and truly broken. Temperance had expected it. She just hadn’t expected it to be this fast or this cold.
****
Wayne sat in the waiting room of the hospital. He didn’t want to go home, and he didn’t want to see Temperance. Frances didn’t take long, not that he imagined she would. So far, his efficient PA had handled everything perfectly. Timothy was back in child services, and he’d been granted an apology.
He stood as Frances exited the elevator and came toward him.
“Is everything okay?”
She sighed. “I don’t know. What do you consider okay? That woman is broken-hearted, and Timothy was so lost and hurt.” She handed him the file. “I’ve done my work for the day. If it’s okay with you, Mr. Myers, I’d like the rest of the afternoon off.”
He opened the file and saw the sum he intended to pay Temperance had been crossed out, and the original figure in place. “Who did this?” he asked.
“She did. She won’t take any more money.”
Wayne saw Frances had something to say. “What is it?” She’d been working for him long enough that he valued her opinion. He knew there wasn’t going to be anything she had to say that he was going to like.
“How could you have—it doesn’t matter.”
He’d disappointed her. “You can have the rest of the week off.”
She nodded and left. He watched her go, her shoulders slumped.
Watching Timothy leave had been one of the hardest things he’d ever done. Frances had warned him before he got on the plane that child services had already been alerted and would be waiting to take Timothy away when he landed.
Everything he’d put into place had worked better than he even thought possible.
He couldn’t walk away without Temperance taking more money.
Even as every single part of him begged for him to walk away, he couldn’t do it. He kept on walking until he got to Temperance’s room.
She lay in bed, and his heart broke as he saw the tears running down her face. He cleared his throat, and she glanced up at him.
“You knew, didn’t you? You knew they were going to be there?”
“Yes.”
“Was this your plan? Arrange everything while you were away so you didn’t have to deal with anything.”
“The day I announced the vacation, I got the results. I had every intention of telling you, but I wanted time first.”
“Time for what?”
“Time to live the life I could never have.”
She was shaking her head. “That was a four-year-old boy. A little kid who had lost his mother, who believed that no one wanted him. How could you do that to him? You made him believe that you liked him.”
“I did like him.”
“Not enough. If you liked him enough you’d have already made the arrangements to be his caretaker, his guardian. What you were was selfish. You didn’t think about anyone or anything but yourself.”
He didn’t deny it. Every single action had been about what he wanted. “What’s done is done. Timothy wasn’t mine. He never was.”
“No. He was just a problem to you. An inconvenience.”
He hated that he was hurting her. She kept wiping the tears away, but more fell down her face.
All he wanted to do was take her in his arms and hold her. He couldn’t do that either.
Holding up the file, he took a step closer. “The settlement figure is not for negotiation.”
“I won’t take anything more than what I’m due. I’m not taking five million dollars from you.”
“Our relationship was in the paper. I pursued you.”
“For a couple of days, we had sex, Wayne. I’m not a whore. I can find my own way. I know what I’m doing, and I don’t need fuck or pity money from you.” She glared at him. “Leave. Please, go away.”
“The doctor said you were free to leave tomorrow.”
“I know what the doctor said, and I know what I’m going to do.”
“I’ll pick you up.”
She shook her head. “I’ve already arranged it with Lilah. She’s going to pick me up, take care of me, and be there. I don’t want you there, Wayne. Please, leave … now.”
He didn’t like that she was dismissing him.
You broke her heart.
Give her space.
“I didn’t even get to say goodbye,” she said.
Her voice was breaking as she talked.
Wayne stared into her eyes swimming with tears.
“You’re just like everyone else. You’re no different. I loved that boy. I probably shouldn’t have, but I did, and now I won’t get the chance to tell him that no matter what, he’s strong.”
Wayne couldn’t bear it any longer. He left her room and the hospital. Climbing into his car, he went straight to his apartment. Even as he let himself into the luxury bachelor pad, there on the table lay several of Timothy’s toys.
They were lined up, waiting to be played with.
Ignoring them, he grabbed a beer out of the fridge, which still reminded him of Timothy.
Closing the fridge, he took a long swig of his beer. He had to clear his mind. The silence of the apartment was deafening to him.
His head pounded as if it was filled with so much crap and noise. There was no hum, no sound of the tele
vision, or the click of an e-reader changing the page.
He left his beer on the counter and moved down the long hallway toward the rooms at the back of his apartment.
Temperance’s door was closed, but Timothy’s wasn’t.
Entering the room, he flicked on the light and the pirate adventure room came to life. In a few days, the room had become that little boy’s.
He’d seen Timothy trying to be strong as the child services lady explained to him that he was going to a new home. To be passed to a new owner.
Wayne hadn’t for a second thought about what everyone else would think or even feel. He’d only ever had to care about himself. Taking a seat on the edge of the bed, he reached out to look at the picture.
It was one of Timothy and Temperance at the park, rolling down the slide. She’d told him it was a selfie as it was Timothy’s first time.
Putting the picture back, he wondered what the hell he was going to do with all the stuff.
An hour passed, and when nothing came to him on what to do, he made his way into Temperance’s room.
The moment he opened the door, he was hit by her scent. Comfort surrounded him, and he wished she was there, waiting for him.
They’d had sex a handful of times, and it hadn’t been enough. Two weeks he’d wanted, but the broken leg had brought it forward, and now he didn’t know what to do.
His decision wasn’t a mistake.
He refused to believe that getting his life back was a mistake, and yet he didn’t find happiness or peace.
All that filled the place was deep, searing loneliness.
Chapter Eleven
Sipping some of the worst hot chocolate she had ever tasted, Temperance offered Lilah a smile. Her friend and roommate had come to the hospital to get her.
“So, are you going to tell me why you looked such a mess this morning?” Lilah asked.
Her face had been red with her eyes swollen and cheeks dry.
Biting her lip, Temperance stared at the mug of hot chocolate. She lay on the sofa in their sitting room. The doctor informed her that rest, along with regular physical therapy visits, would help see her recover quickly. She wanted to recover quickly. At least sitting down would give her the time to look for more work.
“I was … I’m…” She stopped and took a breath, feeling the pain building instead.
“I know you don’t usually talk about it. After a job you don’t ask me to collect you from the hospital, though.” Lilah sat on the end of the sofa, resting her head in her hand.
“It hurts right now. I can’t … he’s gone.”
“Who is?”
“Both of them. Timothy and Wayne. They’re both gone.”
“It was only for a couple of weeks.”
“I know, but they’re gone.” She pressed a hand to her chest. “He has no one, and Wayne, he doesn’t have anyone, either, and he did this without even warning me. He arranged for Timothy to be gone, and it’s all my fault.” She’d had all night to think about it. He intended for this to happen.
Wayne had given himself two weeks to enjoy the life of a family man with the intention of it all being taken from him.
She’d not seen that coming.
“It’s crazy of me to be like this.”
“No, it’s not. Did you fall in love with him?”
Temperance shook her head, lying. “Yes.”
Lilah smiled. “It will get easier. That I can promise you.”
She looked up at her friend. “Thank you for not judging me and for coming to get me.”
“You’ve never judged me, honey. I always felt that we had the kind of friendship that meant we didn’t have to talk every single day, but when we did or when we saw each other, the time between didn’t matter.” Lilah took her hand. “It still doesn’t matter.”
“Thank you.”
Lilah moved up behind Temperance, being careful not to jolt her leg. “So, we’re going to watch sad movies, and talk about how much we hate men, and then we’re going to have more hot chocolate. I’d offer you wine, but with your pain pills I’d be rushing you to the hospital to have your stomach pumped.”
“You’re the best.”
“I know it.”
Lilah stroked her head, and as the movie played, Temperance didn’t pay it much mind. She thought about Wayne, and wondered what he was doing. Had he packaged all of her stuff up? Thrown the items she got for Timothy out into the trash?
“Will you do a favor for me?” she asked.
“Sure.”
“Tomorrow will you go and get my things from Wayne’s home? I don’t want them to stay there.”
“Sure thing, sweetheart. I’ll warn you that Robert Thompson keeps coming ’round to the apartment. He’s a determined fella.”
“He loves his kids and wants the best for them.” She couldn’t fault Robert for that.
“What will you do now? Will you go back to being a nanny?” she asked. “You know, for Robert, or another family?”
“I don’t know what I’ll do.” She wiped the tears that had fallen down her face. Glancing up at her friend, she chuckled. “Are they hiring chunky porn stars?”
Lilah laughed. “You couldn’t be a porn star.”
“Why not?”
“You care too much. You’d be talking to the men about their problems, and some people can have really bad fucking attitudes,” Lilah said. “It was the biggest mistake I ever made. The scandal that hit the papers was the best thing that happened to me. I got several jobs because of it, and I’ve been able to stop screwing for a living.”
“Did you enjoy it?” Temperance asked.
“It was okay for a while, but I wanted to be an actress. I didn’t want to have to suck cock for a living.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah, oh.”
Snuggling against her friend, she tried to comfort Lilah even as her heart broke for what had happened.
Wayne had gotten underneath her skin and completely torn her apart. Now she had to figure out what to do with the rest of her life.
She didn’t want to go back to being a nanny, but with twelve years’ experience in that field, what else could she do?
Her thoughts kept drifted to Wayne, even as she fought them. She didn’t want to think of Wayne or Timothy, or anything that had happened. It hurt too damn much.
****
Wayne should be in his office. Instead, he sat in his apartment, sipping a horrid cup of coffee and eating dry, cold toast. He hadn’t slept well last night, and he’d spent most of the night reaching out for Temperance, who wasn’t there to take into his arms.
His laptop was set up, and he checked through his emails, looking for something to distract him. He’d not shaved or showered. The toys were still on the table and he kept glancing at them, wondering how the little boy was doing.
Running a hand down his face, he tried to clear his fuzzy brain, but like always, it didn’t help.
You’re a bastard.
Yes, he was a horrible person.
His life was back to being his own, and he wanted to live it like he used to.
The sound of his apartment doorbell was once again a welcome distraction from the bullshit of working.
Getting to his feet, he made his way down and answered the door.
It wasn’t Temperance, not that he imagined it would be.
This woman was her roommate. He recognized her from the data he got on Temperance.
“Hi, I’m Lilah. Temperance sent me to collect some of her things. I hope that’s okay?” she asked.
“You’re the porn star.”
He caught the wince before she could hide it.
“Temperance’s stuff. She said you probably already packed it up.”
Her arms were now folded. “She’s mistaken.”
“Can I collect her things?”
He wanted to slam the door in her face and tell her to fuck off. Opening the door wide, he gave her the chance to enter.
She did, and afte
r he closed the door he led the way down to Temperance’s bedroom. Entering the room, he switched the light on and grabbed one of her jackets, holding it behind his back.
Wayne watched as Lilah grabbed a bag and began to fill it with Temperance’s clothing and trinkets.
Lilah didn’t even try to make small talk, and he found the silence irritating.
“How is she?” he asked, finally caving.
She stopped and looked at him. “She’s … fine.”
“Does she have everything she needs?”
Lilah kept staring at him. “I believe so.”
“If at any time she needs anything, anything at all, call me.” He pulled out a business card that had all of his details on it.
She took the card and frowned. “Why did you do it?” she asked.
“Do what?”
“Break her heart, send Timothy back.”
“She’s not allowed to—”
“The papers already have the story of how Timothy isn’t really your son, and that you’ve gotten rid of him. Temperance would never talk about a job. She’s not like that. Her reputation means so much to her. She has rules, and yet with you she broke every single one of them. I don’t get it. I wish I did. I see that she’s broken-hearted, because I can see her. She’s crying all the time, even though she tries and fails to hide it.”
He didn’t like that she was hurting.
Rubbing at his chest, he tried to find something, anything that could offer an excuse for what happened. He came up with nothing.
“You don’t look like you’re faring much better either. You’re both broken and miserable. Did you think it would hurt like this?”
“I don’t think you’re in any position to talk to me about my decisions. Especially as yours are not exactly bright.”
She nodded and smiled. “You’re right. I’m in no position to tell you what you should or shouldn’t do. You’re perfectly happy to do that all on your own.” She picked up the bag and turned to leave. “If you were so happy with what you did, Temperance’s room wouldn’t be left like this, and her bed wouldn’t be wrinkled. You slept in that to be close to her. I’ve known her long enough to know she hates beds left like that.”
He didn’t stop her as she left, nor did he dispute what she had said.
Nothing was the same now.