Page 36 of Million Dollar High

“How the hell did you get up here without an appointment?” she asked in what she hoped was a disinterested voice.

Ashley smiled faintly and dropped her cream Balenciaga purse, which matched her stylish dress, on the chair facing Leia’s desk. “We haven’t been acquainted long enough for you to find out for yourself, so I’ll let you in on a secret. I always get what I want. Always.” The last word was wrapped in steel and spat with venom.

Leia resisted the urge to unsheathe her own claws and remained in front of her desk, her arms crossed. “I don’t have time to entertain your whimsical illusions. So spit it out. What the hell do you want? I have a business to run here.”

Ashley looked around the office and nodded. “I was quite impressed to find out that you’re involved in all this. It was probably why Noah was taken with you too, for a while. I ran a very successful art gallery in New York when I met Noah.” She smiled. “Isn’t it adorable that he likes ambitious women? But only to a point though. I found that out the hard way?—”

“Are you approaching anywhere near a point here, or shall I build a fire so we can braid each other’s hair and exchange boy stories?” She faintly recalled Warren’s view on sarcasm and gave the thought the middle finger. Sarcasm at the right time, such as times like these, when her heart was being pulverized, was hugely bolstering.

“We got the results of the DNA test back today.”

Leia’s heart took a dive at the “we” and plummeted at the rest. Keeping her expression blank, she studied Ashley’s smug smile, already knowing but dreading the answer before the question left her lips. “Why would I be interested in that?”

“Oh, please. I know you two are still sniffing around each other like teenage fuck-buddies. I just thought you’d like to know—woman to woman—that the results are conclusive. The baby is his. And you know what else?”

“I’m sure you’re dying to tell me so please, knock yourself out.”

“Noah asked for an ultrasound. Then he got all choked up when he heard the heartbeat and saw our little blob of joy. Afterward, he asked for a copy of the scan to keep in his wallet. Does that sound like a man who hates the idea of his impending fatherhood?”

The shaking got too much. Leia propped herself against her desk before her legs gave way. Pretending to arrange the papers on her desk, she said, “I’m sorry, you lost me somewhere in the middle of that mumbo jumbo spewing out of your mouth. Again, this concerns me how?”

Her expression hardening a touch, but not enough to ruin her perfectly made-up face, Ashley leaned in close. “Make no mistake, Noah will commit to me and to this baby sooner or later. You seem like a nice girl?—”

“And you seem like the words Condescending Ho-Bag should be your call sign before you barge into people’s offices. Since we’re clearly finished here, would you like to leave under your own steam or shall I get security to carry your skinny ass out?”

Ashley picked up her bag and tucked it into the crook of her elbow in a poised move that would’ve made any Stepford Wife weep with jealousy. “I won’t warn you again, Little Pixie. Stay out of my way.”

By the time Celia approached to shut the door Ashley had left wide open on her exit, Leia was shaking so much her teeth were chattering.

“Can I get you any?—”

Leia shook her head and waved her secretary away with a stiff smile. “No, thanks, Celia. I’m… I’m good.”

Unfortunately, she was so far from good, she’d need a rocket to get back. She stared blankly into space for interminable minutes, aware that she had two options. She could either call Noah and verify everything Ashley had said. Which would make it glaringly obvious to him that despite her stating she didn’t want anything to do with him or his child, she cared way more than she should. Which would in turn mean that if Noah had any plans to make her his fuck toy until he cast her aside forthe sake of his impending fatherhood, she would be playing right into his ruthless and clever hands.

Or she could pretend Ashley’s visit hadn’t happened. Go to Noah tonight and have that talk he wanted, all the while pretending she wasn’t aware he was carrying in his wallet an ultrasound scan of a baby he hadn’t planned for but seemed to want with every fiber of his being. Could she do it? Could she truly bury her head in the sand just for the sake of one last fuck from the only man capable of delivering the kind of pleasure she needed?

Her phone rang.

Forcing herself to reach for it, she pulled herself back into her business day.

She didn’t allow herself to contemplate a third option until five thirty. Knowing Noah’s man would be watching her, she rifled through the emergency sets of clothes she kept in her office. Pulling on her jeans and a nondescript top, she slid her feet into black runners and stuffed her hair under a baseball cap.

Luckily, the corridor and elevator were empty. Arriving at the underground parking, she walked past her car and through the security door. Two minutes later, she blended into evening pedestrian traffic until she was a block away, then hailed a cab.

“The Mandarin Hotel, please.”

Twenty minutes later, she paid with cash and checked into the double room. If Noah looked hard enough, he would probably find her, but if she was lucky, she would have a night to come to terms with her decision.

Fetching her phone from her bag, she dialed his number. He answered immediately.

“It’s six thirty-one. I’ll let your tardiness pass if you’re in thebuilding. Did you forget the code?” He sighed. “Don’t sweat it, I can override the elevator from here. I’ll let you?—”

“Noah, I’m not coming.”

Silence. Then his breath whistled out, like he was finding breathing difficult. “You’re not coming.” A flat statement.

“N-no. I didn’t want you to think I’d stood you up?—”

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