Page 42 of Blame It on the Bikini
"That was Grayson. I just held her hand and tried to pretend I knew what she was supposed to do. I really wished you'd walked home with us," she added to Kaia. "I was afraid she was going to have the baby in the car."
"That would have been messy," Kaia said. "But I'm sure you did great."
"She did," Grayson confirmed.
"We should go home," Hunter said. "Aside from Ava and Liam, they'd probably rather keep the visiting circle small tonight."
She nodded in agreement. "I think so, too."
"We'll stay," Ava confirmed.
"Do you want a ride, Lexie?" Kaia asked.
"Actually, I left my bag in Grayson's car, so I'll just ride with him."
"Sounds good," Kaia said.
"I can't believe she had the baby," Emmalyn murmured as they rode down to the lobby. "She's going to be the youngest tenant at Ocean Shores."
Emmalyn's words rang through her head as she walked with Grayson to his car, and she couldn't help wondering how long Serena's baby would even be able to live at Ocean Shores. All their previous plans of helping Serena and Brad with babysitting might turn into an impossibility if they were all scattered to different buildings around the city.
Grayson drove them home without a word. She didn't know if he was thinking the same thing she was or if he was just tired. But either way, she wasn't going to get into a fight with him tonight, not after everything he'd done. And all that mattered now was that Serena and her baby were healthy. Whatever other problems there were could be dealt with tomorrow.
After Grayson got off his London call on Monday morning, he punched in his father's number. It was eight o'clock in the morning, but his dad had always been an early riser.
"Grayson," his father said. "How are you? Did you speak to Morgan in London this morning?"
"I just did."
"And…"
"The deal is moving along, but that's not why I'm calling."
"Okay. Why are you calling?"
"You need to let me out of this deal at Ocean Shores. I can't stay here any longer."
"Why not?"
"Because this is crazy." He ran his hand through his hair in frustration. "I can't make business decisions about this place while I'm living here. I can't pretend to be their friend when I'm on the verge of evicting everyone. It makes no sense."
"It's a couple of weeks, Grayson."
"Why do you want me here? What is it you want me to learn?"
"When you know the answer to that question, then it will be time for you to leave. Until then, I'd like you to honor our agreement. It's not that much to ask. And you can work from there. I don't see the problem."
"You don't see it because you're not here. You're not getting invited to barbecues and drinks and rushing a pregnant woman to the hospital only to think about how she and her husband might be losing their apartment in a few months."
"You rushed a pregnant woman to the hospital?"
"Yes, and you're missing the point."
"I got the point. You're getting caught up in the community, and you don't like it."
"Exactly. No matter how much I care about these people, it doesn't change the fact that this building is more valuable if we sell it."
"I understand that's your position. You know mine. We'll talk in a few weeks. Or you can leave now, and I'll take back the management and oversight of the building."
