He had someone usher me into a spacious room with a breathtaking view of the city skyline. His office was a testament to his success. I perched on the edge of a plush leather couch, nervously fiddling with the hem of my shirt. A minute later, he entered, his face conflicted.
He stared at me for a long beat, his gaze was intense, searching my face as if trying to unlock a forgotten memory. "You… you don't remember me, do you?" His voice was barely a whisper.
A frown creased my brow. Remember him? Should I? "I'm afraid not," I admitted. "We've never met, have we?"
“Never met?" He repeated, laughing in between. He ran a hand through his hair, his brow furrowed in frustration. "Look," he sighed, “what’s your name?”
“Rayne,” I said, “it says it here on my name tag.” I pointed at the name tag on my breast area.
“Alright, Rayne," he began, leaning against his desk. "Let's start over. Five years ago, you spent the night with me at a Hotel. We… well, let's just say we shared a very memorable evening."
"A… memorable evening?" I stammered, completely lost. "I… I honestly don't remember any of that."
“There's a gap in my memory from that night. I think I was probably intoxicated…"
“Okay, so you’re not Sarah. Let’s put that aside. But why didn’t you ever reach out? I left you a black card and complimentary breakfast didn’t you get all that?” He asked.
“The only thing I remember is waking up in a hotel room that evening, completely disoriented."
“This is all very… confusing, Rayne." He finally admitted.
“Tell me about it," I mumbled, feeling utterly lost. Everyone thought I knew about that night, about the man I'd slept with. Even after five years it’s still a blur.
"Perhaps we could talk over lunch? It might be easier to explain things over a meal. Cause there seems to be a lot to unpack here.”
“Mr," I started, forcing a professional tone, "I appreciate the offer, but—“
He cut me off with a gentle smile. "Please, call me Nathan. Forget lunch, how about dinner later? We can continue this conversation in a more relaxed setting."
I was hesitant. Maybe, just maybe, a conversation was what I needed. A chance to understand the missing pieces of that hazy night, to clear the confusion clouding my mind. Then, a sudden realization hit me.
Nathan, the man who’s office i was in, wasn't just some stranger from a forgotten past. He was Nathan Sterling, the CEO of Sterling Holdings, the reason my well constructed life was shattered, the man I'd spent a night with five years ago. The man who could very well be Leo's father. I began to panic.
“Rayne?" Nathan's voice broke through my fear. "Are you alright?"
I forced a smile, the gesture strained. "I’m Fine,"
He was disappointed, it was evident. “Okay then. How about I give you a ride home? It's the least I can do."
Home? He couldn't come anywhere near my apartment. The thought of him knowing my address, knowing where Leo lived filled me with terror. "No, that's alright," I stammered, my voice barely above a whisper. "I can take a cab home."
His gaze narrowed slightly. "Rayne," he began, his voice low and serious. "Is there a reason you're being so evasive?"
“Everything's fine," I lied again, my voice shaky. "Just a little… thrown off by losing my job."
"And I understand this is all a bit unexpected. And since I can’t offer you your job back, I can't just leave you here after everything that's happened."
My mind raced, searching for a way out of this increasingly uncomfortable situation.
He rummaged through his desk drawer, emerging a moment later with a thick wad of cash. "Here," he said, extending it towards me.
Taking money from him felt wrong. "No, I can't," I stammered, pushing his hand away. "I don't need your money."
“Nonsense," he insisted. "Consider it a… gift. For the sake of old times."
"I…" I began, my voice shaky. But the words wouldn't come. The immediate need for groceries, for the cab fare that would take me far away from his prying eyes, overwhelmed me. With a defeated sigh, I reached out and took the money.
"Thank you," I mumbled, my voice barely above a whisper.
He gave me a curt nod. "Take care, Rayne. And uh.. see you tonight."
Without another word, I turned and left his office. I hailed a cab a few blocks away. I told the driver to take the longest route possible to my son’s daycare, determined to throw Nathan off if he decided to follow.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the cab pulled up at Leo’s daycare. I arrived at Leo’s daycare a tad late. I had asked his caretaker to keep him there for a little while at least till I got back from dinner with Nathan. “I won’t be long Patricia. Just please make sure he eats and take his vitamins.”
“Sure thing Miss Rayne. But, it’s gonna cost you more than the usual.” Patricia replied.
Financially, I was frustrated. But I remembered the cash Nathan had given to me so gave Pat a few cents. “I’ll pay the rest when I come to pick him up.”
I got to the restaurant in a cab, coincidentally, Nathan had arrived the same time as me in his BMW. I was dressed in a pitch black gown that hugged my curves perfectly and Nathan couldn’t help but stare in awe and lust probably.
He offered me his arm, a silent gesture of curtesy. I hesitated for a moment, then slid my hand into the crook of his elbow. There was no turning back now. When we got into the restaurant, Nathan who was impeccably dressed in a tailored suit, pulled out a chair for me and sat across from me.
So," he began. "Tell me what you remember about that night."
I opened my mouth to speak, but the words wouldn't come. The fear of losing Leo, the life we'd built together, choked back any explanation I might have offered. He was a billionaire, a titan of industry. And I was a single mother, barely scraping by. The power imbalance was terrifying.
I could tell that I frustrated Nathan, so he gave up. “Alright then. If you won’t talk at least order something.”
Now, over a plate of pasta I barely touched, he dropped the bombshell.
Rayne," he began, his voice low and serious. "There's something I need to ask you."
My breath hitched. "What is it?" I asked, bracing myself for another revelation.
He leaned forward, his eyes searching mine. "There are… certain rumors circulating at work about me. Negative rumors that could potentially damage my reputation and by extension, the company."
"Rumors? What kind of rumors?"
"It's… a bit complicated," he admitted. “And I need a temporary solution.”
My heart hammered against my ribs. "What do you mean?"
He took a deep breath, his eyes locking with mine. “Will you be my contract girlfriend for the next six months?”
My jaw dropped.
I was struggling to wrap my head around what he had just said to me. A contract girlfriend? For the next six months. What did that even mean? A man of his status could simply snap a finger and a thousand girls would be ready to be at his beck and call."What do you mean by contract girlfriend? I don't think I understand clearly" I was staring at him but at the same time avoiding eye contact because of the thoughts that was running through my mind that he was most likely the father of my little Leo.He cleared his throat " I need a girlfriend" he said as if that answered all my questions"Then go get one""It's not as easy as you think" he sounded frustrated"There are rumors going around that I don't have a woman by my side even as I am a young and rich man and those rumours are affecting my work hence I just need a girlfriend for the next six months in order to secure a very important contract in my career"Throughout I just stared at him blankly, his explanation made zero sense to m
The energy between us was tense."You should lighten up a bit. I'm really sorry about what I said" he apologized again and after moments of sulking, I let out a sigh. "Fine. I'll stay. But don't think that means I'll change my mind.""Understood." He nodded, looking pleased by my decision to stay. "We should eat" he grabbed the bottle of wine and opened it while I started to eat my food. It was delicious."So, if we're going to be good company, let's start with something simple. What do you like to do for fun?"I couldn't help but smile at the absurdity of the question given our circumstances, but I indulged him."Fun? Like hobbies?""Exactly. Do you have any hobbies? Do you like to read, paint, play sports?" He listed off some hobbies and I honestly did not know how to answer his question because I had not really done anything fun in the last five years since I had Leo so it was kind of a tricky one"I used to love to read" I smiled remembering the days I used to just read through
NATHAN'S POVGetting home after dropping Lila off, I found it hard to sleep and even when I decided to do some office work in order to keep myself busy, I still could not get rid of the thousands thoughts that filled my head.Memories of that night flooded my mind. Her smile, her laugh, the way she made me feel like I was the only person in the world. I had tried to find her, but she had vanished into thin air. And now, after all these years, I might finally have a lead.Giving up on doing any work, I had gone to lay down to continue the torture and I had no idea when I drifted off to sleep while waking up in between.It was the next day and I had hardly slept the previous night. My mind was still filled with thoughts of Lila. Was she really not Sarah? How could she not be Sarah? The girl I hopelessly fell in lust with at our first meeting that night in New York City. I had a lot of questions with zero answers and it was driving me nuts.She looked exactly like her and even moved her
NATHAN'S POVThe day's leading to the day I was to get the results of the investigation on Lila was almost unbearable. I found it had to do any reasonable work at the office and my secretary had to ask me numerous times if I was okay because the behavior was really unlike me and my anticipation even got a lot worse when I got the news that I needed to be in an important meeting at California. The thing was I did not want to receive the news of the investigation results over the phone. I wanted to be present and in the same room as Max while he told me everything he had found out.My trip to California was going to be for a week and it killed me to realize that I had to wait more days than I had originally planned but I didn't have a choice because my presence was urgently needed at the meeting.I left for California grumpy as hell and throughout my stay, my mood remained bad. During the meeting I had zoned out a couple of times, making them worried about me."Mr Nathan are you good?"
NATHAN’S POVI was mad. I was angry. I was infuriated. She had a baby. My baby and I wasn't aware of it. Why did she keep it from me when she had my card? She should have let me know and then let me decide if I wanted to be in my son's life or not. I've missed out on five years. Five whole years? I was livid. I looked at the file I got from the private investigator I had hired to do a search on her. It contained every bit of information I could think of, it also contained different pictures of her and our son. I had to give it to him, he was quite good at his job. I rummaged through the files and finally got the one I was looking for. The paper that contained her house address. I got up and picked up my car keys. I needed to see for myself, I needed an explanation. I walked out of my office and met my secretary as she was about to enter “Mr Sterling…” she startedI held up a hand “Later…hold off all my appointments for the day after all it's my day off"“But Mr Sterling…”But I alre
RAYNE'S POVMy mind was still reeling from what happened yesterday. I was still in a daze as I got Leo ready for school. Of course I wanted to remain with Leo, he was my sole source of joy and the reason I didn't fall apart all those years ago. I wasn't going to let Nathan take him away from me, so that meant I really had to consider moving in with him."Mummy" Leo's little voice interrupted my train of thoughts and I looked down at his expectant face"Yes baby?""Will daddy come see me today?"The word rang through my ears like it had since I entered the house yesterday after talking to Nathan 'Oh, I hope not' I thought as I smiled gently at my son 'I really hope not'"I'm not sure he will. He is a vet busy man" I said gentlyHe frowned. His little lips curving downwards in the cutest pout. He was sad but he didn't push it anymore and for that I was grateful. I finished preparing him for school and told him to wait in the small living room while I dressed up. When I was done, I pic
Nathan's POV I signed the overdue papers my secretary brought in.She stood in front of my desk, as if trying to make sure I did my work today. I missed work yesterday for the first time ever and I didn't feel bad about it.Dana, my secretary on the other hand, thought it was crazy that I missed work yesterday and half the day before because I had left in middle of work. In my defense though, I did come back to sign the important documents but not coming at all yesterday was what made her stand guard before me, to make sure I read and signed everything.But my attention was divided. Yes, I read the papers and signed them but the whole time, I was thinking of Rayne and our son, playing around with the possibility of a happy home if she decided to move in with me.I signed everything in front of me and handed them to Dana, she collected them and immediately started reading out my appointments from the iPad she was holding."You have a meeting with the board of directors today by 10am,
NATHAN'S POVI climbed out of my car which was parked in front of Rayne's house and took a minute to scan the neighborhood. So small, and with the way it looked I'm pretty sure it had little to no security. Another reason to make sure they moved in with me. I hoped my persuasive tactics had worked yesterday. Buttoning my suit, I made my way to door 202 and rang the doorbell. I could hear movements inside and could definitely tell Leo was playing around but I couldn't hear Rayne's movement until she opened the door, surprising me but her beauty soon took of my thoughts.She was wearing a short and a tank top and her hair was in a messy bun."Mr Sterling..." She greeted'Mr Sterling?' What happened to Nathan? She had called me Nathan yesterday. "Hello Rayne... " I said. " How are you? I'm here to see Leo""Yes, of course." She said "The house is a bit messy tho, Leo's been playing for a while. Would you give me a minute please ""It's fine. He's still going to play some more and mess