Chapter 19

JAYDA

Lilian planned on not allowing Jayda to go to work, but Jayda proved her wrong with how energetic she turned out to be. She woke up early and offered to make breakfast for herself and Lilian.

Lilian made sure Jayda ate everything that was on her plate and that she took her vitamins.

They cleaned up, prepared for work, and left Jayda’s apartment in their cars.

Jayda got to her office at exactly 8:30 a.m. She placed her handbag on the golden-brown mahogany desk, then settled in her chair. She took out her diary and went through all of what she had to do for the day. She was about to do some paperwork when she was disturbed by someone knocking on the glass door.

“Come in,” Jayda said absentmindedly without looking at the person who knocked.

“Someone delivered this for you, ma’am.” Anna smiled as she placed a big bouquet of red roses along with a box of chocolates on Jayda’s table.

Jayda looked at the items on her table, then she took a look at her secretary.

“Are you sure they are for me?”

Anna nodded.

Jayda reached for the note in the middle of the roses.

~I’m deeply sorry for everything, Jayda. I’m not expecting you to forgive me immediately, but please give me a chance to prove to you and our baby that I’m worthy to be in your lives. Sebastian Miller.~

Jayda shook her head and put the note back in the middle of the roses.

Anna was about to leave, but Jayda stopped her.

In two minutes, Jayda typed a couple of things on her laptop and printed it. She folded the printed paper and placed it in a white envelope that had her firm’s logo.

“Send these flowers, and this note, back to the Millers, Inc. building. Ensure they are delivered to Sebastian Miller, along with this.” She handed the envelope over to Anna.

Anna reached for the items on Jayda’s desk, and then exited her office.

***

SEBASTIAN

The term heartbroken was not enough to describe how Sebastian felt when his receptionist walked into his office with the flowers and note he’d sent to Jayda this morning.

“She sent them back,” Maria mumbled as she placed the items on his desk.

“This was delivered too.” She handed her boss a white envelope.

He opened it instantly. It was a formal reminder requiring him to deliver the documents Jayda sent to him by noon today.

She made it known in the letter that the papers must be sent back with his signature already tendered. The restraining order filed against him also applied to gifts. Therefore, he shouldn’t have anything delivered to her office or home.

Sebastian sighed in defeat. “You can go.”

Maria left instantly.

This was proof that Jayda wanted nothing to do with him, but that wasn’t going to stop him from trying to make things right. He knew it was going to be difficult for Jayda to forgive and accept him, but he was going to give it his all.

Sebastian rose to his feet, reached for his car keys and wallet, and left his office. He met his secretary, Jessica, on his way to the elevator.

“Sir, I was coming to remind you of the meeting you have in twelve minutes.”

“Apologize on my behalf and reschedule the meeting for later or tomorrow,” he replied without even looking at her.

As Sebastian drove toward Saunders and Co., he kept thinking of what he was going to say to Jayda when he was finally able to face her. Well, that was if she was going to see him.

She had to, he thought as he pulled up in front of her building. He’d do whatever it took to get her to listen to him.

***

JAYDA

Jayda was in the conference room having a meeting with the interns and paralegals assigned to her. She couldn’t believe she’d only just discovered that Olivia was Sebastian’s younger sister.

She had wanted to dismiss Olivia from working with her, but she couldn’t bring herself to do so. She was not that cruel to do that to her baby’s aunt.

Jayda was seated at the head of the big round table while the interns occupied the rest of the table. She briefed them on what the case was about and also gave each of them their task. They asked questions where necessary, and she answered them.

Jayda was almost finishing up the meeting when her phone buzzed.

“Excuse me,” she said to her team, then picked up the call.

“Sebastian Miller is here to see you,” Gloria, the receptionist, replied.

“He is to return some papers to me. Kindly go through them and ensure his signature is already tendered. I’m in a meeting.”

“He didn’t come with any documents, ma’am. He said he wants to see you, and that it’s urgent.”

“Please tell him I have no business with him but with his lawyer,” Jayda said, then ended the call.

***

SEBASTIAN

Defeatedly, Sebastian exited the building. On his way to the car, he dialed Caleb.

“What’s up, man?” Caleb said.

“She sent the gifts back to me along with a letter which says I should return the papers by noon today along with my signature. I came to her office to see her, but she refused.”

Caleb sighed over the phone. “You have no choice but to keep trying. But don’t be persistent to the extent that you get her irritated. Maybe you should call Lilian and see if she could be of help.”

Sebastian sighed, already dreading the insults Lilian was going to shower at him. But he was ready to do anything for Jayda and his unborn child.

“Caleb, I’ll call you later.” Sebastian ended the call and dialed his cousin.

As soon as the phone call with Lilian went through, Sebastian’s heartbeat thundered.

“Lilian Martin on the line, how may I help you?”

Sebastian took a deep breath. “Lilian, it’s Sebastian.”

“Please, don’t hang up,” he added immediately when he heard her curse softly.

“What the…? Why are you calling me?”

“I messed up, Lily, and I really need your help. Please.”

Lilian laughed out loud. She already understood what he needed help with.

“Jayda made me promise not to do anything, or I would have dealt with you, Sebastian. She trusted you, she gave herself to you, and then the next morning you started acting like an asshole.

“Because of how kind-hearted she is, she chose to tell you about the baby, and you accused her of lying.”

Sebastian hated to hear the truth, but he couldn’t deny it.

“I regret everything, I’m deeply sorry for everything I said, and I swear I didn’t mean any of it. I’m parked in front of Saunders and Co. I went in earlier, but Jayda refused to see me.

“I know we have never been friends because of my silly behavior. No one but me is to be blamed for all that happened, and I’m ready to take responsibility and make things right.” Sebastion sounded desperate.

“Only Caleb and my mom know everything. Mom told me to fight for Jayda and never give up on her. I allowed my past and fear to make me look down on my present, and I regret it.

“Please help me, Lilian, I know I’ve done a lot of damage but I’m willing to do all it takes to get Jayda and my child back. You’re Jayda’s best friend. I’m not expecting you to apologize to her on my behalf, but I want you to help me plead with her to see me.

“I want to ask for her forgiveness in person, explain why I acted the way I did, and confess to her how I truly feel. Please, Lilian, talk to her for me.”

Lilian sighed. “This is really beyond me, Sebastian. Once Jayda has made up her mind about something, it is so hard for her to go back from her decision. Besides, I don’t trust you, Seb. What if you end up hurting her again?”

“I promise you that I will never hurt her again. I swear.”

“You know what, Sebastian? This is really between you and Jayda. I don’t want to get involved. Good luck in doing all that you need to do to win her back. I have to get back to work.” Lilian didn’t give Sebastian the opportunity to reply because she ended the call immediately.

Sebastian threw his head back against the headrest and let out a low mutter of frustration.

He didn’t want to go to extremes, but now that he had exhausted all his direct options, he had no other choice.

He dialed Isaac, who picked up immediately.

“Yes, boss,” Isaac answered. Sebastian rarely called him and when he did, it was for the kind of important business you couldn’t hire through regular channels.

“Isaac, I want you to get me some info on Jayda Wright. She works for Saunders and Co. I need her home address and her personal phone number before the end of the day.”

“Yes, sir. I’ll make sure you have them as fast as I can,” Isaac replied.

This was desperate, and Sebastian knew it, but he had no other choice.