Dirty Grovel: Chapter 10

“Look, Sut-Sut!” Teo cries, waving his hand in the air. “I found another one.” He races up to me, opening his palm to reveal a beautiful blue stone with flecks of orange hidden amongst the browns.

“Beautiful, Teo!” I tell him. “That definitely goes into the collection.”

He hands it over and runs off ahead of me again. I tuck the stone into my jeans pocket, where a handful of other specimens he’s collected are weighing me down.

“How long have you two been out here?” Jesse asks, turning the corner.

“About an hour. Our goal is to get to a hundred colored stones. So far, we’ve got twelve.”

Jesse shakes her head, a soft smile lighting up her face as she looks at her son. “You really have a way with him.”

“I love children,” I admit. “Before… all this—” I gesture to the gardens around us. “—the plan was to get a degree in early childhood education. I wanted to teach.” Jesse’s jaw goes slack. It’s a bigger reaction than I’m expecting. “Does that surprise you?”

She blushes, turning her gaze back to Teo. “A little,” she says. “You’re just so different than the other women Mr. Oleg has brought around.”

My chest constricts, but I still manage to keep my expression neutral. “There were a lot of women, were there?”

Jesse winces and hides her face from me. “I shouldn’t have said that.”

“So it’s untrue?”

She clears her throat, plucking a lock of sunshine blonde hair off her face. “No, not really.”

“Then I think it’s fine that you said it.” I smile. “Tell me—what were these other women like?”

She glances over her shoulder at the house, like she’s worried Oleg might have found a way to eavesdrop on our conversation. “Honestly? Vapid and boring. They were silly women who flounced around here without a single intelligent thought in those heads. All of them treated me like shit. They looked at Teo like he was an inconvenience, a sore in the back of their feet. You’re the first one of Mr. Oleg’s female… ahem… friends who’s actually bothered to get to know either one of us.”

“I’m also the first one of his ‘friends’ who’s let herself get knocked up.”

Jesse freezes. “Y-you’re pregnant?”

“I am.”

“Oh my God,” she breathes. “Does Mr. Oleg know?”

Unfortunately, yes.

I force a tight smile. “He does. He’s just having a little trouble believing it.”

Jesse’s smile falters but she manages to pick it back up again. “Congratulations, Sutton! I’m so happy for you.” She glances towards her son. “Becoming a mother was the single greatest thing I’ve ever done.”

“I hope I’m not overstepping by asking you this but… Teo’s father…?”

Jesse doesn’t seem at all bothered by the question. “Back home, I assume. Teo is the result of a one-night stand I had years ago. His father was a tourist, here in Nassau on holiday.”

“So he has no idea he has a son?”

“None at all,” Jesse says. “Even if I had wanted to tell him, I had no idea where he was staying or for how long. It was one of those hot and heavy situations. We danced, we drank, we made out, and then we made love. Afterwards, he told me it was lovely meeting me, called me by the wrong name, and walked away.”

“Jesus.”

She laughs. “Hey, I didn’t mind. To this day, I don’t know what his name was, either.”

“Have you thought about what you’ll tell Teo one day?”

“I figured I’d just tell him the truth.” Jesse shrugs. “I’m the only parent that Teo is ever going to have. All we can do is be honest. If he can trust me, then I think I’ll have accomplished a lot.”

“Can I ask you a personal question?”

“Of course.”

“Do you ever worry about Teo growing up without a father?”

Jesse scoffs. “I grew up without a father.”

“So did I.”

“There you are,” she says as though I’ve proven a point. “We both turned out pretty well, all things considered. I don’t think the absence of a parent necessarily leads to a damaged child, especially when they have one parent who loves them to death.” Jesse sighs. “The truth is, I could have found out where Teo’s dad was staying. He came in with a group of guys and the bartender overheard the hotel he was vacationing in. I just preferred not to involve him.”

“It might have made things easier for you,” I point out. “Financially speaking…”

Jesse nods. “Maybe. But we still wouldn’t have been a couple. Which meant we would have had to co-parent Teo, and co-parenting is never easy, especially between two people who are practically strangers.”

I swallow hard, feeling the burn in my throat. She makes a very good point. Not that I can benefit from it anymore.

Then again, Oleg isn’t sure that this baby is even his.

Maybe if I can convince him of that fact, I can earn my freedom. I can release myself from the contracts that will bind me to Oleg for the rest of our lives.

I won’t have to co-parent with a man who thinks the worst of me.

“Sutton?” Jesse interjects. “Are you okay? Did I say something to upset you?”

I pick my expression up off the floor. “No, not at all,” I rush to assure her. “I’m just… preoccupied. I need to find a good OBGYN and I have no idea how to go about it in Nassau. Can you help me?”

“Of course!” she says enthusiastically. “And I know just the person. I’ll hook you up.”

“Thank you,” I murmur, meeting Jesse’s eyes, wondering how much I can trust a woman who has worked for Oleg for years.

“What?” she presses.

“Can I trust this doctor?” I wonder out loud.

The question I’m really asking is, Can I trust anyone?

But then Jesse lays a hand on my forearm and looks at me with all the kindness in the world.

“Yes,” she says quietly, fervently, hopefully. “I believe you can.”

My third attempt at conversation is shot down yet again by another scowl.

You’d think that Oleg would be happier, considering we’re staring at a lobster main course, courtesy of Jesse’s expert cooking skills.

But apparently, neither the lobster nor the spectacular view from the terrace are making the slightest bit of difference.

“Is something bothering you?”

His gaze slides down to my body.

I’m wearing another bikini, because the room I’m sleeping in is replete with them, and a skimpy cover-up that, again, doesn’t cover up much.

“You’re going to catch a chill dressed like that,” he snaps.

I suppress a smile, subtly proud that I’m able to get a rise out of him so easily.

“I run hot,” I declare, pulling up my cover-up the tiniest bit so that he gets an eyeful of naked thigh. “Don’t you worry about me.”

“I’m not worried about you,” he retorts. “I’m worried about my baby.”

“You’re not sure it’s your baby yet, remember?” I remind him coldly.

His scowl freezes. Then he looks out over the terrace, towards the bright greens and blues blinking at us from the ocean.

“Have you found a doctor yet?” he asks gruffly.

“I’m working on it.”

“You have until the end of the week to find one or else I’m going to have to step in.”

I pick at my plate, distracted by something that I really shouldn’t care about at all. “Why is the walk-in closet in my room filled with women’s clothes?”

His gaze reverts back to me. “What?”

I repeat my question. “There’s so many clothes in there, most of them skimpy bikinis and skimpier lingerie.” I finger the edge of my cover-up. “I’m just curious as to whose clothes I’m wearing.”

He meets my gaze, the gold in them sharpening. “Nobody’s.”

“Then why does that wardrobe exist at all? Unless you enjoy traipsing around in women’s clothes on the weekends?”

“I like to make sure my guests are comfortable when they come here.”

“Hence the skimpy outfits?”

“You seem to enjoy them,” he says. “So what’s there to complain about?”

“I’m not complaining. Just… curious.” I pick up my glass of water and take a sip. “Do you mind if I explore the house a little more?”

“Feel free.”

I nod. “I’m not likely to find a room with a bunch of dead bodies in them, am I? You know… the owners of all these lovely clothes.”

His lips flatten out. “You have some macabre thoughts.”

I shrug. “It was a story I read as a child. Bluebeard and his six wives. He killed one in order to wed another. Had their bodies hung up in a room that no one was ever allowed to go into.”

“Interesting bedtime story.”

“Change of pace from the fairy tales.”

He sighs and rubs his chin. “You have nothing to fear, princess.” It’s been a long time since he used his old nickname for me. It sends a shiver racing up my spine. “I’m not interested in collecting wives or their baggage. All I want from you is a child.”

I place my hand over my belly protectively. “And do you plan on being around for this child?”

He arches an eyebrow. “If the baby is mine,” he says as though he needs to remind me that it might not be. “Then yes. I plan on being a present father. My child will want for nothing.”

If nothing else, my baby will have the kind of life that Sydney and I never even dreamed of.

Comfort, security, wealth, and a caring father.

Could I really deny my baby all that?

Even if my life would be far less complicated without Oleg in it?

The clatter of his fork wrenches my attention firmly back on him. He’s glaring at me, his jaw thrumming ominously.

“Something is bothering you,” I accuse.

“Next time we have dinner, I would prefer if you put on actual clothes.”

“What’s the matter, Oleg? My choice of attire reminds you of the last woman who wore them?” I demand, hackles rising at the anger and disdain in his eyes.

His eyes narrow and he rises to his feet. “I’m done with dinner. Excuse me.”

“Where are you going?”

The moment the question leaves my tongue, I realize I have no right to ask.

We’re not husband and wife.

We’re not together.

We’re not even friends.

Oleg seems to imply the same thing when he meets my gaze for a split second, nostrils flaring dangerously.

“Out,” is all he says before he stalks off down the terrace towards the ocean.