Chapter 32
Chester
Chester
“Wh-what?” I stammered, looking away from Mia, who was out cold on the floor, and snapping my eyes up to Juliet, who was now standing, her chest rising and falling quickly. Her eyes were fiery, only beginning to be put out by the watery blue of her irises.
I wasn’t sure if I had heard her right just now.
Had she said pregnant?
“What do you mean by that?” I asked, feeling my breathing begin to quicken as I looked at Juliet for answers.
She sighed exasperatedly, flinging her hands up in the air as she glared at me.
“What do you think I mean by that?” she asked, before settling her hands on her hips. “I should punch you in the face for being such an idiot.”
It felt like the walls were closing in on me just then, swallowing me whole, as I free-fell down the seventy-two-story building.
I gripped my desk tightly, my knuckles turning white, as I tried to steady myself.
Juliet sat back down in the leather wingback chair and put her head in her hands, her blonde hair spilling through her fingers.
“I-I…” I didn’t even know where my sentence was going, just that I needed to say something.
Mia groaned just then, stirring on the black plush rug strewn across my office floor. At least she had a soft landing. I glanced over my desk at her before reaching for my phone. It looked like she had gone back to sleep. I dialed down to security.
“This is Chester Brandfield,” I said firmly. “I need security up on the top floor. Bring the cops with you.”
I hung up the phone and settled into my desk chair, the leather groaning slightly.
I took a deep breath and looked at Juliet, who still had her head in her hands as she looked down at the ground.
I wanted nothing more than to lift her face and just look at her.
I had missed the hell out of her the past few days.
But I knew I had lost that chance when I had shut her out.
“How long have you known?” I asked softly.
She peeled her face from her hands, but didn’t look at me. Instead, she looked out the window behind me, her eyes distant.
“Juliet…” I tried again, unable to take the sadness strewn across her face.
I had never seen her look like this. It was almost unbearable, especially when I knew I was the reason for it.
“It doesn’t matter,” she whispered eventually. Her eyes falling from the New York skyline and down to her lap, where her fingers were tangling together.
“Please,” I said, gently pleading.
“You don’t have to have anything to do with the baby,” she said sharply, looking up at me. The glassy look in her eyes didn’t match the sharpness in her voice.
“Wh-what?” I asked, raising my brows high on my forehead.
“I won’t even ask for child support.”
“Juliet…”
“You can pretend it never happened.” She clutched her hands tightly, her gaze falling once again to her lap. I swore I saw a tear fall.
I stood from my office chair, rounding the desk toward her.
“Don’t.” She put up her hand. “Don’t, Chester.”
I stopped in my tracks. My heart felt like it was cracking. She wanted nothing to do with me, when right now, it felt like she should need me most. Hell, I needed her with this news.
A baby, I thought to myself, as if trying out a new word. I was no doctor, but we must have conceived the night at the club. The day we met. It had been reckless, yes, fueled by passion and lust, but I never thought it would land us here.
“I’m quitting, Chester,” said Juliet, reaching across my desk for the wrinkled letter of resignation.
She slid it toward her, peeling a corner and lifting it from the dark wooden surface.
She handed it to me. It was the closest we had been to touching in a week, and my fingers twitched at the mere inches that separated us.
She quickly pulled her hand away, as if feeling the same distance between us that I wanted to desperately close. She reached up and tucked a pale blonde strand of hair behind the crook of her ear. Looking down at Mia on the floor next to her, she sighed tiredly.
“I’m sorry I knocked out your new assistant. These pregnancy hormones are a little intense.” She let out a soft laugh, the first sign of the Juliet I knew, but it was short-lived as she stood up to leave, with plans to walk out of my life for good.
Just as she turned for the door, it swung open and one of the security guards from the building strode in, followed by two police officers. Juliet backed up quickly, giving them space and nearly tripping over Mia who was coming to.
“Mr. Brandfield,” said the security guard with a stern nod as he looked around the room.
“We’ve had an, er, incident,” I said, motioning toward Mia who was struggling to sit up.
One of the officers unhooked his radio from his hip and called for EMTs.
“You are the owner of the building?” asked the other officer as he eyed me, pulling a small notepad from his pocket.
“That’s right. Chester Brandfield.”
“Okay, Mr. Brandfield. What happened here?” he asked, waving his finger around the room.
“This woman.” I pointed at Mia, who was holding her face. “Mia Turner. She works here. She has been threatening me with a…suggestive photo. Sending emails and threats to me over the course of the past week.”
The officer scribbled on his notepad.
“She set up this morning’s meeting to blackmail me into paying her and hiring her as my assistant.”
“Do you have this ‘suggestive’ photo, Mr. Brandfield?”
I swallowed hard, nodding as I reached for my phone in my jacket pocket. I pulled up the text and handed it over to the officer. His eyes widened slightly, a hint of red flushing his cheeks, as he handed my phone back to me.
“I’ll have my lawyer submit it for evidence,” I said, clearing my throat. “I want to press charges immediately. Today.”
“Yes, Mr. Brandfield. But we aren’t done here…” said the other officer, stepping up next to his partner. “We have a woman with a pretty swollen eye. Mind telling me how that happened?”
Shit. He thought I did it.
“It was me,” said Juliet quickly, stepping next to me, but careful not to brush her arm against mine.
“Bitch,” muttered Mia from the floor as she glared up at Juliet.
I swore Juliet smiled slightly.
“And you are?”
“Juliet Martin,” she said.
“Officers, she assaulted me. Just look what she did to me!” she said shrilly, pointing at her left eye that was red and swollen. “I’m pressing charges!” She turned and pointed at Juliet menacingly before bursting into tears. Fake tears. She was putting on a show for the police.
Just then, two EMTs entered the office, rushing toward Mia who was now dramatically rocking back and forth on the rug, letting out sobs.
“Miss, I need you to calm down…” said an EMT, gently holding Mia still.
I rolled my eyes as I watched him perform a few tests with a flashlight and his finger, before asking her a string of questions. Juliet stood by me, watching quietly.
“It doesn’t seem like you have a concussion, miss. But we will need to get some ice on that eye. You’ll have a nice shiner for a while,” said the EMT, packing his small bag and handing it to his partner. He nodded toward the officers, signaling something silently.
Both officers stepped forward, removing handcuffs from their belts.
“Mia Turner, you are under arrest for the crime of blackmail and extortion. You have the right to remain silent, anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law,” said one of the officers, helping Mia to her feet as he slid the cuffs on her.
“You’re making a mistake!” yelled Mia, squirming frantically.
“Miss, you need to calm down, unless you want me to slap another charge on you,” said the officer.
Mia immediately stopped struggling and glared at me and Juliet, before she was led out of the room, the EMTs following behind. The remaining officer took a step toward Juliet, unclasping the cuffs in his hand.
“Juliet Martin, you are under arrest for the crime of assault. You have the right to remain silent, anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law,” he said sternly.
“Officer,” I said, stepping between them. “Is this really necessary?”
“Mr. Brandfield, I’m going to have to ask you to step aside.”
“It’s okay,” said Juliet quietly, holding out her arms.
I watched in horror as the officer hooked the metal handcuffs around her small wrists, and guided her toward my office door.
“I’m right behind you, Juliet,” I called after her. “We will figure this out.”
She didn’t so much as turn her head before disappearing out the door.
I followed behind them, keeping my distance to not set off the officer.
By that time, the office was full of employees who had come into work, not expecting this kind of show.
They watched with wide eyes and gaping mouths.
Some even had their phones out recording.
I glared at them, making them quickly stop and put their phones away.
The press was going to have a field day with this, but the only thing I was concerned about in that moment was Juliet, who was currently in handcuffs heading to jail.
And pregnant.
I watched as she disappeared behind the elevator doors, her eyes on the floor.
I waited for the other elevator and rode it down to the lobby, walking out to the curb where my driver waited.
I watched as the police car with Juliet inside peeled away from the curb, the blue and lights casting reflections off the surrounding glass buildings as the siren came to life, filling my ears.
“Follow that car,” I told my driver, clambering into the backseat. “Quickly.”
He jogged around to the driver’s seat and took off, weaving through traffic as best he could in a limo.
A cab probably would have been a better choice, but it was too late for that now.
Twenty minutes later, we arrived at the police station.
There was no sign of Juliet as I jogged up the stairs and entered the building.
I walked up to the front desk, clearing my throat to get the attention of the officer who was sipping coffee and reading the morning paper.
“I’m here to post bail for Juliet Martin,” I said.
The officer looked up at me before turning to his computer and typing on the keyboard, each click clack painfully slow.
“I’m sorry, I don’t see a Juliet Martin in here.”
“She just arrived,” I said breathlessly.
“If that’s true, then she is probably still being processed. You’ll have to wait.”
“Please,” I said, placing my hands on the wooden surface of the desk.
“It’s procedure, sir,” he said with a shrug.
I let out an exasperated sigh and turned to go wait in a nearby wooden chair.
I slumped into it, the rickety wood digging uncomfortably in my back.
It was nothing compared to what Juliet was probably going through right now.
Fingerprints. Photos. Jail cell. I shuddered thinking about it, knowing she was probably terrified and alone.
My phone trilled loudly throughout the lobby of the police station, causing the front desk officer to shoot me a look. I quickly slipped my phone from my jacket pocket and stepped outside.
“Hello?” I answered.
“Chester?” asked a worried voice.
It was Will.
Shit.
“Hey, man,” I said, rubbing the back of my head.
“What the hell is going on?” he asked. “I heard there was an arrest at the office. It’s all over the news…”
Of course it was.
“Shit,” I muttered.
“Are you okay?” he asked. “You’re not sitting in a jail cell?”
“With my cell phone?” I asked pointedly, stepping out of the way of an officer coming up the steps.
I sighed, as I sat down, leaning against the concrete steps.
“I found out who was blackmailing me…”
“Who?”
“Her name’s Mia Turner. She works in accounting. She used to work for me years ago before I fired her. She had it in her head that we had something going on, and she’s psychotically held a grudge ever since.”
“Well, shit,” said Will in disbelief.
“She’s been arrested, but so has Juliet.”
“What? Why?” he exclaimed.
“Well, she kind of punched Mia in the face…”
Will was quiet for a moment and then let out a loud laugh. “This just gets better and better.”
“Yeah…” I said, letting out a deep breath, wishing I could find the humor in this mess of my life. It really was all so surreal.
“Look, do you need me to come down there? Take the reins of the office and the media storm that’s swirling?”
“Nah. I’ll handle it. But can you meet me tomorrow at the office?”
“Of course.”
“9 a.m.?”
“I’ll be there.”
“Thanks, Will. Sorry about all of this,” I said forlornly.
“It’s fine, Chester. Go get that girl out of jail,” he said before hanging up.
I put away my phone. I figured I could tell him about the pregnancy later, after I had a chance to talk to Juliet. I headed back up the stairs to wait for any updates on her processing, and for the first chance I had to bail her out.