FOUR YEARS LATER.
Of course, he remembered her! Nicholas Grey, CEO of Arma Corp, the world's number one leading tech company in the world was wondering what his life would have been if he had acted on his feelings for the innocent, naïve Rachel Crawford, instead of going ahead to marry his gold-digging bitch of an ex-wife that he had never loved.
His entire dynasty, his entire life was about to crash on his head if he wasn't careful. Everything he worked for was about to go down the drain.
Not only was his ex-wife trying to take half of his wealth, thanks to a silly clause in their prenup that allowed her to do that if Nicholas wasn't married within a month of their divorce, he was about to lose his entire inheritance to a long-lost half-brother.
He paused, dragging a hand through his hair so tightly that it was a miracle he still had any hair left. "I want that son of a bitch investigated. He's probably lying, I don't think my father had another son," he said to his lawyer who also doubled as his friend. The both of them had come a long way together from their boyhood days.
Stephen merely shrugged. "I've had a P. I look into his claims, they're a hundred percent valid. If you don't produce an heir by this time next year, everything you inherited would be going to Thomas Avery."
Nicholas made a face, and began pacing again. On top of everything he was facing at the moment, Thomas Avery had suddenly appeared from nowhere, declaring himself to be Nicholas's older, if illegitimate brother, and producing his late father's will that clearly left his entire businesses and estates to Thomas if Nicholas did not provide an heir by the time he turned thirty. Nicholas was already twenty-nine, and Thomas had six children.
"You know you should reach out to that girl – what was her name again? You kept tabs on her, didn't you?" Stephen surprised Nicholas by saying, but the CEO didn't need to ask what girl Stephen was talking about, his heart already knew.
Rachel Crawford.
Stephen was right, he had indeed kept up with her life, his desire, and admiration for her growing as he watched her pick up the pieces of her life, and turn it into something incredible. She had gone on to college, graduated, and was currently the fastest rising reporter of 'The Event,' with several awards already under her belt. If there was a baby, she had kept it away from the press.
He shrugged, but now, his features had relaxed into a sad smile, merely thinking of her. "How is Rachel any kind of solution?"
Stephan shrugged. "Well for one, you need to get married this month, you have no time to fall in love, and most gold-diggers right now are wondering whether to stick with you or with your half-brother, but Rachel mentioned being in love with you didn't she?"
Nicholas scoffed. There was no way Rachel was still in love with him, not after how he had treated her, and she probably had a man in her life. She had gone from innocently lovely to gorgeously beautiful, and coupled with a successful career, she could have any man she wanted. It was unlikely she'd throw all that away to come rescue him from his mess.
"And if I recall correctly, you said she mentioned something about a pregnancy those many years ago. If she still has your child, then she is the perfect solution. With Rachel, you'd have defeated both your ex-wife, and your half-brother."
Nicholas winced. His left hand shot up to his hair again, dragging through it as he tried to stifle the guilt that tore at him. Had Rachel been pregnant? Had he abandoned a woman pregnant with his baby?
He must have been drunk when they'd had their one-night stand, because he could not remember a single detail of how they had met, however, there were flashes stuck in his mind that replayed whenever his guard was down.
Her bee-stung lips, sweet and inexperienced, but kissing him back with the same passion he had, her body, soft and trembling beneath him, her warmth and her scent that snuck up on him in the middle of the night denying him any possibility of sleep, and the core of her womanhood, so wet, so tight, the barrier to their pleasure telling him when her words had failed, that she had been a virgin before him.
Not for the first time, Nicholas wondered how blissful his life would have been if he had chosen to trust Rachel on the day she had crashed his wedding, if he had just followed his heart.
"So… Are you going to call Rachel?" Stephen interrupted his musing.
Nicholas shook his head, then without warning, he crashed into the nearest seat. With his hands placed on his thighs, he bent his head slightly till his dark curls brushed against his forearms. This was the most broken Stephen had ever seen him.
"I can't do it," his voice was low and laced with anguish. "What would I even say to her?"
"Well for starters that you need you child back. You're still a very rich man, you can afford to pay her off."
Nicholas remained silent.
"Nick if you won't call her, I'd have to call her myself –"
That brought Nicholas's head up immediately, and a bit of the old Nicholas Grey was back as his dark eyes pinned Stephen's. If the lawyer hadn't known him for so long, the latter would have been intimidated. "Stay away from Rachel," he snapped protectively. "I'd handle this myself."
In the end, it was Nicholas's social secretary that had put the call across to Rachel. Nicholas did not want their reunion to be over the phone.
He wanted to look into those warm brown eyes as he spoke to her, and he damned well wanted to kiss those lips again.