Mogul (25 page)

“You say she’s your nurse. Her job was to get
you walking, right?” He nodded. “You’re walking,” she pointed out.
“What now?”

“Yeah, but we still have a lot of work to
do,” he said. “I couldn’t imagine doing half the stuff I do without
her. She keeps me focused and on track.”

“So… she’s an assistant?”

He shook his head. “She’s more than that.
She’s my friend.”

“That you pay,” Shannon clarified. “Which
brings me back to the question – what happens when that job is
done?”

It almost startled Graham to realize he
didn’t want Maggie’s job to be done. Ever. He couldn’t imagine not
seeing her regularly, having her around to tease and to confide in
– to have as his biggest cheerleader and taskmaster. But Shannon
was right. It was Maggie’s job to be there. And jobs ended
eventually.

The thought saddened him more than he thought
it would. It lingered even as they left the lot and headed out to a
nice restaurant her wondrous transformation demanded.

She wasn’t just a nurse. She was a woman… a
beautiful, amazing woman.

He suddenly really wanted to treat her like
one.

He ordered a bottle of champagne after they
were seated. Maggie raised her eyebrow. “What’s the occasion?”

He grinned. “There doesn’t need to be an
occasion to drink champagne,” he said. “Everyone should drink
champagne for no reason at all.”

She giggled. “You’re the boss,” she said,
which reminded Graham of his conversation with Shan.

“Is that all I am?” he asked as he perused
the menu.

She was taken off guard by the question.
“What do you mean?”

He looked up at her. “You perform a service
and I pay you. Technically we’re a boss and an employee. But is
that all?”

Her hands dropped into her lap. She wondered
if he remembered their encounter in the guest bedroom when he’d
been stinking drunk. She couldn’t think of anything to say so she
waited for him to go on.

“I consider you my friend, Mags. Is that
wrong?”

She gave a slow shake of the head. “No… of
course not…”

“I’m just curious what is going to become of
us when you move on to your next patient,” he said.

Her throat tightened. “Are you… ready… for me
to move on, Graham?”

He shook his head. “Far from it,” he said
softly. Their eyes locked and held, interrupted only by the waiter
who brought their champagne to the table. After the glasses were
poured, Graham raised his for a toast. “To friendships,” he said.
“Long may they last.”

She nodded, but her stomach was in knots as
she tried to force through that first swallow.

He took note of her discomfort. “You okay,
Mags?”

She nodded and feigned a brave smile. “Of
course. Look at me,” she said as she referred to the black
dress.

He had to chuckle. “I actually can’t stop
looking at you,” he confessed, and his heart tugged watching her
blush in response.

“You may have to get me home before midnight.
You don’t want me turning into a pumpkin on you.”

He laughed. “Very well. Since the clock is
ticking, let’s get this party started.” He scooted out of the booth
and offered his hand. “Dance with me?”

She had no words as she nodded and put her
hand in his. He led her to the tiny, darkened dance floor of the
trendy restaurant, located on the roof of a high rise in West L.A.
He molded her to his body, and his hand felt warm against the small
of her back, bared by the risqué dress. The beat of the music was
sensual, so they swayed together almost hypnotically. He spun her
out and back to him again, and when the music ended he dipped her.
Her laugh rang out, joyful and true, which made Graham pull her
close for another dance.

By the time they ordered their dinner they
were flying high on giddy laughter from the champagne and the
playfulness of their night. They even sat closer together in the
booth as they let a decadent dessert digest.

It was comfortable. It felt right. For
Graham, it felt more intimate than any sexual encounter, and more
solid than any marriage.

How had he not noticed this before?

He caught her staring wistfully at the happy
couples on the dance floor. For some reason he had the immediate
impulse to brush the strand of hair that had dipped over her eye,
but managed to hold himself back.

“You ever think about doing it all again?” he
asked softly.

Her lovely eyes met his, but it almost felt
like the first time he ever looked into them.

“There never seemed to be a reason,” she
said. “Mitchell was my high school sweetheart. Your first love is
the most intense, so I knew everything else would pale by
comparison.”

Finally he reached out and brushed her hair
from her face. “Everything?”

Her mouth parted as his fingers brushed
against the curve of her face, light as a feather. She was lost in
his darkened eyes. How could she say anything and not spill
everything?

“Don’t you miss being touched, Maggie?” he
asked in that same low voice.

She gulped. “Graham…”

“Just between friends,” he grinned. “I miss
being touched… being kissed,” he said as he touched her lips.
“Being wanted. I mean, we’re only human after all.”

She nodded and licked her lips, which drew
his attention there. “Maybe I’ve been wanting the wrong things,” he
said. “Maybe I chase after what I can’t have just so I can have the
wanting.”

She saw the pain flash across his face. She
touched his hand with her own. “I believe you really loved Andy,”
she said. “We’ve all loved someone more than they could love us in
return,” she said. “It sucks but the sad truth is you can love
anyone at all in the world. You just can’t be with everyone you
love.”

His eyes met hers. Had she not said that
Mitchell was her high school sweetheart? Who had been Maggie
Fowler’s unrequited love?

When her eyes darted from his, he suddenly
understood. Why she had never left… why she had hated Andy… why she
had temporarily moved out of the house when he chased – again –
after Andy like a stray dog, and why she had moved back in when he
finally had to let Andy go. He relieved every moment like a burst
of light in his brain. How blind he had been. He had almost missed
it all. “Maggie…” he started but she glanced at her watch. “It’s
almost midnight,” she said.

“Then I don’t have much time,” he said before
he pulled her close. Her eyes widened as his head bent toward hers.
His lips captured hers in a sweet, tentative, questioning kiss.
With a small sigh she found herself submitting to it. Her hunger
was raw and real, so he deepened the kiss as his hand wound itself
in her hair. He was breathless as they broke apart. “Mags,” he
muttered against her ear before he nuzzled her neck.

Every nerve ending went up in flames. She had
wanted him for so long, it was almost like a dream for him to be
kissing her or wanting her, for the ghost of Andy to be finally
exorcised. It was her name he whispered, and it was the sweetest
word Maggie had ever heard.

“We probably shouldn’t do this,” she
whispered half-heartedly as he kissed his way back to her full
lips. “You’re my boss,” she reminded.

He grinned. “You’re fired,” he said.

“I was hoping you’d say that,” she said
before she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him with all
the longing she had been suppressing.

Graham motioned for the check.

The drive between West L.A. and Malibu seemed
agonizingly long as they stole kisses in the car on their way home.
After he pulled into the garage, he took her by the hand, grabbed a
blanket, and walked out onto the sandy beach that was his back
yard. He pulled her down next to him and their mouths found each
other, hungry for just one more kiss. They lay together, completely
clothed, kissing and touching and exploring like the new lovers
they were, without crossing that invisible barrier that would have
led them both to his bedroom in the house.

Eventually his need demanded reevaluating
this strange, new set of circumstances. This wasn’t like a normal
date when he could drop her off at her home and take a cold shower
till the next time. They lived together. Until about an hour ago
they worked together. They were going to have to reorganize
everything; otherwise it had the potential of blowing up in their
faces. He lifted his head up on his elbow and looked down at her.
“So where do we go from here, Maggie?”

She touched his face with her fingers. “I
don’t know,” she said honestly. “I want you, but… I need to be sure
that you’re not just using me to get over her.”

He nodded. He understood. “You call the
shots, Mags,” he said. “And if you say so, I’ll walk – hunched over
– to that house and stay in a cold shower till morning.”

She laughed as she hugged him close. She
wanted to tell him she loved him, but stopped herself before the
words finally broke free. Her mouth sought his and he was
unwilling, and unable, to deny her.

That night they went to their respective
bedrooms – alone – but as each fell asleep, the memory of their
night, and the possibilities of their new beginning, fulfilled them
in ways a fevered one-night-stand never could.

Maggie sent a special thanks to the Universe
for her fairy godfather, Jorge.

He really had proved magical.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Los Angeles, California

May 21, 2011

Holly sat on the top of the examination table
at her OB/GYN’s office. She was in week 26 of her pregnancy, much
farther than she’d ever been in any of her other pregnancies, and
as such each day felt like she was walking a tightrope over a pit
of cobras. Her scare after Julian attacked her over a month ago had
been followed by intermittent spotting, and just that morning she
had started to bleed.

Worse, the baby was not as active as he was.
Holly was in a panic as she rode in a taxi toward the doctor’s. She
hadn’t told anyone, not even Vanni.

So her heart was in her throat when Dr. Pintu
entered the office. He gave her a reassuring smile. “You have a
very common condition called placenta previa,” he said. “Happens
once in every couple hundred pregnancies. The placenta has grown
over the cervix, which is why you are now starting to bleed.”

“Is it dangerous?”

“It can be,” he said honestly. “In a normal
pregnancy, the placenta attaches at the top of your uterus by the
third trimester to allow for delivery. In your case, the placenta
has grown all the way over the cervix, which is considered
complete, or total. Since it is unlikely to change, in this case I
would recommend you have a C-section to deliver your baby
safely.”

“Whatever it takes,” she said.

“Odds are you will continue to bleed
spontaneously throughout your third trimester, and it can be
severe. You may even experience contractions. The idea is to hold
off delivering your baby until he is closer to term.”

“Of course,” she said. “But what can I
do?”

“I’m going to put you on pelvic rest. That
means no sexual intercourse, no vaginal exams. Nothing inserted
into the vagina at all. Also, I’d advise bed rest. No strenuous
activity.” He smiled. “Let them take care of you for a while.”

She nodded, but didn’t see how it would even
be possible. If she hadn’t been such a chicken and allowed Vanni to
come with her, maybe he would have moved her into his house to make
sure she was OK.

Even has she had the thought, she dismissed
it. She knew he’d never move in with her. He had tried to convince
her to let him hire an assistant to do all the things he didn’t
want to do for her since he was busy with Andy and his other baby.
So far she’d kept him at bay, terrified that an assistant would
actually spy on her and report Julian’s drug use to Vanni and
they’d all wind up on the streets.

Again.

Dr. Pintu continued. “If it gets too bad, or
if contractions start, then we’ll admit you to keep an eye on
things. Right now everything looks fine enough to send you home.
That’s more comfortable than a hospital,” he said as he patted her
knee.

More comfortable, but not as safe.

From that first taste of heroin, Julian had
been a shell of his former self. In the music, with the band, it
helped to be angry and aggressive. At home, he took all that out on
her. He had forced himself on her more than once, and she hadn’t
been able to stop him.

What was she going to do now that sex could
actually put her or her baby at risk?

She was still fretting over it when he got
home that evening. She was in bed, too afraid to even get up to
pee. He wasn’t happy to find her lounging around like some queen
he’d have to bow down to.

He bowed to no one, especially a woman.

“Enjoy your day, princess?” he sneered as he
peeled off his shirt.

“I went to the doctor,” she said.

“So?” he asked as he went into the bathroom,
and she knew just what he was going to do there. “Julian, can we
talk?”

“Not now,” he said through the door. “Leo’s
coming over. We’re going out.”

She rolled her eyes. That would lead to
nothing good. “Julian, it’s important.”

He didn’t respond and she knew why. She
closed her eyes and prayed for strength. Could she kill a man,
especially a man she’d known since she was a child, to save her
son?

She thought about the kitchen knife she’d
stuffed under the pillow and knew with all certainty she could.

But Julian didn’t come out and attack her.
Instead he put on a nicer shirt just as Leo knocked on their door.
He had a full bottle of whiskey in his hand and was ready to party.
Fortunately for Holly, they decided to do that away from her.

She pulled out her phone and
texted Vanni. “
Need to see you. Please
come
.”