"Are you sure?"
Wilson hated the hesitation in Will's eyes. He sent his son a reassuring smile. "I'm sure, Will." At this moment, spending time with his son was the most important thing in his life. He just had to figure out how to break it to Jayden without losing his chance for a second date with the man.
Hopefully, Jayden would be understanding.
Chapter Seven
Jayden closed his laptop and pushed it away. He had searched every database he could find and not one of them listed Wilson Khor II on someone's birth certificate. He was pretty sure the man hadn't meant to mention his son, but he had, and now Jayden had a lead on a major story. This could be his ticket to the big times.
Why did that thought make his gut clench?
Jayden sighed and flopped back on his bed. Every instinct he had told him this was the story of a lifetime. If he dug up the information, backed it up with facts—and maybe even pictures—he wouldn't be covering stupid diamond stories anymore. He'd have a chance at being a real journalist.
His heart was telling him that using someone else to get ahead wasn't the way to go, especially a man he'd spent the night with and kind of hoped to spend another night with. It was a surefire way to end anything he might have going with Wilson.
Jayden didn't know why the idea of betraying the senator was hitting him so hard. It wasn't like they'd made promises to each other or anything. They'd had sex and then made plans to hook up again. That was it. There were no hearts-and-roses promises. No forever speeches. Not even a glimpse of a future.
He still felt sick to his stomach.
He grabbed his phone when it rang and pressed it to his ear without looking at the screen. "Hello?"
"Jayden, have you found anything yet?"
Jayden sat up. "Marv."
"Well?" the man snapped. "What have you found?"
"Nothing yet," Jayden said quickly. "As far as I've been able to tell, the senator is just taking a weekend off from the chaos at the Capitol."
If Marv ever learned he was lying, his goose would be cooked.
"In Cade Creek?" Marv shouted. "Are you insane? United States senators do not take weekends in some shithole town in the middle of nowhere unless they're meeting someone."
Jayden winced when Marv gasped. He just knew where this was going.
"That's it," Marv said. "He has to be meeting someone. I'll bet that's why his marriage broke up. The senator was seeing someone on the side. Probably a mistress. Oh, Jayden, baby, you get me a picture of the bitch and you can write your own ticket."
"I really think—"
"Don't think!" Marv snarled. "Do!"
Jayden groaned and dropped back onto the mattress when Marv hung up without allowing him to say another word. This wasn't going to end well. He stared at the ceiling for a few minutes as he tried to figure out how to climb out of the hole he was sinking into so damn fast.
The excitement he had felt when he'd first seen the senator at the bar sat like a lead ball in his stomach now that he actually knew the man. The idea of digging up dirt and splashing it across the front page of a newspaper waned considerably when compared to the passionate night he'd spent in the man's arms.
Maybe he should just cut his losses and run for it. If he wasn't here to report on the senator, then there would be nothing to report. He'd most likely lose his job at the newspaper, but at least he'd have his dignity. That wouldn't feed him or keep a roof over his head, but he'd flipped burgers before. He could do it again.
He felt a twinge in the region of his heart as he reached for his phone and dialed Wilson's number. He gripped the phone tighter when he heard Wilson's voice as the man answered.
"Hey, Wilson, it's Jayden."
"Hi, I'm glad you called." He actually sounded like he was. There was an upbeat, happy tone in his voice. "I'm afraid I need to cancel our plans for dinner tonight. Something came up. Can we reschedule?"
Jayden blinked in surprise. "Uh, yeah, that would be fine."
He rolled his eyes at his quick agreement to see the man again. He needed to just cut things off. If he didn't have any contact with the senator, he couldn't dig up dirt on him. Jayden squeezed his eyes shut, despair sinking into him at what he was about to do.
"I have to head back to the city. Why don't you give me a call when you're free and we can get together then?"
