Jada stared at me as I ended the call. “What was that about? She’s clearly not okay.”
“No, but she wants you to have a good night. She’s not going to let you worry about her. I’ll send Dr. Martins to check on her in the morning.”
That seemed to help Jada settle down.
“The famous Jada,” a deep voice rumbled.
We both looked up from the phone to see Simon in front of us. Despite how ill he’d seemed when I last visited him, he was sharply dressed in a suit. When I looked closer, I noticed powder on his skin, like he’d been made up to have a better color. Even the lines on his face seemed shallower.
I held on to Jada’s back a little tighter, a million conflicting feelings making me both want to protect her and introduce her to the man whom I owed so much to. “Jada, this is Simon.”
Simon held his hand out to greet her, and she shook it.
“I’m not sure what to say,” she uttered, looking from him to me.
He lifted a corner of his lips and shrugged.
“But I do want to thank you,” she spoke.
Simon and I both stared at her, surprised.
Jada looked up to me, a soft smile on her lips. “Bryce is an amazing man, and whatever role you played in bringing him to me... thank you.”
Simon dipped his head in acknowledgement. “I’m so glad you’re here,” he told her. “Truly.”
Someone came over, wanting to talk to Simon, but then I caught sight of Jude. He did a doubletake at me, causing him to slam into a server’s back. A tray of drinks cascaded to the ground, crashing all around us.
Jada gripped my arm, her nails digging into my skin. “Bryce, who is that?”
61.Jude
I stood,frozen, amidst the noise of the party.
I had thought I could avoid them, using the shield of all these people to avoid my best friend and the mother of a child I could never have.
My assistant could make sure our schedules never aligned.
It would be hard to stay away, but not impossible.
Money bought options.
Money bought power.
The only thing it couldn’t do was turn back time.
62.Bryce
Jada lookedlike she had seen a ghost, staring at Jude even as people moved around us to avoid or clean up the glass that skittered across the ballroom floor like a thousand tiny diamonds.
Taking her arm to steer her away from the drop zone, I whispered, “Are you okay?”
“Who was that?” she asked again as people milled about us. Now that the initial shock of the glass drop had worn off and event staff rushed to clean up the hazard, it was almost like it had never happened.
“Jude. He’s our CEO, one of the cofounders,” I answered, searching the crowd for him. He was already streaking toward the exit.
And when I looked back at Jada, she was chasing after him.
I followed them both, weaving through party guests who wanted to greet us and congratulate us on our upcoming wedding. It was hard to smile and nod when my stomach had turned to ice.
