Jude passed me a thick manilla folder. “We need to go over this report. I’m not sure Jada’s a good idea.”
Confused, I flipped the folder open, finding a cover page with a small picture of Jada. It was grainy and printed in black and white, but clearly her. Beneath her photo, in big black font, it said:
INVESTIGATIVE REPORT
JADA BAKER
FINDINGS ENCLOSED
My stomach dropped even as my gaze lifted back to Jude. “You had her investigated?”
He nodded. “And it’s a good thing we did. It’s a doozy.”
I leaned forward, utterly baffled. “How did you get all this on her?”
He scrubbed his hand over his neck. “I know a guy.”
“Am I to assume this was obtainedillegally?” I hissed. Suddenly, the folder felt more like a cagey attachment filled with ransomware. I didn’t want to open it at all, much less hold it in my hands.
“Do you really want to know? Because I don’t.”
I glared at him. Looking the other way was never a good idea. “Why would you violate her privacy like this?” I asked. “Just because you can get info doesn’t mean you should.” I tossed the envelope back on his desk. “If I need to know something, I’ll ask her.”
“How would you even know what to ask?” Jude argued, opening up the folder. “Banking information, job history notincluded on her resumé, school transcripts, medical tests... Don’t you want to know the person Simon’s forcing you to marry?”
“Simon’s not forcing me to do shit,” I barked back. “He gave us a choice, and we chose. Don’t you get that? Ichoseto get married to Jada.”
Jude’s gaze narrowed. “You two fucked, didn’t you.”
My head jerked back, recoiling at his words. “Why are you saying that?”
“Because you’re not thinking with your right fucking head!” he yelled, privacy be damned. “This isn’t just some one-night stand in Vegas you can undo when you get back home! It’s a marriage with a contract that gives away half your shares of a company we spent our lives building, and Bryce, I don’t want her to have any part of it.”
My mouth opened and closed like a goddamned guppy. “I can’t believe you’re saying this now.”
“It’s not all your fault. We shouldn’t have been so sloppy,” Jude replied sympathetically. “We’ll know for the others to get our research done before we go public with the relationship.” He passed me the folder again. “Read through it and then get with our publicist. There should be a way to handle the breakup and prepare for your next relationship.”
“‘Handle the breakup’?” I echoed in disbelief. “You’re not understanding. I. Love. Her.”
Jude only looked at me with pity. “Bryce, she’s pregnant, and judging by the timeline of things, it isn’t yours.”
I couldn’t even fake being surprised, which in turn gave him a shocked expression.
“You knew?” he asked.
I dipped my head, not revealing that I’d just found out myself.
Now he looked frustrated. “You knew and you didn’t tell us? This is the kind of problem that would make our company, make you, look bad.”
I stared at my friend like he was a stranger. “A child is not aproblem, Jude.”
“It’s not the kid’s fault,” Jude backtracked. “But we can’t just bury our heads in the sand and act like society won’t say a thing. We are trying to take this company public, and any type of drama can send that effort crashing to the ground. Why would you put us all at risk over someone you barely know?”
“Because, Jude, people might be replaceable to you, but there’s not another Jada out there. I’m thirty-five years old, and I’ve never met anyone like her. I care about this business, I love you and the guys like brothers, but this is my chance to have a family.”
Jude opened his mouth to argue, but I shook my head.
“You can disagree with my choices all you want, but it is my choice to make. If you’re my friend, you’ll learn to accept it.”
