Her Baby Secret (Friends & Lovers Book 1) (16 page)

“Fuck you, you bitch!”

Frowning, Devin made his way through the throng of people that surrounded the reception area of 50G Studios. He was still a few rows from the debacle but he saw Emerald standing at the glass island that enclosed the three receptionists at their desks. Instead of being at her own desk, Casey stood on the other side of the island, pointing a finger at Emerald.

“You can call me a bitch all you want,” Emerald said, her voice so low that he almost couldn't hear her. “We both know the real bitch is you. You pathetic bitch.”

“Go to hell!” Casey screamed again. “I knew that little bitch Robyn was a punk. But I didn't think she was desperate enough to ask you to speak for her!”

“Robyn doesn't even know I'm here, dumb ass,” Emerald said brightly, a mean smile on her face.

“Let me through,” James, one of the security guards ordered as he tried to push his way through the crowd. “Everybody move. Please disperse!”

“So your life is so pointless that you have nothing better to do than to come to bother me? You fucking loser!” Casey jabbed Emerald in the chest.

Devin tried to get closer before it could get ugly. He remembered very well that as a child and teen, Emerald had settled many problems with her fists.

“Do not touch me again,” Emerald said in a sugary sweet tone. “It won't end well for you.”

“Move!” Another security guard, Flynn, shouted from the opposite side of the huge lobby.

People stubbornly stood where they were, barely shifting.

“Nobody's scared of you, you stupid bitch!” Casey said, leaning over the counter. “Get the fuck out of here!” She jabbed Emerald again and in the blink of an eye, Emerald had her finger and snapped it to the side. Casey let out a blood-curdling scream.

Devin pushed his way through and put both his hands around Emerald's waist, yanking her away from the glass counter. But it was too late. Chaos erupted.

Two hours later, Devin and Emerald sat across from each other in a nearby diner, Charlie's, and he ordered a bunch of food, having missed breakfast and lunch.

“Well,” Emerald said, sipping her soda, “That went better than expected.”

Devin shook his head. Unbelievable. The woman had damn near started a brawl and all she could do was sit there looking smug?

“You're lucky you didn't get arrested.”

“Luck had nothing to do with it. Those other receptionists are my witnesses and backed up my story. Casey's the one who's lucky
she
didn't get arrested.” Emerald had something between a smile and scowl on her face. “Being that it’s the holiday season, I didn't want to press charges. Luckily your boss didn't want to, either.”

But Casey had still gotten fired. He couldn't help but feel a little bad, knowing how much she needed her job and how good she was at it. Well, when she wasn't hiding his messages and lying to his girlfriend, that is.

“You broke her finger.”

“It's too bad I didn't get to do more than that,” Emerald said with a serene smile. “That bitch sure had it coming!”

“I hope you got it out of your system.”

They paused while a waitress placed several plates of food on the table. Devin began eating his burger with gusto, feeling so hungry that his stomach ached.

Emerald picked at her double cheeseburger, taking a nibble and then plucking at the bun.

“Look,” Emerald said, crossing her arms over her chest, suddenly looking very serious. “I was there when you broke up with Robyn. I saw her wilt and become some imitation of herself. I heard her cry. I saw her lose her appetite and lose weight. I saw the bags under her eyes because she couldn't sleep.
I was there
. No one else was.”

He swallowed several times, not knowing what to say. He'd suffered too but ultimately it had been his fault. If he'd just had more faith in Robyn. If he'd just talked to her about what he thought was going on.

“So I caused a scene at your job. So what? It didn't involve
you
. I was trying to get Casey in trouble and that's the least she deserves for all the pain she caused my friend. So if you plan to lecture me, you'd better think twice.”

“I'm not going to lecture you. But don't act as if this was minor. That was childish and dangerous.”

“Damn, Devin, call it what you want. I don't care. But before you start to point the finger at me for the scene I caused, maybe you should point the finger at yourself too. Because you believing in Casey so much while
not
believing in Robyn is what got us into this mess. Now I've just started to forgive you. Don't make me regret it.”

“You're right,” Devin said, nodding sadly. “All of that stuff Casey pulled wouldn't have meant anything if I'd been the man that Robyn deserved.”

He dropped his burger and looked at his hands. The future was looking more and more uncertain the more he thought about it all.

“Don't start that,” Emerald said, slapping his hand. “You two are on the road to recovery. Let's keep the past in the past now. But I wanted that bitch to know she wasn't going to get away without some kind of consequence for what she's done.”

He had to admire Emerald and the way she always stood up for Robyn. Their relationship truly was remarkable.

“About us,” Devin said, meeting her eyes with his, “I guess she didn't tell you. But we haven't reconciled. In fact, it's the opposite.”

“What?” Emerald asked so loudly that nearby diners stared curiously in their direction.

“We had an argument and I don't know what to do now. She won't take me back.”

“Where's that confidence from a few days ago?!” Emerald huffed. “Where's that man who knew what he wanted and was going to go get it? You told me that Robyn was going to be your wife. Are you really going to let an argument get in your way?”

“It's not that simple, Emerald. When you talk to her, you'll see for yourself.”

“It
is
that simple,” Emerald said. “You two belong together. Nothing else matters. The hardest part is over already.”

“I'm going to wait until she comes back home and we can try talking again.”

“Back home?” Emerald frowned. “Oh, that's right. I forgot she was going to her parents' house until after New Year's.”

Devin nodded quietly. His mother had already sent him no less than a half dozen messages telling him to get to the Phillips house as soon as possible.

“You know what?” Emerald said, grabbing her double cheeseburger and taking a huge bite out of it. “I’m on sort of a permanent vacation. I think I'll go visit Quintin and Marj myself!”

“What do you mean, permanent vacation?” Devin asked, going back to his own food, his meat loaf, this time.

“Oh, I got fired. My boss is a jerk.” Emerald swallowed her food and sipped her drink again. “Hey, can you give me the fax number for 50G? I know they're looking for a new receptionist and I
have
to send my resume as soon as possible!”

Devin couldn't help but laugh at her bright smile before finishing his meal.

Robyn woke the next morning with a severe headache. She stumbled to the bathroom as quickly as she could, her stomach lurching painfully. Relieved that she made it to the toilet in time, Robyn hung on, retching again and again.

“Sweetie, are you alright?” Her mother asked from outside the open bathroom.

Robyn turned her head to answer but didn't get any words out before vomiting again. She weakly flushed the toilet, her stomach feeling calm at last. Her throbbing temples made her head feel very heavy. Marjorie rushed over to help her up from the floor. With aching knees, aching back and aching head, Robyn felt beaten down and worn out.

Her mother stood near her while she rinsed her mouth and brushed her teeth, then ushered her back to her room.

“My head is killing me,” Robyn complained, laying back down.

“Let me get you something for the pain,” Marjorie said, hurrying out of the room.

Robyn turned to lay on her side. Her body seemed to tremble from vomiting so much. She supposed the migraine had made her vomit more than usual. She wished she could just go to sleep and not feel anything.

Marjorie came back in, two pills in one hand and her cell phone in the other.

“Mom, what are you doing?” Robyn asked, looking at her mother through slitted eyes. “Please don't call Devin.”

“I'm not calling him,” Marjorie assured her, pressing the pills into her hand. “I'm calling Angelica. I was supposed to go into the restaurant for a few hours but she'll understand why I can't.”

“No,” Robyn said urgently, feeling guilty. “Don't stay home on my account. I'll be fine after a little while.”

Robyn reached for the bottled water that was on the night stand and swallowed the pills.

“But your father's not here, either. He went in to the shop so-”

“Mom, I'll be fine. I've had worse morning sickness and migraines than this. Once the pills kick in, I'll be back to normal.”

Her mother looked doubtful.

“I mean it, Mom. You have a business to run. If I need help, I'll call you. Promise.”

After her mother had brought her tissues, extra pillows, a bucket and some snacks she finally left, making Robyn promise more than once to call her if she needed her for anything. Robyn lay in the bed praying for some relief from the headache and was at last rewarded when she began to doze off.

She woke a couple hours later, her phone ringing repeatedly. Sitting up, thankful that the headache was gone, Robyn sat up and reached for her phone. She felt so queasy and remembered that she'd been too ill to eat anything for breakfast.

“Hello,” She said into the phone without looking at the screen, thinking that it was her mother.

“About time!” Emerald exclaimed. “I've been ringing this bell for forever and I've called you even more than that!”

“You're here?” Robyn said, getting out of the bed as fast as she could.

“No, I'm ringing my own bell,” Emerald said sarcastically, laughing loudly.

“I'm coming,” Robyn rolled her eyes and hung up but she had a grin on her face. She was so happy that her friend was there.

After she let Emerald in, they hurried to the kitchen and prepared a late breakfast while making small talk. Sitting at the breakfast table, Robyn ate a plain toasted bagel and some strawberries while Emerald put a mound of cream cheese on her own bagel and sipped coffee.

“So I have news to tell you!” Emerald said enthusiastically while she ate.

“You found a new job?” Robyn guessed.

“That would be a miracle,” Emerald laughed. “No. That's not it. I got Casey fired.”

“What?” Robyn questioned. She hadn't expected or wanted to hear anything about Casey for the rest of her life.

“I went there yesterday and of course she's such a hot shot, she came rushing to speak to me even though one of the other receptionists was closer to me. I asked her to give me a pass upstairs to see Devin. But I said it with a nasty attitude while smiling so no one would guess what was going on. I got her really riled up until she was yelling and going crazy!”

“You didn't!” Robyn said, frowning in disbelief.

Emerald nodded. “A whole crowd ended up around us and she looked like a psycho. Then the bitch had the nerve to poke me in the chest twice. I grabbed her finger and snapped it in half!”

“Oh my god,” Robyn breathed.

“Devin grabbed me and pulled me away-”

“Devin?” Just the mention of his name filled her with heartbreaking warmth.

“He appeared from somewhere,” Emerald went on, “Anyway, he grabbed me and pulled me away. Some guy tried to grab me too and he and Devin started yelling at each other. Two security guards rushed over and grabbed Casey. That bitch was on top of the counter screaming her head off. Another security guard told Devin that he was going to call the cops but then Devin called out to the
other
two guards- I guess he knows them. Anyway, those two guards told the third guard not to call the cops. It was crazy. Then Casey starts yelling to Devin that she's sorry and he pretended not to hear her. By then, everybody was pushing everybody else and I thought it was going to be a riot.”

“Damn, Emerald, I can't believe you did all that.”

“I just wanted to get Casey in trouble. And I succeeded. I bet she's learned her lesson.”

“I would say so,” Robyn agreed, shaking her head. “Did Devin get in trouble?”

“No,” Emerald assured her. “The other two receptionists – Lacey and Tasha – told the big boss, the president, what happened. I'd gone up to the counter and quietly asked to be let upstairs and Casey snapped at me and started acting crazy. Even the cameras backed up everything. Casey was fired instantly.”

“I guess I should say thank you?” Robyn asked with a short laugh. Casey losing her job wouldn't make up for all the drama she'd caused but it was a small consolation.

“Yeah, you should,” Emerald said. “I wish you could have seen her holding her hand to her chest like a baby and walking with her head down. They wouldn't even let her pack her things. They told her they'll mail her stuff to her. I get the feeling that Lacey and Tasha don't like her.”