The Naked Truth(11)
Josh’s cell phone rang, pulling him from his thoughts. “Josh speaking.”
“Sir, I know you’re away on business and mini-vacation, but there’s been an emergency and we need you back in New York ASAP,” his secretary said with urgency in her voice.
“What’s the emergency?”
“The union is threatening to go on strike.”
Crap. “I’ll be there this evening. Call and get my jet ready.”
“Yes, sir.”
He hung up. Leaving right now wasn’t what he’d wanted, but it looked as though he had no other choice. Once things got settled, he’d call Abigail and arrange to have her and Hailey fly out to him for a weekend.
* * * *
Abigail set her phone down on the car counsel after listening to the voicemail from Josh. He had left and gone back to New York. He claimed there had been a work emergency, but she wasn’t so sure she believed him. Maybe he was like other men, and when she didn’t spread her legs, he took off. Well, at least he was gone before she had made the mistake and sat down to tell Hailey just who he was. For now, she would wait until her daughter was older.
Abigail pulled the checkbook from her purse and then headed inside the pre-school.
“Hi, Mrs. Smith,” Abigail greeted the director of the school.
“Ms. Reese, it’s good to see you. I wasn’t expecting to see you in today. Let me call back and have them bring Hailey up.”
Abigail chuckled. “Tuition’s due. I always come in on this day.”
“Oh, well, I figured since your paid up for the next few months…”
“Wait, what? Is my account mixed up with someone else?”
“No. A gentleman came by and took care of it. I figured you knew.”
Josh hadn’t been lying when he said he’d take care of Hailey. “Oh, yeah, I forgot. Silly me.” Hailey came running through the front doorway and clung to her mother. “Well, we’ll see you next week.”
Abigail picked Hailey up and toted her outside to the car. She wasn’t sure how she felt about Josh at the moment, but if he did help out with Hailey’s expenses, perhaps she wouldn’t have to strip any longer. She’d at least go Saturday since she’d made a commitment, but after that, she wasn’t so sure.
“Mommy,” Hailey called from the back seat.
“Yes, honey.”
“Did you get the tests back?”
“What test?”
“The one with that man, Mr. Carter.”
Leave it to her daughter to remember such a thing. “Oh, yes, he did.”
“Are we related?”
Abigail sucked in her breath and then slowly let it out. Her daughter was much too smart for her to lie to. “Yes, honey, you two are.”
“Good, ‘cause I really like him. I want him to come over more.”
Abigail tried to contain her emotions, but it was hard. Having a child could do that. They were so pure and understanding. “Well, we’ll see what he wants to do.”
Hailey didn’t say anything else. She looked out the window for the rest of the drive home.
* * * *
Josh climbed out of the cab in front of Abigail’s apartment. He had missed them both so much he’d fueled up his jet and flew back to North Carolina as soon as he could. He wanted to surprise her and Hailey and hoped it wasn’t too late. It was a little after seven on Saturday. He’d tried calling earlier, but hadn’t gotten them. Hopefully they didn’t already have plans.
He knocked on the door and was greeted by a woman he didn’t know. “Hi, is Abigail here?”
“She’s working,” the older woman said.
Something in his gut told him he wasn’t going to like where this conversation was headed. “Where is she working?”
“I don’t think I’m at liberty to say at this moment.”
Hailey peeked her head around the lady. “Hi, Mr. Carter.”
“Hi, sweetie, I was coming over to see you and your mommy tonight. I miss you both.”
“Mommy’s working like she does every Saturday,” Hailey confirmed his fear.
“Oh, I forgot. You be good for this lady, okay?”
“I will.”
He smiled until his back was to them and the door was closed. Anger boiled through him. Had he not promised to take care of her? Did she not believe him? It wasn’t like he’d just abandoned her. He’d left her a message explaining why he left. It wasn’t like he was never coming back. Unless she thought that? No, she couldn’t. He was positive he’d been making his feelings to her known.
Either way, he was calling Freddy and letting him know he wasn’t pleased. But after the phone call with him, he learned that she wasn’t stripping at his place. Instead, rumor had it she was the star act at one of the slummiest places in town. Abigail couldn’t be that desperate, could she? There was only one way to find out and that was to go into the shithole and see if she was there.