Avoiding Temptation (Avoiding 3)

They’d had a long-distance relationship for an entire year. It hadn’t been easy, and they had been apart a lot. He’d had a million opportunities to be with someone else. She hadn’t thought he had, but the seed of doubt had just kept cropping up.

What if the kid was his? What if the sexual harassment was true? What if they had slept together?

The more she had thought about it, the more it had eaten at her from the inside out.

She had lost ten pounds that month. On someone who was already a petite woman just over five feet tall, ten pounds was a lot. Her clothes had stopped fitting right, and she’d had bags under her eyes. She had endured three years of law school, and the possibility of Ramsey having a child with someone else had been the stress she couldn’t handle.

When the results came back negative, Elisa’s lawyer had dropped her like a sack of potatoes.

And Lexi could finally breathe again.

She could still remember the smile Ramsey had given her when he got off that phone call.

“Negative,” he had said, picking her up and crushing her against him.

“Really?” she had whispered.

“Really.”

“And the sexual harassment charges?”

It had all felt so surreal. One minute, she had been obsessing nonstop about the possibility of her boyfriend having a child with someone else, and then…he hadn’t.

“Dropped,” he had said, placing her gently back on her feet. He had taken up her face in his hands and claimed a kiss. “She won’t ever bother us again.”

“She just couldn’t prove the charges? Or she has agreed that they were fabricated?” Lexi had asked against his lips.

“She just dropped the case. Her lawyer wouldn’t help her after the paternity test came back negative. There was never a case. No grounds for them to stand on.”

“Oh. So, she just gave up then?” Lexi had asked.

She hadn’t been sure why she couldn’t wrap her mind around this. Of course, Elisa had given up. She hadn’t had any proof. She had tried to wager her son against a multimillion-dollar corporation, and she had run smack dab into a brick wall.

But that didn’t prove that nothing had happened. It just brushed the dirt under the rug so that the floor looked clean for visitors.

So, they had moved on.

She had to make a choice. Either she accepted that Ramsey was the man she had always believed him to be, or she didn’t. Really, there was nothing else she could do about it. The Bridges medical wing was opening in three weeks’ time. They were all under a lot of stress as a year of work was coming to a conclusion. She had to choose.

If she didn’t believe him, then that was the end. Was she willing to walk away because of one cunt? There wasn’t even any proof! Maybe that was the worst part. If she’d had proof one way or another that something had actually happened—even if the kid wasn’t his—then she could have closure and move on. Without it, she had to go on blind faith. She had to trust Ramsey—the man she had given a second chance to a year ago after he had lied to her over and over and over again for a year straight.

That meant there really wasn’t a choice. She wasn’t giving up on Ramsey. If he said nothing had happened, then nothing had happened. She had been just as far away from him, and she hadn’t done anything. He had never acted like anything had happened. Lying about his past did not make him a cheater.

She just had to remember that—while he spent every day with Parker.

The three weeks had disappeared in the blink of an eye, and suddenly, they were standing in front of the block of land that had been dirt a mere year ago. Now, it was a sixty-story, full-service hospital with a colossal Bridges Enterprise logo on the front. Lexi couldn’t believe they had finished in time.

Ramsey might look sleek in a brand-new black Armani suit for the occasion, but he had been a hot mess all week. Mini earthquakes had kept shattering through the company’s plans, and he had spent most of the week putting out fires. Lexi had taken a liking to one of the new receptionists immediately, and she had found herself spending more time with the new girl, Cierra, than upstairs with the big guys sorting out the details.

But finally, today was the big day—the official grand opening of the Bridges medical wing. A large ribbon had been stretched across the entrance, and standing at the front of the crowd were Ramsey and Parker. His father, Bekah, and other senior vice presidents in the company stood directly behind them. Jessica and John stood nearby, looking relieved that they had actually accomplished everything they had set out to do. Lexi wondered what their commission would be on this project, not that it was any of her business.

Personally, Lexi hadn’t wanted to be anywhere near the spotlight. She had held back and stood off to the side among the growing crowd, far away from the media thronging the building for the best spot. She knew Jack was here, but he wasn’t with Bekah, and she hadn’t seen him when she arrived. Lexi just hoped this went better than the groundbreaking ceremony.

A hush fell over the audience as Ramsey stepped forward confidently. He started speaking when Lexi felt someone touch her elbow. She scooted over to accommodate the person as she listened to her boyfriend deliver the opening speech.

“Sorry I was late. I got held up,” Jack whispered into her ear.

A chill ran down her spine at his nearness, and she fought to keep her eyes forward.

“Where were you?” she whispered back. “I thought you’d be here with Bekah.”

“No, she’s been really busy with this stuff lately. Gone a lot. I came on my own,” he told her. “I already hate the parking situation.”

Lexi bit on her lip to hold back her laugh. Ramsey had talked all the time about how shitty the parking was, even with the underground garage.

“You shouldn’t have been late then.”

“Probably not.”

“What were you doing anyway?”

“Picking up some things for the party tonight. I should have gotten them earlier, but I procrastinated,” he said, nudging her in the side.

“Doesn’t sound like you at all,” she whispered in a scolding tone.

“Not at all.” He chuckled lightly and crossed his arms, effectively ending their conversation.

She probably should be paying more attention anyway.

Lexi stared up at Ramsey. Pride washed over every other emotion that had manifested. Even if she hadn’t been sure about this venture to begin with, she couldn’t deny how happy it made her that he had done it. He had accomplished this against all odds. A year’s time should not have been long enough, but somehow, it had been. Now, they were standing on the threshold of a new beginning.