Chapter Forty-One Judgements

16.5K 636 41
                                    

Cadence POV

Before the car came to a stop, I was out of it. This was the night that I knew would happen sooner than later. I was busted by a person I didn't even know.

"Cadence wait," I heard Evan say. I walked quickly through the hotel lobby trying to catch the elevator. As soon as I got there it closed.

"Shit," I said more to myself as I pressed the buttons willing the elevator to come.

I felt strong arms behind me. "Don't leave me," he said kissing me on top of my head. The elevator beeped and I got in.

"Go away Evan. Our time is up."

"Please, let's just talk about this," he said.

"There is nothing to talk about. It was good while it lasted." I pressed the elevator button to the third floor.

"Just give me five minutes. That's all I'm asking." I looked at him and rolled my eyes. I was totally done with this situation. I was here to attend a conference not to play girlfriend.

The elevator opened on my floor. I walked out with Evan right on my heels. I got to my room and said, "five minutes and then you leave!"

I sat on the sofa and took my shoes off.
"Talk Evan, I don't have all night!"

"My parents already knew but my siblings and their spouses did not."

"You are fucking kidding me, right. That's why you told me to tell the truth because they already knew."

"Yes. But what I said to you earlier I meant it. I have fallen in love with you Cad," he took my hand in his.

"I'm so sorry baby girl. I didn't even know she was coming."

"Evan, how did she know?"

"I wish I could answer that but I will find out. Come here." He pulled me to his lap.

I leaned into his touch. "It doesn't matter what other people think about us. It's me and you," he said. I leaned my head against the crook of his neck.

"Evan I have the ball on Saturday. I'm the Mistress of Ceremonies. Lilly won't be there."

I felt him stiffen.

"I still have a job. I sleep with men. I will do my job until my contract is fulfill. I know this is a lot to ask, but I am still going to sleep with other men." I wanted to be honest.

"Let me talk to Lilly," he said.

"No, you don't need to talk to her because I am what I am and you will either accept it or not."

"You don't have to live this way. I can give you whatever you need."

"I don't want a sugar daddy. I don't need a man to take care of me. I will not be a kept woman." I lean up to him and placed my hands on his cheeks.

"I care for you. I really do Evan and I have strong feelings for you but you have to give me time. I have never had a man to tell me he love me. I don't ever remember my daddy saying it. Bear with me," I said kissing him on the lips.

"This is not how I thought my birthday would turn out," he said taking a deep breath.

I looked up at the clock and it was ten pm. It was still early.

"You still have two hours until midnight before the day is over and the conference doesn't start to lunchtime tomorrow so maybe we could," I wiggled my eyebrows and nodded to the bedroom. I saw that smile on his face. Why not? The damage had been done.

"I noticed that you didn't get a chance to eat your birthday cake so, why don't you order some and have them bring it up," I said winking.


Evan POV

I woke up the next morning next to Cadence. It had been a wild night celebrating my birthday. I was falling deeper and deeper every time we spent time together. It just wasn't the sex it was her. She had like this Ora about her that just pulled you in.

I had confessed my love to her and I meant every word. I know she had deep feelings for me but I would wait.

Last night had been absolutely cray. Shit was about to hit the fan and I didn't want her anywhere near it. I picked up the phone to call Brian.

"Hi boss," he said sounding tired.

"I want you in the office by ten and I want you to bring Yaz."

"How would I know where Yaz is?"

"Because you are fucking her and I know."

The phone line got quiet.

"Both of you in my office by ten am sharp because if you aren't there, there will be fire and brimstone." I hung up and ran my hand over my face. I looked back to see Cad staring at me.

"I'm sticky," she said stretching her arms out. "I'm going to take a shower, coming?" She said getting out the bed as the sheets revealed her naked body. My boner rose to the occasion.

She was soft as silk as her walls caressed me. The hot water, her passionate kisses and the feel of her body was making me dizzy. I was going to miss this.

I felt her walls tighten as her release shook through her body and I wasn't too far behind her. We quickly showered and headed out for breakfast. We ate at the hotel's restaurant. We didn't talk about last night but the festival coming up next month. I dropped her off at the conference and headed to the office.

I was happy because she agreed to have dinner with me later on. She was leaving the day after tomorrow and I wanted to spend as much time with her as possible.

When I got to the office I headed upstairs. I saw Rachel sitting at the front desk.

"Brian will be meeting with me at ten, please buzz him in." She nodded and I headed to my office.

I sat my briefcase down and called Omar Redding my attorney. When he answered I told him about the Yaz confrontation.

"I want to give her a half of million to get out my life and Kara's. I thought I wouldn't have to deal with this shit, but she's back and I don't want Kara anywhere near her."

"You can't do that Evan. We are in proceedings and although they were cancelled and rescheduled you can't offer her anything."

"Then what am I suppose to do?"

"Unfortunately she is the mother. She and Brian - which I still can't believe is the father, could join forces. Since they are the biological parents they could still get joint custody or full custody. The law leans towards the biological parents."

"So you are telling me I could lose Kara," My heart started to hurt.

"Yes, but with the arrest last night we have evidence that she could be unfit."

"I have been sleeping with an Escort and she knows about it."

"Evan please tell me you are not paying for sex. You are killing me here. Do you exchange money? "

"No, I don't pay that way."

"Can it be traced?"

"I don't think so."

"Well it's your word against hers. With her background I put my money on you."

"Thanks Omar."

"Stay away from the escort. With Yaritza knowing, she could make things difficult."

"Okay," I said. It was no way I was letting Cad go. I hung up the phone and sat.

Moments later I heard a knock at the door. I looked at my watch and it was a few minutes to ten.

"Come in," I said trying to keep my composure. I had to keep it cool.

"You wanted to see me," Brian said.

"I said both of you. Not just you."

"She's not feeling so well. I have her resting," Brian said nervously.

"How long have you worked for me, as my assistant Brian?"

"Almost four years."

"So you think we've had a good working relationship all these years?"

"I would say so," he said sitting down.

"So did I give you the authority to fuck my then fiancé and get her pregnant? You may have been my assistant in the office but I can promise you I didn't need one in the bedroom."

"I have no idea what you talking about?"

"I'm not the same fool I was years ago. Negro I will cut your fucking throat. You betta start talking before they pull your dead body from off the sidewalk. Mutherfucker talk!"

"What do you want me to say? I don't have a kid."

"Yaz said that Kara is yours." I saw the blood drain from his face.

"Kara is not mine. Why wouldn't she tell me?"

"Fuck if I know. I have been raising your child since she was a few months old."

"I swear Evan I had no idea."

"Why did you fuck her?"

He swallowed. "It wasn't suppose to happen. I first saw Yaritza at the grand opening of EMR. You were still getting acts and traveling a lot. She was lonely and one thing led to another."

"So it happened one time?" I said. I could feel the vein in my neck about to pop.

"No. We have been fooling around for the last few years."

I jumped up and grabbed Brian by the collar and jerked him out the chair.

"Please Evan, I love her! Don't hurt me!" He yelled.

"You been fucking that she-devil and you never once said a thing. Were you the one to tell her about Cadence? If you fucking lie to me I will choke the living shit out of you!" I had Brian against the wall.

"Yes, I told her! You have made her life hell! She has suffered enough thanks to you. You may be rich and powerful but you will never be happy. That slut you fucking is fucking you and everyone else." He laughed!

Something inside of me clicked. "Mutherfucker, I will fucking kill you!" With all the strength I had, I continued to choke him.

"You are going to eat those words. You and that devil will pay for what you have done to me and my family. You can have the bitch all you want in the after life." I said to him through tight lips. I could feel his body becoming still. I balled my fist up and hit him in between his eyes while I had him by the throat with one hand.

"You love her. You can stare at her crossed eyed you son of a bitch." I took my hand and hit him in the stomach.

"Mr. McCain..., oh my god call security. William, Steven come here!" I heard a female voice say. I could see Brian arms slowly moving and his eyes were getting droopy.

"Evan, let him go. He is not worth it brother in law. "Let him go!"

I dug my fingers in his neck.

"Get your shit! You are fired! You will never work in this industry again. I fucking made you and now I will destroy you. You tell that stank ass bitch she comes never Kara I will fuck her up. If you come five thousand feet of me or anybody I love I will fuck both of ya'll up. Now crawl your ass out of here like the gutter rat you are!"

I let him go. He was gasping for breath. Security came in and escorted Brian out.

"Rachel find his ass a box. I want his shit out of my building. Have security escort him to his use to be office and let him clean it out. If he takes so much as a paperclip, I want to know. Tell security to go through that shit and make sure he takes nothing that belongs to EMR. I want his file cabinet moved NOW! I want his cellphone and any electronics that were issued to him. Call IT and have his access cut off and call my credit card companies and have them issue new cards minus his name. I want no trace of Brian Stanford in this office. Do you understand Rachel?"

"Yes, sir." She looked a little frighten but I didn't care.

"Steven please go with her and make sure my orders are carried out." He nodded and followed behind.

I couldn't believe this shit was happening. Now I could understand why Cadence didn't want any of this. Where did all this drama come from? I grabbed my coat and keys. I needed to get out of here.

I jumped in my car and took a drive. My phone was ringing and I didn't bother to answer it. How did my life come to this? I lived a quiet life until Yaz brought her ass back. I didn't believe in calling women out their names but she wasn't a woman she was a succubus. She took from you until there was nothing left.

Everything was going well yesterday. I had confessed my feelings to a girl that I was crazy about and then the wicked witch of the west had to destroy it. The hurt in Cadence face broke my heart. The one person in this world who deserved to be loved and cherished felt unworthy because of Yaz.

What did I ever see in her? I should have left her for good in high school but no, she was my first. She was the person who was by my side before the money and before EMR. I was a fucking fool to believe that once I proposed she would change. I had heard the rumors, but that wasn't the sweet Yaz I knew in high school. The girl in high school was shy and sweet.

The person she was today was definitely not the person I fell in love with. I was stupid. I needed advice. I pulled into my parents driveway.

I pressed the code in and and drove up to the front door. My mom was at the door waiting with her apron on. She gave me a big hug and we walked in. She led me to the kitchen where she had just finished making apple cinnamon muffins.

There wasn't anything like coming here and sitting in my mother's kitchen.

"Steven called and told me what happened. I figured you would come this way so I baked your favorite." She pulled out a muffin and placed it on the plate with a glass of milk.

"I'm not ten anymore, mom."

"I know but you will always be my baby. You could be sixty and still be my sweet son. All my children are my babies. I gave birth to each and everyone of you. Now talk." She grabbed a muffin and a glass of milk and sat it in front of me.

"I was finally finding happiness and Yaz has probably destroyed it."

"If it's meant to be it will be. You can't blame every thing on Yaz. Yes she did some despicable things but she was young. She didn't have anyone per say to guide her. I really thought you two would get married. You chose your career and she felt you left her behind."

"I had to work Ma. I had goals and dreams and they included her in them," I said taking a bite out of my muffin.

"I know but did you ever ask her if that was what she wanted? Sometimes people become so focus they forget about other things. Yes you made the money, left a legacy but you let love go. A strong man should always have a love of a strong woman. It's power is unstopable and it makes the family strong."

"I fell in love with a woman who uses her body for money, am I a fool?"

"No the heart wants what it wants. I think Cadence is a sweet girl. She is accepting of Kara and it's hard to find a woman to help raise another woman's child and the father is not even the real father. Boy we sound like a Jerry Springer or Maury Povich show."

She laughed and I couldn't help but laugh too.

"Anyway if Cadence is who you want and you feel she is the one, then go for it. She is an escort and she seems very independent. If she decided she wanted to continue sleeping with other men will you be upset?"

"I haven't given her a ring. She doesn't belong to me, but if she does want to be with me then I would expect her to stop."

"You need to make that known," she said.

I stared at the plate.

"Yaz did it for her own reasons because she was probably lonely but the bad part she is greedy and nothing good comes out of it. Cadence on the other hand does it for much different reasons. I applaud her for taking responsibility for taking care of her sisters, but no woman should have to sell her body for money," she said.

She took a sip of milk.

"I don't condone what she does. She has to live with her decisions. She is in school and trying to make a better life for her sisters and herself. I see her with a bright future son. I'm sure she was embarrassed and hurt last night. For a complete stranger to know what she does it must have been shocking."

"She was hurt and it hurt me to know that she was Ma."

"Just remember if you want to be with her, you might be ridicule because of her past. Are you willing to go through that? She needs a strong man that will fight for her honor and stay by her side. If you can manage to get through that then go for it."

She was right. People could be cruel as who knows Brian or Yaz could expose her or me. My mom had given me a lot to think about.

"So what did the family say when Yaz spilled the beans about Kara paternity and Cadence."

"Well your sisters on the other hand were in shock. They still love Kara as if she was their real niece. As a matter of fact they taking her to the zoo this weekend with the other girls." Your brother I'm sure will find out soon enough.

I hadn't told my siblings that Kara wasn't mine. I didn't want them to have any say in the matter. My parents knew but no one else.

"And the Cadence situation?"

"They are not the ones in love with her but you. I want all my children to be happy. Maybe when she completes school she will come around. She only has a year left and maybe doing that time, you can really get to know her. Ask her what's she wants to do after school, ask her if she wants a family or husband. Ask the questions now so if and when the time comes you will be ready. I can handle your sisters."

I shook my head.

"I love you mom," I said giving her a hug.

"I love you too sweetheart," she said hugging me back.



I met Cadence later on that evening at the hotel. After I left my mom's house I stopped by my attorney's office to talk about what transpired early and find out our next plan of action. Omar said that we would try to get an charges threwn out if Brian decided to try.

Cadence and I ended up at a nice Italian resturant. She told me all about the conference and I listened. She wasn't just sexy but very intelligent. I could see her running a hospital. I knew there weren't too many black, female CEOs. I listened and laughed about the things that had happened at the conference.

After dinner we drove around the city. I showed her the landmarks and we stopped to get icecream.

"Am I boring?" I asked.

"No, why would you say that?"

"I work all the time. I hardly go out and do anything. I'm not a club person and never really have been. I like the simple things. Picnics, boat rides and just relaxing."

"So you think that makes you boring?"

"I don't know."

"Well let's go have some fun," she said.

"Where are we going?"

"Come on walk up," she said.

We walked up to a Brazilian bar. I looked at her kind of funny. She led me in where bodies were moving to the fast beat gyrating and twirling around. We walked up to the bar and ordered some drinks.

She came back with two shot glasses.

"It's been a rough week and we both deserve to have some fun. On the count of three we drink and head to the dance floor." I nodded and she counted. The liquid stung a little as she grabbed my hand and led me out to the dance floor.

She was wearing a red dress that hugged her in all the right places. She moved her hips to the beat causing me to have a semi-erection. She moved her ass against the front and she had me counting. Every twist of her hips caused her to perform a seductive dance. Her hands glided across my arms and chest as the music took over her.

I bent down and kissed her. She wrapped her arms around me as my hands laid on her hips.

"Are you having fun now?" She whispered in my ear.

"Always when I'm with you." She kissed the side of my cheek. We danced for a while then headed back to her hotel. We watched the sunrise as I held her all night. She had one more full day and I had planned to make the most of it.

The following day she got out the conference early. We headed to my place and went swimming and just hung out. She found my old photo albums and we laughed. I cooked and she helped. I took pictures of her.

After dinner we danced to Sade's Cherish the Day. We danced and cuddled up and watched television. She fell asleep in my arms on the sofa and I watched her. Later on in the early morning light we made love.

Later on I dropped her off at the hotel. I had an early meeting but I would be back to take her to the airport. I wasn't excited that she was leaving and she would be at the ball, but I had no official claim on her.

I dropped her off and she kissed me.

"I shouldn't be too long. I will be back in plenty of time."

"Okay," she said getting out. I watched her walk in the hotel and drove off.



Cadence POV


The conference had been a great experience. I had learned a lot and had typed up my notes. Although Tuesday had started off good then had gotten ugly, Evan and I seem to recoup and enjoyed each other's company. He was was a great guy for the most part but I was also worried that his ex and Brian might expose him. He didn't need anymore drama then he already had and I didn't need Lilly and the other girls exposed.

I had just finished packing when I heard a knock on the door. I figured it was Evan. We still had a few hours before I needed to head to the airport. I walked over and look through the peephole. I was totally caught off guard. I slowly opened it.

"Hello Cadence. Can I come in?" She said. I opened the door wider to let her in. I closed it and she placed her purse on the chair.

"I won't be long. Evan told me you were leaving today."

"Have a seat Mrs. McCall." I walked around and sat in front of her.

"I'm sorry for what happened the other night at the house."

"Things happen," I said taking a seat.

"True but you didn't deserved to be treated like that," she said.

"Thank you."

"Cadence, I am here because I have spoken to Evan. Even with all the commotion that is going on, he still loves and cares for you. Just give him a chance. He is a good man."

"I know and I am scared I am going to hurt him. I am a call girl. Do I plan on doing this for the rest of my life? No."

"I didn't expect you too."

"Mrs. McCain I'm not sure if Evan told you the reason why I started." I told her about the death of my parents and how I quit school and how I became mother and father to my sisters.

"I had other jobs. I barely made enough to provide. She offered me a home, education for not only my sisters but for me, money and things I never dreamed of."

She glared at me.

"I'm not asking you to feel sorry for me. I agreed to be an escort. I don't expect Evan to take care of me. I'm not a golddigger."

"Believe me I have seen my share of gold-diggers and you are not even close. Your were dealt a bad hand and you adjusted. I'm not here to judge you. I think you do that enough to yourself. I came to apologize and to ask you not to be so hard on yourself. I will ask that if you decide to be with my son, to be with only him."

"That's a fair request," I said.

She stood up as well as I did. She did something I didn't expect. She hugged me.

"Cadence I hope you find the happiness you deserve even if it's not with my son." She pulled back and gave me a smile.

"Goodbye Cadence, I hope to see you and your sisters at the festival next month."

"We will see. Thank you, Mrs. McCain."

"No, thank you for being honest with me. You are brave dear and don't forget that. You remind me a lot of Evan and I can see why he fell for you. You have a good heart. Have a safe trip back." She grabbed her purse and I walked her to the door.

I closed the door and stood there. Mrs. McCain gave me a lot to think about.

My Life As An Escort (The Beginning) Book 1 ~ (Completed)✅.Where stories live. Discover now