The Carrero Solution (Carrero Book 3)

“I just found out that she’s pregnant.” Ben is pushing fingers through his hair, rubbing his face in complete agitation. “I’ve been away for a while on business … London. I only got back yesterday.” He seems so overwhelmed and completely rattled. We’re sitting in the quiet booth of a bar near the one we came from. It’s almost deserted, and both men cradle neat gin while I hold a glass of coke. I’m too wired and awake to contemplate sleep now. Ben’s revelation has all sorts of crazy plots swimming through my overemotional brain, and Jake seems far too calm and in control from this revelation, to be good for him.

“So … The baby could be either of ours, yet she failed to mention it?” Jake appears pensive. He’s been in closed-off thoughtful mode since Ben’s disclosure, with his dark looks and scowling tone, and I want to know what’s going on in his brain. He’s not someone to hide a temper flare-up unless something more sinister is brewing in his clever head. This is very much business brain mode and usually means a lot of trouble brewing in its calculated depths.

“She came to me after the awards show. The after party you and her apparently hooked up at.” Ben downs his gin and slides the glass away while Jake cradles and warms his. “Told me she wanted to give us another go and proceeded to fuck me stupid for three days with no protection because she was on the pill. Then I never heard from her again.” Ben’s face tightens, anger on show, now obvious to the game of manipulation he’s been duped into.

There’s a lurch in my stomach at the disgust of any woman being that vile, that conniving.

“But if she were on the pill, then she wouldn’t have got pregnant, right?” Ben looks at me, expecting to confirm it, but Jake cuts in.

“Emma’s pregnant, and she was most definitely on the pill.” I nod. What else can I do in a conversation so over my capabilities right now? This bitch was riding Jake’s back for months, and now he might not even be the father at all.

“Oh … Congratulations, Emma.” Ben frowns and gazes at his glass again, both men mulling things over, trying to decide if Marissa’s pregnancy was planned or accidental.

“Thanks, Ben,” I reply shyly, noticing Jake’s unapproving glare toward Ben. I interrupt to break up whatever that look meant. “I think she got with you to ensure she would get pregnant and lied about the pill. She was making sure there would be a baby no matter what, and she probably has no idea which of you it belongs to, hence the resemblance.” I carry on instead of silently listening. My brain is whirring in chaos, trying to figure out if one woman could be this cold and calculated.

Ben is as close to Jake in looks as earthly possible, so it would make sense to ensure that when she got pregnant, she would pick someone to resemble Jake. That way, when the baby came, he wouldn’t question paternity and possibly drop the DNA request just on looks alone.

Was she that desperate to link herself to him for a lifetime that she would do this?

How could any woman have so very little morals or self-decency?

“She’s turned down the DNA request enough times.” Jake cuts in before Ben can answer, his mind slowly turning over my theory. I can see it in his face, the same one used to churn over business proposals that I thought might benefit his company.

Both men regard one another for a second, some strange look transpiring before them, and Ben sighs heavily. The atmosphere is weirdly calm, considering these two are at the same table, and the topic is Marissa.

“I’m sorry, Jake … Not for this shit, but the past, for letting her get inside my head and making me believe she meant more to me than our friendship did.” Ben looks defeated and remorseful, sitting with a bowed head and a sad expression.

My breath catches in my throat as a hit of emotion inside of me flashes at this sudden apology right out of the blue.

Jake pauses and stiffens, exhaling loudly, before sitting back in his seat.

“You were in love with her … I thought I was too.” He shrugs quietly, looking at Ben with absolutely no emotion whatsoever.

Thought? Meaning he never really was?

I catch the way he’s looking at me, and I get it. He thought he knew love until he found it with the right person, and my stomach somersault, a little jump of happiness, probably mildly inappropriate right now.

“I know, but I should’ve seen her what she was, the way she always twisted things, so she was the victim. For years, she had me hating you, believing that you broke her heart and she could never trust me because of it. Too stupid to realize it was all her, and you were just as much a part of the fallout as I was.” He looks genuinely sorry. Despite what I know of him and the past, there’s something decent coming through about Ben. Underneath all that anger and rivalry is a guy that once meant a lot to Jake.

“And now? … You’re obviously still in love with her if you wanted to try again?” Jake watches Ben intensely, and Ben shrugs.

“I was … Maybe I still am. I don’t know. I never could understand why she wanted you no matter what I did. But now I realize Marissa doesn’t know love. She only does possession. She thinks you owe her; she hates that you walked away and won’t accept that she can’t have you. To her, I’m a sure bet she can pick up whenever she feels like it, so to her, I’m not any fun anymore.” He sighs, knocking his glass against the table, emotions running across his face in a flash.

“She’s cold and calculated, so none of this surprises me.” Jake laces his fingers in mine and pulls my hand to his mouth, rubbing my knuckles across his lips. A gentle gesture to reassure me because of the topic, always caring about how I feel. Right now, with him and all this mess, I’m strangely detached and emotionally tired; Marissa and her antics exhaust me.

“So, what do we do now? … How do we find out who the father is?” Ben is watching us closely, hints of envy glimmering on his pretty face.

“We can’t find out for definite until it’s here, but I’m not one to sit back and wait while she calls all the shots. We go see her now, and let her know her little fucking game is up.” Jake’s tone has tightened considerably, and I think the anger is beginning to settle in. The fact that she’s been deceiving us all for months has dawned on him. My chest tightens, and I turn to Jake with wide worried eyes.

“You want to confront her?” Suddenly, I sound childlike and vulnerable, every instinct telling me he shouldn’t do this tonight.

“Why not?” Jake looks like a man severely pissed and not about to drop it. He’s also more than a little drunk, and impulsive spontaneity is his worst trait when under the influence.

“Because it’s stupid o’clock in the morning, and you’re both drunk.” I try for sense, but I do not get any. With a wolf-like snarl, they both nod in agreeance at Jake’s plan.

“Can’t imagine a better time.” Ben quips in, and both men raise an eyebrow in solidarity. It’s not hard to see that these two used to get along. They are annoyingly similar right now, reading each other’s minds, already making moves to get up.

Oh crap, crap, shit.

“You don’t even know where she is.” I sound panicked, and I am. This has stupid written all over it, and a part of me wants Jake to take me home so we can talk alone and process all of this. I have no idea what confronting her right now will do.

“She’s here in Manhattan, her father’s apartment.” Ben points out as Jake lifts his full glass from the table and downs it in one very quick glug.

That’s not a good sign. Oh god.

“You sure?” Jake’s even voice is simmering with rage. His no-nonsense posture and tense muscles make my heart pound through my chest.

“Positive. I was screwing her friend Amy last night. That’s how I found out she was pregnant. Amy told me where she is.” Ben shrugs into his jacket.

What is it with these Casanova men and random hookups?

“Why haven’t you gone to see her then? Asked her before you saw Jake?” I wish he had, we could’ve avoided all of this, saved it for a time when Jake is sober, and this isn’t so fresh. I can feel anger bubbling inside of him, and it’s only spelling disaster.

“I needed space to think. Then when I saw you two at the club earlier, I figured some confirmation was a good idea. For all I knew, Amy was lying.” Ben is seemingly more accepting of this situation than Jake, but it’s most likely because he hasn’t had months of Marissa badgering him, arguing, and digging her claws in.

There’s something so … Jake-like in Ben … old Jake. It’s in his mannerisms and alarmingly similar face something disconcerting about his presence and authority. Only Ben is less fiery and calmer, as Hunter appears to be. Jake always seems like he has something hot brimming under his surface, a sense that you know he’s capable of pouncing. Changing from laid back to crazy aggressive in an instant, but Ben doesn’t. He seems to be a calmer and more relaxed person than Jake.

“No better time than the present.” Jake’s already on his feet, pulling me with him, that spark simmering, highlighting what I was thinking. I wonder if it’s the hot Italian blood Sylvana likes to boast about.

Uh oh.

“Jake. Wait until tomorrow, or maybe I should go home?” inner panic sets in, and a wash of fatigue. I don’t want to get into an all-out screaming match with Marissa again. As much as the last one ended in happy tears, this one might not.

“No. I want you with me, baby. I swear we won’t need to stay long. I’m sure Ben will want some time alone with her to talk when we’re done, then I’ll take you home. I want you to witness this too.” Jake leans in, kissing me tenderly, his hand grazing my face softly, and I catch Ben’s eyes on me. Jake doesn’t want to be with Marissa without me being there. Always in the back of his head that I won’t trust him. I would rather he went without me in this.

“This is a better fit,” Ben says suddenly, nodding at me, “You and Emma. I see what Marissa always wanted with you and never got. It’s obvious how much you love her; it was never obvious with Marissa.” He drops his chin to his chest. “I don’t have that with her either … I don’t think I ever will, even if the kid is mine. I can’t trust the bitch anymore.” He lets out another deflated breath.

Ouch.

Ben lifts his head and gets to his feet, showing seriousness on his face, and we all head out. Jake all but has to drag me out into the crisp dawn air on a mission I want to be no part of. Jefferson appears as though by magic, and I wonder where he’s been hiding all night.

Surely that isn’t what he has to do? Sit around and wait for us?

We slide into the car, and Jake pulls his phone out and dials it before sticking it to his ear with a look of sheer determination and a somewhat sardonic expression. It rings for a few minutes before she answers him. I can almost make out her sensual purring on the other end of the receiver, even from my distance.

“Marissa, it’s Jake. I need to see you. Where are you?” He sounds deceivingly sexy as he tries to keep his tone even. I know he wants to make her think he’s begging to see her for something she may actually like.

I shiver with jealousy but bite it down. He sounds like the guy from the office, the one who used to call dates and arrange casual hookups back when I was nothing more than his assistant. Casanova in full control.

“Stay there. I’m on my way.” He slurs a little, trying to make sure she thinks he’s coming to see her for a booty call in the middle of the night or early morning, whatever it is, believing that she’s getting a drunken Jake and some sort of reunion. He’s making sure she’ll open the door to him alone. I know it’s pretending, but it still makes me hurt and emotional. I look at my lap and instantly feel his mouth against my temple.

“I love you, baby,” he whispers in my ear, brushing my hair back, his eyes finding mine reassuringly with a small tender smile.

Always so in tune with me.

I smile up into his adoring face and melt.

“Still a clever fucker.” Ben smiles, and Jake pulls me closer, an arm around my shoulders between the two men, as he helps me get my seat belt on in the black Lexus. Ben is still on the pavement at the open door, leaning in.

“Much smarter than you ever were, Benny-boy.” Jake smiles back, and a moment of friendly sparks suddenly fills the air. It’s weird yet strangely comforting.

“That’s true. You saw through her shit and got the fuck away … I kept getting dragged back, repeatedly, it seems.” Ben sighs and climbs in beside me. I notice that Jake has no qualms about sitting me between them. Jake of yesterday would’ve put me on one side away from Ben, guarding me possessively from the guy he hates so much. But, in the last hour, something has changed between the two men, some sort of truce and forgiveness in such a simple conversation.