Keeley had a little time before the driver was going to come pick her up so she headed to a nearby café and bought herself a cherry cheese danish. Now that the nerves were gone she was starving and she was technically eating for three.
She sat down and munched on her treat in a good mood. She pa.s.sed her dissertation, bought Aaron a little more time with his father, and now she could actually focus on enjoying Christmastime.
It was a little unbelievable Alistair hadn"t figured out that Bethany Carlisle didn"t exist yet. Everyone involved in the charade had played their parts too well.
Trying to think from Alistair"s perspective…his son had been acting out for the first time ever so there had to be a reason for it. Being in love with a pretty good reason.
But he had no idea who Aaron was actually in love with. He must be thinking that Aaron"s behavior of late was for Bethany"s sake.
How would he react when he found out the truth? Knowing what he was like in her past life, probably very badly. Alistair Hale was a rigid, controlling, old-fas.h.i.+oned man who never accepted anything different from his norm.
He had been furious when Aaron and Keeley originally got engaged. It would likely be a lot worse once he found out his son got married and had two children behind his back. Because there would be nothing he could do to stop the situation at that point.
After the incident regarding the shares sent over by (most likely) Graydon Meyer, Aaron told her a lot more about what was going on as he tried to take over the company. She really appreciated it because for the first time in either of their lives she truly felt like a wife should. Like it was the two of them against the world.
Truthfully, she was impressed by how much time and effort he had put into it already. And he had been planning it ever since high school just so they could be together without having to worry about his parents. That was actually kind of sweet.
"Mind if I sit here?" a debonair voice asked.
Keeley looked up and her heart nearly stopped. What was Graydon Meyer doing here? A quick glance around the room told her that there weren"t any other seats available so it would be rude to refuse. She didn"t want to arouse his suspicion somehow.
He obviously knew who she was but since they weren"t sure whether or not he was an enemy she wasn"t about to let him know she knew.
"Sure," she said casually. "Gray, right? We met a while back in front of the medical school."
He smiled bewitchingly. "You have a good memory. What have you been up to these days? Staying away from troublesome ex-friends, I hope."
Well, he already knew she was a student at the medical school. Telling part of the truth wouldn"t hurt. She had to play it cool. Maybe she could get a little information out of him at the same time.
"I haven"t seen him since you helped me out. I actually successfully defended my doctoral thesis this morning. I came here to celebrate while waiting for my ride to pick me up."
Graydon made an impressed noise. "And here I thought you were a medical student. Congratulations, Doctor. What did you get your PhD in?"
"Developmental genetics. What about you? What do you do for a living?"
"I"m an app developer."
Well, it wasn"t a complete lie. His empire had been founded upon the creation of a single app that took off overnight several years ago. She couldn"t help but wonder what he was playing at by coming over to talk to her.
It definitely wasn"t a coincidence. Last time they met he probably only approached her to learn more about the woman Aaron Hale was in love with. He was trying to get information out of her too. She couldn"t let her guard down.
It was actually really lucky she had already been sitting down when he came in. From the angle he approached her, it was impossible to tell she was pregnant. Her belly was hidden underneath the table. Keeley definitely didn"t want him finding out about that in case he was an enemy.
"Oh, I just remembered. You said you were getting married, right? How was the wedding?" Graydon asked with an amused expression.
So this was where the real interrogation began. She"d bite.
"It was nice. Very small, family only. My husband bought my favorite cake from a famous bakery in New Jersey for the occasion. Have you seen the TV show about it?"
"No but I"ve heard of it. I may have to check it out sometime," he said conversationally. "Your husband seems very doting."
Keeley smiled. That was an understatement. "He is."
"How long have you two known each other?"
An excellent question. And one Graydon most likely already knew the answer to; at least, the answer in this lifetime. It wouldn"t be beneficial to lie. He would know she was onto him then.
"Since our senior year in high school so it"s been almost eight years now. Time flies."
She tried to think of a way to flip this conversation around so she was the one interrogating him but her brain wasn"t cooperating. Defending her dissertation had used up all her brain power. Now her mind was mush.
What to ask, what to ask? She couldn"t outright ask him what he deal was with Aaron or if he had a beef with Alistair Hale. She couldn"t ask him about Lacy Knighton directly either…but she could ask if he had a girlfriend.
That could at least potentially tell her how close they currently were. If he was the man Aaron suspected him to be, he and Lacy had gotten close enough to have a child together eventually. It was a straw to grasp at anyway.
"What about you? Do you have a significant other?"
Graydon shook his head. "I"m afraid not. I haven"t found anyone worth more than a couple of dates yet. But there"s no rush. Right now I"m focusing on my career."