Chapter 155 Suspicious activities
"I know you're probably tired of following me around to wherever, but I'm begging you, please." I hold my hands together in front of T.J. "Please come with me to visit Miguel's mother. I can't stay inside the house one more day."
T.J. scratches the back of his head awkwardly. "How long do you wanna go for?"
"Two weeks max!" I cross my fingers. "I need to see the new gynaecologist in two weeks' time, so I have to come back to the city."
"You know I don't mind escorting you. It's just, I have a guest right now, and it would be a little rude if I just go away for two weeks."
"You have a guest?" I ask, surprised.
There are so many questions I want to ask. Who is the guest? What is his relationship to the guest.
T.J. has never had someone staying over at his place. Not even a friend.
"He didn't tell you?" He pulls up his nose. "That's odd."
"Wait. Who was supposed to tell me what?" Is Miguel staying over, and just didn't have the time to tell me? Or maybe he's just been so overwhelmed, it slipped his mind?
"Simon is staying with me since he came to visit you." He blurts out quickly. "There were reporters in front of his apartment building, and I just thought he'd be safer somewhere else."
My brain is trying to comprehend what he is telling me. "Simon?"
"Yes." T.J. averts my gaze. "I told him he could stay however long he'd like. I'm hardly in my apartment anyway."
Well.
Simon didn't tell me shit, and we were just messaging this morning where he told me he was making breakfast.
But it isn't Simon who is shocking me.
It's T.J.
"I thought you didn't like having people in your space." This is very suspicious. Nobody does a three-sixty like this.
"I don't." He shrugs nonchalant. A little too much in my opinion. "But as I was saying, I'm hardly there, so he's not a bother, and that way I know he's safe."
"Okay." I say slowly. "Thank you for looking out for him."
"It's nothing." I've never noticed until now that T.J. has a terrible poker face. "So yeah, I don't want to just up and leave him here."
"He can come with us, he's not going to the company now anyway in light of the investigation into Jeffrey Bloomberg." I suggest. "I'm sure neither Miguel or Valentina would mind. I can call him now and ask."
"Oh no, it's all good, I'll ask him myself. I'm heading home after this anyway."
I watch as T.J. leaves the house.
"Have you noticed something going on with T.J.?" I ask Mom when she gets home. "He says Simon has been staying with him, but it's the first word I heard."
"Simon?" Mom looks as shocked as I felt. "Do you think they have something going on?"
"T.J. and Simon?" I frown. "I honestly never thought that T.J. had any interest in men."
"Well, I'm not gonna lie, I did think maybe he did once upon a time, but only because he never brought a girl home." Mom looks contemplative. "Whatever it is, I just hope that he's happy, you know? He's always looking out for everyone else, he deserves someone for himself too."
She's right, and he especially looks out for me. If he somehow has feelings for Simon, and vice versa, I would fully support that.
He lets me know that Simon has agreed to join us, and Uncle Alessandro says we can use his private jet to stay out of the spotlight.
Simon and T.J. pick me up for the airport the next day, and my friend is legit blushing when I hug him and widen my eyes at T.J.
"I want all the tea!" I whisper in Simon's ear who reddens even further.
So there's definitely something happening between the two of them, and I don't miss the way T.J. slightly softens when talks to Simon. How did I even miss this! Or could it be that it's something new?
We're already sitting in the jet, and I'm telling Simon that he's absolutely going to love how quiet Miguel's house is in California and that it's the perfect place to rest, when he walks through the entrance, my mouth dropping open in surprise.
He smirks at me, looking absolutely delicious in dark jeans and a cream sweater.
"What are you doing here!" I scramble out of my seat to hug him.
His strong arms engulf me, and I swear the baby flutters inside me at the feel of his father around me.
He inhales sharply, and I clutch his sweater, not knowing that I needed this. Meeting at night in the dark wasn't cutting it anymore.
"I missed you so much." He whispers in my ear, and I don't know if it's the baby moving or just the butterflies in my stomach.
"Would you sit down and strap in?" The flight attendant asks, breaking up our moment. "We're getting ready for takeoff."
I'm still smiling like an idiot when Miguel sits down next to me, and I clutch his hand when he grabs mine.
This is just perfect. I tell myself that we're all going to have such a great time getting away from the noise of the media.
But later when the chatter between us evens out, I find Miguel staring at me, his hand still tightly holding mine.
I smile at him, but it falters when I see the look of devastation in his eyes before he masks it with a smirk.
He leans over and kisses me softly, but I don't think I was mistaken when he looked at me like that.
Or was I?