Just Like That (The Kings)

I frowned down at my phone.

Normally, if I left early for work, Hazel would tell me how the morning had gone and what she planned to be up to while he was at school.

I tried texting her, but it went unanswered.

The past few days had been fraught with tension and the uncertainty of how to broach the subject of Teddy’s paternity.

The last thing I wanted to do was fuck the poor kid up for life.

I leaned back in my chair and exhaled, hating that we even had to tell him at all.

How gloriously simple would it be to pretend like the paternity results were different and Hazel and I were still playing house and living a life where we both took care of Teddy?

I needed to quell the riot of uncomfortable emotions I was fighting.

Hazel’s notable withdrawal was surprisingly painful, even if it was unintentional. She wouldn’t be the first woman in my life to leave me, but damn did it leave behind an uncomfortable ache in my chest.

This was different.

She was different, and I meant what I’d said—she was mine and there was no surviving if she ran away and took Teddy with her.

That’s not going to happen.

I shook my head and looked around. My pathetic attempt at self-reassurance wasn’t doing a damn thing.

Work was the only solution.

King Equities was hanging on by a thread. But with the prospect of my father’s return imminent, I simply couldn’t find it in me to care.

Still, Veda and the other employees were counting on me.

Sure, I could burn the company to the ground, but my father would find a way to survive. He was like those cockroaches that survived the extinction of the dinosaurs.

The only people who would suffer were those stupid enough to follow me into that battle. I was stretched thin and on the verge of breaking.

“Boss.” I jerked at Veda’s voice and exhaled. She held her hands up. “Whoa, sorry.” Veda gestured vaguely at her laptop. “I need to know how you want to play this.”

I sighed. “Veda, you deserve to hear it from me.” I swiveled in my chair and rested my elbows on my knees. “I’m done.”

Her dark eyebrows pinched down. “Done?”

I swallowed hard. She’d taken a risk in coming to work for King Equities, and I’d failed her. I’d failed everyone. “There is no saving King Equities. We’ve lost too many investors, and those that are left can’t afford to take any more losses. They’ll go down with the company if they stay. When my father comes back, he won’t care about that. He’ll leverage what’s left to salvage whatever he can, and it will be at their expense.”

Her face was hard as stone, but she didn’t waver. Her arms crossed and her chin lifted. “So what’s the move?”

I dragged a hand through my hair. “We close up shop. Bit by bit we let our remaining investors out of their contracts so they can recoup as much as possible before the ship actually sinks.”

A soft smile graced her lips. “That’s the honorable thing to do, but giving away a billion-dollar company will make some serious waves. Your father will come back to nothing but the corpse of the business he built.”

Good.

“He has enough money personally invested to be fine . . . unfortunately.” The words tasted bitter. “But I don’t want to give him the opportunity to rebuild on the backs of the companies and people that trusted him—trusted us.”

With a slow nod, Veda turned back to her desk. “I’ll start drawing it up.”

“I’m sorry,” I said softly. “I know you trusted me to salvage this, but . . . I just couldn’t.”

“Give yourself a break.” She looked over her shoulder and smirked. “I’m not that worried about it. We’ll figure it out with the next one.”

The next one.

Veda had a willingness to follow me in whatever business venture was next and had the kind of blind faith I envied. I had no idea what was next for me, but I knew that she wouldn’t be my employee.

Veda would be an equal partner.

Hours later, final offers were sent to King Equities’ remaining investors. Each was legally sound, but only a fool would pass up such generous and lucrative terms. By the end of the month, King Equities would be nothing more than a sad story of corruption and greed inked in the glossy pages of some business magazine no one reads.

My neck was sore and my shoulders were tight by the time I looked up from my computer screen. Outside the windows, night had fallen and not a single text message from Hazel.

I sank lower. I knew she was scared and looking to me for answers on how to approach the subject of Teddy’s paternity with him. Still, I couldn’t bring myself to say the words.

Not out loud, and certainly not to him.

He would be crushed and my soul would be breaking right alongside him.

The drive back to my house was dark and lonesome. I’d rolled the windows all the way down, letting the cold September wind slap my face. I’d hoped it would jolt me out of the funk I was in, but I had no such luck.

Without having Hazel’s sunshine to warm my day, my mood was surly and sour as I pulled into the driveway. I rolled past Hazel’s skoolie, and my chest ached.

How had so much changed in such a short amount of time?

Light glowed from the inside of the bus, and I was curious as I parked my car. When I stepped out, Hazel was on the front porch.

“Hey,” I called, trying to shake my mood.

“Hey, yourself.” She didn’t sound right—a little too distant for my liking.

I cleared my throat. “How was your day? Mine was a mess. King Equities is being dismantled . . . bit by bit. That bastard won’t know what to do once he’s back at the helm, and I won’t be there to fix it for him.”

Her lips were pressed in a flat line and she shrugged. “I had a crummy day too.” Hazel crossed her arms, and I couldn’t help but feel an unspoken chasm open between us.

I studied her face as she spoke. “I spent the day going over every word of Olive’s letter—again—and every memory I have of her, trying to understand why she would lie to me. Then I spent the majority of the afternoon trying not to cry because Teddy was over the moon excited to tell you about Bring Your Dude to School Day.”

I frowned and stuffed my hands into my pockets. “Bring your dude to school?”

Hazel shrugged. “Apparently it used to be Bring Your Dad to School, but they’ve gotten a tiny bit more inclusive, so I guess that’s something.”

Her lip quivered. “He wants to bring you. He went on and on and on about how amazing it was going to be to show off his dad.”

“Hey . . .” I stepped forward, climbing the steps and wrapping Hazel in my arms. “I’d be happy to be his dude.”

That earned a watery chuckle and her whisper wobbled. “We have to tell him.”

My gut churned. I shook my head, despite knowing she was right. “I know.”

She stepped back to swipe at her splotchy, tear-soaked face and groaned. “Ugh . . . my emotions are all over the place.”

My hands rubbed down her arms. “I feel it too. I’m sorry if I don’t always show you.”

She chuckled softly. “You showed them by dismantling the company your father built. Vengeance at all costs.”

I shrugged. “Maybe it was vengeance . . . though it didn’t feel quite as good as I’d expected.”

Hazel nodded and gestured toward the bus. “Teddy’s in the skoolie. He was playing around after dinner while I edited some content, and he fell asleep in the big bed.” Her eyes stayed focused on the big white bus.

“I can bring him in,” I offered.

She shook her head. “It’s okay. We can let him sleep there tonight. I’m pretty drained, too, and I think I’ll cuddle up with him for the night.”

Hazel reached up on her tiptoes and dropped a soft kiss on my lips before turning and walking toward the skoolie.

I frowned as she walked away, feeling the chasm yawn and stretch wider.

It was me I wanted her cuddled up with, but I had no right to take that from Teddy. Instead, I entered my too-quiet house and slowly made my way to the primary bedroom that overlooked the driveway.

I watched as her shadow moved across the windows of the skoolie. Reaching beside me, I flicked the small lamp on and off and waited. I tried again—on and off.

Come on. Do it back. Show me you’re still with me.

My back ached by the time I gave up the fight and crawled into bed. I stared at the ceiling and imagined life without Hazel and Teddy. Hours ticked by as I ran through every possible scenario, and they all came to the same, horrifying conclusion—if Hazel left, she’d be taking the last shred of goodness inside me with her.

She couldn’t leave. There had to be another way, and it was up to me to find it.

I was no longer afraid of Russell King. His influence was nothing more than a misplaced sense of superiority, and he no longer held any claim over me.

Hazel and Teddy were mine.

If he wanted a fight, I’d bring that fight right to his fucking doorstep.