“That’s what they all say,” I joke, taking her hand and kissing the back of it.
“Sawyer. We don’t have all day,” Ethan Hunt calls out from his office, the agitation clear in his clipped tone.
“What crawled up his butt?” I say, giving Magda her hand back. Her lips twitch as she fights a smile.
“The same old prejudice and impatience,” Sawyer murmurs, placing his hand on my back and ushering me into the room.
Sawyer’s parents notice, and they exchange wary glances as Hunt closes the door.
Ethan gives me a quick once-over, and though I’m wearing a suit, I can tell it doesn’t meet his exacting standards. Maybe the vibrant purple color or the velvet lapels aren’t his taste, or perhaps it’s my new hair color. I’m enjoying a break from the Mohawk, but I still wanted to try something different. So, I came back early last night and got my hairdresser to come to my place. Now, I’m sporting the same messy bedhead style Sawyer seems to like, but my dark hair has been dyed a silvery gray with purple and blue undertones.
It’s fucking fantastic, and I know I look like a million dollars. It’s not my problem if Ethan Hunt is too blind to notice magnificence when he’s in the presence of it.
“What’s this about, Sawyer?” Ava Hunt asks, taking a seat beside her husband, across the table from me and her son. I set my laptop down on the table, resting my hands on top of it.
“I have filed for an annulment, and Sydney moved out over the weekend.”
Shock splays across their faces. “Wasn’t that a little hasty?” Ethan clasps his hands on the table in front of him. “You didn’t even give the marriage a chance.”
“Sydney’s lovely, and I thought you two were getting along much better now,” Ava adds, tucking her hair behind her ears.
“I don’t love her, and I was forced into marrying her,” Sawyer says.
“I know the deal has fallen through with Herman Shaw and there is no business reason why you must remain married to her, but you can’t just cut the woman loose after only a few weeks of marriage. Sydney makes the perfect society wife, and she comes from good stock.”
He is beginning to sound more and more like the old-money elite, and I can’t fathom how someone like him produced someone amazing like Sawyer.
Ethan removes his cell, sliding it across the table to Sawyer. “Call Sydney up, and tell her you made a mistake.”
“Why the hell would I do that?” A vein throbs in Sawyer’s neck, and I can tell he’s working hard to maintain his usual calm façade. “I have done my duty, and that is the last time I will let either of you force me into making a decision I don’t want to make. I am done with pandering to you. Done trying to fight for a scrap of your love.”
“Sawyer.” Ava sucks in a sharp breath. “Whatever do you mean?”
Sawyer barks out a bitter laugh. “Come on, Mom. Let’s have a real honest-to-God conversation for once in our lives. You and Dad have never loved me. Not in any meaningful way. I’m grateful for the life you have given me, but all you taught me was that intelligence, wealth, and reputation are the only measures of success in this life—and the only things worth aspiring to—when all I ever wanted was your love and your time. My inability to open up and share the truest parts of myself stems from my need to self-protect my heart, because locking up my emotions and focusing on the tangible things I could control were the only ways I could cope with your blatant neglect of me growing up.”
“Sawyer, why are you saying these hurtful things?” Ava says, her eyes filling with tears. “We gave you everything you could want as a child including independence to make your own decisions.”
So that’s what we’re calling it these days. Disgust coats the inside of my mouth, and I hate this for Sawyer. Sawyer’s Adam’s apple bobs in his throat, and I reach my hand under the table, giving his thigh a reassuring squeeze, to let him know I’m here for him and I’m proud of him.
“What is going on, Sawyer?” Ethan asks, his eyes locked on my hand under the table.
“I’m finally admitting my truths, Dad, and I’m sorry if the truth hurts. It’s cliché but so fucking appropriate. I was so starved for love I didn’t even realize when I found it, and I almost ruined the best thing to ever happen to me. All because I’m still trying to win your approval and your love. But no more.” Sawyer grabs my hand, links our fingers, and pulls our conjoined hands up onto the table. “I am done playing this game your way. This is my life, and I’m living it the way I want.”
Without hesitation or any prior warning, Sawyer grabs my head, pulls my mouth to his, and kisses me passionately. I don’t let him down, and it’s not just because I lose every brain cell in my head the second Hunt’s lips fuse to mine. I know how much strength and bravery it took to do this, and I’m with him every step of the way.
“You’ve made your point,” Ethan snaps. “This is a goddamned place of work, not a sex club,” he splutters.
Sawyer breaks our lip-lock, threading our hands together again and placing them on top of the table. Ava Hunt stares at her son in complete shock. The look on Ethan’s face is one of disgust and disappointment. He glares at me. “You’re fired. Get the fuck out of my company.”
I smile because his reaction is as predictable as me wearing superhero underwear.
Sawyer pierces his dad with a look of disdain. “You would fire the man I love. The man I’m in love with. The man I want to spend the rest of my life with. Just because he doesn’t fit your vision for me?”
“Sydney is who you should be with!” Ethan thumps his fist on the table.
“I don’t love Sydney!” Sawyer roars, straining across the table at his father. “I love Xavier.” He pulls me to my feet. “I quit.” He unclips his staff ID from his belt and throws it down on the table.
I silently add my staff badge to Sawyer’s on the table. “You have my report. Russell knows what needs to be done to fix the breach. I’m willing to accept calls if anyone on the team has questions because, unlike you, I won’t let my emotions and my personal feelings color my professionalism.”
“Don’t even think about withholding payment on the bonus Xavier was promised,” Sawyer says. “You won’t like what I’ll do if you attempt to screw him over.”
“You dare to threaten me?” Ethan glares at his son as tears spill quietly down Ava’s cheeks.
“Stop it. Both of you.” She rubs her fingers under her eyes. “Let’s just sit back down and talk this through.”
“No.” A muscle pops in Ethan’s jaw. “He’s made his bed. Let him lie in it,” he snarls.
“Ethan, please.” Ava pulls on his arm, pinning pleading eyes on him. “If Xavier is Sawyer’s choice, that’s good enough for us. Our son has impeccable taste, and we trust his judgement.”
I wonder if she really means that or she’s just saying what needs to be said to defuse the situation.
“Get out,” Ethan says. “And don’t come back until you’ve come to your senses.”
Pain glides across Sawyer’s face, and my heart hurts for him. I’ve been in his shoes. I know what it feels like. Forcing my anger aside, I eyeball Ethan Hunt, attempting to reach him, purely for Sawyer’s sake. “Your son loves you. All he asks is for the same unconditional love in return. I might not be your choice for him, but it’s not your decision to make or your life. At least trust your son to make the right decisions for him. I am willing to put this behind us because I love your son and I want him to be happy. Surely, we can agree on that much?”