“Great. Sign the papers then.”
“Julian, please… I don’t want to keep her from you. She deserves to know who you are and to have a father. I promise I’ll do whatever I can to make this easy on all of us.”
“If I agree to wait this out, what do I get out of this new arrangement?”
“You’ll get to know your daughter.”
“I’ll get that regardless.”
“I don’t know. What do you want?”
I folded my arms over my chest. “I want a month.”
“What?”
“You heard me.”
“What does that mean? A month of what?”
“A month of getting to know our daughter.”
“Julian, I don’t understand—”
“For the next month, I want you and Capri to move in with me.”
She jerked back. “Move in with you?”
“Take it or leave it.”
“I can’t move to Miami for a month.”
“Not Miami. Here. In Texas.”
“You want us to move into a penthouse suite?”
“No. I own a ranch about an hour out of Fort Worth. We can live there. It’s close enough to your parents where we can see them, and I can try to fix what I broke with your parents and your brother.”
“I have to work.”
“No, you don’t.”
“Yes, I do.”
“I’ll handle Laurel.”
“Laurel? What, you’re on a first-name basis with my boss now?”
“She’s going to make you partner, and that means you’re in control. You can start your new position next month.”
“I can’t work, but you can?”
“I haven’t taken a day off since I started Locke Enterprises. I’m more than due.”
“What about the rest of your tour? Your announcement is in four days.”
“My tour is over tomorrow, and I can make my announcement anywhere. Including the ranch.”
“People are going to think we’re a couple.”
“They already do.”
“Ugh! You have an answer for everything!”
“It’s what makes me Alpha CEO.”
She shook her head. “You’re delusional if you think I’m going to agree to this.”
“From where I’m sitting, you don’t have much of a choice. Either you agree to my new terms, or you deal with settling this in court, where I go after full custody of Capri.”
“Wow. Now you’re bribing me?”
“Again, you’ve left me no choice.”
Her stare shifted to her attorney. “Greg.”
“Autumn, I think this is the best it’s going to get. If he does take this to court, there’s a huge chance he will win.”
“How? He doesn’t even know her.”
“I know, but you’re leaving it up to the judge and they could rule in his favor. He has money, and you lied to him about having a daughter— that’ll hold up in court. I’ve seen it happen before.”
Anderson added, “Mr. Locke is being more than fair, Miss Troy.”
“Unbelievable. Now it’s three against one?”
“Believe it, kid. This is your best option. You’ll be there, and you can help me get to know our daughter and her to get to know me.”
“I don’t even know you.”
“Then we can all get to know each other. After we finish the tour tomorrow in LA, we can fly straight from there to pick up Capri. You guys can pack, or I can buy you all new things. We can head back to Texas in the morning.”
“Oh my God, Julian. This is too fast.”
“On the contrary I’m being very lenient with you.”
“You’re being an asshole is what you are!”
“At this point, it’s your term of endearment for me.”
“I hope you can get our daughter to like you, because I sure as hell don’t.”
“I’ll take that as a yes.”
She threw the contract across the table. “I want my own room. Furthest away from yours.”
I grinned, looking at Anderson. “Write it up.”
For the next month, she would be mine. They both were.
And I was going to make damn sure it stayed that way.
Chapter TWENTY-TWO
—Autumn—
Once again, we were sitting in Julian’s private jet. Except this time, we were flying from LA to San Diego, where I lived with our daughter. I couldn’t believe this was happening. One minute we were fighting about his demand’s, and the next he was hitting me with a whole new one, which might as well have been worse than his first ones.
I was stuck by his side for the next month, as if the last week wasn’t hard enough. Now, we were also involving Capri, and I was sick to my stomach. I told her I was coming home, but I didn’t tell her with who. I honestly didn’t know what to say or where to start, and I knew Julian wasn’t going to allow me to go by myself to get her. This was my only choice. He was going to meet her for the first time, and my nerves were on edge.
I swear I could strangle him for putting us through this. I never imagined he’d take it this far, and that was my first mistake.
Julian always got what he wanted. Especially when it came to me.
I anxiously waited in my seat, trying to play it off like I wasn’t losing my shit.
“You need to relax.”
“You need to go to Hell.”
He chuckled. “You’re going to have to reel in that feisty attitude once we’re around Capri. You don’t want her to think her mommy hates her daddy, do you?”
I glared at him. “I swear you’re enjoying this.”
“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t.”
“You actually think this is going to go over well, don’t you?”
“I’m going to try like hell to make sure it does. There’s nothing I can’t give her. Either of you.”
“That’s your answer to everything. Money can’t buy love, Julian.”
“You’re right, but you loved me when I had nothing. Now I can offer you the world if you want it.”
“I don’t need the world.”
“Then what do you need, Autumn?”
“I don’t need anything. Especially from you.”
“At some point you’re going to have to forgive me, kid.”
“I was starting to, but you fucked it all up again by making us move in with you. But it’s what you do best. You always fuck things up in my life.”
“I don’t regret getting you pregnant, and if you’d let me, I’d do it again.”
“Stop! Stop saying shit like that to me. If you say stuff like that in front of Capri she’s going to—”
“Get the happy family I’m sure she’s dreamed about with two parents who love each other and want the best for her?”
“I don’t love you, Julian. How many more times do I have to say it for you to believe me?”
“I’m not the one who needs to believe it.”