“It’s about time!” he cheers. “Everybody knows you’d die for Naomi, but sacrificing yourself the way you have, isn’t healthy. Celibacy?” An expression of disgust morphs his features and he shivers like he’s about to have a seizure. “Un-fucking-natural.”
“Says the single guy without responsibilities.”
“Granted, but fatherhood hasn’t stopped Jace from getting his cock serviced.”
“Jace does his thing. I do mine. And how many times do I have to remind you that having a boy and a girl is a world apart? It may sound old-fashioned, but I’m keenly aware how my decisions may affect Naomi later in life,” I tell him.
“Noted,” he says.
Once again, silence acts as a filler for things better left unsaid.
“Well, from what you’ve told me, this woman sounds like a real catch,” Beckett says.
“She is.” I nod in agreement. “Every time I hear Naomi squealing and laughing as she plays with Everly, I’m always taken aback. They get along so well. I didn’t expect it.”
“Wow. You can’t get enough of her, your daughter is crazy about her and she’s even seduced Luna… and we all know how protective she is of her best friend.”
“Yeah. Still, I have to be careful. I don’t know where this is going. Everly doesn’t spend the night and when we’re together at the house, we always make sure Naomi is fast asleep. I don’t want her to get confused.”
“Has she been asking about her mom?”
“Something along those lines. She thinks my seeing a woman automatically means she’ll become her mom. It’s not so simple. I don’t want her to get her hopes up. My job is to protect her heart.”
“You would’ve never allowed Everly near your daughter had she been a flake––”
“As we both know, not every relationship is destined to survive. Sometimes people have a change of heart and it fucks ups the people they leave behind.”
CHAPTER 32
Holt
The weekend with Beckett was a blast. My parents came over for breakfast on Sunday morning and they never left. Even though I have a personal chef who comes once a week to stock up the fridge for those days when I’m pressed for time, Mom insisted on cooking up a storm. She even sent Beckett and I off to the farmer’s market. She’s afraid Naomi, Luna and I might starve. Yeah, even the dog got her own pre-made meals. Mom kills me. I’ll say this much, there’s nothing quite like her cooking. Nothing fancy, just good California cuisine made with local ingredients. All five of us spent the day hanging out by the pool and stuffing our faces silly.
Jace, Ryder, Jagger and Bridgette came over for a barbecue at around seven o’clock. Naomi was beside herself. So was Luna––she always is when she gets to hang out with Mason. Had it not been for a school day on Monday, we would’ve been at it until really late. What a precious gift to have everyone gathered together. Since we’ve been back from London, this was a first. Reconnected with my family really charged up my batteries.
It would’ve been a flawless night had it not been for my daughter’s over-share. Naomi announced to the whole family I had a lady friend. Mom was delighted and almost weeping. Jace was pissed because Ryder was the one who tipped him off instead of hearing it officially from me. Jagger caught wind of it from Ryder, but he was waiting for me to open up.
Monday morning started on the right foot. Dropping Naomi at school wasn’t as taxing as usual because the roads weren’t too horrendous. Granted, I left much earlier to swing by Everly’s shop. My little donut dominatrix was surprised to see me. It didn’t take much to lure her upstairs to her apartment to make up for the weekend. But our quickie did little to satiate me. Beckett is right, I can’t get enough of her.
After making plans to see her again tonight––so I can take my time savoring her––I drove off to the office. I was having a productive day until Sydney came barging into my office at two o’clock shouting, We nabbed the bloody bastard. With proof in hand, I rushed to Cadoc’s office to demand the asshole puts an end to his shady tactics. Of course, he denied it until I pulled out my phone and showed him a photo from our security camera. The goon who left the parcel overnight was wearing a baseball cap with his record label’s logo stitched on the front.
Busted!
If you’re going to fuck with people’s heads, at least hire someone smart enough to pull it off. He gave me a lame excuse. I told him to keep it. Fucking poacher. After telling him off, I made sure his bosses knew what he was up to. Something tells me I won’t hear from him anymore. Good.
I park the Range Rover at its usual spot, and head to the door, ready to pick up where I left off. Mrs. Talbot is picking up Naomi, so I can still knock off a few things on my long list. I’m just about to enter the building when my phone rings.
“Hey, Tim,” I say when I pick up.
“Hi, Holt.”
“How are things?”
“I’m sorry, this isn’t a social call. Let me be brief.”
My jaw clenches.
Timothy Woodbury is one of my newly acquired accountants. This is the call I’ve been dreading for three months.
“Ok, I’m listening.”
“Are you sitting down?”
“I can take it standing up,” I tell him.
“My kind of man. I’m in Washington. I was in a meeting and had silenced my phone. Jana,” his executive assistant, “had to track me down. It took her a while because the location of the meeting changed at the last minute. In any case, guess who’s back in the good old US of A?”
Nausea overrides my senses and suddenly, I feel like I’m choking.
“Are you sure?” I ask.
“Yeah. She paid us a visit.”
“Fuck.”
“From what I gather, she arrived last Friday. She’s been on a rampage all morning, demanding explanations. She went back to O’Broin’s lawyers. Since they had had enough, they pointed her to yours. I just got off the phone with them. She paid them a visit before heading to the bank. I guess she finally opened the legal documents the lawyers have been sending her.”
“I guess so. How did she find out about you?”
“One of the bank managers tipped her off inadvertently. He’s new at the job.”
“Shit.”
“He saw the last name and thought the discrepancy in the amount transferred into her account compared to last month’s was a technical glitch. He didn’t know the backstory. When he realized he had made a big mistake, he called my executive assistant to explain. Jana has been trying to reach me ever since. Unfortunately, he’d already given out my name and yours. She left our offices forty-five minutes ago. No doubt she’s headed your way. She’s fucking furious, Holt. Jana had to call security on her ass.”
Fuck.
“She’s the last person I want to deal with.”
“You knew this was coming. Might as well get it over with.”
“You say that like it’s going to be a walk in the park.”
“Mr. O’Broin’s accountants warned us about her. And you know her better than anyone else. She’s used to getting her way––”