Chapter 12
Cal
The conference room on the twenty-third floor smelled like stale coffee and Ron’s expensive aftershave. Floor-to-ceiling windows showed the Strip glittering like it didn’t give a fuck about the bomb we were about to drop. Ron sat at the head of the table, sleeves rolled up, legal pad in front of him. Jake slouched in a chair, scrolling his phone.
The room felt smaller than usual.
Maybe because everyone was in it. Maybe because the air smelled like stress and overpriced cologne. Or maybe because I already knew this conversation was about to be a train wreck and I was standing right on the tracks.
Holland leaned back, arms crossed. Kei stared out the window like he was counting the lights. Sydney sat next to me; thigh pressed against mine under the table. Hadley was on my other side, hands folded tight in her lap, ring still on. Eli wasn’t here; Zariah had taken him to the arcade downstairs with strict instructions to keep him away from this.
Ron tapped his pen. “Okay. We’re all here. Cal, you said this was urgent. Talk.”
I cleared my throat. Felt like sandpaper. “Hadley’s pregnant.”
Silence hit like a brick.
Ron’s pen stopped. Jake looked up slow. Holland’s arms dropped. Kei turned from the window. Sydney’s hand tightened on my knee, hard.
Ron leaned forward. “You’re sure?”
Hadley answered before I could. Voice quiet but steady. “Three tests"
Ron exhaled through his nose. “Jesus Christ. Timeline?”
“Conception was the night in the chapel,” I said. "Three weeks.”
Ron dropped his tablet onto the bar. “Jesus Christ, Cal.”
Sydney laughed. Sharp. Mean. “Of course it was. Perfect timing. She gets knocked up right when the annulment clock starts ticking. How convenient.”
Hadley flinched. Barely. I felt it more than saw it.
Ron held up a hand. “Sydney. Enough.”
“No.” She leaned forward. “This isn’t coincidence. She saw dollar signs the second she woke up in his bed. Trapped him with a ring, now trapping him with a kid. Classic gold-digger playbook.”
Hadley’s voice cut in, low. “I didn’t plan this.”
Sydney turned on her. “You didn’t have to. You just had to spread your legs and wait.”
“Watch it,” I snapped. But it came out weak. Half-hearted.
Sydney rounded on me. “You’re defending her now? After everything?”
“I’m not defending anyone. I’m stating facts.”
Jake looked between us. “Okay, hold on. Nobody panic. People have kids. This isn’t the apocalypse.”
Sydney laughed under her breath.
"Easy for you to say. It’s not your career hanging by a thread.”
Holland shot her a look. “Syd...”
“No, Holland,” she cut in, voice sharper now.
"We need to be realistic. This girl came out of nowhere, married him drunk, and now suddenly she’s pregnant? You really want me to pretend that doesn’t look suspicious?”
