Page 19 of A Bossy Surprise

It’s so crazy that I have a son.I have a son.

I wonder what Kayla told him about me. Does he hate me? Is he even old enough to know what hate is?

I don’t know what any of this means for my future. I don’t know how I’m going to navigate this mess either.

Last night, after I got home, I had a couple drinks to dull my nerves but after three glasses of straight whiskey, I realized all I was doing was making myself more anxious.

The fact that I haven’t slept in two days plus those drinks are the reason I’m so irritable this morning.

I go to my desk, switch on the computer and spend the next two hours trying to catch up on as much information about the company as I can. It is a herculean task because I am only able to focus on the documents in front of me for 30 seconds at a time before my mind goes back to Kayla and Brady.

I bring my fist down on my desk and pain radiates through my hand. I shoot up from my seat and I walk out of my office.

I can’t suffer alone like this. I need to spread the misery, and only one other person in this building deserves my wrath right now.

I make my way down to Kayla’s office and barge in. I’m about to lay into her but catch myself just before the first expletive shoots out of my mouth.

She’s in a meeting with about eight other people. I’m guessing this is her team.

With my eyes fixed on Kayla, I say, “Can you all give Ms. Wood and me a moment?”

Without missing a beat they all jump up from where they’re perched on their fold-out chairs, side tables, and beanbags and rush from the room.

“Good morning,” she says. “What can I help you with?”

“Don’t give me that,” I spit.

She jumps up from where she’s sitting behind her desk and rushes to close the door. “Adam, this is neither the time nor place for this.”

“I agree, this should’ve happened seven years ago.”

She closes her eyes and exhales. “Yes, Adam. We established last night that you’re angry I kept this from you. Do you really need to go on and on about it? And at work?”

“How can you be so callous? It hasn’t been 24 hours that I found out I fathered a son six years ago. I think my reaction is valid.”

“Yes, it may be valid, but can we talk about this later? These aren’t exactly the thickest walls in the world and I would rather my staff not know that I have a sexual history with our new boss.”

“I don’t care about any of that!”

“Then what do you want from me? What do you want me to say? That I’m sorry?”

“That would be a good place to start!”

The door opens behind me, and I’m ready to turn around and rip whoever is interrupting a new asshole. However, my eyes go wide when I see Lucas standing in the doorway.

His brows are marred with confusion as his eyes move between Kayla and me.

“Lucas, what are you doing here?” Kayla asks as she walks around me and hugs her brother with a perfunctory smile on her face.

“After Adam called to tell me the both of you are now working together, I jumped on a plane. I figured with your promotion and his acquisition of this company we could all celebrate. I plan to stay a month or two and get some time with the both of you and Brady.”

“What about work?” I ask.

“I can work from anywhere. All I need is my trusty laptop…” He pats the computer carrier slang over his shoulder. “…and an internet connection.”

“Well, that was sweet of you,” Kayla says.

“I ran into your friend Amanda who I met the last time I was here just as I was coming into the building. She let me in and directed me to your new office.”