Page 74 of Steel

“Calm down, boss,” she chided. “I’m not calling about the project, although Eric has taken to prowling the halls. I think he’s counting the hours. There was also an unexpected board meeting. Plus, the VP of operations was fired.”

“What?” Oh, that didn’t bode well. It sounded like there was a companywide shakeup. My stomach was churning.

I’d yet to break the news about my poor Jeep. That could wait. “Then what?”

“I answered your office phone last yesterday before I left.”

“And?”

“The call was from Kenneth. Again. Even more insistent this time.”

“What in the hell does that man want from me?” In all the years of careful dating before him, I’d never made such a huge mistake. I’d come off a breakup and had stepped into a bar on my first solo business trip. One thing had led to another and we had a whirlwind couple of weeks while working on the project.

A wonderful fantasy come true.

Until I’d learned the truth about him.

Six weeks after that, I’d been forced to face the toughest decision of my life. You bet he’d tried to make my life miserable from the day I’d tracked him down, sharing the news of our unborn child. He’d laughed and called me a whore.

Things had spiraled out of control after that.

“He was furious that I wouldn’t tell him where you were.”

“I’m sorry you had to do that. I’ll figure out a way to get him to stay out of my life, but I need a couple days.” Maybe a new burner phone I could toss afterward. I spun around, ensuring my son wasn’t paying any attention. He knew his father’s real name, although after the last incident where he’d broken myson’s heart, I’d purposely not referred to the man at all. Except for in private when I called him a motherfucking slimebag.

“He was really angry, Violet. I mean foaming at the mouth angry.”

“Well, he can spew that tiny brain of his straight to hell.”

A quiet hiss left my lips. When my stomach began to churn, a slight closing of my airways immediately after, I was livid with myself that he could still snatch a moment of my focus. After all these years. Damn the arrogant prick. “Did you tell him anything?”

“I had to tell him something. Only that you weren’t available, but he kept pushing. I finally hung up on him. I hope you don’t mind.”

“Mind? You get a raise.” What the hell did the asshole want? I’d gotten an email from him four months before and instead of reading it, I’d deleted it and even cleaned out my trash bin.

Why hadn’t he sent me another email? Maybe because whatever his demands were, he didn’t want them in writing. I knew how his kind worked. Maybe he needed a kidney. Hell, no.

No one fucked with my little boy.

“Ha ha. I wish that was possible. Look, I wouldn’t have bothered you except he was so insistent. Just before I hung up, he mentioned he would find you one way or another.”

A tiny chill skittered down my spine, but I shoved it away. Kenneth was the kind of man who believed because of his status in life that he could take and keep anything he wanted. Or discard them when finished without consequences. From whatI’d been able to tell, I’d been one of the only people in his life to challenge him openly.

However, in doing so, I’d been forced to change my personal number several times. Until recently, emails had been his method of torment. Something had changed.

The only birthday I’d bothered to try very hard to have Kenny show up to or even send a card and present for had been almost four years ago. Sure, he’d initially agreed, even saying he’d fly in and surprise him. What a fucking idiot I’d been to mention it to Damon. Something I would never forgive myself for.

At four years old, you would have thought I’d brought Superman, Spiderman, and the Hulk together, forming one incredible hero. Then the day had come and my sweet boy hadn’t wanted to blow out his birthday candles until his daddy had arrived.

Oh, God, I hated the man with every ounce of my being.

I’d sent a blasting email that could have burned up the internet lines. Kenny’s fake, bullshit apology had come via email four weeks after the date. That’s when I’d shut him down completely. Fuck the man.

There’d been one other instance after that and I’d shut the man down again, hopeful Damon would stop asking about his father. And he had.

“Well, maybe I’m very glad I’m in Montana after all.” And had a handsome hunk who could and from what I’d seen would protect my son in case anything happened. Now I had a headache behind my eyes that only a tall bottle of wine would cure.

Or a sharp sword to cut out Kenny’s heart.