Page 103 of Bound Hearts

Something inside me sinks, that feels like an uncomfortable truth.

Walking straight back to them, I pick up Levi only for him to begin to fuss, and I set him straight back down into my brother’s arms for quiet.

My eyes tighten, then open. A frequent source of my frustration is the one who can calm my son right now.

“Do. Not. Move,” I grit out and hold a finger up in the air.

He looks at me strangely as I turn to grab a spare shirt from my small closet in my office, where I always have an extra suit.

I give myself a few minutes, and when I finally manage to bring us back to the matter at hand, I ignore the fact that my son is nearly falling asleep in my brother’s arms.

I plop onto the leather sofa across from them and rub my jaw with a long sigh. “Right. So, Roth. Since Sutton is okay with me keeping my shares, then I will.”

“I thought you would say that. What about your absentee vote?” Patrick appears awkward holding Levi, but he’s also not complaining.

“That’s yours. I’m sure as hell not making it to the meeting this week, and I have no interest in deciding what buildings to sell. Down the line, you never know if I’ll need the shares.”

“I respect that.”

My lips quirk as I adjust to his sincerity; it surprises me, even though I’ve recently noticed small changes in him. “Thanks. Well, if you have the things I need to sign for absentee, then I’ll do that now.”

His chuckle is full of self-amusement. “You must really be lacking sleep because we do everything digital these days.”

Yeah, of course. “We can blame it on the sleep.”

The gentle knock on my door and a cheery hello draw my gaze to Olivia standing in the doorway, her overdone smile in place. “Just a little update that Sutton seems to be doing well, calm and happy.”

“Thanks.”

“Having HR spy on her for you?” my brother asks dryly.

Rolling my eyes, I admit defeat. “Well, she struggled with letting this guy go this morning. I had to pry him away. I’m sure it’s nerve-wracking for her to be back.”

“And I offered to spy,” Olivia proudly points out. “Now, if you will excuse me, I need to go tackle a tiny little detail for our next recruitment event with Easton. How lucky am I?” she says with cynicism and brings her hand to her heart. She pivots, and I can hear her small grumble.

Then I notice my brother’s eyes following her trail, and I snap my finger to break him out of his prowling view.

“She’s easy on the eyes,” he comments.

“Don’t try to evaluate your next pick-up choice while my son is in your arms, please.”

It causes Patrick to smirk. “Well, I wanted to check in about the stocks and figured, considering our history, then our turning a new leaf involves better communication in person.”

I let out an impressed hum. “Look at you, not even needing family therapy.”

He holds Levi out, arms outstretched. “And I return him to you. So good luck with that.”

Walking to him, I collect my son, and instantly, he begins to fuss as though my aura is cursed.

Beginning to bounce him, I consider my options for dealing with this. “This better be a bottle situation because I am not bothering your mom. So let’s go home. You get a bottle, and I’m sure as hell opening a bottle of something when you hopefully by miracle nap.”

Patrick shakes his head. “I’m so happy I’m not you.”

As miserable as this moment is, I’m still content with life, at least.

Appearing in the kitchen later in the day, I find Sutton waiting for me with two glasses of white wine already poured.

“Rough day?” She smirks as she brings the rim of her glass to her lips.