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Without knocking, I opened the door to find him seated at his desk with his head down, resting in his hands. Immediately, my eyes shifted, searching for the bottle of liquor that he’d had before, but the desk was empty, save for his laptop and other knick-knacks.
“Wick,” I said, and he looked up with red-rimmed, wrathful eyes, that quickly softened when he realized I was at the door.
“Monica… shit… are you okay?” he asked. “I… completely fucking forgot you were here. I…fuck!” he exclaimed, loud enough to make me flinch. Still, I stepped inside, closing the door behind me.
“Hey…” I made sure my tone was soothing, but didn’t move any closer. “Tell me where your head is at?”
He pushed out a sigh, then shook his head. “Kayla. Somebody tried to grab her as she was leaving rehearsal earlier.”
“Oh my God! Is she okay?!”
“Yeah. Khalil was with her, and Kay… can fight, for lack of a better way to put it. So, she’s fine. She’s safe now. I’m just pissed that it happened. Some officers came by and took her statement.”
I put a hand to my chest, pressing it into the steady thump of my racing heart. “Good. I’m glad she’s safe.”
“Yeah. Me too,” he said, and then sat back again, quiet.
Tooquiet.
“Um… you said you were pissed. At… me?” I asked, leaning back against the door.
Wick’s eyes came back to me, narrowed. “Monica… what do you think?”
I swallowed the lump in my throat. “I… I think yes. I think that this is the reason you didn’t want to be involved with me in the first place. Why you never wanted to see my face again, because of how it might involve, or hurt Kay. I wouldn’t blame you, for being pissed at me. I would be pissed at me. You don’t have to pretend tonotbe pissed at me. I’m a big girl. I can take it.”
His eyes narrowed even further as he sat forward. Even with his mouth closed, I could tell he was running his tongue over his teeth, thinking.
“Monica… why do I get the feeling there’s something you aren’t telling me?”
His gaze was so intense that it already felt like he was seeing right through me. Yet again, I was reminded that this man was nobody’s regular “computer geek”. He’d been trained to spot lies – and expertly tell them too. But I had the feeling that between us, there was only one potential liar in the room.
Potential I couldn’t force myself to live up to.
Not now that his daughter was involved.
“Because there is,” I whispered.
Across the room, Wick stood, then came around to the front of his desk. He leaned back into it, taking a seat on the edge before he motioned for me to step forward.
I didn’twantto, but it was like I was being pulled by some invisible thread. As soon as I was in front of him, he gently grabbed me by the wrists, with his thumbs at my pulse points.
“Tell me, Monica.Now.”
“Glen Pearson is my father.”
The words tumbled out immediately, with barely any pressure from him. As soon as I said it, I felt like a weight had been lifted – I’d never spoken those words out loud to anyone still living, not even Kellen. But that relief was short-lived, as Wick realized the gravity of what I’d just told him.
“Glen… Pearson,” he repeated, with a tightness in his jaw that hadn’t been there before. “As in… owner and CEO ofCanvas Cosmetics, Glen Pearson?”
With my lips pressed tight together, I nodded, and he pushed out a rough sigh that made me flinch.
“Monica… what the fu—whyare you just now telling me this?!”
“I didn’t think it mattered!” I exclaimed – well, tried. “It’s not common knowledge.No oneknows. Not even him!”
Wick frowned. “How thefuckwould he not know he had a kid?!”
“Areyoureally asking me that question?!” I shot back. “You didn’t know about Kay until she was damn near a pre-teen, Wick!”
