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Chapter 4
Connor was not about to lie as to why he needed to use the Henderson chopper. It technically wasn’t company business, but his goal was to keep the Henderson name unattached from it all, as well as his own. He hated to admit it, but it already might be too late. If all those reporters were actually reaching out to Krista like she said last night, there really wasn’t anything else to be done.
So why the fuck was he risking more exposure, and possibly his job, by returning there now? Krista was right, people would forget all about this misunderstanding. It wasn’t like he was a celebrity that the paparazzi would be following around for years to come. For the most part, Connor considers himself the average Joe. It was expensive fancy suits when he needed to provide security and wanted to blend in with his clients. Outside of that, he much preferred jeans and a T-shirt. Maybe that is why he had liked going under cover while working for the DEA. Very rarely was he required to get all spruced up.
Deep inside, Connor knew this was not about the Hendersons at all. Although he had no intentions of returning back to the DEA, he also wanted to keep a low profile, to keep his options open. With his face being plastered all over social media, how was he ever going to go undercover again? Hell, even Mikie knew who the hell I was as soon as he saw me.
Connor had already reached out to Shaun last night in regard to using the company helicopter. Shaun’s response had been that they would talk about it in the morning. Sure enough, Shaun showed up at Henderson Corp bright and early for their meeting. Now it was time to find out if he had Shaun’s backing or not.
“I really don’t see how this is going to help,” Shaun said. “But I’m going to trust your judgment on this. If Bennett didn’t believe that you had our interest as a top priority, I know he would not have left you in charge.”
Was Bennett actually that confident in Connor’s ability and loyalty? He wasn’t sure. He hadn’t given Bennett any reason to question it, then again what had he done to earn it? I hope this isn’t what’s going to change Bennett’s mind. I really want the chance to go to Tabiq and do some digging. That’s not going to happen if I’m unemployed.
“This is what is best for all parties involved. And if handled quickly, and properly, the only time the Henderson name is mentioned, will be with positive comments.” If Shaun said no, then he’d just need to reach out to Krista with an alternate plan. I really should’ve waited before giving her the details, without having a solid plan. Once again, this wasn’t like him. It seemed the in control of everything guy he usually was, vanished last Friday after meeting with Ethan. No. After meeting Krista.
He never should’ve agreed to let her come with him. Granted, it did affect her just as much as it did him, but she was going to add a level of distraction he didn’t need. The proof of that was in how many times his eyes had focused solely on her as he replayed those videos Mikie had sent to him. The last thing Connor needed was to be attracted to the person who was also tangled up in this mess.
“I have to admit Connor, after watching that video you just showed me, I can see why you want this all to go away. I’m just not as confident as you that a trip to New York is going to accomplish what you believe it will,” Shaun said. “I say this from experience. We fully understand what it is like when the media decides to blast something that might not be accurate. The harder we fight it, the bigger it seems to get. So now we do things differently. We take the stance of ignoring it.”
“That might not work for all situations,” Connor said. “This could have long lasting effects.”
“True. No one has accused us of fathering a child that wasn’t ours. It could easily be cleared up with DNA testing.”
He winced at the thought. Never before had there been a need for a paternity test. Connor always used protection. In this case, he was one-hundred percent positive he wasn’t the father. It’s just the rest of the world he needed to prove that to.
“I don’t even know who this woman is. She was just in the SUV when I returned,” he explained again, as though telling him the details last night wasn’t bad enough. Connor wished this was the last time he needed to repeat the tale, but no way would he be so lucky. “I don’t want this coming back at me years from now.”
“Understandable. I do have one question for you before you go,” Shaun said.
Before you go?That was a good sign. Shaun was letting him use the chopper. “What is it?” he asked.
“Why didn’t you tell me about this on Friday? It might have saved you a major headache.”
“I honestly never thought this would occur. And at the time, all I wanted to do was forget it ever happened,” he stated. “Delivering a baby sure in hell wasn’t something on my bucket list to do.” He didn’t mean for it to sound so uncaring, because he did care. It’s just that something like that should be done with someone you care deeply about, not a perfect stranger. That just becomes…weird.
“It changes a man, that’s for sure,” Shaun said.
You mean makes him a confirmed bachelor for life? I can see that.
“Not in a good way,” he mumbled. But obviously not low enough.
Shaun chuckled. “I was in the delivery room when my daughter was born. I have never looked at my wife the same. Morgan has taught me more about the strength a woman has than I ever could imagine.”
“If you mean by almost snapped your fingers off, I understand that,” Connor said.
Shaun shook his head. “No. I’m talking about carrying a baby for forty-weeks, and being sick all the time, and then to go through all that pain. Hell, what do we do? Pass out cigars after and everyone congratulates us like we did all the work.” Shaun rubbed his fingers and said, “But you’re also correct. Morgan had a grip on my hand like it was caught in a vice. If I even tried to pull away, I think she’d have broken all my fingers. And that would’ve only been the start,” he smiled.
He couldn’t relate to the look on Shaun’s face. It wasn’t a pleasant experience, but he looked like he wouldn’t have missed one minute of it. Connor was still trying to erase the picture from his mind.
“And yet you want to have more. I just don’t get it,” Connor stated honestly.
“You will when you have kids yourself. It…it changes a person,” Shaun stated. “Before I met Morgan, I couldn’t picture myself anywhere but living in my penthouse apartment overlooking Boston.
“And now you’re a nice guy who enjoys his white picket fence?”
“No. I’m still an asshole, but I love my family, and there is no better view than watching Morgan play outside in the back yard with the kids. And when I take a walk around the block with the kids, I…I know what I missed growing up. And I wouldn’t cheat my children out of one minute of it.”
Shaun and he were so different, yet Connor couldn’t help but like the guy. There was something down to earth about him. Did having kids do that to him? He doubted it. Having kids wasn’t like a switch. You are who you are, and they are just another person added into your life. All this talk about change was bullshit. And Connor wasn’t about to start lying to himself to believe otherwise. But he also wasn’t about to tell Shaun how wrong he was either. None of this was why they were supposed to be meeting and Connor needed to get things back on track.
