AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Approaching this woman is turning out to be a massive mistake, but it’s too late to back out of the conversation. If anything, he must now endure the tedious ramble, if he wants to find out what she knows. But the more she talks, the more it sounds like she’s sniffing for additional gossip, rather than offering any useful information. Rian simply can’t feed her with any scandalous chatter, even if he wants to. And he most certainly does not.
He takes a deep breath, smiling politely as he looks down at the woman carrying on about Stephanie as if she actually knows anything at all.
“I’m sorry, but what are you talking about?” Rian looks at her confused.
The woman glares at him incredulously. She sounds exasperated, but she repeats herself, for Rian’sbenefit. “Stephanie calling Bethany-Anne and spewing all that nonsense that her husband Colton was threatening to divorce her if she didn’t quit her job. Supposedly, he was insisting she stays home to look after Toby full-time. As if I could be sorry for her, living in that multi-million-dollar mansion.”
Rian frowns. Stephanie had hardly ever touched on her issues at home, but he suspected they became fast friends exactly because they sensed the distress they had both been in. They talked about the kids and books and maybe cooking – nothing too serious, nothing real.
The unspoken dark secrets they both had to deal with on a daily basis were simply swept away to make space for a feeling of normalcy and simple companionship they both clearly craved.
Rian didn’t bother explaining to…Maureen, or Moyra, whatever the fuck the gossip’s name was that the work she was so uninformedly referring to was in fact the company of Stephanie’s father. A family business she had been running successfully for the past five years. Her husband Colton had been an intern there and had quickly climbed the ladder after marrying Stephanie.
This was a piece of gossip Harris had so very helpfully supplied, insinuating in a way that Rian was a similar kind of gold-digger. Ri had brushed it off at the time. The insult didn’t hurt because Rian had never been materialistic, vain, or power hungry. Harris knew it too and since Rian had remained modest in his personal spending, Harris really had nothing to use as leverage for this particular line of offense.
Rian was furious to hear that Colton was effectively trying to kick Stephanie out of her own place of business. Colton was trying to shame her, just because she loved her job. Running the company her own family had built from the ground up, was not just about making money. Rian could tell, Stephanie was proud of her efforts to keep the firm not just afloat but thriving.
That fucker!
Rian has never met Colton, but by the vague information Stephanie has given about her husband during their playdates, it was glaringly obvious, there was not much about him she wanted to gush about.
And that fucking Bethany-Anne! Fuck her for telling Steph’s business to other people.
It’s embarrassing that Stephanie hadn’t trusted Rian enough to call him first. She probably thinks he’s the last person to know what to do in a situation like this.
She’s not fucking wrong now, is she?
Bran wriggles in his arms, and Rian excuses himself, “I have to go. Bran’s getting fussy.”
Moyra or Maureen gives him her fakest smile. “Bran? That’s aninterestingname.”
“Our family has some Irish heritage.” Rian deadpans.
“Oh…” Her eyes linger on Bran. He doesn’t look Irish in the slightest at least not based on the pre-conceived expectations people have. Rian could practically hear the heavy wheels turning in her shallow mind and he hates himself for unwillingly exposing his son to idiots like her.
“Well…” She clearly has thought better, than to voice the rest of her opinions. “Hope to see you, again sometime. It’s always nice to meet dads that have enough time on their hands to be involved with their kids’ commute.”
Ouch. Fucking. Ouch.
Her remark is so ridiculous and out of nowhere, it makes him snort a laugh, right to her damn face. She is startled as he holds her eyes.
Are you fucking kidding me right now?
Rian refuses to be shamed for loving his son and wanting to be with him all the time.
Fuck you, lady.
Her fake smile drops, and she hastily leaves the lobby to collect her own child.
Rian kisses Bran’s fluffy hair walking out of the building and back to the car.
“You still smell like a little bird,” he murmurs in his little boy’s ear, tickling him with the tip of his nose. His son bursts into gurgled giggles. Rian grins at him, filled with joy. “I love you,” Rian says as he peppers Bran with kisses.
“Luv you,” Brandon squeals at the top of his lungs.
On the short drive home, Rian wonders if he should call Stephanie. She clearly hadn’t felt comfortable enough to talk to him, but he believes he should at least tell her he supports her. Or whatever the fuck he is trying to build up to say. He knows he has no way out of his situation with Harris. But goddamn it, if he could encourage someone else to stand up for themselves and help that person avoid being trapped like him, he would fucking do it.
“Hey, Google, call Stephanie.” The Bluetooth system in his car indicates the phone is ringing, and he waits for her to pick it up while driving home.
