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“So, you figured it’s better if I step up to the plate, it had nothing to do with my emotions?”
Scott shook his head and put down his plate of food. He sipped his beer before he answered.
“It’s all about your emotions,” Scott said. “I know this is hard for you and you’ll probably see the baby as a curve ball but damn it, Troy, it’s got nothing to do with that. If you’re really serious about her, and it’s actuallyyourbaby, does it really matter?”
“Of course it matters!” I cried out. “I can’t do this. I don’t want kids.”
“You’re scared of having kids because it will let you invest in family life and you’re scared of losing it. I get you, Troy. I just think you’re making a mistake giving it all up because you can’t deal with what’s going on here.”
“And what exactly is that?” I asked, narrowing my eyes.
“You’re in love with her, and it doesn’t matter what excuses you cook up not to do this, being with her is the only thing that will make you happy.”
I snorted. “And you’re the love guru, huh?”
“No,” Scott said. “But I’m a Troy guru. I know you, brother. I’ve been around long enough to know what your happiness looks like, and I haven’t seen you truly happy until you met her. That counts for something. In fact, it counts for everything. It’s the only thing that does.”
I bristled. I was furious that Scott had hidden Mackenzie’s pregnancy from me. He was my brother! I was also upset that he was lecturing me time and again about letting go, living my life, being happy… because he was right.
It pissed me off because everything he said was true.
“Then what am I supposed to do?” I asked, my anger slowly fading.
“I can’t tell you that,” Scott said. “You need to decide what you’re willing to live with—and without—and follow that. I’m your brother, and I’ll always give you the cold hard truth, even if it’s tough to hear, but the decisions you make will ultimately be your own, and I can’t do shit about that.”
I sighed. “That’s the part I wish someone else could actually do for me.” I’d admitted it softly, but Scott nodded.
“I know. I just don’t want you to end up like me.”
“How’s that?” I asked.
“Alone,” Scott said.
“You don’t have to be, you know.”
“Hey,” Scott said sharply. “Today isn’t Lecture Scott Day. It’s all about you. We’ll touch on me and my unhealthy habits some other time.”
I laughed. “I’m holding you to that.”
Scott chuckled and shook his head. “The game’s starting again.”
We turned our eyes to the television, but Scott didn’t know exactly how right he was, and it had nothing to do with football.
The game was starting, and it was high time I got my ass back in the game and played my heart out. I’d been on the sidelines long enough. It was fine when I had nothing to lose, but now I had to do what needed to be done.
32
MACKENZIE
“Frye!”SebastianStein’svoiceboomed through the office so that everyone cowered, even my secretary.
I sighed and stood. “Coming.”
He could have sent a message to the secretary the whole team shared, sent me a private message to my phone or sent me an email to get me to come to his office, but Stein loved his authority and reminding everyone of it.
As much as I loved the potential for growth here at Griffin Solutions, my boss was a total ass.
Life was like that, though. We all had to take the good with the bad. It was just the way it was. If I hadn’t thought I had a chance of making it big in this industry, working for Griffin, I wouldn’t have put up with Stein’s bullshit, but I knew I could go big around here if I played my cards right.
