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After a large Chicken Caesar salad, I carry the girls to the bedroom. I keep their crib next to my bed because I can’t stand the thought of them being out of sight. Once I get them settled in, I crawl into bed and cry. Adam’s reaction today felt like the worst rejection in the world. My heart hurts to the point I fear it may never heal.
Just as I start to feel heavy eyed, my cell phone rings. Since I’m not in the mood to deal with life, I make no move to get the device. Chances are, it’s Adam calling to ask me to finish clearing my things out of the office, or to request the company tablet back.
He is the last person I want to talk to right now. Right now, the only thing I want to focus on is my girls, and my broken heart. I will deal with Adam tomorrow, or never. Since Dena works there, I may just send the company’s belongings back with her. Let her deal with that grumpy man.
Two seconds after the ringing stops, it starts again. I roll my eyes and tuck myself further into the sheets. When the third call comes in, mom enters my room and hands me the device. “It’s Dena.” She kisses my forehead. “It might be important.”
Shifting, I sit up and swipe the screen to answer the call. Before I can say a word, Dena speaks. “Hey, you okay?”
I can hear the ding of the elevator. Surely, she wouldn’t just leave work to come check on me. Who am I kidding? Of course, she would. My best friend puts me and the girls first every single time. “Dena, please tell me you’re not leaving work because of me?”
“Yes, I am.” The sound of a car door shutting travels through the line, then I hear her give the Uber driver our address. “After Adam sent that Tainted Souls singer away, he came up to visit his father. When I overheard Adam tell Michael about you and the babies, I immediately told Mr. Michael Prescott that I had a family emergency.”
“Dena, you shouldn’t have done that.” Glancing over at the crib, I watch Jasmine as she tugs on her ear in her sleep. I can’t believe she’s had that ear infection for days and I never knew. “Besides, we’ve been at the pediatrician’s office.”
“I know, I called your mom when you didn’t answer. She told me about Jasmine and said she would let me know when you got home. There is no way I am letting you deal with this heartbreak alone.”
A terrifying thought crosses my mind. What if Adam’s father takes his side? What if he gets angry with me and fires Dena? I can’t be the reason she loses her job. That would be unfair on so many levels. “Dena, what if Adam’s father fires you too?”
“First of all, he wouldn’t fire me. I’ve been his assistant since we graduated college. The two of us work well together.” There’s a short pause and I pull the phone away to see if we were disconnected. “Secondly, if he did fire me, then good riddance. I don’t need that kind of negativity in my life.”
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why I love Dena. The girl is fiercely loyal to those she loves. I would not want to do life without her. Besides my mom, she is my rock. “I love you, De. See you in a few.”
Disconnecting the call, I decide to finish up my duties for Adam. He may have fired me, but I’m not petty enough to not complete the tasks I signed up for. There is no telling how long it will take him to replace me. So, until he asks for his tablet back and locks me out of the system, I will continue to do my job from home.
If he gets mad, that’s on him.
Ten minutes later when Dena walks in the door, I’m finishing my assignments for the day. As she enters my bedroom and takes a look at the device in my hand, she says, “He better get his head on straight and realize what a gem he has.” Taking the tablet from me, she sets it aside and glances down at the girls before returning her gaze to mine. “No one else would continue their job after being treated like that.”
She’s right, I don’t know of anyone that would continue doing their job after being fired the way I was. Not to mention being fired by the man you were dating, all because he was hit with a surprise. I don’t know if it’s because he’s the father of my girls, or because I happen to really like him more than I should, but I want the best for him in his business. Even if it is a bit uncomfortable helping the man that basically threw me out without an explanation.
“I know, but he has the Kramer case coming up and he needs all hands on deck.” I scoot over so Dena can sit next to me.
She wraps her arm around me, tugging until my head lands on her shoulder. “What are you going to do?”
“I don’t know.” Saying those words out loud releases the flood gates, and tears flow freely down my cheeks. “I hope he changes his mind about wanting children. Those two,” I motion toward the crib. “Deserve a father, even if he only wants to be a part-time dad.”
“No, what they deserve is a father that puts their wants and needs above his own.”
She’s right, they do deserve a father that loves them first and foremost. Did I screw this up by not coming clean from the beginning? I can’t bear the thought of my girls growing up without a dad because their mother was too chicken to tell the truth from the start.
Chapter Eight
Adam
I’m still in shock. Her words from three weeks ago are on a continuous loop in my head. Yes, I have kids. Twins, in case you missed that. They’re yours, stupid. Mine. We have kids together. Not one kid, but two. Oh my God, I have twin daughters out there.
Kids were never part of my plan. Being a lawyer is a stressful job that takes up all my time. Time that I will not be able to give to a kid, let alone two. As if to taunt me, a memory of the morning after our first date, comes to mind. I told her that I never wanted kids. That I didn’t have time for them.
Jeez, no wonder she kept the secret from me. Yes, when I found out, I hated her for having my babies, and then I came to despise her for keeping the secret after months of working for me. After months of dating me. I guess I really have no right to harbor such hatred for her. It’s not like I gave her the green light to share such a big reveal.
The day I fired Karri I had expected my schedule to become hectic without an assistant to keep my calendar up to date. Without someone to field my calls and keep track of my notes. To my surprise, she has been working from home to ensure that my days go smoothly. She even went the extra mile to organize my notes on the cloud for Ash Kramer’s case.
As if that wasn’t enough, an hour before our court hearing this morning, she had a hearty breakfast delivered to my office. How can she be so kind when I basically fired her for no good reason? If she wanted to, she could take me to court for an unfair and unjust termination.
She is making it awfully hard to stand my ground. Oh, who am I kidding? My feelings for her make it hard to stand my ground. We may have only been dating for a couple of months, but I am falling in love with Karri Jameson.
Shaking Ash’s hand, I congratulate him on his divorce and head to my Mercedes. On a normal day, I would head to the bar, or club, to celebrate my win. Just thinking about that brings back memories of the night I met Karri.
