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Chris took hold of Joe and blew at the little hole where the arm should go. He gave Nicky and Dylan a chance to blow as well before picking up the arm. With an Oscar-level performance, he pretended to struggle pushing the arm back into place. “Help me push. Quick!”
Two small hands pressed against the back of Chris’s hand, and with an over-the-top fake effort, he shoved the arm back into place. “He’s okay!”
Shrieks of joy filled the kitchen. The boys jumped up and down, forcing Chris and Melissa to grab hold of their chairs. Once they were out of the kitchen and in search of something new to fight over, Melissa came over and hugged Chris from behind.
“You’re so good with them.”
“I have a lot to make up for.”
She smacked his shoulder. “Stop saying things like that. You’re working hard for their future.”
That statement didn’t tell the whole story. His hunger for success had been his driving force ever since he started college. It felt nice to pretend his family was his fuel, but he would have likely worked just as hard if they never existed. Working for a smaller firm closer to home would have brought in enough money to keep them well-fed and taken care of, but it would have meant sacrificing his dream of becoming a senior partner in one of Manhattan’s top law firms. Lately, he had been thinking about that sacrifice more often, wondering if he had outgrown his old dream along the way.
His phone rang as Melissa was pouring the tomato sauce over the pasta. He sighed when he saw Mickey’s name on his screen. “Back in a sec,” he said and went to take the call from his office. On his way, he stepped on one of the Lego pieces the twins had left on the floor. “Dammit,” he hissed and hopped. “Boys, I told you to keep the Legos in your room.”
“Nicky did it!”
“Nah ah!”
Chris carefully made the rest of the way to his office and shut the door behind him. “What is it?” he answered.
“If I were one of your parents, I would have told you to answer the phone more politely.”
“If you were one of my parents, you’d be dead, which isn’t such a loss considering what an asshole you are.”
“That may be, but it isyourasshole that will need to perform tomorrow. Are you and the rest of your boy band ready?”
“As much as we can be.”
“Good. Jay has the recording equipment, but I trust you to be the brain of the operation. If Tobias finds out what you’re doing, he’ll easily connect the dots back to me.”
Knowing this option existed almost made Chriswantto mess things up. But Mickey’s downfall was now linked to Chris’s, which at least assured him that Mickey wouldn’t try to double-cross him.
“We know what we need to do,” Chris said. “Just remember that once we’ve done our part, I don’t want to hear anything more about blackmail. You understand?”
“Like I enjoy going around blackmailing people. It’s a necessity, not a hobby.”
“If you say so. Anything else?”
“Just be careful and stay safe. Despite everything, Iamfond of you, Roberts.”
“Great. What does it say about me?”
Mickey chuckled. “Nothing good, I’m afraid.”
17
ANTHONY
It could have been a beautiful day, Anthony thought as he drove himself and Ethan farther from the city. It was getting close to noon without a single cloud on the horizon. Chris was picking up Jay, although it would have made more sense for the four of them to drive together. But having both Ethan and Jay in such a small space was risky. Anthony had no idea how those two would pull off the act of being partners, but it was out of his hands.
“Are you okay?” Anthony broke the silence.
While looking out the window, Ethan said, “I’m doing breathing exercises.”
“You know breathing exercises?”
“I watched some YouTube tutorials back when my startup started having problems, but I haven’t done them in a while.”
