Page 12 of Unleashed

Hadley grabs my arm and tugs. “Just let Simone leave.”

Simone feints right, and I block her. Her scowl deepens, but nothing in the fucking world can make her unpretty.

Simone bites her lip and cringes as she looks to Hadley for backup, but her sister-in-law doesn’t budge.

Val puts her hand on my shoulder and urges me to step aside. “Greg, this isn’t the place to argue.”

We all look around the room, but only Val, Hadley, Simone, and I remain. Hadley says, “What you two did was to get around your dad, Simone. What’s the big deal it ended? You get your money.”

I laugh. “No. We had to...” I glance toward the doorway, looking for eavesdroppers and trying to remember how much Hadley knows. I turn back and say, “It had to last a year. Simone gets zilch.”

Hadley scrunches her face. “Oh. But, Simone, why couldn’t you stick it out for a year?”

Simone clears her throat as sadness shines in her eyes before she says, “I don’t need shit from my father.” For a second, I see the Simone I liked until she spews, “Or Rod.” She fucking didn’t. Christ. That’s a grenade to my soul.

But as soon as I open my mouth to shut her down, Val says, “Okay, everyone. Let’s go on with our day. There is plenty to do. Simone, I will talk to you later. We’ll see you Saturday afternoon at practice.”

Simone nods, but I know she doesn’t agree. Hadley pushes me out of the conference room while Val guides Simone in the opposite direction.

Passing Betsy’s lair, I hear her bitching about me disrespecting her. Funny. She had none to degrade.

I head to my office without another word. Hadley sighs. “Okay. I’m off. Maybe you should get sorted out before lunch.”

I grunt an answer but just want her to leave. As Hadley goes down the hallway, I swing my head around the door frame in time to see Simone boarding the elevator. I swallow as she turns to hit the button. She then uses the back of her trembling hand to wipe her cheek before the door closes. I hope she’s having a tough time. Seeing her again enrages, saddens, excites, and hardens me. This is miserable, and it’s only the first day.

“YOU READY FOR LUNCH? Hello?”

Knocking at my desk makes me jump, even though I’m unsure if I heard a voice. I look up at Hadley. “Whoa. Are you okay?”

I lean back in my chair and slap on the most brutal smile I’ve ever had to fake. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

Her dubious frown ruffles me, and I grab my squishy baseball on my desk and concentrate on squeezing the hell out of it. “You seem... Seeing Simone rattled you. Why?”

I shake my head, shrug, and maybe stutter as I toss the ball from my left hand to my right. “She didn’t. Shasta pissed me off.” I can’t make eye contact with Hadley because she often sees through me. I need to work on my poker face.

“You changed when Simone walked into the room, though.”

Tossing the ball above me and catching it, I shrug again, struggling to sound halfway normal. “Nah. I just took it out on her. I don’t care either way if she’s here.”

As I pitch and catch again, I notice Hadley tilting her head like I’m a puzzle to solve. The complete picture would terrify you. “So, you’ll be okay attending Shasta’s farewell party at Brandon’s? Simone will be there.”

I pause with a frown. “Like hell, I’m going.”

“You can’t let Birdy leave without seeing her one last time.” Poor kid. I miss her.

“She doesn’t know who I am.” My heart hurts more than it should for a kid that isn’t mine.

“I think she will.”

I toss the ball again, grumbling, “I’ll risk not knowing.”

“Greg, come on. Take the high road.”

“Only if heads off a cliff.”

Hadley sighs and waves toward my desk. “We can eat here.”

I drop the ball on my desk, stand, and grab my brown bag. “Nope. I need a change of venue.”

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