Page 174 of The Pucking Wrong Man

Ari: Hawk and chicken in the same sentence. Fascinating.

Walker: You’re a man above men, Hero.

Walker: Lincoln, on second thought...maybe you should be a second-day visitor. You’ve brought up a valid concern.

Ari: Just because you secretly call him “Daddy” doesn’t mean that the baby will.

Walker: ...

Linc: ...

Ari: ...

Me: ...

Walker: I think we’re fine with you visiting on the first day, Lancaster. ;)

Ari: ????

Iheard the elevator ding and I stood up from the couch, eager to see Anastasia. Freya had to bring her back from the studio today because I had a mandatory practice that ended at the same time. I’d fucking missed her every second.

“Hey, baby girl, did you check your texts? There are more pictures of the baby. Walker also said Olivia is begging for chicken strips. We should go pick some up and get to the hospital,” I called as I walked towards the elevators.

Anastasia was stepping out as I got there, her hair still up in a bun and sweatpants pulled up over her leotard. When she didn’t reply, I glanced closer, noticing she had a completely blank look on her face.

I’d never seen her look like this before.

Especially not when I was talking to her about Olivia’s new baby. She was already obsessed with her, and she’d just been born.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, taking a step toward her.

Anastasia took an answering step back.

“Anastasia,” I growled, not liking what was happening.

“Is this true?” she whispered in a trembling voice, holding up a crumpled piece of paper in her hand.

Frowning, I reached out and grabbed the piece of paper, unwrinkling it.

Well, shit.

Call Charlie. You should ask him if your boyfriend got you fired. Maybe he will tell you the truth this time...

I was betting that Michael had struck again.

“Where did you get this from?”

“Linda, from the front office gave it to me as I was leaving the studio.”

Of course, she did. Linda was obviously an idiot. We’d already informed the front office Michael wasn’t allowed anywhere near Anastasia. Linda must want to be fired. Badly.

“Answer me, and don’t lie like you did about the shopping trip and how it came with your sponsorship,” she snapped before I could even open my mouth.

Mmmh, I guess she’d figured that one out.

I sighed, trying to think of what to do.

On the bright side, considering everything I had done to get us to this point, this was honestly the one I was least worried about her finding out.

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