Page 41 of Love Without Demands

Maybe I should let him tell Auburn and Monty about me. How would they feel hearing I was their brother? Would they think I was some crook trying to scam a wealthy family? Because that was the absolute last fucking thing I wanted.

Checking my phone, I saw that I still had thirty minutes before I was supposed to meet Paul, so I bought a Diet Coke from a vendor and settled on a park bench a couple blocks from the restaurant. The first sip went down cold and refreshing, the carbonated bubbles adding just the right amount of burn.

It had been around two years since I’d found those letters, and I stared up at the fading sky as I let my mind drift back.

My father wasn’t my father. I allow that realization to roll around in my brain for a while.

I haven’t read all the letters in the box; there are more than twenty years’ worth, after all, but I’ve read enough to learn that Paul Bouvier is the man who gave life to me. Allegedly.

For two weeks I scour online articles and Paul’s Wikipedia page.

That still blows my mind. The man I think is my father has a goddamn Wiki page!

I find that he’s married to a woman named Chloe and has sons named Auburn and Montague. There’s mention of a daughter, Evelyn, who went missing years ago. That sparks my interest, and I spend hours one night poring over what is apparently a cold case. The young woman vanished without a trace.

Paul was head of his company for decades, and his oldest child, Auburn, took over a few years ago. There’s a shit-ton of info on that guy, including lots of pictures of him at events, always with a beautiful woman on his arm.

There’s not much on Montague, or Monty, as I’ve seen him referred to a couple times. But I do find a couple paparazziphotos from around the time the sister went missing. He and Auburn both have the same eyes as me.

Fuck.

Pacing around my apartment in League City, which is between Galveston and Houston, I try to figure this out. I have the basics from my research, but who the hell is the real Paul Bouvier?

I could ask my mother, but I don’t. I’m not sure how I’d even go about bringing it up with her. “Hey, Mama. I found a secret stash of letters that Papa received from a man named Paul Bouvier. Quick question… is he my dad? And can you pass the carrots?”

Yeah, not doing that.

She’s been through enough with losing Papa, and besides, the letters were something he didn’t seem to want her to know about.

No, the only way to get answers is to go directly to the source. But how do I get access to him? The man’s net worth is in the billions, so I’m pretty sure I can’t just waltz up to his door and announce that I have paternity questions for him.

The answer to this conundrum appears later that night when I’m researching the Bouvier fashion company. There’s a “Join Us” tab on the website, and when I click, a list of job openings appears. Right at the top, I see it.

“Driver and Personal Security - Executive Level.”

As I stare at that link, I tap the flat of my thumbnail against my top teeth for so long, I’m concerned I may chip the enamel. And then I click on it.

My fingers tap across the keys as I fill out the application and hit “Send.”

“Whew,” I say on a long exhale and stare at the screen.

Two days later, I receive a reply asking me to come in for an interview.

Quinnie picks me up at the airport, and I give her a bone-crushing hug as she laughs. “I’m so happy you’re here. Noelle is going to freak when I pick her up from preschool and she sees her Uncle Cooz is in the car.”

“I can’t wait to see her,” I say as we climb into the car.

“What made you finally come for a visit?”

I hesitate for a moment before saying, “Actually, I have a job interview. But don’t tell Mama yet. I don’t want to worry her if I don’t get it.”

“Okay, I won’t say anything. What’s the job?”

“Corporate security. The pay is great, and I’d get to be near you.”

“Oh my god, Cruz. Are you serious? You really might move to New York?” Her eyes are wide as she turns on her blinker and enters traffic.

“I probably won’t get it. I’m sure it’s very competitive.”

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