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“Yeah, I think so. I can glaze in the morning.”

They fell asleep cuddling each other. Despite the busy day, Emmanuel was up before the crack of dawn. He wanted to get the test he shouldn’t have to take out of the way. Another fucking needle. Why did this Journee woman decide it was a great idea to fuck with his life?

Ivy was already up. It probably bothered her that the cake wasn’t glazed before she fell asleep. Emmanuel entered the washroom and noticed an empty spot on the vanity which had previously held a pharmacy bag. Maybe Ivy had thrown it out. He looked over at the garbage pail and found it empty. He sighed in disappointment. That sigh became a bark of displeasure when he opened a drawer and saw it tucked in there. Like it belonged. In frustration, the drawer was slammed.

That discovery set the tone for his day. Misery sat over him like a heavy cloud, ready to empty its contents at any moment. His coffee was waiting with a slice of cake. Which wasn’t the same flavour from the night before. If he wasn’t mistaken, this one was his favourite German Butter Pound Cake. Emmanuel declined to sit down and share it with her. He’d seen the flash of hurt when he’d also refused to take a slice with him.

“I have to make that stop before work, so I don’t want to lug around the cake, but um, thanks.”

His lip had barely brushed her temple before he was moving away. “Bye Ivy.” Emmanuel hadn’t even slowed down to make out her mumbled reply.

Like his mood, the day decided to be a shit show. Emmanuel had shown up early at the private clinic. Only to find out that because of staffing issues, they would open an hour late. Then he had ‘lucked out’ and Nurse Ratched had drawn his sample. The last time he’d had a sample taken, Ivy had done it. Emmanuel could have asked her to do this one, but he was angry that she had asked… okay, she hadn’t come right out and asked, but this is what Ivy had wanted. He was on a petty high.

When asked where the results could be sent, he’d given them two email addresses. One of which was Ivy’s. The only thing that had kept him from only sending it to her was he wanted to know when the result arrived. It wasn’t like he needed to see it.

By the time he got to the office, his temper was on a slow simmer.

Frank appeared in his office shortly after his arrival. “Ivs stopped by with cake. I saved your piece.” He placed a plate with a slice of cake on his desk.

“I don’t want any fucking cake!” Emmanuel snarled. Barely exercising enough self-control to send the shit flying across the room.

The cake-induced happiness was wiped from Frank’s face. “Whoa, take it down a notch.”

Emmanuel sent him a positively feral glare. “Who pissed in your cornflakes?”

“Life!” The mental count to ten was probably too fast, so when he spoke next, his tone was filled with snark. “Did you want something?”

Of course, that didn’t deter Frank, who took that as an invitation to have a seat. “Seriously, what is going on?”

Working with your best friend had its perks, but it also had its downside. Sure, he could yell at Frank and ‘try’ to treat him like a subordinate and request he get back to work, but that would fall on deaf ears.

“Nothing is going on. I have lots of shit to do. Can you please vacate my office?”

“Vacate? Get out of here with that Mr. CEO shit. What crawled up your ass?”

“Franciscus. Just go, man.”

“Damn. You really are in a mood.” Rather than vacate his seat, Frank remained there. Like he didn’t draw a seven-figure salary. Emmanuel tried to ignore him and keep working, but he could feel Frank’s stare honed in on him.

When Emmanuel couldn’t take it anymore, he looked up from his computer. “What, Frank?”

“You and Ivs are having a hard time?—”

“Frank, I don’t have time to answer personal questions.”

“If you had let me finish, you would have realised it wasn’t a question, but a statement of fact. Ivs looked really sad when she stopped by earlier.”

No matter how he felt, hearing that his Ivy was sad… deflated his anger.Shit.It made him feel like a failure as a husband. “And you, even though you are trying to act like a badass dragon. You are coming across more like Puff the Magic Dragon after he slipped into his cave.”

Frank was obsessed with dragons because of Game of Thrones. It wasn’t an obsession that started with the HBO shows that Emmanuel had been subjected to by both Ivy and Frank. No, his obsession started before when the first book hit the press.

“The fuck is the matter with you Franciscus?”

“That is one too many Franciscuses. Asshole. He placed a plate with a slice of cake on his desk. This is what I get for looking out for you.”

“While I appreciate it. I am good. I’m just not in the mood for company right now. You should know I actually got shit to do. Go to your plush office and pretend to earn all that money that gets deposited into your account.”

Frank held up his hand. “Fine. I’ll leave you alone. Just know I’ve got your back. I have a few irons in the fire to get to the bottom of this paternity shit show.”

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