Page 62 of Power Surge

“Yep.” I pop thepand slice into my steak.

“Guess I was too busy with wrestling. You remember how good I was, right? Fuck, I could’ve gone all the way.”

“Gone all the way to where?” I question. Okay, that was a low blow, but fuck, if I have to hear this story one more time in my life, I’ll hand myself over to Whit with a damn bow tied around my neck.

“College, Olympics, I don’t know. Somewhere,” he grumbles. “I do feel bad about all that, you know I do. But hell, we were just kids. I wasn’t ready to be a parent.”

“And I was?” Movement in my periphery urges me to glance up from the plate, but I keep eating instead. Acknowledging Trey will only make matters worse for everyone in this room.

“Yeah, well, women are predisposed to be ready.”

“Please, stop while you’re ahead, Ben,” I groan. The fork clatters to the plate, and I wince at the reverberating sound. “You wanted to discuss Tae and the baby. Let’s focus on that and not the past.”

Ben grumbles something under his breath before shoving a hunk of steak into his mouth. “I think I should move in.”

Wine sprays out of my nose. Wide-eyed, I suck in a miniscule amount of air as I cough and hack up the alcohol that made its way into my lungs. Ben jumps from his seat and rushes to my side of the table.

“Do not touch her.” Water pouring from my eyes, lungs burning, I look from Trey on my right to Ben on my left. Trey’s features soften, worry etching around his tight lips. “Here, drink some water.” A cold, sweating glass goblet is shoved into my trembling hand. “Little sips.”

With a few more hard coughs and several sips of the ice-cold water, I settle back against the chair.

“Thanks, Agent Benson.” But he’s not focused on me anymore. Oh no, Trey’s hate-filled stare is focused over my head on my ex “Ben, go sit back down. I’m fine.”

“I want to be a part of this, Rand. Don’t shove me away.”

“A part of what?” I take another gulp of water. “Of me being president and living in the White House or a part of your grandchild’s life?”

“The kid’s life!” he shouts. Throwing his hands in the air, he interlaces his fingers behind his head. “What, you think this about you? Damn, you always were the self-centered one.”

My hands tighten into fists beneath the table. It’s official—he’s a jackass, and now I need to figure out how to get him out of this house and back to Texas.

He says it’s about Tae and the baby. We’ll see about that.

“What’s Taeler having?” I ask.

“What?” The indignant mask falls from his face, shifting to confusion.

“The baby. If you care so much about Taeler and her baby, what’s the gender?”

“A girl of course.” Ben scoffs.

“A girl?” Sliding against the cushioned seat, I angle myself to face Ben with Trey now at my back.

“Sorry, a boy.”

“Hmm, a boy?”

“Hell if I know. That shit doesn’t matter. It’s not even here yet.”

“Ben.” The glasses and plates rattle at the slam of my elbow on the table before I rest my head in my hand. The long fake nails glide through my freshly washed hair. I can’t believe I wasted a hair wash day on this tool. “We’re not finding out. Taeler wants to be surprised, and you would’ve known that if you’d asked her anything about the baby.”

“You fucking tricked me to prove your point,” Ben growls with a menacing step back around the table toward me.

“Watch your fucking language, you ignorant bastard. You’re talking to the president of the United States.”

Fire flames in Ben’s eyes as he glares at Trey. “What’s it to you?”

“You need to leave.” My voice wavers with the building tension between the two men. “Ben, you need to leave. Not just this room but the White House. You’re not staying here.”

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