Page 16 of Single Greatest Threat
Shaw took his hand and brought it to his mouth. He smiled as he kissed the back. “You are woefully blind to your worth. It’s your dedication and hard work that made the firm a success. You were the one who stayed late and ran themself into the ground. I’m sure he feels like you chose your side and now you’ll take us to the top. Mostly, it’s because you stole his clients.” He laughed, doing nothing to quell Joesph’s irritation.
“They were our clients, and of course I chose a side. You’re mine. I love you. Why would I choose a cheating old man?”
“Because this cheating old man gave you a job when no one else would have.”
Joesph startled at the sudden appearance of Shaw’s dad. He wanted to be embarrassed since he was right. Not only had Senior given him his first job right out of law school, but he had also taken Joesph’s side against his own son more than once. Now that he really looked at things, though, what a shitty thing to do. He should’ve known by that act alone Senior had no loyalty.
Joesph held his stare and refused to respond.
Senior sighed as if annoyed by Joesph. “I’d like to speak to my son alone.”
Where in the fuck did he want Joesph to go? They were in a restaurant.
Shaw set his hand on his arm. “Feel free to speak in front of Joesph. Obviously, he knows everything. Plus, we’re getting married, so he’ll be family.”
Senior’s face screwed up in confusion. He glanced between them. “Why? You’ve always only used him for sex. Why would you marry a cripple?”
Joesph’s eyebrows shot up.
Shaw brushed his shoulder, snagging his attention. His face looked hard enough to cut glass. “You should go say hi to Kayla. Maybe mention how Dad spent last night begging my mom to take him back. Mom has proof if she’d like to see it.”
Senior waved his hand. “You can stay. I shouldn’t have said that.”
Joesph didn’t know what to do. On one hand, Joesph had called the guy an old cheat, so maybe they were even. But on the other, fuck this guy who chose an affair partner over his family. Thankfully, he ended up rescued.
“Hey. I thought I saw you sitting over here.”
Relief poured through Joesph at Dodge’s sudden appearance. His men, Salem and Quest, sat at a table nearby.
“Hey.” Joesph grabbed the iPad and focused on Shaw. “I’m going to go say hi and show them what we were just talking about.”
Shaw gave him a sharp nod, but his hard gaze never wavered from his father.
Joesph didn’t hesitate to back away from the table and leave with Dodge.
Dodge looked confused. “What’s going on? Why does Shaw look ready to kill his dad?”
“Oh, boy. It’s been a wild couple of weeks.” They reached the table before he could explain. Salem and Quest were all smiles.
They exchanged a round of pleasantries before Joesph jumped in, answering Dodge’s question. “Very long story short, Shaw Sr. has been cheating on his wife with his old secretary. Now Shaw and his dad are fighting and it’s a mess.”
Salem nodded. He always looked too serious. But Joesph had no idea what it took to be him. Salem had married a ninety-year-old billionaire months before the man’s death. The guy had left Salem everything. Now Salem planned to marry the guy’s stepsons. It was wild and the talk of the town. Everyone thought Salem was nothing more than a gold digger. That wasn’t true. Joesph loved these men. The three were made for each other.
“I’m not surprised,” Salem said, cutting into his thoughts. “J.D. used to tell me all about Shaw Sr.’s exploits. There was nothing J.D. hated more than a cheat.”
That caught Joesph off guard. “Really? Shaw’s mom said it wasn’t the first time, but I didn’t know it was all the time.”
Salem nodded again. “Apparently. I’m surprised Shaw didn’t know. It didn’t seem like he was very discreet.”
“Shaw’s too fucking self-absorbed to see shit.” Quest muttered the words under his breath, but Joesph didn’t miss them. Joesph didn’t correct him. Quest was owed his reasons to dislike Shaw.
“Anyhow, his dad just let Shaw know how he felt about his son marrying a cripple. So, can I sit with you?”
A deep line appeared between Dodge’s eyebrows. “Who is Shaw marrying? I thought you two were back together.”
A laugh burst from Joesph. He adored Dodge’s sweet mind. “He meant me, angel.”
“What? Why would he call you that? Do I need to kick his ass?”
