Page 44 of Secret Baby Daddies
He laughed when Jace pushed him away from me.
“I’ll definitely have to come out to see Brody later. It’s been too long. I’m betting this guy won’t mention it but we grew up together on that ranch. Mrs. Margaret took me and Brody in when no one else wanted us. I can’t say I blame them. We were a rowdy couple of twelve-year-olds who liked to fight and steal shit.”
When I looked up at Jace I was surprised to see him giving a strained smile to Bobby. Bobby didn’t seem to notice it but I could see it in the way Jace’s jaw clenched. The prominent vein at the side of his neck stood out even more, too.
“Mom was a saint but y’all weren’t too horrible. We definitely had worse.”
Bobby snorted.
“Yeah, and you got stuck with worse. Speaking of, are you planning on going up to see Luc? He said not to let anyone bother him but I’d make an exception for you.”
“That’s where we’re headed first.” Jace looked down at me and gently tugged my hair. His eyes warmed when he smiled and that vein relaxed. “Come on, little girl. It’s time to go bother the big, bad, wolf.”
I said goodbye to Bobby and then we were getting into a private elevator which was nicer than any I’d ever been in. I looked up at Jace and tilted my head as I studied him.
“You looked tense when Bobby mentioned your mom taking him and his brother in.”
He seemed surprised I’d noticed anything and stared back at me for a few moments before sighing and shrugging.
“It wasn’t always easy.”
“Will you tell me more about it?” I wanted to know everything I could about him. His life was much more interesting than my own and if it kept me from thinking about my issues, even better. “Please.”
He leaned against the mirrored wall and pulled me closer so I was standing between his legs.
“There were times when it felt like Maddox and I weren’t enough. And it wasn’t just because our mom had this overwhelming amount of extra love that she needed more kids to share it with. She loved rescuing kids and getting the glory which came from it. The hero worship those kids gave her filled her tank more than our love ever could. There were some along the way that took more to her. Like Luc. He was her favorite.”
I frowned.
“Over you and Maddox, too?”
He let out a tired laugh.
“Especially over me and Mad. We were just kids she’d birthed. She hadn’t rescued us. It was like the way some people don’t just prefer to adopt over shopping for a dog, but they become militantly judgmental of others for going to a breeder. Maddox and I were the spoiled rich kids everyone expected her to show up with. She loved to show off the others, especially Luc. He came from a rough place and she polished him up and presented him to her high-society friends like a science project.”
I winced.
“That sounds…rough. And like it wouldn’t exactly create a healthy bond between the three of you.”
“It didn’t.” Before he could elaborate the elevator doors opened and he ushered me out. “This is the executive floor. And down this way is the executive conference room.”
I wanted to dig deeper into the bond between the three men I’d unwillingly moved in with but Jace didn’t give me a chance. He pushed open the conference room door and pulled me in with him. My face burned as I looked around and saw over a dozen faces turn our way. At the front of the room, at the head of the huge conference table, was Luc. He’d been in the middle of saying something but when his eyes landed on me, his words trailed off.
“Well, hello, everyone. Luc, I thought you should know that Harley is here, in the building. She’ll be in my office with me for the rest of the day.” Jace looked so pleased with himself that I wanted to stomp on his foot. “We’ll be in an important meeting so text if you plan on stopping by.”
Luc’s eyes narrowed on his brother but when he looked back at me they softened. He walked toward me and shocked the hell out of me and everyone else in the room when he pulled me into his arms and kissed me like it was going out of style. I was still tasting his minty breath when he walked back to the head of the table and nodded at his brother.
“I’ll definitely be stopping by as soon as I finish up here.” Luc smiled at me. “Everyone, this is Harley. If we’re lucky she’ll be popping up around here for a long time. Harley, this is the Board of Directors for Silver Corp..”
I couldn’t decide if I was more shocked he’d claimed me so publicly or that he was so boldly introducing me to his board, some of the most influential people in the company. I tried my best to follow as he introduced each person but I was in over my head. My father had never once introduced me to his board, even though I was his daughter and there’d been a time when he talked about me taking over his company.
“Um, hi. It’s nice to meet y’all. I’m sorry for interrupting your meeting.” I elbowed Jace as discreetly as possible. When I looked up at him he was just grinning back down at me. It didn’t take much for me to see that every other person in the room was shocked by his smile. Mouths were agape. If bugs dared to fly into such a pristine office space the board members would’ve been choking on them. “Okay…it was nice to meet y’all…we’re going to go. Now, Jace.”
Jace let me tug him out the door but not before I heard Luc laughing at the front of the room. His deep voice was full of mirth when he spoke.
“Clearly, there are going to be some changes around here.”
CHAPTER 34
