Page 30 of Finding Forever

“Hi, Daddy!” she squealed, smiling up at me.

That smile was magic. It immediately eased some of the tension I was feeling and equipped me with the calm I needed to address Victoria. Otherwise, I was sure it would have turned into a screaming match. I walked over to her, amazed that she could sit there so calmly after doing what she’d done.

Did she have any idea how worried I’d been when I got to that school and realized my child wasn’t there? Just for her to get her photo ops in and have a spontaneous shopping day.

Thinking about it won’t help you calm down, I reminded myself.

“You’ll hear from me later,” I bit out, leaving just as quickly as I arrived.

∞∞∞

Sometimes my home office served a dual purpose of being my hideaway. Today was one of those days. After Penny’s dinner, Enrick had taken her to the study to work on her penmanship. This gave me the chance to call Victoria and lay into her about her stunt today.

“What outcome were you hoping for, Victoria? You have three days designated for you. We maintain that routine for Penny!”

Victoria was quiet for a beat. “Ugh, calm your yelling. I don’t get the big deal. I wanted to go shopping and I know Penny loves shopping. It was a no-brainer when I picked her up. No biggie.”

I didn’t comment on the fact that she must have been missing her brain when she made asinine comments like that. This whole thing was a joke to her.

“You don’t get to change her schedule on a whim! She’s a child, and being sporadic in her life is getting old.”

“Don’t talk to me like I’m a child,” Victoria bit back.

“Stop acting like one!” Penny demonstrated more maturity than her mother most days.

Just then, the door to my office crept open, and I saw Gina standing in the opening. I held up a finger, signaling that I needed a minute, and she took a seat on the other side of my desk after shutting the door behind her.

“Victoria, you’ve pushed me to my limit for the last time. Expect to hear from my lawyer because I’m putting an end to this one way or another!”

I realized how vicious my words sounded when I saw Gina’s jaw go slack while she listened. Taking that as my cue to wrap things up, I ended the phone call with my ex-wife, who was still remarkably out of touch with the matter.

“I’m sorry you had to hear that.” But that was all I was sorry for. I didn’t regret anything I said. Victoria deserved a lot worse.

Gina sat back, crossing her legs as she squinted her eyes at me.

“Chris came to visit me today.”

Where was this going? I remember hearing him in the background of our call earlier, but assumed he was there for something related to Mycah.

“He told me about your anger issues. Says he doesn’t want Mycah around you because of it.”

Usually, Gina’s direct approach to any conversation was one thing I really loved about her. Today, it made my heart sink. On top of today’s other events, her words felt like a knife straight to the gut.

Right away, I knew Victoria had been in Chris’s ear and he had passed down the incorrect information without a second thought. If Gina hadn’t been the recipient of that news, whoever he told wouldn’t have mattered much to me. But from the look on Gina’s face, I could see that she had clearly taken it to heart, and that shattered me in a way I couldn’t explain.

Still, I had to try.

“The only person who has ever drawn out that angry monster is Victoria. No one else. I’d never turn my anger on you or Mycah. Tell me you know that.”

She stared at me but said nothing.

“None of my business partners, not even the ones who made me lose millions, ever brought on feelings that amounted to that intensity. I’m not an angry person, Gina.”

“So why her?” she asked, arms still folded across her chest. I knew from years of working with people that this was a defense mechanism.

“I guess I expect more from her because she is the mother of my child,” I said truthfully. “And she also has the special ability to piss me off.”

“Do you still love her?” I could hear the worried note in her tone.

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