Page 30 of Broken Boss Daddy

He sounded so suspicious of me. My guilt came back in ten folds. “Me? I’m at home.” I gulped. “The TV is on so maybe that’s what you’re hearing. When’s your dad coming?”

Once again changing the topic, I waited with bated breath as Grant’s silence grew. I didn’t know what I was going to do if he didn’t believe me.Maybe bury myself in a hole, I thought while waiting on him.

“Grant? Are you still there?”

“Yeah. Um, they’ll be here in a couple of days.”

I had never felt more relief than I did at that moment. Deciding just to keep my mouth shut so I wouldn’t sprout any other nonsense, I let him continue speaking.

“He wants to go out for dinner. I wanted to ask you if you would join us so, you know, I don’t suffer all by myself.”

Yeah, I could just see how that would turn out. “I don’t know…” I trailed off.

“Please, Jess? I can’t get through this without you.”

Looking at my daughter with Grant’s pleading in my ears, I knew that if I went, I would feel guiltier about the secret I was keeping. “It’s probably best if you go by yourself, Grant.”

“Pretty please? If you’re there, everyone will be forced to be on their best behavior. Besides, I’d like you to meet my family.”

My heart skipped a beat. “You do?”

“No, I’m totally joking.”

“Your sarcasm thrills me,” I said bluntly.

Grant’s amusement could be heard over the line. “But, seriously. Please come, Jess. You can even bring your TV daughter if you’d like.”

I knew it was a joke, but it hit too close to home. Grant had no clue just how close to the truth he actually was with that statement.

Abby was getting antsy again and if I didn’t end the call, we were assuredly going to have another problem on our hands soon.

“Okay,” I finally said. “I’ll go with you.”

“Yes!”

A smile played on my lips. “I’ve got to go. I’ll talk to you later.” Quickly ending the call before Grant could say anything else, I released a long breath.

Abby turned to look at me. “Was that your friend, Mommy?”

“Yes, baby.”

“Can your friend be my friend, too?”

Staring into the beautiful face of my daughter, I didn’t have the heart to say no. Instead, I tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear and said, “Maybe.”

Who knew what the future held?

Chapter 14: Grant

“You’re going to wear a hole in the floor if you keep pacing like that,” Jessica said, amused.

That didn’t stop me from pacing around the room. Nerves ate at me for what was to come that night. We were a couple minutes out from leaving for dinner with my father and his family, and I was low-key freaking out.

Jessica sat on the sofa, pretty as always, and watched my continued anxiety with amusement. Although, there was something off about her. I noticed her guarded expression the minute I opened the door, and it had been with her for a while.

“Grant, it won’t be so bad.” she said, trying to get me to calm down.

It worked only because those very words took me back to the time when she told me the exact thing and for the same reason. Back then, it reminded me of someone that I couldn’t place.

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