Page 65 of Baby By my Best Friend's Daddy

“How are things, sir?” Chris asked.

I sighed. “They’re as I expected them to be.”

Chris eyed me dubiously. My answer was cryptic. Chris didn’t know what was going on, but he was aware of the tension in the office.

“Any messages?” I asked.

Chris ran through a whole bunch of messages that had been left for me before I’d come into the office, but I didn’t care much about any of them. I would get through them, but I wanted to know if Brad wanted to see me.

“Anything from Brad?” I asked.

Before Chris could answer, the elevator doors opened onto our floor, and Brad stepped out.

“Morning,” I said.

Brad didn’t answer. He looked straight ahead and walked to his office.

“I want to talk to you about our structure,” I added.

Brad replied by slamming his office door.

“Well, I guess that answers my question,” I said dryly.

“Is there…” Chris swallowed and searched for the right words. “Let me know if there’s anything I can do.”

“I will, but I think this one won’t be that easy to fix.”

Chris looked like he wanted to ask. I knew the guy was dying of curiosity. Brad and I had always been joined at the hip in the company, running the firm like we were already partners, not like we were father and son. We’d never gotten stuck about the direction of the company, and we were friends above being blood-related.

I’d always attributed that to the fact that we hadn’t been in the same household since Brad was a kid. Sure, growing up, he’d come to stay every other weekend and some holidays, but I’d never been a father figure in the sense that I’d been there to put pressure on him. His mother had been the bad cop, and the divorce had given me the upper hand in being the good cop.

We’d never fought… until now.

I guess there was a first time for everything.

“Thanks, Chris,” I said after he’d done his part, and I walked to my office to get on top of things. Brad wasn’t talking to me, but he still sent me emails about work-related things, keeping it strictly professional. Even when we fought, we still ran a company like clockwork. Go figure.

Maybe if I were as good at running relationships as I was at running a company, my love life would have looked very different.

When I was sick of work, I stood and left my office.

“I’m going out,” I said to Chris. “I’m turning off my phone, so you won’t be able to reach me. I just need to clear my head.”

Chris nodded. “I’ll hold down the fort.”

“As you always do,” I said with a grin. “You’re one in a million, buddy.”

“Maybe a raise to show your appreciation?” Chris said with a raised eyebrow and a grin.

I snorted. “Hard-working, innovative, and not afraid to challenge the system. All the reasons I keep you around.”

“And you’re as good at avoiding a topic as ever,” Chris said with a laugh.

I shook my head and chuckled before I left the office. Chris was great at his job and loyal to a tee. Even if it was because I paid him a shit-ton of money. I would give him that raise come the new quarter, though. He deserved it.

I got in my car and tried to figure out where to go. I wasn’t in the mood for the Cavaliers today. I hadn’t been in the mood for them for a while. I wasn’t sure if Brad would be there. His parking spot was empty, but that didn’t mean he was at the HQ. Either way, I wasn’t in the mood to drink—it just made me miss her that much more, unless I drank too much, in which case I woke up feeling like shit the next day. I wasn’t in the mood for that, either.

Since I’d lost Rebecca, I didn’t feel in the mood for anything at all.

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