Page 41 of Broken Daddy

We have the same shape to the jaw and eyes. The same general build.

And the suit he’s wearing—a deep blue—doesn’t help. At my full height, we’re almost identical, aside from our hair color and the few inches I have on him.

With a glance at Trudy, I dismiss her politely. She’s reluctant to leave, but gathers her things and with one last look, heads for the elevator.

“You are?”

The words come out short, even-tempered. But a foreboding throbbing is building in my head, because I already have an idea of who this might be.

“Nathan. I’m sorry to interrupt your day. My name is Jenson.” He reaches out a hand, adding, “Sharpe.”

At the mention of our father’s last name, I breathe in deeply and try to force down the adrenaline rush that’s back again now.

We stand in silence. After a full minute of nothing, I can tell he’s starting to question his choice to come here. He begins to turn back toward the doorway.

“I didn’t mean to catch you off guard.”

“Really? Because you didn’t make an appointment. Or call, as far as I know.”

His eyes flatten at my challenge. But the pieces are all coming together now: this is my half brother, the one Chris told me about a few weeks ago.

The one I wasn’t interested in reaching out to. Now that he’s here in front of me, maybe I should care. Maybe it says something horrible about me that I don’t want to concern myself.

But really, I just want this day to end.

The previous blissful thoughts of going home, relaxing, losing myself in a good meal and company—that all goes away. Jenson’s jaw ticks.

“I’m in the city for the rest of the week and I wanted to introduce myself. Chris mentioned you work here—”

“I own the business.”

His brows rise. “Ah. Okay. I’m sure there’s a story, but you obviously don’t want to tell it.” His dry, flat humor matches mine, and I almost smile.Almost.

“Chris said you weren’t interested in meeting, so I have to admit, this is selfish of me. I’m trying to…come to terms with my past. And I wanted to meet the family I didn’t know I had.”

He clears his throat, and for a moment, I feel sympathy, but it passes. He’s right—it was selfish coming here after I clearly stated I didn’t want to meet.

“I can see your side of things, but I’m not concerned with patching things up with my father’sotherfamily.”

Jenson’s expression goes hard, cold. It catches me off guard.

“I’m not here to ‘patch things up,’ and my mother certainly isn’t involved. She doesn’t know I found you,” he admits. “And I don’t want to expose her to someone like—”

My half brother manages to catch himself before an insult tumbles out, but from the fire in his eyes, it’s obvious I hit a nerve. Interesting; it’s a tidbit about him that gets my attention. He’s very attached to, and protective of, his mother. The woman my father leftmymother for.

“Well, you’ve gotten a look at me now, so you can cross that off the list.” Breathing deeply through my nose, I try to take the high road. “I understand your interest in wanting to connect with family, Jenson, but I just don’t share it. Ihavea family. I have responsibilities.” Gesturing around me, I add, “I have a company to run. I have little time for bonding with secret siblings.”

He glares, but it’s gone quickly. Jenson rolls his shoulders, just as I did moments before he walked into my office—and my life.

“Fair enough. I’m sorry for encroaching on your time and space. If you are ever interested…”

Digging into his pocket, he pulls out a black business card and steps forward, tossing it onto my desk. Must’ve guessed I wouldn’t take it from him.

Jenson strides back toward the door, giving me a last glance over his shoulder. “Chris and I are having dinner this weekend. Just in case you reconsider.”

With that, he’s gone. A dark specter moving down the hallway.

I deflate into my chair again, everything going out of me. I feel drained. Emotionally, mostly, but also physically. In the last hour, I’ve had two stressful interactions, both of which stirred something protective in me—and filled me with rage.

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