Brazen Bossman: A Hero Club Novel, стр. 65
She stares at me for a moment, and I can see she is trying to think of something to say. “Then you need to explain yourself to her, because from where I’m sitting, this looks really bad, Mr. Lennox.”
“Call me, Nathanial, and you don’t think I’ve tried? I call her every day. I go by her apartment every day. If she’s going to pull this shit without facing me and letting me explain the situation then… I don’t know what else to say.”
“Nathanial,” she says in confirmation. “I just…”
“I just need trust, from someone, somewhere, that I never wanted to hurt her. She makes me feel… different. I can’t explain it any other way than that,” I tell her, and she gives me the kindest smile.
“I believe you, but Piper is the most stubborn woman on the planet. When she makes a decision, she stands by it, so I really hope you’re prepared to live with the outcome of all of this.”
“I just need your help, Kate. I need you to trust I wouldn’t hurt her.”
***
I’m not even sure how long I sit outside of my parents’ building.
Ten minutes, an hour, three hours? Who knows at this point, because all I can think about is what Piper has made me feel deep in my gut.
Any time I think about my father, or think about how I feel, I see her face and I’m reminded of how lucky I am to still have a father in my life, even if he hasn’t been the best.
It’s one of the many epiphanies I had while sitting on the beach at the Hamptons house before she joined me.
He isn’t going to be here forever. One day, I will have to bury him, and the last thing I want is for either of us to have any regrets at the end, and I know this will mean everything to my mother. She needs as much happy as she can get right now.
I pull my cell phone out of my pocket, swipe the screen to turn it on, and my thumb hovers over the messaging app.
All I want to do is text Piper and tell her I’m sorry she had to find out about… everything… the way that she did. It was never supposed to be that way, but what the hell else did I expect to happen? Did I honestly think I could make a move like that and no one would figure it out?
I was naïve, but she painted me a villain without any preamble. That fact is enough for me to lock my phone again and shove it back into my pocket.
I stare up at the building once more, before I summon the courage and swallow my pride enough to open my door and head inside.
***
“Nathanial!” My mom exclaims when she pulls the door open. “What are you doing here? I wasn’t expecting you at all.”
Of course, she wasn’t. I haven’t stepped foot in their home in nearly two years. She would have expected to see the Times Square Naked Cowboy riding a dragon on the Staten Island Ferry before she’d expect to see me at their door.
“I was in the neighborhood. I thought I’d stop by and see how you are doing.” The first part is an obvious lie. I don’t have to be on this side of the city often, so she knows I likely went out of my way to come here.
“I’m good today, sweetie.” She steps aside. “Please come in. Don’t stand out there like a stranger.”
I step through the threshold and into their living area.
“How’s Dad today?” I turn to ask her as she closing the door.
“Today is a very good day. He is in his study. I think that makes him feel, well, more normal, I suppose.” She slides her hands down the pair of beige slacks she’s wearing with a simple white blouse. “Are you thirsty? Hungry?”
I shake my head. “No, I’m all right. You don’t have to serve me, Mom. You know that.”
“It’s what mothers do, dear.” She pats my cheek. “How is Piper? She wasn’t too freaked out by what happened the other day right?”
That question is like a bullet.
“Piper and I aren’t seeing each other anymore.”
My mother’s face falls. “Oh, I’m sorry. I hope it wasn’t because of…”
“No.” I hold up my hand. “Not at all.”
“I had a good feeling about her. Even through the stress of it all, I could see how she made you more comfortable. You need that in your life.”
“She was special, that’s for sure,” I sigh heavily. “I’m going to go see Dad. Do you think that would be okay today? I don’t want to trigger him or set off something you’ll have to deal with later.”
She adjusts the bracelets on her wrist. A habit I’ve noticed about her all my life. “I think that would be just fine. Go on. He’ll be happy to see you.”
I leave my mom to her reading, and I head down the long hallway to my father’s office that is positioned at the very end.
The door is slightly ajar, but I’m not sure if he heard me with Mom or not. I pause a foot away and contemplate turning around and bolting for the door, but that will only perpetuate the vicious cycle we seem to be stuck in.
I knock twice on the door and wait for him to respond, which he does promptly, telling me to come in.
I push the door open. “Dad?”
He’s seated behind his large, oversized oak desk, reading a book that is flat on the surface with his glasses perched on the end of his nose.
He has