Kennedy stared at the solution to her problems that, if done, would probably worsen every other situation in her life tenfold. She bit her bottom lip, contemplating whether his suggestion was worth agreeing to. How Savvy and her girls would react crossed her mind, but Kennedy brushed the thought aside sinceit wasn’t about them or their lives. When the ball dropped, they’d choose the side she wasn’t on, so she had to cover her own ass.
“Okay.”
Relic stared at her in disbelief for a second time before his expression dulled as he sat up. Kennedy agreeing put a feeling in his fucking gut he couldn’t describe. He couldn’t call whether she agreed because she didn’t trust him, or he had just given her the ultimate play to finish him off. Relic balled his fists in his lap to refrain from snatching the offer back and rescinding their entire agreement.
“I guess, that’s settled. So, the only thing left to show him is your medical record.”
“No!” Kennedy blurted over Abiza a second too late, and Relic lurched upright in his seat.
“Her what?”
“Nothing. Don’t worry about that. I did what you say I always do. I moved too fast and off emotions. My head wasn’t on straight this week, so I—”
“Removed your IUD,” Relic finished her sentence and then addressed Abiza. “Show me the proof.”
Abiza glanced at Kennedy before pushing her laptop across the table to show Relic proof her client removed an intrauterine device. At the end of the day, she worked for the best interest of her client, and Kennedy leaving an easy million dollars on the table was absurd to her.
“She mentioned that you said even if she doesn’t end up pregnant, she still gets the extra million. Correct?”
“She could’ve done it two weeks ago,” Relic pointed out. “Half a million since she wasted half my time.”
“That’ll do. I’m sure there’s more where it came from if you two make a baby.”
Abiza giggled but choked on her amusement after she noted the vexed expression Kennedy wore. Her client was livid, butAbiza didn’t miss the fact, Kennedy didn’t stop her from showing Relic. They were on the same page.
“That’s settled. Before either of them has a change of heart since it’s written over their faces.” Morrone made it a point to bring awareness to that. “Both of you sign, and we will all go to the courts sometime next week to finalize everything for Jahleel. Then, that’ll be it.”
Relic grabbed the contract and scribbled his name on the line before he reneged like Morrone called it. Kennedy was slow to grab the contract once he shoved it across the table, but she did so before signing beneath him while her eyes inspected his signature that was different yet familiar to her. It was the same writing on some of the checks she’d received monthly, confirming her assumption about Relic being the sender.
“I like your handwriting,” she complimented, smiling as Relic launched forward to snatch it back.
Their eyes locked, but she didn’t call him out, and he didn’t confess that he’d sent her the checks. If he did, then he’d have to follow up with why he would do yet another act that was out of character for him. The barbed wire, that had been painstakingly desecrating her heart each time he failed to give her honesty, tightened, making her wince as she stood while Abiza followed suit.
Kennedy was thankful for the bittersweet reminder to keep her head in the game and eyes on the fucking prize.
“I guess we’re done here. It was lovely doing business with you boys,” Abiza teased as the men stood as well.
She held out a hand, and Morrone was first to take it, clinging to his wife’s dainty fingers as she tried to remove them from his grasp.
“Not too fast, my love. You’re leaving with me, and I’ll take you to grab your car. I’m positive Ms. Sutton has better things to do.”
“She does,” Relic answered. Kennedy’s head tipped, and his keen eyes pierced hers before he tossed his head to signal her out of the room.
She followed his lead, keeping up with his long stride as he exited the conference room before heading down the hall that seemed longer than it had the first time. The thick silence seemed more deafening, and the urge to confront Relic about what he’d done gnawed at her more than it’d done in weeks. Kennedy had fallen into delusion. She had fallen into the fantasy he’d built where their relationship could withstand what he did to her, and their happily ever after was as certain as his arrest. Relic had created a maze of possibilities that she’d gotten lost in while knowing at the end of every laid path; there was only one outcome for them.
“We’ll head to the court Monday since you’re off, or Tuesday at the latest.” Relic broke their silence with that, and she nodded. “Next week will be busy for us. Saturday is the concert, and we still have a lot of shit to do. Michi is choreographing a few sets for the dancers she found. The venue doesn’t offer a DJ or equipment, so we need both.”
“I found two possible options and sent their details to Calm to decide. Savvy hired Lexi today for wardrobe.”
“Good.” Relic scrubbed his chin with a fleeting glance in her direction before asking, “You spoke to Tekken?”
Her steps faltered, rattled, before she shook her head. Relic grabbed her arm to stop her from walking and spun her to face him.
“Why not?”
“I’ve texted him to check in, but that’s about it. He’s busy, doing what boys his age with too much money do. Tekken isn’t trying to be bothered with me.”
“You sure, or is it the other way around, Larenn? You can’t avoid him forever. Whatever you have going on, you need tofigure it out because Tek isn’t dumb. He’s noticed you aren’t acting like yourself, and you have to be around him whether you want to or not soon.”
