Brandon comes out at that moment, and while nobody says anything, I get the feeling Vince can feel the disgust that radiates off of the rest of them.
“He was mean to Mommy!” Addy yells, pointing without shame, and it’s not funny, not really, but if I don’t laugh, I might cry, and that’s the last thing I want.
Vince remains silent, but the way he looks at Brandon has him all but running for the door.
The tension is thick, and I fear I’ve ruined the entire night as everyone stands around.
“Come on, Sunshine. Let's go to the table. I’m sure Des is waiting for us.” Oli grabs Addy as he moves past Nathan before moving to my side and taking my hand in his. I want to protest; it’s on the tip of my tongue, but the smile he gives has me swallowing it down, at least for now.
The celebration is well-earned but still hard on Kat.
She’s so nice that even though he tried to kidnap her, threatened her, had her stalked, and tried to ruin her life, she still feels bad that he died, as if she’s the reason for his death.
Kat doesn’t understand that he never would have stopped, but that’s fine; she didn’t actually see anything, and while I know she feels bad, I also know this was for the best.
And I’ll do whatever it takes to ensure her safety.
Oliver and I have spent the last few hours at the club. We keep our shifts here shorter now. With someone worth going home to, the fun of being at a club has died. But it’s still necessary for us to come in, run the business and all that, though sometimes I wish they weren’t.
I’ve never much cared for women from the club, not unless it was someone Alex and I shared, but even that was rare. Women tend to throw themselves at us here, and that’s not what I want in a woman. I don’t crave the attention the way my son does, or did, I suppose.
He only craves one woman's attention now; we all do.
Thinking of Kat is dangerous, especially here in the office alone. If it weren’t almost time to go, I might take a moment to handle myself. I knew better than to peek at her, but I couldn’t help myself.
Now I get to deal with my punishment, at least until tonight.
Alex walks through the door a moment later, and I’m glad I decided against doing anything more, knowing she’s downstairs waiting for us.
“I’m not sure I’ve ever seen you so ready to go. Usually, I have to all but drag you out of the office.” He sounds smug as hell, but he’s not wrong.
I’ve been known to overwork, but now it’s different.
Our business is thriving, and now our family is as well. The urge to expand our family and experience life together is all the deterrent I need to keep me from overworking.
“Well, looking at your ugly ass wasn’t exactly appealing. Now I have someone worth looking at.” I shoot back as I slide my jacket back on, buttoning it up as I go.
Alex barks a laugh, and I hear him follow behind me as we head down the stairs. I’m happy to find Oliver already waiting for us, which means we can leave without delay.
“My ass is plenty good-looking. You just can’t appreciate my looks the way the ladies do,” Alex says; never one to let things go, he enjoys the back and forth.
“I’ll appreciate your good looks for you.” A random woman, drunk by the looks of it, comes out of nowhere and attempts to throw herself at Alex, literally.
He side-steps, and she would have fallen if not for Oliver, who grabs her arm and holds her still for a moment until she seems stable.
It’s more than she deserved, but Oliver has always been the best of us, even after everything Natasha did to him.
“You should have let her eat shit. Maybe that would teach her to keep her hands to herself.” Alex wipes a hand down his shirt as if she somehow made it dirty.
That’s not possible because she didn’t even get to touch him, but he’s always been a bit dramatic.
“I’ll be shocked if she even remembers this night, let alone seeing you,” Oliver says, and I hear his eye roll even if I don’t see it.
He’s probably right, though; she did look fairly wasted.
I might feel worse about leaving her alone in the hall like that if we weren’t on our way to Kat. Besides, the security at the club is good; it’s not as if anything will happen to her.
“There’s a young woman who might be a little past her limit down the hall. Ensure she finds her friends or a cab,” I tell Mitch as we exit.
