“Yes? I’m taking a personal day,” I said, before he could lay some new disaster on me.
“I have someone here who urgently requests to speak with you.” That was hisI found you charging personal expenses to the city account and you better fucking fix it nowtone, definitely not to be messed with.
I growled. “Is it a ratfink-looking fuck by the name of Kalinski who knows Jaxson?”
“Yes. He certainly claims to know our Jaxson.” There was a dry humor in JP’s tone that made me want to give him a raise.
“He must not have realized we left city hall. Hand that miserable little cretin the phone.”
“Oh, as you command.” Jean-Paul’s snark wasn’t lost on me, but there was the sound of the phone being fumbled to another person.
“Mr. Elwood?” The voice had rage spiking in me because it was the same fucking smug tone I’d heard in the bathroom, threatening Jaxson earlier. “I think we need to talk because—”
“Listen up you chickenshit little fuck.”
There was a gasp from the other end.Good.“What—”
“You didn’t have the balls to come after me, you nutless wonder.”
“I—”
“If you say one fucking word to anyone, it won’t go well for you. Do you know where my money is in this city?”
“No” came a weak reply.
“Real estate. I own, literally, half of downtown. I will find out who you are. I will find some way to fuck over everyone you care about. If there is even half a goddamned whisper of anything between me and Jaxson, I will assume you are to blame and take a chunk out of you one way or another.”
My head felt like it was going to fly off my body with my agitation.
“Yes, sir.” There was the spineless response I expected. He wasn’t a man at all, he was a worm.
“Put JP back on the fucking phone.”
There was the muffled sound of another handoff. “Yes, my liege,” Jean-Paul said.
“Make him my first appointment tomorrow. I’m not coming back in right now. Leave whenever you feel like it today. Cancel my meetings.”
“Yes, sir” came a decidedly more pleasant response, and then he whispered, “Tell Jaxson I hope his dad’s okay,” and I smiled.
“Sure.” He hung up first and I laughed.
The barista was glaring at me because I’d been holding up the line without realizing it, so I ordered, tipped well, and then got the hell out of her way.
After my trip for coffee, I made it my mission in life to take care of the Bells while they waited for word of their paterfamilias. The surgery took most of the morning, and he wasn’t out of recovery until almost six o’clock in the evening. Patrice went back to see him and came out crying because he wasn’t doing as well as the doctor had hoped. Jaxson stayed snuggled up to my side in that hard chair, and it was nearing eight o’clock before I cajoled him into leaving for my apartment.
“Yes, go, sweetie,” Patrice said to him with a tired smile. “I’m going to stay here. They’ll let me sit with your father once he’s in his room.” She gave me a meaningful nod, and it clicked that she was fine with me hustling Jaxson out of here, so I took a deep breath and stood.
“Come on. We’re going.”
He glanced between me and Patrice and sighed, slowly getting to his feet. “Okay. Bye, Mom.”
They shared a hug that had my chest doing that tight, fluttery thing again. I ignored the sensation, and as soon as they were done with their goodbyes, I was more than happy to take him out to my car. I sighed happily as we settled into the leather interior and I started the engine. If something did happen and I was out of city hall, I would miss stupid perks like having a gym to myself on Saturdays, and being able to park wherever I wanted and mostly get away with it. I’d miss Jean-Paul. Ross would still be my friend, so that wasn’t going anywhere. I was surprised I couldn’t think of more things I was worried to lose.
Jaxson turned to study me when I gunned the engine. Would I miss that desk or him more, if I had to choose? The answer was a no-brainer: I’d miss him.
The drive back to my apartment was quick, and again, once we were out of the car, Jaxson was back in my arms. I wasn’t sure if it was getting blackmailed today or having his dad be sick that was getting to him. Either of those problems would have been a doozie all on their own, but together they were a one-two knockout punch. I held him and didn’t even bother deciding what I would do about the little fucker trying to get one over on us. I hadn’t been bluffing earlier, but I wasn’t sure what the little pissant wanted, and his name sounded familiar, so I should probably figure out who his family was before I went poking a hornets’ nest.
The thought of the entire process of dealing with this shit made me tired.
