Everyone in our family would know about us before noon. The siblings would pester us non-stop. I wouldn’t doubt that Daisy and Nori would call from their honeymoon to be in on all the action. Kiyah would come work at the firm, and I was 1000% certain Mom and Dad would want to arrange a reception for us.
Okay… maybe not that last part… at least not so soon. Come celebrate my children’s seven-year secret marriage to each other. Yeah, I don’t see that shit happening.
“Grant, what am I supposed to do about clothes?”
“I brought you a change of clothes.”
“That proves that you ripped my dress on purpose. That was a nice dress, Grant, and I could’ve worn it again for a special occasion. You should be more mindful of my clothes. I know you’re wealthy, but that doesn’t mean you have to be wasteful.”
She does the nagging wife thing so well.
“My bad, Nepo baby.”
“Nepo baby?” she screeched. She poked her head out of the bathroom and glared at me. “Iknowyou’re not calling anyone a Nepo baby. Dad practically handed you the keys to the castle as soon as you crossed the stage!”
“There’s no need to be jealous, dear.”
She snorted. “Jealous? Of you? You can’t compete where you can’t compare,” she sang.
I raised a brow. “You think you’re a better lawyer than me?”
She grinned widely. “Give me five years, and I’ll show you.”
I chuckled as she sauntered off. I peeked at the alarm clock once more and cursed at the time.
7:27.
7:59
We collapsed in the armchairs in front of Dad’s desk and gave each other a congratulatory high-five for making it by the skin of our teeth. Dad breezed into the room with a cup of coffee and sat in his office chair. I smirked at his haggard appearance.
“Rough night?”
“You have no fucking idea. Let me give you two a piece of advice; it is okay to act your age,” he said, reaching into his desk drawer to retrieve a bottle of antacids. He tapped three tablets into his hand before continuing with his sage advice. “Also, never accept drugs from your children. I accepted an aspirin from Kieran and could smell colors for the rest of the evening. Warn your brother that I owe him an ass-whooping.”
Dad swallowed down his relief medication with his coffee and grimaced.
“Dad, I think you’re a little too up there in age to be trying to fight someone—especially Kieran. He kicked my ass,” I admitted.
He hummed in disappointment. “That had to be embarrassing.”
“How’s Mom? Is she joining us soon, or did she get smashed last night, too?” Kiyah asked.
“She’s a little worse for wear, but she’ll join us shortly. Shall we handle business first?”
Kiyah shifted in her seat nervously.
“I swear to God, Kiyah, I better not owe Dad more than a million.”
My head swiveled back to Dad when he barked out a laugh. “A million… that’s comical.” He tapped at his keyboard, and my heart sank as page after page was spit out of the printer onto the tray. “Kiyah, my darling daughter, would you be a dear and retrieve the documents for your old man?” Dad asked with a saccharine grin that could rival the devil.
“S-sure.”
She cleared her throat several times and scratched the back of her neck as she gathered the pages.
“Thank you, my darling daughter,” Dad said, accepting the sheets.
“I-I think I should check on Mom.”
