Brandy’s eyes went wide. “You’re not going in there, are you?”
“I have no reason to hide.”
Brandy moved out of his way and went to sit back at her desk as he walked past all the cubicles that separated his office from Beecham’s much larger one.
The door was open as Kirk stood facing Beecham’s desk. “And how is our little project going? Is he feeling the pain and his career slipping away?”
Cody tempered his initial wave of anger and dealt with Kirk like he did all hostile witnesses. With composed professionalism. “I’m actually enjoying having more time to spend at home with Brooke.” Cody leaned against the doorframe, enjoying Beecham’s stuttered, surprised gasp and Kirk’s embarrassed blush at getting caught, though the flush quickly turned to one of fury.
“You have some nerve sneaking up on us like that.”
“No sneaking required. The door was open. I saw you standing here and thought I’d say hello to a colleague, since we both work on the board for the children’s hospital.”
“After what you did to my daughter, you won’t be working anywhere in this town ever again when I’m done with you.”
Cody knew Kirk meant the threat. It simply didn’t bother him. He knew his own worth. “You and I both know the board is never going to fire me. They have no cause to, because I’m the best thing that ever happened to that hospital. Up until recently, you enjoyed taking credit for bringing me on. As for this vendetta you’re using Beecham to carry out for you…well, he knows as well as I do that he’s indulging you for now.”
Kirk took a quick glance at Beecham’s pale and regretful face.
Cody explained why Beecham looked that way. “At the end of the month, when the managing partner sees that my billable hours are down becausehe’snot assigning new cases to me, he’s going to ask why. With no apparent reason for not keeping me working as I have in the past, Beecham is going to get the order to load me up again, so this firm earns the money they know I bring in. This will look bad on Beecham, but he doesn’t care because it gets you off his back about whatever he owed you for, and his father won’t do anything about it because he wants his son up on the top floor with him, named as the next partner. Minor infractions like this don’t trump family. Beecham will be fine. So will I.”
Kirk’s neck and face flamed red with rage. “You broke her heart and you just get away with it. No. I don’t think so. Not after you fucked your stepsister and knocked her up while you were seeing Kristi.”
Cody shook his head. “I’m not surprised she lied to you about what happened. Not after the treachery she pulled on me to get me to marry her.”
Beecham sat up, intrigued by that bit of news.
Kirk seemed to take that in and hesitate. “You just want to blame her and not take responsibility for what you did.”
“I did take responsibility. She counted on me doing that. And her deceit cost me six months of not knowing I was going to be a father and being with Brooke when she needed me, all the while I was trying to makeyourdaughter happy.”
“Kristi is better off without you.” Kirk’s rage had turned to a simmer now that he knew Kristi wasn’t so innocent in their breakup, even if he didn’t know exactly what Kristi had done.
“I’m glad it’s over. Now we can both move on. But don’t for a second believe the breakup was all my fault. She was selfish and deceitful with me and cruel to Brooke, causing her great pain. I won’t forgive her for that.”
Confusion filled Kirk’s eyes. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Ask your daughter, though I doubt she’ll confess. I have nothing more to say about it. If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to take advantage of my lack of work and go home.” Cody looked past Kirk to Beecham. “Unless you need me to stay.”
Embarrassed and resigned, Beecham shook his head. “Um. No. Enjoy the rest of your day. I’ll have something for you tomorrow.”
“Can’t wait.” Cody left the two men and walked away like nothing was bothering him and he didn’t care that several people in the office had overheard that conversation.
Let them talk.
Maybe now Kirk would shut up and stop trying to retaliate against him.
Cody understood it came from a place of love for his daughter.
He didn’t want to disparage Kristi in Kirk’s eyes. That’s why he’d left off the details about a broken condom, Kristi stopping her birth control and not telling him, so she could use a pregnancy to trap him into marriage. Or that she’d been pregnant and lost the baby, also without telling Cody right away. She wasn’t innocent.
Neither was he.
Kirk had taken things too far.
If it stopped here, Cody would let it go.
If Kirk took things further, well, then Cody would have to do something about that, too.
