I scoffed.
“He was just trying to help.”
“Or overstep…”
“Fine,” she said sharply. “If you won’t listen to him, then listen to me. You better do the right thing here, Chandler. That baby needs a father, and whether you think you’re fit for the job or not, you need to be there. You need to try. Iknowyou can beamazing if you just believed in yourself. If you just realized you arenotyour father.”
I had been ready to be a father. I had been ready to step up to the plate and prove to myself that I could do it because I loved Gabriella. I loved our baby. I fell in love with it the moment I saw its abstract shape on the ultrasound. That was what made this hurt the most. I was ready to put my shit behind me and create a real future for myself, but I never got the chance.
I wished I could explain that to my mother to ease her worried heart, but things were too complicated right now.
“Mom, I appreciate the pep talk, but I really do have to go,” I said, pulling out a twenty-dollar bill from my wallet and handing it to the parking attendant. I slid into the front seat of my car and drove up the ramp to the early afternoon light and city traffic.
“Fine, fine,” she said defeatedly. “I just wanted you to know that you’re a better man than he was.”
“Because I had you,” I said softly. “I love you, Mom.”
“I love you, too.”
I heard the click of the phone and tossed mine on the seat beside me. My mother had faith in me. Hell, even Greg did. Maybe I wasn’t ready to give up just yet. I hit the gas and weaved through traffic, on a mission to get to the woman I loved and to help the man she adored.
The office was still a ghost town when I arrived. I hoped Mr. Harold was here, and Gabriella, too. I walked among the empty file boxes and open-drawered desks, looking for any signs of life. It felt so eerie, I almost wished the SEC agents were here. I stopped outside my old office and heard voices from inside. I knocked loudly on the door, the voices halting at the interruption.
“Come in,” Mr. Harold’s voice drifted through the door.
I took a deep breath and opened the door. He hung up the phone as I did, and I tried to swallow down the disappointment that Gabriella wasn’t in the room with him.
“Back again?” he asked, but there was no bite in his voice. It was as if he was too worn down to keep up with his resentment toward me.
“Yes, sir.” I nodded.
“Hmm.”
“I want to help. Ineedto help. Even though it wasn’t my intention, I feel like I brought this mess upon you and I want to help fix it. Gabriella can be mad all she wants, but I’m not going to stop fighting for you and your family’s business.”
Mr. Harold sat back in his chair and studied me for a moment. Silence filled the room. I shifted my feet slightly, wondering what he was thinking. Hoping he would let me do this.
“You’re a decent man, Mr. White,” he said finally.
“Not always, sir. But I’m trying to be.”
Thinking, he pursed his lips to the side before drumming his fingers on the desktop. He stood up and walked toward me.
“Let’s go then,” he said, opening the door behind me.
I breathed a sigh of relief and followed after him. He only took a few steps and opened the door to Gabriella’s office where she sat behind her desk, her brow furrowed in concentration. My heart felt like it stopped just at the sight of her. I couldn’t help the longing that stirred in my stomach.
“What is it, Dad?” she asked, not looking up from her computer. Her hair was pulled back in a messy bun, a pencil holding it in place.
I cleared my throat and as if recognizing the sound, her eyes shot up and landed on me.
“What ishedoing here?” she asked, turning to her father, who stood next to me with his arms crossed. It was almost as if he was enjoying the show.
“He’s come to help us.”
“Like hell he has. He’s thereasonfor this,” she said irately.
“What are you talking about?” asked Mr. Harold with a shake of his head.
