I laughed heartily and put my arm around him as I leaned closer and gave him my full attention. Martin was going to be pissed when I asked for more money, but I trusted Kayden. I was going to pick whichever option he thought was best, regardless of the cost.
Chapter Nineteen
Olivia
I took a deepbreath as I settled Kaylee in the chair opposite mine at my desk.
This is going to be a disaster and Jace is going to be super pissed.
Mom had picked Kaylee up from school for me today so I’d have time to talk to Kayden, but when she got back to her house Carl had felt dizzy and fainted. Mom had called me twenty minutes ago to apologize for dropping Kaylee off at the office, but she needed to take Carl to the emergency room. This wasn’t Carl’s first health episode. About a month ago, he’d gone to the doctors with shortness of breath but the incident hadn’t reoccurred and they’d told him he was fine after a few minor tests. Mom was worried about him because his father had died of a heart attack in his sixties and when she explained the situation to me, I hadn’t even hesitated to agree to her request to drop Kaylee off.
But a few minutes later, standing in the lobby of Acker Real Estate, waiting for Kaylee, I realized talking to Kayden was going to be a lot harder than originally planned.
It’ll be fine. Jace will watch her while I talk to Kayden. I need to do this before I lose my nerve.
This is not going to be fine.
Should I hide her? Maybe he just won’t notice her. Lots of people ignore kids, right?
Yeah, that would bode well for his future as her father.
Jace’s office door opened ten minutes late. Kayden stepped out first, grinning, and for a moment, I was struck by how gorgeous he was. He was sexy in such an underrated way, and I remembered how strong he’d been and the way he’d held me against the wall as he’d slammed into me. I was nearly swept away as I thought about our night together.Not the time, Olivia.
Jace stepped out from behind him, his own good looks further captivating me until I saw his hand graze Kayden’s lower back. Before I could think too much about what I thought I’d seen, Kaylee pulled my attention to her when she jumped out of her chair.
She ran for Jace, yelling his name as he bent down to catch her. She jumped into his arms and he lifted her up, smiling at her. “What are you doing here, Peanut?” Jace’s eyes found mine and the blatant panic I saw on his face was enough to send my pulse racing.
Yep, disaster. We are about to have a disaster on our hands and he knows it too.
Kayden smiled fondly at them and stopped in front of my desk. “Can I see him again in a week please? Ninety minutes would be better than an hour,” he said with a little smirk in Jace’s direction.
Jace looked pale, like the sleepless nights of the last week had drained him to the point that this moment was going to be the end of him. He returned Kayden’s flirty smirk, looked at me with wide eyes again, and then focused on Kaylee who was smiling at him and playing with his tie.
“Your tie is wrinkled,” Kaylee said.
Kayden chuckled as I offered him an afternoon appointment next Tuesday. He checked his calendar on his phone and I looked up at Jace and Kaylee.
“Jace, can you take me to the father-daughter dance at school?” she asked.
My eyes widened in a shocked expression that matched Jace’s as he looked at me and then pointedly at Kayden.
“I’d be honored to take you to a dance, Kaylee,” Jace said.
“That time works,” Kayden said, smiling at them again.
He watched Jace and Kaylee, who were chatting away about the pink dress she wanted to wear, while I added the appointment to Jace’s calendar.
Kaylee wiggled her way out of Jace’s arms and he set her down. She came running back over to me, and my vision tunneled to the fear in Jace’s normally laidback green eyes.
Kaylee climbed into the chair in front of Kayden and looked up at him. “Hi,” she said with a bright smile.
I swallowed a lump in my throat.Please don’t recognize your smile. People don’t know their own smiles that well, right?
Kayden smiled back at her and said hi, but his eyes roamed over her slowly and I could see him processing several data points and piecing them all together.Oh shit. I couldn’t have gotten knocked up by an idiot?There’s no way Mr. Fancy Brain isn’t going to figure this out. Pretty sure it’ll take him less than two seconds to do the mathon this one.
His face quickly snapped to look at Jace before settling on me with a quizzical expression. He looked down at Kaylee and held out his hand for her. “I’m Kayden. What’s your name?”
“Kaylee.” She beamed at him.
