Alpha CEO

“I don’t need to hear your bedtime story. She either agrees, or I’ll take her to court for sole custody.”

“Julian! Do you hear yourself? What the fuck? You can’t do this to her!”

“I’m doing it for her. Big difference, kid.”

“I’m trying to keep my calm, alright? Do you know how hard that is for me right now? Please.” I paused to let my words sink in. “Just think about it for a second. She doesn’t know you, and I know deep down you understand how hard it will be to uproot her from everything she’s known for the last nine years. I promise I won’t keep her from you. I want her to get to know you, but we can’t do it the way you want.”

“You’ve left me no choice.”

“We don’t even live in the same states. How is joint custody going to work?”

“I have three private planes, Autumn. Pick one.”

“So you’re just going to completely turn her life upside down? What about school? And her friends?”

“I can get her a private teacher, and she’s a kid—she will make friends in no time.”

“Do you hear how insane you sound? You! The man who grew up from foster home to foster home. Why would you want her to go through that?”

“She’s not being tossed away like I was. I’m her father, and I have just as many rights to her as you do, sweetheart.”

“You’re being unfair.”

“I don’t give a shit what you think I’m being. I stand by my demands. If you don’t like it, I’ll see you in court.”

I wanted to bash his face in. “I’ve raised her for the last nine years, and no judge in their right mind would give you sole custody of a child who doesn’t even know you.”

“It’s a risk I’m willing to take, but as you know, I never lose, kid.”

“What is that?” I jerked back. “Is that a threat? You have judges in your back pocket, Julian?”

“What you’re doing is called entrapment, Autumn. And I’m not stupid enough to fall for your desperate antics.”

“I’m not trying to trap you. I’m just trying to make you see reason.”

“What do you suggest we do?” He leaned back against his leather chair. “What’s reasonable for you?”

I sighed in relief, feeling like I was starting to get somewhere with him. “I don’t think joint custody is the right answer, and I’m not saying it’s not something we can’t discuss later, but for right now, it’s too much for her. She needs to get to know you first.”

“And what exactly does she know? Have you told her anything about me?”

“For the last year or so,” I reluctantly gave in, but he’d left me no choice. “She’s been asking who her father is.”

“And?”

“And since she’s so incredibly stubborn like you, I had to tell her, but I didn’t give her your name. The last thing I wanted was for her to Google you and find out that you’re Alpha CEO.”

He narrowed his eyes at me, unaware of what I meant by that.

“You’re an asshole. That’s no surprise to you. The last thing I wanted was for her to find out the man you’ve become.” I took a deep breath, already dreading the fact that I was going to admit this. “To say I was shocked when Claire called me to help you would be an understatement. It was like fate or something. I guess, I mean … I know. It’s one of the reasons I agreed to take you on as a client. I thought … I hoped … I could change you back. Okay? I wanted to help you become the man I used to know, not for me, but for Capri.”

“You named her Capri?”

“Yeah. I wanted her to have a part of you, and you always liked the name. I know it’s silly, but it was something I could use without my family getting suspicious of who her father was. I couldn’t give her your last name, Julian, so I worked with what I had.”

“After knowing I was raised without a father, how could you do that to me? How could you betray me like this?”

“What was I supposed to do? You left me.”

“I would have taken the first flight back if you’d told me, Autumn.”

“And then what? Huh? What would have happened next?”

“It’s really quite simple, kid.”

Never did I expect him to declare, “I would have asked you to marry me, and we could have been a family.”

—Julian—

“You don’t mean that.”

“I never say anything I don’t mean.”

“Other than when you’re lying to me.”

“If you’re going to bring up our past every time you don’t get your way, we’re in for a rough road ahead.”

“We’re in one nonetheless.” She abruptly stood. “You can’t say shit like you would have asked me to marry you!”

“Whether you want to hear it or not, it’s the truth.”