He shrugged. “I don’t want to burden her with babysitting. She already raised Tucker and me. It’s time for her to enjoy her life.”
I smiled, finding that sweet.
“And I don’t think she could handle watching him that much. She’s nice and nurturing, but she’s not as patient as she used to be. Honestly, you’re better with him than I am sometimes.”
“Now, that’s just not true. You’re the best parent I’ve ever seen.”
He shook his head. “I try to be better every day, but I always fuck up.”
My eyes softened. “You only fuck up because you’re shooting for perfection…and you’ll never be perfect.”
He stared at the table for a while, his eyes fatigued after the long day at the office. He didn’t always work insane hours like this, but it did come up at least once a week.
It made me appreciate Valerie, because she was always able to take Derek. She rarely needed to drop him off so she could have her alone time. She didn’t have a job or any other responsibilities, but that made her an ideal parent. Giving Deacon the cold shoulder inadvertently proved how much work she did with Derek, even though that probably wasn’t her intention.
He turned to me. “Are we okay?”
It was our first domestic fight, and we handled it pretty well. Deacon was much better at understanding other people, self-monitoring his actions, and trying to see the perspective of the person on the other side of the argument. “We’re always okay, Deacon.”
His hand moved to mine on the table, and he interlocked our fingers. “I hope that I didn’t jeopardize anything important at your job.”
Yeah, a few things. “No.”
“Have you talked to Kline about your raise?”
I shook my head. “After this…I’m not sure if I should.”
“You really think he’d find out about it?”
Matt and Anna would never rat me out. It was the first time I’d blown off work for an illegitimate reason in…forever. My clients would forgive me too since it was so unlike me. “I just feel guilty asking for more money when I shirked my responsibilities to take care of my boyfriend’s son.”
“I’m still a client, right? Maybe you can see it as prioritizing one task over another.”
“Maybe. But I could have sent a nanny.”
“I don’t want someone I’ve never met looking after my child. That’s reasonable.”
“Yeah…”
“Ask him. Even if he knew everything, you still deserve that raise.”
I pulled my hand away from his and sighed. “Ugh, I’m so nervous. What if he fires me instead?”
“Not going to happen.”
“But it might piss him off, make him think I’m blackmailing him…”
“Baby, that’s not what blackmail means.”
“Whatever,” I said quickly. “I just got my job back, and everything is going well. I’m afraid to jeopardize it.”
“I understand. But he should have given you raises a long time ago—and he knows it. He’s a cheapskate.”
“I don’t know about that…”
“I do,” he said. “Talk to him.”
“I…I’ll think about it.”
Deacon finally let it go. “I’m gonna shower and get to bed. I’m exhausted.”
“Yeah, me too.”
“Maybe when I get out of the shower…you’ll be wearing something?”
The smile that spread over my lips was uncontrollable. The blush that followed made me flush with heat. “I thought you said you were tired…”
He got to his feet then moved his hand to my neck, forcing me to tilt my chin up so he could stare into my face. Then he leaned down and kissed me, a seductive kiss with tongue right off the bat. “I’m never too tired for that.”
At lunchtime, I walked into the skyscraper, took the elevator to the right floor, and then checked in with the receptionist at the front. “Hi…” My confidence was gone because I felt so sick to my stomach. The nerves were so strong, I almost chickened out and bailed on the idea.
She stared at me, her eyebrow raised. “Do you have an appointment or…?”
“Actually, I’m a personal friend of David’s. Was wondering if I could talk to him for a sec?”
“Umm.” She turned behind her and looked at the offices in the building. “I think he’s about to go to lunch right now.”
At that very moment, he stepped out of his office and locked the door behind him. In a black suit with a fancy watch on his wrist, he’d definitely moved up in life since the last time we saw each other.
And he wore a wedding band.
I thought that would hurt—but it didn’t.
He looked at his phone while he walked to the main desk and slid it into his pocket as he greeted the receptionist. “Joan, I’m going to lunch—” The words died in his throat when he saw me, so shocked that he was quiet for at least five seconds. “Cleo…what are you doing here?” He was visibly uncomfortable by my presence, like he assumed my intentions were questionable.
“I’m sorry to catch you off guard like this, David.” My voice was shaky and all over the place. “I-I just wanted to talk to you…if you have some time.”