Asking For A Friend

by Parker, Ali

  She shrugged. “I’m saying it’s a possibility. Buildings ruin people. There’s a reason why not everyone does it. He could be worried about losing everything and not being able to provide for you if he does.”

  I hadn’t thought about it that way, but as she said it, I thought she was right. It did things to my heart to know he was considering us in his decision, but I didn’t want him making this decision based purely on us.

  It wasn’t fair to him. He worked hard on that design and he deserved the credit for it. I was still thinking about it later when I was tucking Annie into bed. She lay on her side, her blonde hair shining purple from her night light. “I’m so excited to see Layton tomorrow night. I can’t wait.”

  I leaned over and kissed her forehead. “Me too, baby. We’re going to have so much fun and you’re going to look like a princess.”

  She nodded, then paused before she added, “I want him to be in our lives forever, Mommy.”

  Her words touched a tender place in my heart where the truth resided. The real whole truth of what I wanted once everything was said and done and all the bullshit had been scraped off. “Me too, baby. Me too.”

  Chapter 69

  Layton

  One of the things I loved most about my apartment was the view. It was in one of Boston’s old corner buildings and had a hundred and eighty degree view of the city below.

  I sat in my kitchen with a glass of water in front of me, my tie hanging loosely around my neck. I was already dressed for the office party later, but I wasn’t in much of a party mood.

  If my girls weren’t coming with me and Marissa hadn’t mentioned earlier how excited Annie was about the party, I would have gone to do the opening and then come straight back home.

  A night on my couch sounded like a much better idea than a night out. Especially because it was a night out during which I had to make a decision I really didn’t want to have to make.

  I didn’t feel like there really was a right decision to make in my situation. Every time I thought I knew what I was going to do, I realized I didn’t actually want to do whatever it was I’d decided on.

  It was annoying the shit out of me. I usually made up my mind fast on things, I wasn’t a seesawing kind of guy. But it seemed I was now, about this decision, anyway.

  Taking a sip of water, I watched a helicopter flying in the distance and thought about my dad, wondering if it was one he had designed. Suddenly, I found myself wondering what he would have done if he was faced with the same decision I was.

  I shook my head at myself. There were no two ways about it, Dad would’ve told Banks to go fuck himself and built the damn building himself.

  As if thinking about my dad had summoned him, there was a knock on my door and Clayton Reeve was standing on the other side of it. There was another flash drive in his outstretched palm. “This is the last of the videos, Layton.”

  “What?” I frowned. There were still so many questions I needed answers to. If this was Dad’s last video, were some of those questions going to go unanswered? I hoped not. It would drive me mad for the rest of my days if I never got some of those answers from him.

  Clayton nodded solemnly, regret in his eyes. “Unfortunately, there are no more videos. This is the last of the drives I have in my possession.”

  I took the drive from him, closing my hand in a protective fist around it. “Thank you, Clayton. I appreciate you bringing this to me.”

  The lawyer’s eyebrows rose in surprise, his head jerking into a puzzled tilt. “It’s no problem, Layton. It was my pleasure to perform this last act on your father’s behalf.”

  I stuck out my hand, shaking Clayton’s one last time. “I appreciate it and I’m sure he would have, too.”

  “Goodbye, Layton. I hope you get whatever it is you want from this last video.”

  “So do I,” I told him honestly. “Bye Clayton. Thanks again.”

  He nodded, gave me a friendly wave and walked to the elevator. After I closed my door, I walked to my office to watch the video. I had time before I had to leave for the party and I was hoping that somehow, I was going to get an answer for my current predicament from my dad in it.

  My hand trembled when I inserted the drive. It was almost like I was having to say goodbye to my dad all over again. He wasn’t the greatest father in the world, but he was still my dad.

  The first time I said goodbye to him, I didn’t know I would ever receive these videos from him. This goodbye, however, I knew was definitely going to be the final one.

  If Clayton had no more videos, there was no more coming. The thought was comforting and devastating at the same time. I was finally going to be able to really start moving on with my life, but I was also never going to hear from my dad again.

  In my hand was his last hurrah. When his face filled the screen, I paused the video and lifted up my hand. I knew touching the screen wasn’t like touching him, but this was going to be the last time I would see him start anything. Touching his cheek felt like the right thing to do.

  Emotion clogged my throat as I hit play, checking the time and setting an alarm on my phone so I wasn’t late picking up the girls. I didn’t want Annie to remember that day I hadn’t shown up by thinking I wasn’t coming just because I was late.

  Once I was satisfied that I was sufficiently covered in case I became absorbed again by whatever my dad was about to say, I took a deep breath and hit play.

  “Layton, this is my last video.” My dad confirmed what Clayton had already told me. My heart sank when I heard him say the words, even though I’d been prepared for them.

  Squaring my shoulders, I told myself to toughen the fuck up. The silver lining with this being his last video was that he hadn’t passed away before he could complete the series. It meant that he would finish whatever it was he set out to do with the videos in the first place.

  I looked into his emerald eyes, my eyes, and for the last time waited to hear what he had to say to me. It was a bittersweet moment that made my heart ache. I wished Marissa was here for this, but I also didn’t want to wait before watching it.

  “I started telling you more about Mom in the last video and I think it’s important that I tell you more about her now,” he started, crushing sadness clouding his eyes. “Your mother was the greatest woman I have ever known.”

  He could have fooled me about his opinion while she was still alive, but then again I was so young that my memories might well be warped. I leaned forward, having to admit to myself that I was eager to hear more about my mom.

  I didn’t allow myself to think about her too often, but when I did there was this gaping hole in my chest. Maybe I could fill at least a part of that hole with information I hadn’t known about her before.

  “She was a true partner to me. She supported me in everything I did, and I’m ashamed to say, I took her advice for granted.” I could see the admission weighed heavily on him. “I should have listened to her more often.”

  He pinched the bridge of his nose, taking a deep breath before he continued. “I think you would have been too young to remember this, but I owned a couple of race horses once. Your mom always liked horses and I thought it would give us something we could do together as a family, to go out to the track.”

  I grunted. Only my father would think you had to buy race horses before you could take your kids to the track. I also wasn’t sure how old I was at the time, because I really couldn’t remember ever having horses, but I had to question whether taking such a young child to the track was a good idea anyway.

  My dad carried on with a fond smile. “Your mom and I went to look at a yearling once. He was the most beautiful thoroughbred with a great pedigree. He had a shining chestnut coat and these big black eyes. I fell in love with him immediately, telling your mom I was going to buy him.”

  “She wasn’t an equine expert at all, but she narrowed her eyes at me and said, ‘Jeremy, you’re not buying that horse. I have a bad feeling about him.’ I couldn’t believe it.�
�� My dad chuckled, shaking his head at something in his memory. “As you can probably guess, I didn’t listen to her. I made an offer, and he was brought to our stable the very next day.”

  I found myself shaking my head at my dad, wondering what happened to the horse. He answered my question with his very next sentence. “I paid a fortune for that pony and we ended up having him for around thirty-six hours before he died. Colic.”

  My eyes widened and I sat forward, eager to know what had happened. “Your mom gave me a look when I told her and then calmly told me that I should have listened to her. She was right. I should have.”

  He sighed, taking off his glasses to rub his eyes. “The truth is Layton, I’m not a self-made man at all. Your mom made me who I am. I would never have been where I am if it wasn’t for her. I wouldn’t have been anywhere if it wasn’t for that wife of mine.”

  Tears formed in his eyes. I blinked. I didn’t remember ever seeing tears in his eyes before. “But then I stopped listening to her. I don’t know what happened or why I stopped seeking her counsel and talking things through with her, but I did. Some of the worst decisions I ever made were made without getting her input before I made them. It was a mistake that ended up costing me my marriage, even if we never got divorced. I think we would have, if she hadn’t passed away just when things were getting really bad between us.”

  “Don’t make my mistakes, Layton.” He said seriously. “Never make my mistakes. I hope you end up marrying Marissa, but it doesn’t matter who she is, treasure your wife. Show her you value her by asking for and valuing her opinion. Make her your true partner, like your mom once was to me, and always keep her close by.”

  His voice was thick with emotion. After clearing his throat, he went on. “I know your business means the world to you, and that’s why I started these videos with advice about your career. There have always been a few things I always wanted to say to you, but whenever we started talking about it in person, we ended up on the outs. But I wanted you to hear those things from me.”

  My breath caught in my lungs. It was true, Dad and I always ended up arguing when he tried to talk to me about business. I always thought it was because he looked down at me and didn’t trust me to run my own company, but that wasn’t what it sounded like now.

  “I made Marissa a condition in my will because you needed someone like her in your life one way or another. I don’t know if you’ll be attached to someone when I pass, but if you’re not or if it’s not serious, stop and take a good look at her, son. She’s one of the good ones. She’s the kind of woman who can be your true partner, just like your mom was to me. You already know that Marissa reminds me of Mom.”

  I heard a knock on his office door and then Marissa’s voice asking him if he was ready for their budget meeting in five minutes or if he needed her to come prep for it with him. “I’ll be fine, Mars. Thanks. I’ll be there on time.”

  Mars? He had a nickname for her? The look in his eyes when he turned back to the camera was exactly the look I imagined he would give his own daughter.

  “I need to sign off now. I’m proud of you, son. I always have been and I always will be.” He gave a last smile and then the screen went black.

  At the same time, my alarm went off to alert me it was time to go get the girls. I felt like was in a daze, but I snapped out of it when I got to Marissa’s house. They all looked gorgeous, Marissa, Annie and Denise.

  Annie looped her arms around my neck and gave me a big hug. “Thanks for inviting me, I can’t wait for your party.”

  “Thanks for saying you’d come, sweet pea. It means the world to me.” If only she knew how true that was.

  Marissa gave me a strange look. She knew something was up with me, but didn’t ask in front of the others. She and Denise followed me to the car and got in, getting Annie strapped in before I backed out. The girls chatted on the way to the office, but I was quiet. I was still trying to process everything my father had said to me.

  When we got to the party, I was about to ask if I could bring anyone anything to drink when the crowd parted. A familiar figure was making his way toward me with a manila envelope in his hand. My brain finally crashed totally out of its haze and back to reality.

  What the fuck was Brice doing here?

  Chapter 70

  Marissa

  My worst nightmare was coming true. It was like watching every bad dream I’d ever had coming true, seeing Brice walking toward us when Annie was standing right beside me. She’d never seen him, so she wouldn’t know he was her father.

  But would he tell her? Why was he here? Was he going to try to take her from me? My eyes fell to the envelope he was carrying and ice cold terror stabbed me in the heart. That was the kind of envelope that lawyers carried legal documents around in.

  What if he’d already done something to get custody of her? A sob ripped out of my chest. Layton’s hand was on mine instantly and he stepped to the side to shield me from Brice.

  Denise saw Layton and I staring at Brice. Since I felt the blood draining from my face, I was assuming she also saw how pale I was and the expression of pure rage Layton was wearing. Without having been asked to do it, she put her hand on Annie’s arm. “Come with me, sweetie. I think your mom and Layton need to get some work done.”

  “Okay,” Annie agreed cheerfully. “We’ll see you guys soon.”

  “Sure baby,” I murmured. Layton managed to point out the bar before Brice was standing right in front of us. My heart felt like there was a vice grip around it. Tears stung the backs of my eyes and for once, I was totally speechless.

  Brice looked exactly the same as he had the last time I saw him, the day he left me. Thick blond hair, cut short but longer on top. Muscular build. A sneer on his lips. He wasn’t a bad looking guy, but he revolted me nowadays.

  The disgust on his face when he eyed me and saw Annie walking away matched what I was feeling. I had half a mind to slap him across his sculpted jaw for looking at her like that, but I took a deep breath. I was at my workplace, I couldn’t cause a scene. Otherwise, everyone would want to know who he was and it would be too humiliating to tell them all the truth.

  Besides, the man standing half beside me, half in front of me was the only man who mattered to me. I couldn’t let Brice get to me. I wouldn’t. He was nothing and Layton was everything. I also knew that regardless of what he thought he had in that envelope about Annie, Layton wouldn’t let it happen. He would protect us.

  Safe in that knowledge, I crossed my arms and lifted a brow in challenge. “Brice.”

  Layton beat me to it. “What the fuck are you doing here?”

  My thoughts exactly.

  Brice rolled his eyes, then smiled smugly. He ignored me, looking at Layton instead. “I’m the lawyer Banks told you he was sending.”

  “He’s your big client?” Layton scoffed, looking as though a lot of pieces were suddenly clicking into place for him. “It’s not a surprise to be honest. You two deserve each other.”

  “Yeah, well. Whatever,” Brice shrugged. “I have the NDA with me. He expects you to sign it.”

  “Of course he does,” Layton spat. I looked between the two of them, the consequences of the conversation they were having finally sinking in.

  “I have to talk to you,” I told Layton urgently. “Now.”

  He looked at me and nodded immediately. “Stay put, asshole. We’ll be back.”

  Layton took my hand, leading me a safe distance away from Brice. I was surprised that he was making a move so boldly and so openly in the office, but I didn’t have time to ask about that now. I knew he was doing it to show Brice we were together and that he was proud of it.

  He wasn’t ashamed of me or hiding me from the people who worked for him. When we stopped, he put his hands on my shoulders. “I’m so sorry. I had no idea he was the lawyer, or I would never have let you or Annie set foot at this party.”

  “It’s okay,” I told him, my voice strained. “Look, don’t sign that NDA. Don�
��t do this, please. Walk away. I don’t have much money, but I’ll give you everything I have for that building if that’s what it takes for me to prove how much I believe you should keep your name on the project.”

  He opened his mouth, but my words were tumbling out now. “Brice asked me to marry him when he found out I was pregnant. I know how it sounds and I knew it then, too. I thought marrying him would be what was best for Annie though, and I’ve always wanted only the best for her.”

  Layton had stilled completely, shock registering on his face to learn that Brice and I had been engaged. “I thought I loved him. I wanted to marry him. On the day of the wedding, he told me I was a whore. He said he didn’t even believe Annie was his. He also told me he never wanted to marry me and I could get fucked if I thought I was going to trap him like this.”

  “He left you at the altar?” Layton concluded quietly. I nodded, blinking back tears at the memory. They were no longer tears of pain, though. They were tears of red hot humiliation.

  “In front of my family and friends, standing there by myself in this pretty white dress I made myself,” I finished the story, lowering my voice. “Annie is his, Layton. I’m not a whore and I never have been. He was only saying it to get out of having to take responsibility for her. He was the only person I’d ever slept with back then.”

  Searing pain flashed in Layton’s eyes. For a second, I thought telling him the story had hurt him, but then I realized he was feeling my pain. “I believe you, Marissa. Of course I believe you.”

  “You have no idea how much it means to me to hear that,” I confessed. The only other person I’d ever told this whole story to was Denise.

  It was too humiliating. The way people looked at me after he left me at the altar—rumors spread about me, about how I spread my legs for anyone and didn’t even know who Annie’s father was.