Hypocritically Yours: A Standalone Age-Gap Romance

by Hayley Faiman

  My fingers itch to touch him, to wrap around his forearm and promise him that I do truly care for Landry, but I don’t. Instead, I jerk my chin up slightly, my lips curving into a smile.

  “I truly do care for him. More than I thought I could possibly care for another human that isn’t Holden. If he were penniless, it wouldn’t bother me,” I say with a shrug.

  His eyes widen, then he lets out a bark of laughter. “I would fucking care,” he says. “I think you’re good people, Tenny. Just be careful, yeah?”

  Before I can ask why I should be careful, he turns to Bethie and starts talking to her, clearly finished with me. Leaving them alone, I make my way over to the childcare center. One look at Holden, that’s all I want.

  Rebecca is behind the counter and greets me with a smile. It’s only been a month and I have finally memorized her name. I don’t know why it took me so long, probably because every time I come down here, I’m too anxious about seeing Holden to even think.

  Things are calming down in the anxiety department and I’m glad for it, but that is another reason why I’m nervous as hell for this shift in Landry’s company.

  A part of me wants to look for a new place to work. That way we won’t be mixing any part of our personal and working relationships together. Another part of me aches at the thought of not spending all day long with him.

  Smiling, I look through the window at Holden who is, once again, sharing his lunch with a sweet looking little girl. They’re babbling together and it makes me realize that this was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made in my entire life.

  I haven’t made very many great and wonderful decisions, but this was one of them right here. Moving here, working here, being here. Landry. These are all wonderful decisions to me. They could all bite me in the ass, but they haven’t and I’m hoping that they don’t.

  Leaving Holden, I make my way toward the elevator and sink my teeth into my bottom lip, my thoughts drifting to Landry, as they always seem to do, especially when I’m all alone. When the car doors open, I step out on my office floor and head toward my desk.

  Julie is sitting in her chair, her head lifting up immediately and the look of horror that crosses her face, it’s indescribable. I open my mouth to ask her if she’s okay when the door to Landry’s office opens.

  It’s Susan.

  Her hand is at her mouth and I watch as she wipes the corners of her lips before she smirks at me. Then my gaze travels down to her blouse and I freeze. It’s not only unbuttoned to an extremely indecent level, but the buttons are askew.

  “Afternoon, sugar,” she purrs as she continues to sashay past me.

  I don’t turn around to follow her, instead, I march toward Landry’s office. Julie tries to stop me, calling out my name, but I don’t hear her, I refuse to listen to a word she says. My heart is pounding so hard that I can hear it thrumming in my ears.

  LANDRY

  Fuck.

  “What the fuck?” Tennessee practically roars as she slams my office door.

  I’m sitting in my chair, my head slumped over as I hold my forehead in my palm. What the fuck is right, but I don’t say that to her. Lifting my head, I look across from my desk into her visibly pained eyes. They’re welling with tears and I don’t know why she’s crying, but I want it to stop immediately.

  “Tennessee?” I rasp.

  She leans over slightly and for the first time, I don’t try to peek at her cleavage, instead, I hold her gaze with my own. She’s upset and I want to know why.

  “Don’t Tennessee me,” she sneers. “What was that woman doing here?” she snaps.

  Flicking my gaze to the door, I shift it right back to meet hers. “Susan came here to talk about the divorce. I told her that everything was to be handled through the attorneys.”

  “She needed to talk about the divorce naked?” she asks.

  Blinking, I lift my eyes to meet hers. “What?”

  “I saw her shirt was all messy and she was wiping her lips when she walked out, do not lie to me. I’m young, but I’m not an idiot and I will not be made a fool of,” she states.

  Her Oklahoma accent is thicker than normal and in any other circumstance, my cock would be hard as nails, but not right now, not with how upset she is.

  Standing from my desk, I walk around it and make my way toward her. I can’t stand the distance between us right now. Reaching out, I wrap my hand around her waist and tug her against my chest.

  She reaches up, her palms pressing against my chest as she tilts her head back and looks up at me. We stare at one another for a moment, her eyes filling with unshed tears. She shakes her head a couple of times.

  “I’ve fallen in love with you, Landry. I’ve fallen in love with you, and I really, really, don’t even know you.”

  Shaking my head, I dip my chin, lowering my head so that we’re closer to one another. “Tennessee, don’t,” I practically beg.

  “Tell me nothing happened. I know what I saw, but lie to me.”

  I let out a grunt. “I don’t need to lie to you. Not now, not ever.”

  She tries to push away from me, but I don’t let her. I can’t. Holding her closer, I refuse to let her go. She’s mine and I’m not letting her go anywhere.

  “Let’s go and get Holden. I have something to show both of you that can’t wait,” I announce, quickly changing the subject.

  “What?” she asks, her brows snapping into a frown.

  My lips twitch into a small smile. “Trust me.”

  She doesn’t say anything, but I can tell that she’s teetering on the edge of trust. She thinks that I fucked Susan while she was away at lunch. I don’t blame her, I’m sure Susan put on a show for her, one similar to the one that she attempted to put on for me.

  “Okay,” Tennessee eventually sighs.

  Thankfully, her purse is still hitched on her shoulder so we don’t even have to stop at her desk. Wrapping my hand in hers, I tug her behind me as I quickly make my way toward the elevator.

  I hear Julie call out my name, but I lift my hand, giving her a wave and tell her to reschedule my day, that I won’t be returning to the office.

  It doesn’t take us long to sign Holden out, and both of them are confused as hell as I drive them to my new home. I hadn’t planned on taking them here until tonight. We were going to have dinner, then a tour of the new house, but it can’t wait.

  Parking in the driveway, Tennessee sighs. “I’d forgotten how beautiful it was.”

  I don’t respond to her observation. Unfolding from the car, I walk over to her side and open her door for her, then open the back door to unbuckle Holden. He likes to climb out of the car himself, so I don’t help him past unbuckling his straps.

  I watch as he makes his way directly toward Tennessee and takes her hand with his little one. Walking over to her other side, I press my palm against the small of her back and guide her toward the house.

  “Why are we here?” she asks softly as we climb the front steps.

  “I have something that you need to see.”

  She doesn’t say anything, but I can tell that her mind is spinning, ideas are rolling around inside and she’s trying to figure out just what in the hell I’m doing with her here. She could think about it all day, every day, but she would never guess why.

  Not ever.

  Once we’re inside, I continue to guide them toward my destination. I count the steps one-hundred and twenty-three until we reach the closed door. Reaching out, I wrap my hand around the knob and twist it.

  I only open it enough to reach inside and flip on the light, but not enough that she can see into the room.

  “I want you to open the door,” I state.

  Tennessee turns her head, looking up at me in confusion. I don’t say anything, instead, I dip my chin and release her hand. She takes a hesitant step forward, pressing her palm against the door, she slowly pushes it open.

  I know when she’s seen it.

  Her gasp is loud enough to fill the entire
house. It bounces off of the walls and she spins around toward me at the same time Holden squeals and runs forward.

  “What did you do?” she asks, her voice trembling as a tear falls down her cheek.

  “I planned this after the first time up in the penthouse. When I knew that I wanted more from you. The rest of the house’s décor is up to you, but I did hire an interior decorator for this one room.”

  She doesn’t say anything.

  She just stares at me, and I wonder if she’s going to speak at all.

  She doesn’t say a fucking word.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  TENNESSEE

  A million thoughts race through my head. A million words that I can’t even fathom or attempt to express in this moment. My voice is gone because this man has stolen it with his actions. He’s stolen my voice from me.

  The bedroom looks like it was clipped from a magazine, or pinned from Pinterest. I shake my head once, my gaze shifting from him to look at the room again. It’s all dark hardwood flooring, with light blue-gray painted walls and dark beams that are attached to the ceiling horizontally.

  There is an old-fashioned looking industrial type ceiling fan in the center and that’s just the beginning. There are several large prints of old steam engines on the wall, framed in black simple frames.

  The bed is a wrought iron style full-size bed, with a dark nightstand that matches and a navy-blue comforter with different shade and texture blue throw pillows and shams. Then in the center of the room is a thick, gray rug that matches the wall and a large rectangular wooden train table set up with wooden train tracks already built and ready to be played with.

  That is exactly what Holden is doing too, playing with the tracks.

  There is also a reading corner with a small library of books and a mini tee-pee set up and a large floor pillow so that he can sit and look at books. On the other side of that, there are bins hanging from the wall, they have LEGO blocks in some of them, Matchbox cars in a few of them, and action figures in the others.

  Once I’ve surveyed the room, I turn back to face Landry. This is not the man who had a quick affair in his office with a woman that he doesn’t even particularly like. This is a man who is planning for a future, with me, for us.

  Lifting my hand, I wrap my fingers around the side of his neck before I rise to my toes and I slant my head to the side and place my lips against his. The kiss isn’t particularly hard, but the moment my tongue slides across the seam of his lips, he takes over.

  He doesn’t deepen it too much, fully aware that Holden is just a few feet away, even if he couldn't care less what we’re doing. Slowly, he breaks the kiss, his forehead resting against mine and he lets out a breath.

  “I didn’t sleep with Susan,” he rasps. “I couldn’t, not with anyone but you, honey.”

  “She looked…” I whimper through trembling lips, my first words since walking into this room.

  He grunts. “She tried. She’s desperate. Not because she truly loves me or wants me, but because she thought me allowing her to take over was never going to really happen. She was bluffing and now she’s realizing she should have taken the cash that I had initially offered. She’s too fucking late though.”

  “Landry,” I exhale.

  He grunts. “No, I’m serious. She’s too late.”

  Lifting my head, I look up at him. He’s not just telling me that she was too late for the business, but that she’s too late for everything. I have always been able to tell, every time he speaks of her that she’s just this memory he has. This woman that was part of his life.

  He is tied to her by the children they have together and the marriage that they once had many years ago. That’s not what they have now and my heart starts to slam against my chest.

  “Move in with me. You and Holden. Move in here and stay.”

  “You can’t… you can’t mean that,” I stumble.

  He grins. “I can and I do. You’re it, honey. My kids, you and Holden, you’re all my future and I don’t want to waste a second of it. I’m too goddamn old to do that shit.”

  My lips turn up into a smile and I shake my head once. “Landry,” I breathe.

  “Please.”

  Flicking my eyes up to meet his, my lips part in awe. Please. I don’t think that’s a word I’ve ever heard him utter. Though he’s not rude, he’s never said that word and I can do nothing but stare at him, wondering if this moment is even real.

  Sinking my teeth into my bottom lip, I swallow the knot in my throat. “As long as Laurent, Lawrence, and Lucinda are okay with it. Then, yes.”

  He arches a brow. “Why do they need to be okay with it?”

  Shrugging a shoulder, I look over to Holden, then shift my gaze back to meet his. “I don’t know much about being in this situation. My father left before I could even remember what he looked like and my mother never had any serious boyfriends, so I’ve never been in this situation. But I would like to think that she would want my okay if she were going to move a man and his child into her house.”

  Landry lifts his hand, his palm cups my cheek and his thumb slides beneath my eye as he watches me for a moment. “They may not approve, but you’re still moving in,” he snaps.

  My lips twitch into a smile. “Let’s try to get their approval first?”

  He grunts. “Yeah, let’s try.”

  We watch one another silently for a few more moments, then his lips curve up into a big smile. “Tomorrow, your job is to go furniture shopping. I want this place ready for us, the sooner the better.”

  Pressing my lips together, I try to hide my giddy smile. “Okay, Landry.”

  He leans forward, his mouth touching mine with a brush of his lips. “Okay, honey.”

  LANDRY

  Thirty-one days until this fucking divorce is final. I can’t hardly goddamn wait for it either. However, I can’t think about my divorce right now, not when I’ve rented a private dining room at the country club and all three of my children are sitting across from me, staring at me.

  Laurent is grinning like a fool, Lawrence is watching me with suspicion in his eyes and Lucinda looks as though she’s ready to carve my heart out and feed it to the nearest animal. Essentially, a normal evening.

  Tennessee is arriving in thirty minutes with Holden. We decided, well she decided really, to give me some time to tell my kids before she was shoved in their faces. Kids. As if the three humans sitting across from me aren’t full-grown adults.

  “You have something to speak with us about?” Lucinda asks, an accusation clear in her tone.

  Clearing my throat, I wrap my fingers around my glass of whiskey. I don’t drink, not yet. I can feel the cool glass beneath my touch as I look at each of my children before I speak.

  “I’m sure you’ve already figured out why I’ve brought you all here tonight.”

  Lucinda leans forward, her lips curling with either anger or disgust, I can’t quite tell. “I want to hear it,” she hisses. She sounds almost exactly like Susan, at least when Susan was sober.

  “I’ve been seeing someone and I’ve asked her to move in with me.”

  Laurent barks out a laugh. Lawrence’s lips part in surprise and Lucinda stands immediately. She tips her chin down, her eyes finding mine and holding my gaze.

  “You’re disgusting. You are vile,” she grinds out.

  “Lucy,” Laurent admonishes.

  I shake my head once. “I’m sure it appears that way. I’m sure that a lot of things look odd about the situation, or off,” I say, attempting to explain.

  “It looks like some little gold-digging whore slid right on your dick and instead of being the smart headstrong man that I thought you were, you let her manipulate you with her young pussy,” she snaps.

  It’s my turn to stand. I will take a lot of shit, from Susan, from anyone really. I’ve always been the type of man to bide my time and make my own moves, never speaking out and doing things quietly and strategically.

  Not with this.
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  Not right now.

  “Enough,” I roar. “Sit.”

  Her eyes widen, unused to me speaking to her that way and she immediately plops back down in the chair. My eyes flick to each of them, wondering if they all feel this way. Then when I really look at them, I see that they do, all except Laurent. He thinks this is hilarious, probably because the heat is finally off of him for a change.

  “Tennessee is kind and gentle. A nice change from the marriage that I had with your mother. She’s young, but she’s never asked me for a single thing, not ever.”

  “She asked you for a job,” Lawrence murmurs.

  I shake my head once. “Her mother called yours. Susan asked me to interview her. In truth, I’d planned on giving her a mailroom position, just to appease everyone.”

  “What happened? Your dick get in the way?” Lucinda mutters.

  I watch as she crosses her arms over her chest, sliding her eyes to the side. I decide to ignore her little snide comment in hopes that she’ll just fucking stop them altogether.

  “It doesn’t matter what happened. All that matters is that this didn’t happen with immediate intent on either party. We’ve grown close and she means a great deal to me.”

  “I can attest that I don’t think it was intentional. I asked her out several times and she didn’t want anything to do with me,” Laurent announces.

  Lucinda’s eyes widen and she presses her lips together, but it’s Lawrence that turns his head to look at his brother before shifting his gaze back to meeting my own. He watches me for a moment and I think about telling him to shut his mouth too, but I don’t, I decide to let him speak.

  “So, Laurent asked her out and she said no. Dad asks her and she relents, you ever think about that, Dad? Logically? I mean we’ve talked about this, but in all honesty what does a twenty-something want with a man in his sixties? This will not end well and you’re clearly invested.”

  Smiling, I look at all three of my children. In their own way, they are showing me how much they care for me, at least that’s how I choose to look at this situation and their responses. I let out a sigh and shake my head.