Hypocritically Yours: A Standalone Age-Gap Romance

by Hayley Faiman

  I want to tell him not to do that, but I don’t, because I need everything that I can get. Every piece of damning information and evidence as humanly possible. Holden will never know that this man is his father and he is damn sure not going to be subjected to him. Not if I have anything to say or do about it.

  Hansen leaves, clearly focused on his new mission and I spend the rest of the afternoon in meetings about the new building and trying to secure it without using my money or name. It isn’t easy, and I’m sure it’s probably not legal, but Susan can’t find out.

  If she wants to play hardball—it’s on. The problem is that she’s at a disadvantage, being drunk for the past two-and-a-half decades and I’ve been working every day, building relationships and clients, doing my fucking job and working my ass off.

  If she thinks that I’ll continue to lie down and take whatever she throws my way, it’s fucking on. She’s not just screwing with me anymore, she’s screwing with my children’s livelihood and inheritance, my woman’s life and Holden’s.

  That’s something that I will not tolerate.

  Not to-fucking-day. Not ever.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  TENNESSEE

  Something is wrong. I can feel it. Landry is acting off. Once we shop for dinner at the grocery store, along with a few more essentials, we all three head back to his place… our place… home. It’s so weird thinking of it as home, but that’s what it is now—our home.

  We eat dinner, the awkwardness and tension still hovering above us like a gigantic elephant in the room, but he doesn’t say anything. He isn’t mean or unpleasant, he gives me and Holden the same doting attention as ever.

  Once Holden is bathed and tucked in and we’re alone in the bedroom, that’s when he tells me that we need to talk.

  My stomach twists. I met with Lydia today, talked with her about Landry’s style and mine and hopefully the house will be completely decorated and furnished within the next six weeks. She did admit to me that her ex-husband and Susan had an illicit affair years ago.

  She decorated Landry’s penthouse for free when he moved out as a thank you when his private detective gave him pictures that he shared with her of them together. I don’t think that’s what this is about though, judging by the serious expression on Landry’s face, this isn’t about that, this is about something a lot bigger.

  “Just tell me,” I rasp, standing a few feet away from him.

  I don’t know what he wants to say to me, I’m not sure if this is going to be really bad or not, but I don’t know what this is about and if I need to run, then I don’t want him holding me or anything. I just, it feels really uncomfortable.

  “Susan…” He begins and my stomach drops.

  He’s sitting on the edge of the bed, his head tipped and his gaze lifted to mine. He looks so defeated and I hate it. Landry is strong, he’s all man and right now he looks almost broken. Then an ugly thought flashes in my head, oh god, what if he goes back to her?

  “She’s found Holden’s biological father. She’s somehow convinced him to file for a paternity test and sue for visitation if he is proven to be his father.”

  Those were not the words that I could have ever imagined leaving his mouth. My knees give out beneath me. I fall to the floor, or at least I’m on my way down, when Landry wraps his arms around me and together, we slowly float down to the floor.

  My body shakes and loud sobs fill the air. It’s then that I realize it’s me who is sobbing loud and uncontrollably. Landry’s hand moves soothingly down my back, but nothing can soothe me, nothing at all.

  If that man, that abuser, that rapist, if he is alone with my child? If I’m forced to allow him to be alone with him for visits. I don’t know what I’ll do. If I’m forced to give Holden his last name? Lifting my head, I reach between us and grab fistfuls of Landry’s shirt. I know that I have tears streaming down my face and that right now I’m the least attractive person on earth, but none of that matters.

  “We have to leave,” I screech. “We have to go. Mexico is close. Holden and I will go there, you can visit. I can’t live here anymore, not another second. He cannot have access to my baby.” I’m rambling, I know that I am, but I can’t help it. I’m in a full-blown panic.

  Landry shakes his head, his arms tighten around me, one of his hands lifts to the back of my head and he forces my face in his neck while I sob. I hear his low whispers, but I can’t make out what he’s saying as the blood roars through my ears.

  He just holds me, rocking me, soothing me as he whispers to me in the same low, gentle tone, until finally my sobbing stops, the blood doesn’t roar as loud, and all that’s left of my exhausted breakdown is silent tears streaming from my eyes and against the skin of his neck.

  “I have a plan, honey. I got this. Trust me,” he says, over and over. I wonder if these are the words that he’s been saying the whole time? Eventually, I lift my head and look into his eyes.

  “I freaked out,” I whimper.

  His lips twitch into a sad smile. “Yeah. It’s okay. I’ve been freaking out all day,” he admits.

  “But you didn’t break down.”

  “I wanted to.”

  “But you didn’t.”

  The hand against the back of my head, those fingers grip my hair loosely as he looks into my eyes. “I didn’t, because I knew that you needed me. You and Holden needed me to keep my head on straight, to get the ball rolling on fighting this before we were completely blindsided by warrants and shit like that.”

  “Because you’re a good man.”

  He snorts. “Yeah. But mostly because I’m your man and I love you both.”

  “You love us?” I breathe.

  Smiling, he dips his chin and touches his lips to my nose in a small kiss. “Yeah, honey. I love you and Holden, both of you. I’m going to protect you with all that I have and luckily, I have a fuckload more resources than Susan has and I always will.”

  Frowning, I tilt my head to the side. “I thought that it was all community property and that everything was fifty-fifty?”

  That’s when Landry leans in, his smile growing bigger than I thought possible. He looks a little maniacal, but his eyes are dancing in delight.

  “I have a trust fund that I have always kept separate. In fact, I’ve never touched the money in there, not even the interest. We had a prenup and she can’t touch it. My resources are beyond anything she could attempt to replicate. I’m still going to have my business with Astor Investments, because it’s the legacy that I’ve built for my children and they deserve it. I’m not ready to give up that part of my life yet. I love my work and enjoy going into the office every day.”

  “God, how did I end up right here with you, Landry?” I ask.

  He chuckles. “I was thinking the same thing, honey.”

  Without another word, he leans in, his lips touching mine and I melt into his sweet and gentle kiss. He knows exactly what I need right now and he’s delivering like the good man that he is. Like the man that I love.

  LANDRY

  Tennessee is still asleep when I wake up the next morning. Looking over at her, I wince. Her face is still swollen from crying and she’s curled in a small ball. I wish that I hadn’t told her. I wish that I didn’t have to tell her. If there was some way that I could have gotten away with never saying a word about any of this, I would have taken that route, but Susan didn’t give me a choice.

  Stopping at the bedroom door, I look over my shoulder toward her and frown. We have work today, but there’s no way that I can expect her to come into the office, not like this. I decide to give her a call later, after I’ve gone to the office and dropped Holden off at the childcare center.

  It doesn’t take me long to get Holden ready, although I’m not exactly sure what I’m supposed to pack in his bag. I ask him, but he just gives me a toothy grin as he eats his eggs and toast. After strapping him into the back seat of my car, I drive into the office.

  Holding his hand, I walk into the
lobby of the building and toward the back, where I know the childcare center is.

  “Mr. Astor?” a woman’s voice calls out.

  Stopping, I turn to look over at the receptionist. I don’t think I’ve ever really noticed her before. She’s a pretty little blonde, her blue eyes wide as her gaze shifts from Holden to me.

  “I’m Bethie,” she announces chirpily. “Is Tenny okay?”

  Flicking my gaze down to Holden, I hold my palm up. “Stay there, I’ll be right back.”

  I hear her suck in a breath, then she nods. After I drop Holden off at childcare, thankful that Tennessee put me on the approved list last week. I give him a hug, tell him I’ll see him soon, then make my way back to the little blonde. I recognize her name as someone that Tennessee goes to lunch with often and speaks about here and there.

  “You’re friends with Tennessee.”

  It’s a statement, not a question, and she licks her lips as she nods her head slowly, her eyes never leaving mine. I would find the exchange funny, if I wasn’t so worried about Tennessee.

  “You can have the day off, call in a temp if you go, and stay with her today.”

  “Is she okay?” Bethie asks.

  I jerk my chin and clear my throat. “I have meetings today that I can’t cancel. If I could, believe me, I would. She needs a friend.”

  Sliding a piece of notepaper that’s on the counter in front of me, I take my pen out of my pocket and write down our address.

  “She needs a friend, Bethie. I’ll be by at lunch, bring you girls something to eat.”

  Turning away from her, I head toward the elevator banks. Laurent is standing and waiting for a car. He’s still angry with me, and I don’t blame him, if I didn’t know what was going on and he did what I’ve done, I would be angry too.

  “You’ll be at the penthouse for dinner Wednesday?” I ask.

  He clears his throat, his gaze shifting to the side, but he doesn’t actually turn his head. “I’ll be there.”

  “It’s important.”

  “Are you going to tell me what’s actually going on?” he snaps before turning his head to face me. “Because I don’t believe for a fucking second that you just handed over Astor Investment’s to Mother.”

  Clearing my throat, I shake my head. “My office, now.”

  The elevator car opens and I step inside, Laurent following along with the half a dozen people who were standing around us. As the elevator climbs, I become angrier and angrier that Laurent would say what he did aloud and in open forum.

  Once we’re on my floor, I step out and march past Julie and toward my office. Before I slam the door behind my asshole of a child, I turn my head to look over my shoulder at Julie who is setting her desk up for the morning.

  “Tennessee will not be in today.”

  Without allowing her response, I slam the door behind me. Walking toward the front of my desk, I lean against the edge, crossing my arms and look down my nose at my son.

  “You have a lot of fucking nerve saying that in front of employees. What the fuck is wrong with you?” I growl.

  Laurent lifts his chin, looking up at me, his smug smirk firmly in place and I haven’t wanted to slap it off of his face this bad since he was sixteen years old and acting like a spoiled assed little shit.

  “I didn’t realize it was a big secret. So, you’re just going to let Mother take over and not tell anyone until the last second?”

  Lifting my hand, I wrap my fingers around the back of my neck and squeeze as I try to relieve the pressure and temptation of beating the shit out of my son. Inhaling a deep breath, I let it out with a sigh.

  “You’re an asshole, Laurent,” I announce. “Do you honestly think that I have no plan? That I am just going to hand over your legacy to someone who hasn’t even managed a household staff competently?”

  “Dad?” he breathes.

  Shaking my head, I close my eyes in an attempt to keep my cool, then I reopen them and focus on my son. “You think that I’ve lost my head with Tennessee and that I’m only thinking of one thing? That I haven’t been working tirelessly on securing a place for my staff and my clients?”

  “You didn’t tell me,” he mutters.

  Leaning forward, I growl. “Your mother cannot know. I cannot chance that. The only person that knows is Tennessee and only because she was there when I negotiated with your mother and she freaked the fuck out. I had to calm her down and tell her my plan. The clients are mine, the staff is mine.

  “Technically, I only agreed to give your mother this building and the company name. I never agreed to anything else, she just assumes that she’s getting everything. She didn’t have her attorney draw any actual documents up, she just signed the paperwork. I seriously cannot believe that you thought I was that stupid.”

  Laurent presses his lips together, shaking his head a couple of times. “Dad,” he mutters. “I underestimated your savagery.”

  “You shouldn’t. I practically invented the word,” I say with a snort.

  “What happens now?”

  “You need to keep your fucking trap shut, that’s what happens now. The rest I have under control.”

  “Let me help,” he practically begs.

  I think about telling him no, but then decide that he’s thirty years old, he’s no longer a child and that he’s been working here since graduating college and he needs more responsibility. So, I give it to him. I also warn him that if he fucks up, he’s going to have to pay for that shit. He swears he won’t, then leaves the office.

  Only then do I make my way over to my desk and call Tennessee’s cell. She answers, sounding groggy and sleepy. I tell her that I’ve taken Holden to childcare and given her the day off, then inform her that Bethie will be by soon to spend the day with her.

  “Tennessee?” I say when she doesn’t respond right away.

  “Yeah?”

  “I love you, honey.”

  She’s quiet for another moment. Then she finally speaks, and my heart, it squeezes in a way that I have never felt before. “I love you too, Landry. So much.”

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  TENNESSEE

  Landry ends the call, and almost immediately I hear the doorbell ring. Rolling out of bed, this is a moment where I should have taken him up on his offer for a full-time maid. Oh no, I had to tell him that it was ridiculous when I’m more than capable of cleaning for just the three of us.

  Now that my head feels like it’s been run over by a truck. Looking out the peephole, I’m surprised to see Bethie on the other side. I’m not surprised she’s here, I’m just surprised that she’s here so quickly.

  Wrapping my hand around the knob, I tug the door open and try my hardest to give her a smile. She sees right through my attempt at a brave face. She opens her arms and wraps them around me, pulling me close to her.

  “I don’t know what’s wrong, but it’s all going to be okay,” she reassures me.

  Clearing my throat, I stand to the side and motion for her to come in. Closing the door behind her, I guide us over to the kitchen card table. Lydia said that a sofa wouldn’t be here for a few more weeks. Right now, I wish it was here already.

  “Talk to me, Tenny. What is going on? Landry said that you needed a friend, he sent me over here, but I am so confused.”

  Clearing my throat, I shake my head once as I close my eyes. When I reopen them, I tell her everything. Only my mother and therapist knew before this week, now Landry and Bethie will know. I’m not sure if mentally I can keep telling people.

  “What a fucking dick,” she snaps. “Seriously. I’m going to court with you and I’m bringing a knife so that I can cut his pencil dick off,” she growls.

  My lips curve up and I can’t stop myself from giggling. Reaching across the table, I take her hand in mine.

  “You can’t take metal objects into the courthouse, but thank you,” I say between my giggles.

  “So, what happens now?” she asks, her tone turning more serious.

 
; I shrug a shoulder. “I’m not sure. I’m not even supposed to know all of this yet. Landry is having a family meeting tomorrow about it. I feel terrible. All of this is my fault, and he has to have a freaking family meeting about it. I am his little young thing who can’t keep her shit from leaking into his life.”

  Bethie snorts. “Girl. He gives no fucks if your shit leaks, in fact, I think he likes it. I mean, he looked worried, but he did not look angry in the slightest. He adores you, both of you. It’s obvious as all hell.”

  “What am I going to do if he gets any visitation or custody, Bethie?”

  She lifts her eyes to meet mine. Tears blur my vision and they start to fall, but then more come and it doesn’t matter if I wipe them away because even more come.

  “What?” she rasps.

  “I don’t even know his name,” I admit.

  I’m still gripping one of her hands, she reaches for my other one and we both cry. My tears are big and fat, the sounds leaving my throat are almost animalistic. Bethie is a much prettier crier than I am and suddenly a wave of jealousy washes over me.

  Eventually, we both calm down. Naturally, Bethie does before me. As I wipe the tears from my eyes, I shake my head.

  “What do I do?” I breathe.

  Bethie shakes her head as she stands. Turning around in my seat, I watch her as she makes her way into the kitchen and grabs a couple bottles of water from the fridge. She comes back and places one in front of me and the other she twists the cap off and guzzles half of the bottle.

  “Okay. This is what we’re going to do,” she begins.

  “We can’t kill him, I don’t even know his name,” I grumble.

  She lets out a chuckle, shaking her head. “I want to, but no. This is what’s going to happen,” she begins again. I lean forward, my eyes wide. “You’re going to let Landry handle this. He has it, babe. He’s got it under control and he’s got the money to keep it that way.”

  Pressing my lips together, I lean back. “I can’t let him do all of that. I just can’t. This is my problem and I need to fix it myself.”