LAKE
“Maverick, wait!”
“Let her go. She needs space.”
I glared at Uncle Moses. “I need to-”
“To apologize? You had the chance, and you blew it. Don’t worry, Homer will send her home. You, you stay put,” he ordered.
As much as I hated that he was right, he made a point. “It’s your fault she left. You all can’t just keep your opinion to yourselves.”
“She’s hurting, and don’t blame it on Papa. What the fuck-”
“Language, son,” Uncle Moses chided Striker.
“What the hell, cuz?”
“I blew it up, okay. Happy now?” I got away from them, but Striker was still tailing me.
“You mean, you screwed it up big time.”
“Yes, I fucked it up, and I don’t know how to unfuck it. I might as well hire a divorce lawyer.”
“Don’t be stupid and act impulsively. Your generation is so quick to decide on divorce, like changing clothes. I won’t let you do that. You married her because you’ve seen something in her that you didn’t see in the women you slept with.” He was right, though, but I wouldn’t admit that to him.
“You’re late,” said Striker to Linden, who just arrived.
“What did I miss? Did I just see Maverick leaving alone with Huxley?”
“Ask him, brother. My cousin just screwed up his marriage.”
“Huh.” He scoffed as they did a brotherly hug. “If I remember it right, you almost screwed yours, too. Isn’t that right, boss?” He called my uncle’s boss.
“Exactly, and my nephew will regret it for the rest of his life if he lets Maverick go. I saw the way he looked at her. Bea’s boy is in love.”
“That’s not fucking true.”
“Language, Lake. Your mother raised you well to curse into my face. Do you kiss your wife with that mouth?”
“Sorry, uncle,” I apologized bitterly.
We stayed in the backyard for a while and watched the kids play.
“You should knock up Maverick so you can have kids on your own. You make good children.”
I shook my head in annoyance at Striker. “How do I knock her up if my marriage is falling apart?”
“Start by groveling, sending flowers, writing love letters, picking and sending her to school. Just don’t make a grand gesture. She would hate that. Maybe you also start singing and playing piano at the Bazz.”
“Fuck you,” I whispered to him so that Uncle Moses would not scold me.
“Well, then, good luck.”
“Shut up.”
“I’m serious, cuz.” He got up and went to play with his daughter and Gabrielle while their wives were chatting.
“Your wife texted me.”
I turned to Linden. “When?”
“Last night.” He stared closely at my face. “What happened to your nose?”
“OB punched me.”
“By accident?” He was already beaming.
“No. I was drunk. I said something terrible, and then he punched me to shut me up.”
He laughed. “I guess you deserved it.”
“Tell me what my wife texted you about.”
“I can’t disclose.”
“Can’t or won’t?”
“Both.”
“Uh-huh. So she was meeting with you when I called. Is it about her father?”
“Man, I’m sorry, but this is a delicate matter. If you want to know, talk to her.”
“All right. Don’t tell me. I’ll find it out anyway.”
***
“What did I exactly say to my wife, OB? I don’t remember shit, and I can’t apologize to her properly for something I have no recollection of it.”
He just sipped his beer at the wet bar and ignored what I said.
“Please?”
He then met my gaze. “You didn’t mind me having you while on your knees the other night. I paid you to be my wife and might as well pay you to. I didn’t let you finish. I punched you before you said something you might regret.”
I emptied the whisky and poured another shot. “I guess I owe you a thank you for punching me.” I was about to sip my drink when he snatched it from me. “What the fuck, man?”
“You’ve had enough for today. May I remind you how you two ended up in this situation? Sleep it off. Stop drowning yourself in alcohol.”
“Thanks.” I tapped my fingers on the counter when I didn’t know what to do next. The only thing I wanted to do was sleep, but the bed and this penthouse just reminded me of her. “Can you drive me to Mom’s?”
“That’s almost a four-hour drive. We’ll go in the morning.”
“Fine.” I hopped off the stool and walked to the living room. “Turn the lights off, please?” I grabbed the cushion and used it as my pillow.
“You’re not sleeping here.”
“Good thing you’re not my mom.”
“Don’t be a dick. Go to your room.”
I ignored him as I succumbed to the pain of being away from Maverick and the fact that my marriage was on the brink of its end.
She hadn’t been gone for a day. I already missed her. Maybe Striker was right. Perhaps this relationship was not a contracted marriage after all. Maybe I was falling in love with Maverick because it wouldn’t hurt this way if she meant nothing to me if she was just my paid wife.
“Did I really say those words?” I shut my eyes close, hoping Owen would say yes.
“Yes.”
“Fuck.” I cursed under my breath.
“You should have seen her face.”
I opened my eyes to look at him. “Thanks, man. I already feel so much better.”
“Hux sent her to her apartment.”
“She doesn’t want to see me. That’s for sure.”
“And whose fault is that?”
“Thank you, asshole. Any advice?”
“Get some sleep. You will feel better and with a clear mind in the morning.” He got up. “And please, no more alcohol. If you want to fix your relationship with Miss Bates, I suggest you stay sober.”
“It’s Mrs. Winston, asshole.”
***
I typed my resignation letter, printed it, and signed it. Then I went to my assistant. “Give it to my father personally.”
“What’s this?” She hesitated at first before she took it.
“You’ll know soon enough. I’ll be out for the day. Cancel everything I have on the schedule.”
“Aren’t you going to meet your mother for a coffee?”
“I’ll call her soon. Thank you, Venus.”
My resignation was the most drastic and most impulsive I’d ever done for my job, but Uncle was right. My relationship with my father as his employee had always been toxic from the very beginning. I wouldn’t grow up or make any improvement, and I would always be Wallace’s son, without a name of my own, and would always be under his shadow if I did not quit.
I should have done it a long time ago before things went south. Nevertheless, I wouldn’t have met Maverick if it wasn’t because of his terms.
I called my mother while I was in the car.
“Hey, honey. Care to join me for a tea?”
“I can’t, Mom. Not today.”
“Are you okay?”
“You know it by now if I’m okay. I’m not. To be honest, I’m confused and hurt. I don’t know what to do anymore, but one thing I did right today is quit my job at Winston Holdings.”
“Good job, honey. Now you’re free to do whatever you want. If you want my position at Hover Motor, take it. It’s yours.”
I chuckled sadly. “Mom, thanks, but no. I have IMI to run. I’ll focus on that. In the meantime, I have to fix my relationship with Maverick before she hates me and forgets me for good.”
“That’s my boy. I’m proud of you, bunny.”
“I wish father could say the same thing.”
“Your father is an insecure son of a bitch. You are way better than him, but you haven’t realized that. That’s why he will do everything to control you, but don’t hate him. Just let him watch you soar. I love you, bunny. Always.”
“Thanks, Mom. I love you, too.” I hung up the call.
“Where to, boss?”
For the first time, I didn’t know where to go. “I don’t know, OB.”
“I know just a place.”