Page 30 of Accidental Dad’s Best Friend (Unintentionally Yours #7)

“You can admit if you were ashamed, Izzy. You were a rookie. We all make mistakes in the early years, though most of us don’t fuck up quite that bad. But it would make sense to run off with your tail between your legs after–”

“I got pregnant.”

My words stop him. He blinks. “When?”

“Five years ago.”

“And…that’s why you left?”

“That’s why I stayed away.”

He nods, takes another sip, studies me. His jaw pulses while he grinds his teeth back and forth.

“Well damn. I mean I guess a career flop would have only gone even more postal if people knew that you got knocked up. At least you were able to take care of it before the press got ahold of that info. That would have really looked bad.”

I can feel the heat in my cheeks. But it’s not because I am embarrassed. I am pissed. “I didn’t take care of it .”

He stares at me. “Miscarriage?”

My fucking god how the man can be so dense is beyond me. “I didn’t lose the baby, dad! I had him! His name is Jaxon and he’s my son. Your grandson.”

It takes a second but his expression slowly shifts from snarky to angry and confused. “You have a son.” It’s not a question. It’s a statement. And he doesn’t seem happy about it.

“I do. He’s five.”

My dad’s lips tip down in…disgust? My heart is racing so fast I feel like I might be sick. I didn’t expect him to be happy about it but even with my low opinion of the man, I still didn’t think he’d take it like this.

He takes another sip of his whiskey and sucks the air between his teeth. “And the father? Or do you even know?”

“I know who he is. He’s the only person I was with.”

“Let me guess,” he leans back in his chair with a smirk. “Some writer at Slay? Or did you meet a small town guy? You gotta be careful of those chumps. They’ll do anything to get off their–”

“Ethan.” I say his name and honestly, I surprise myself. This entire conversation has been a gasoline trail and I am just lighting matches now. But I’m done. Whatever is going to come of this is going to happen very soon anyways. Might as well get the fire started.

The expression literally falls from his face and he leans forward. “What did you say? Ethan who?”

“Ethan Savage.”

His eyes narrow. “I’m not following.”

“Ethan Savage is the father.”

“No he’s not.”

I tip my chin up. “Yes. He is.”

“That’s not possible. He’s…and you’re…this is a joke. You BETTER be fucking kidding me right now or someone is going to die.”

I’m about to apologize. Except, I’m not sorry. The more I tell the truth, the better it feels. Even if it is my own funeral (although, more likely, it’s Ethan’s). But I feel stronger. And I’m starting to feel better already.

My dad on the other hand is only getting started. He shoves out of his chair so fast, it flies backwards into the bookshelf.

“You are a lying little slut! Give me the name of the real father and stop fucking with me! Actually, now that I think about it, how do I know you’re even telling the truth about the little bastard?

You’re probably just fishing for money and trying to ruin my partnership in the process.

You really are something else. It’s disgusting. Shameful.”

“I am not lying!” I scream back at him. “You have a grandson. And Ethan is the father. And I don’t want, or need, your money. I wanted to tell you before you found out on your own. I was trying to do the right thing. Be the better person.”

“The better person? Oh that’s rich.” He rounds the desk and stands right in front of me, towering over me.

“I’d rather you were lying. Because if I find out that it is true, any of it, we are done.

And I mean DONE. Savage will never find work here again.

He can leave town. If he’s still able to walk. ”

“And as for me?”

“I suggest you walk away and never look back either. Or else.”

“Or else what?”

I turn around when Ethan’s voice comes into the room. Apparently he didn’t go home. I wonder how long he’s been standing there. How much he heard. From the look on his face, I’m guessing all of it.

“Is it true?” My dad asks. “Did you fuck my daughter?”

“Not in so many words.”

“You disgust me.” He spits the words out. I am standing between two puffed chests. A worm in the middle of a cock fight. I move to step aside but my dad stops me.

“And you. I was wrong about you. You’re nothing like your mother. Your mother wasn’t a whore.”

His words hit me like a sucker punch and I don’t even have time to think before the next thing flies out of my mouth. “Are you sure about that? Because any woman in her right mind would have tried to get away from you. How do you even know I’m yours?”

Heat rises to my dad’s face like fire within a dragon. He raises his hand and I close my eyes, bracing for the slap I am sure is coming. But it never makes contact. Ethan grabs me by the arm and whips me behind him, all while stopping my dad’s hand with the other.

“I think we need to cut it back a notch, don’t you?” He asks with a low, cool tone.

“I think you need to step aside,” my dad hisses.

“Mommy?”

Jaxon’s voice stops all of us dead. I rush over to him. “Jax, baby. I told you to stay by the fishes.”

“I looked at all of them. You were gone for so long.”

Suddenly I realize I went about this all wrong. I scoop Jaxon up and turn to face both men. “This has to stop. All of this. No more fighting, no more lying. It needs to be done. Please.”

Ethan’s face softens slightly. His eyes lock on Jax and he swallows. My dad however, is still at 212 degrees.

“If I’m not mistaken, I’m not the one who's been lying. The two of you have lied about everything. And for that, Savage, you’re going to pay.”

“I hate to sound cliché, bud, but you can’t fire me. Because I quit.”

“Oh trust me, Savage, you’re done. You won’t be able to get a job at any magazine for any publisher on the goodman planet by the time I’m done with you.”

Ethan hisses out a laugh. “Funny because I was going to say the same thing to you.”

My dad grabs him but the shirt. “And what the fuck is that supposed to mean?”

“Both of you stop!” I let out, pulling Jax’s face into my chest. “Dad. It’s over.”

“You bet your sorry ass it is.”

“No I mean for YOU! We wrote an article.”

“Izzy, stop.” Ethan tries to intervene but I cut him off.

“No. He’s going to find out anyway. Why not drop the bomb?”

“The fuck you talking about? What bomb?” My dad asks.

“I wrote an article. About you. To discredit everything you have done to everyone else in NBT. That’s not even what your magazine is about and yet you’ve made a brand out of screwing other people over.

Good people. Honest people. Talented people.

You’ve destroyed people’s lives all because you felt threatened by their success. ”

“That’s the industry, baby.” He holds out his hands with a smirk.

“No. This industry is one of passion and art. We lift each other up, not tear them down.”

“That’s cute,” he cuts in. “But if you think that’s how it works, you’re even more naive than I thought.”

“No, what’s cute is the article she wrote, a damn good article, by the way, and it’s going to print tomorrow,” Ethan says. And for the first time, my dad’s cocky grin falters.

“The fuck you talking about? Print where?”

“In NBT.” Ethan’s smirk lands on him.

“You can’t–”

“I did. We did.” Ethan motions between us.

“I will fucking kill you,” my dad seethes, taking a step closer. But I step between them again.

“We’ll pull it,” I blurt out.

“What?” They both ask in unison.

“If you agree to leave Ethan alone, part ways with nothing but good things to say about his resume, and leave Jax and I alone forever, we will destroy it. But you have to promise no more tearing other people down. No more ruining lives. And whoever you hired to come after us, they have to stay away too.”

“Izzy,” Ethan shakes his head. But my dad looks completely baffled.

“What are you talking about?” He asks. “I didn’t hire anyone.”

I roll my eyes before narrowing them in on him. “Oh please. Then where did the photos come from? And what about the broken window? The threats? The late night knocks on my door. I have a child for God’s sake!”

“I literally have no fucking idea what you are even talking about, Izzy.” My dad shakes his head and I study him. Honestly, as much as I don’t trust a single thing he says, it actually seems like he’s telling the truth.

“Well then if you didn’t take the blackmail photographs, who did?”

“Hello…” A woman’s voice comes from the hallway and we all turn. My mouth hits the floor, along with my heart.

“Rosilyn?” I ask. “What are you doing here?”

My dad still looks puzzled. “Rosilyn?”

“Oh shit…” Ethan seems to have connected a couple of dots. And I look between all three of them trying to catch up.

“This is Rose,” my dad says.

…oh shit.