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chapter thirty-eight

Graham

I hadn’t planned on going to Andrea’s house that night. But the more I thought about Olivia hearing whispers from the interns about her dad being involved with Jill, the more I realized she needed to hear it from me directly.

Caleb, too.

In the past, if I had felt this close with another woman, I would’ve told them about the relationship already. I wouldn’t have brought the woman around for introductions just yet, but they would at least know about her existence. I’d never hidden my dating life from them.

And with this whole thing on the brink of implosion, it was time for some honesty.

“You’re freaking us out,” Olivia said, seated at one end of the couch with both hands resting on her lower belly.

Richie perched on the armrest beside her, and Andrea and Caleb sat at the other end, all of them watching me like I was about to announce the worst news of their lives. “If you’re dying, just tell us.”

I laughed, staring down at Andrea’s beige carpet. “I’m not dying. There are just some rumors going around about me, and I want you to hear about them from me before you hear it from someone else. Especially you, Olivia.”

Olivia lifted her brows in confusion, but Andrea’s face tightened with concern. I was sure she was expecting the worst. It was probably best if I got the words out as quickly as possible.

“I’ve been romantically involved with one of my employees, which is against company policy,” I said. “People are finding out, and this could put both of our jobs in jeopardy.”

Andrea nodded in relief like she understood, but Olivia looked even more bewildered. “Is it Elaine, the intern lady?”

"No."

"Tiffany from advertising?"

"What?” Tiffany from advertising was at least a decade older than me. Then again, that was the same age gap between Jill and me, so I had no right to be so taken aback by this suggestion. “No, it’s not Tiffany.”

Olivia narrowed her eyes. "Then who?"

I took a breath, looking into her eyes from across the room. “It’s Jillian.”

For a second, she just stared like she was waiting for the “gotcha!” moment. “No, it’s not,” she said, shaking her head.

“It is.” I interlocked my fingers over one knee. “Jill and I have been seeing each other all summer.”

Olivia still blinked at me in disbelief, but it was her brother that finally spoke up. “The news lady?”

I nodded.

“Hold up.” Richie held up one hand. “You’re talking about Olivia’s mentor, the pretty blonde chick on the billboard by the Dairy Queen?”

I didn’t like his disbelieving tone. “Yes, that’s the one.” My eyes flitted over to Olivia, whose face had twisted into visible frustration. “I’m sorry. I wanted you to hear that from me before you heard it from one of the other interns.”

Her brows furrowed even more. “Why would they be talking about it?”

I glanced down at the floor. “Isaiah caught us yesterday morning.”

“Caught you doing what?” Caleb blurted. Andrea nudged him.

I glanced down at my twiddling thumbs on my knee and inhaled. “He just caught us… well, in an embrace in the parking lot. And he’s already telling others about it. We’re going to be forced to go public with this, even though we weren’t ready.”

Olivia was quiet. Too quiet. And then, rolling her eyes, she sprang to her feet and started toward the front door. “Olivia!” Andrea called after her.

She turned on her heel before her hand reached the doorknob.

“I’m already the knocked-up intern. I hear people talking.

” She shook her head, the disdain in her eyes shooting out at me like daggers.

“And now I’m the one whose dad is sleeping with Jillian Taylor.

This is great. Real great. Thanks, Dad.”

“Livvy—”

“Don’t call me that. I hate that.”

Since when did she hate being called Livvy? I stood up, but the second I started to approach her, she held up both hands as if to threaten me not to come any closer.

“Is this why I got the internship, Dad?” she spit out.

“What? No,” I said quickly. “That was decided before anything started between us.”

“Doesn’t matter,” she snapped. Richie stood up and approached her slowly like she was a wild animal, resting his hand on her back in an attempt to calm her. She didn’t even look at him. “Everyone will say that’s why I got that spot. They’ll all assume that.”

“Olivia—”

“You could’ve dated literally anyone else. This is so effing humiliating.” And with that, she pushed through the storm door, leaving Richie wincing in her wake.

“Goddammit,” I muttered, collapsing back into my seat.

Richie leaned over, stretching one hand out to squeeze my shoulder. “Don’t worry. I know how to calm her down. I got this, Dad.” And then he was out the front door, too.

I turned to Andrea and blinked. “That went well. Also—what did that kid just call me?”

“Pretty sure he said ‘Dad.’” Caleb answered in a helpful tone.

Andrea crossed her arms. “She’s upset now, but she’ll get over it soon enough,” she assured me. “She’s under a lot of stress. Especially with everything going on with Richie.”

I looked up at her, confused. “What’s going on with Richie?”

“She didn’t tell you?”

“Evidently not.”

Andrea glanced at Caleb and pressed a hand against his knee. “Honey, why don’t you go play your game?”

Caleb nodded before disappearing up the stairs, breaking into a run halfway up. He didn’t have to be told twice to go play on his Xbox.

Andrea turned back to me with a heavy sigh. “His mother found out about the pregnancy and proceeded to kick him out of the house.”

I sank back in my chair. “How the hell do you kick a sixteen-year-old kid out of your house?”

“I don’t know, Graham. She said some awful things to him, and to Olivia, too.

She looked our daughter in the eye and told her she ruined Richie’s life by getting pregnant.

And she told Richie…” She paused to take a deep breath.

“She told Richie that Olivia trapped him so he wouldn’t break up with her. ”

Hot, unbridled rage roared through my entire body. My nostrils flared, fists clenching in my lap. It took two to make a baby—I was certain of that. This wasn’t just my daughter’s mistake.

“I know,” Andrea said, reading my silent reaction. “I had a few choice words for that woman. She hung up on me.”

“She’s lucky she did,” I muttered. “God. What a piece of work. What about his dad? Is Richie still working for him?”

Andrea nodded. “He’s trying to remain neutral it seems, but at the end of the day, he stands by his wife. Richie’s been heartbroken over it. That boy cried to me about it a couple nights ago, Graham. He calls me Mom. It only makes sense that he’s calling you Dad.”

I nodded, feeling a pang of sadness in my heart for the kid. Nobody deserved to be pushed aside by their parents like that.

“And Graham.” Andrea held my gaze, tilting her head to one side. “Will Richie be welcome at your house?”

“Of course,” I said with a shrug. “He had dinner with us last week.”

“No, I mean… overnight.”

I hesitated. “You mean in her room?”

Andrea raised an eyebrow. “You gonna make him sleep on your couch?”

I scratched the back of my neck. “Shit, I just hadn’t really considered the idea of them living under the same roof. But it’s not like he can get her pregnant again, huh?” I paused to laugh, dragging a hand down my jaw. “I didn’t want her to be this grown up yet. She’s still just a kid in my eyes.”

“But our kid is having a kid, Graham.”

“I know.” I swallowed hard, my eyes drifting to the framed portraits of Caleb and Olivia on the wall.

They were from a couple years ago, when Olivia still had her braces and Caleb was going through his long hair phase.

It was a family photo session with Pete, but Andrea had invited me to get some portraits taken with the kids, too.

I could still remember Olivia asking the photographer if she could edit her braces out.

That felt like a lifetime ago.

And the next time we had family portraits taken, there’d be a couple more people, wouldn’t there?

“Of course he can stay overnight, too. I guess he’s part of the package now,” I said. “But a little part of me is still afraid that one day she’s going to decide she doesn’t want to come around at all. Especially after the way I just humiliated her.”

Andrea’s face softened. “I’m sure she’ll forgive you soon enough. You’re her dad, and she loves you. Give her time.”

I just nodded, hoping she was right.

“And for what it’s worth, she really loves Jill.

She talks about her every night when I get home from work.

What she learned, what they did–it’s ‘Jill said this,’ and ‘Jill wore that.’ She covets that woman’s wardrobe,” Andrea said with a laugh.

“I do too, but I don’t think I could pull off some of those dresses. I’ve got a few years on her.”

I managed a faint smile, knowing in my gut that Olivia admired Jill.

That should’ve brought me some peace, but all I felt was the weight of what might come next pressing harder on my chest. If this thing exploded, it wouldn’t just hurt me.

It would drag Jill down with it. It might ruin her career.

It might shift the way Olivia looked at both of us.

And for the first time in a long time, I wasn’t sure if I had it in me to fix it all.

Still, I had to try.

No matter what came next, I couldn’t let that woman slip through my fingers. I wasn’t sure I’d survive the regret.