Page 29 of Breakout (Walker University #3)

twenty-two

“ T onight was insane,” Charlotte groans.

“But the tips were amazing,” Sami singsongs.

She’s not wrong. The tips tonight so far are enough to make the aching back and feet worth it. I can only hope that the next few hours don’t die down.

“How are you so peppy right now?” Charlotte asks her.

“That probably has something to do with the energy drink I saw her shot gunning thirty minutes ago,” I say.

“You girls ready?” Larry asks.

“Yes,” we say in unison.

We all slip out the back door, and Larry watches as we head to our cars. While the parking lot is well lit, it’s better to be safe than sorry.

“See you girls later.” I wave as I step up to my car to take my break.

“Bye!” they yell back.

“Peyton Anderson?” a voice calls out, making me tense.

I turn and see an older man, wearing a suit and tie, step out of the shadows. As soon as the light hits his face, I know who he is. He’s an older version of my husband.

I already knew his gene pool had to be fantastic based on his looks, but if his dad is anything to go by, he’s going to age like a fine wine.

Lucky bastard.

“Yes?”

“I was wondering if I could have a moment of your time,” he says as he steps closer.

Nothing about the fact that my father-in-law cornering me late at night in a darkish parking lot feels safe, but somehow, I know he wants me to run off and hide.

I’ve never been very good at doing what others want.

“You okay, Peyton?” Larry calls out, his voice full of concern.

I don’t take my eyes off the man in front of me. “I’m good, Larry.” I take a deep breath and confront the man in front of me. “Is there something I can help you with, Mr. Hayes?”

He smiles wickedly. “So you know who I am.”

“Hard not to when your son looks just like you.”

He hums as he places his hands in his pockets. “So you’re the one who convinced my son that marriage was a good idea.”

As soon as the words leave his mouth, I know that he didn’t learn of our marriage from Beckett. My husband would be the first to admit that he convinced me, not the other way around.

“Beckett and I are married, yes.” My heart races, beating so fast it feels like it’s about to come out of my chest.

He stares me up and down as he shakes his head in disappointment. “You are not what I would have picked for my son.”

“Well, sir, we often want different things for our children than what they want for themselves. That doesn’t mean we will get them.”

“How much?” he asks, catching me off guard.

“Excuse me?”

“How much would it cost to make you disappear? Ten thousand? Twenty? The most I’ll pay is twenty-five.”

“Are you serious right now?” I laugh, shaking my head.

“I know you are a foster child with exactly three hundred dollars in your bank account. My son saw a pretty face and thought with his dick and fell for your scam.”

Disgust rolls through me. I’ve known that Beckett has a bad relationship with his family since I’ve known him, but now I get it. His father is fucking foul.

“I didn’t scam your son. If you actually knew me, you would know that’s a lie.”

“Just give me a price, sweetheart, and I’ll cut you a check. You can start over wherever you like, and you’ll never see me again unless you bother my son.”

“I hate to break it to you, Mr. Hayes, but I can’t be bought. There is no price that will make me walk away from your son,” I tell him firmly.

He nods and rubs his chin. “Okay, say we pretend that this never happened, and I let you stay married to my son. What do you think will happen in a year from now or five?”

“I don’t know what the future holds.”

“Well, I do, so let me enlighten you. My son will play house with you for now, then one day he will wake up and realize that you two come from different worlds and want different things. It will probably be after you embarrass him for the fifth time during a business meeting. He will get sick of the pitying looks and realize that I was right. That he needs to be with someone who can handle the pressure of being his wife. That will make him seek out the comfort of another woman. Next thing you know, he will tell you that he doesn’t need you to go to any fundraisers or business deals and that he will handle them on his own.

What will really be happening, though, is he will be taking his side piece, the woman who hits all the requirements.

Now Beckett might mess up and knock her up, but it will light the fire under him to make her his wife before the baby is born, because no Hayes will be born a bastard.

So he will divorce you and leave you without a second thought.

Now tell me, Ms. Anderson, is that the future you want? ”

Each word hits me and tears me apart exactly like he was hoping it would. Lawrence Hayes knows exactly how to use his words as a weapon, and while he might have hit every single insecurity I have when it comes to my relationship with his son, there is still one thing he doesn’t know.

That this is all fake.

That my marriage is already one of convenience.

No, this man is too blinded by the thought of someone he deems as unworthy touching the family fortune that he can’t see what’s right in front of him. He has no idea that I’m the one with a bigger bank account, and I’m the one who could be well and truly fucked if things go sideways with Beckett.

“I’ll give you credit, Mr. Hayes, you must have worked awfully hard on that speech, but see, what you failed to realize is that it wouldn’t work on me.

” I take a step forward, despite the fact that I feel like I could get sick.

“I feel sorry for your wife, that she crawls into bed every night with a sorry excuse of a husband. I might not know what the future holds for Beckett and me, but there is one thing I do know, and it’s that your son would never cheat.

He has more integrity than that and respect for the both of us and our marriage. ”

“Why, you little…”

I cut him off. “In case it hasn’t penetrated through your thick skull yet, there is no price. I will never be bought. It will be my face you see at family dinners and in family portraits. No one else’s. Now if you’ll excuse me, some of us actually work for a living.”

I spin on my heel and start walking back toward the restaurant.

“My report failed to mention that you’re a pain in the ass, Ms. Anderson.”

“Hayes. My name is Peyton Hayes, so start using it.”

As soon as I step out of view, I pull out my phone and hit dial. I need to warn my husband that his father knows our secret.

My phone rings, and I frown when I see her name light up across the screen.

“Hey, babe, everything okay?” I ask quietly.

Some dude sitting a table away glares at me. “No phones in the library.”

I give him the middle finger as my woman takes a deep breath.

“No, Beck, it’s not,” she says, voice shaking.

“What’s wrong?” I ask as I begin to load my bag up.

In the entire time Peyton and I have been together, or even when we were just friends, did she ever call immediately after a shift. By my judgment, she hasn’t even left the place yet.

“Are you hurt?”

“Physically, I’m fine.” She takes another deep breath. “I went outside to take my break in my car.”

“I hope Larry was with you,” I cut in.

“Beckett, that isn’t important right now. That’s not why I called.”

“Okay, okay, sorry. What happened when you went outside?”

“Your dad was there,” she says, making my heart freeze.

“Excuse me? Did you just say my dad?” I ask as I step outside.

“He knows, Beck,” she hisses.

“What do you mean he knows?”

“He knows that we are married.”

“Peyton, I need you to tell me exactly what he said.”

She quickly fills me in on the basics. How he knows we’re married, doesn’t know about her wealth, how he offered to pay her, and she refused.

“I knew he was a bastard, but Jesus,” I hiss as I run a hand through my hair.

“I’m going home,” she tells me.

“Wait for me. I’ll come get you.” I urge her.

“No, I don’t want to be here any longer than necessary. I’m going to go to the dorm and take a shower. You can come by when I’m done.”

“Are you sure?” I ask.

“Positive.”

“Okay, I’ll meet you at your place the minute you text,” I tell her.

“All right. Later.” She hangs up before I can say anything.

Anger courses through me the more I think about the fact that he cornered her in a dark parking lot.

Phone still in hand, I pull up his number and hit dial.

“I was wondering how long it would take for you to call me. Meet me at The Carriage House,” he says in lieu of a greeting.

“I’ll be there in ten,” I grit out before I hang up.

I cut through the quad and make my way to my car. The entire drive over to the café, I stew in my anger, getting more riled up the closer I get to him.

As soon as I see him, I want to punch him in his smug face as he flirts with the waitress.

He might talk shit about respecting the family name, but at the end of the day, he doesn’t know what respect is. He must feel my anger because he turns toward me.

“You’re late. It’s becoming a habit,” he criticizes.

“How fucking dare you approach my wife in a dark parking lot?” I hiss.

His eyes narrow. “First of all, watch your goddamn tone. Second, your wife ”—he sneers the word—“is being dramatic. It’s a perfectly lit parking lot.”

I scoff, shaking my head. “You’re un-fucking-believable.”

“What’s unbelievable, Beckett, is that you would run off and marry the first woman you meet that you know we wouldn’t approve of. Then to make matters worse, you didn’t sign a prenup.”

“I didn’t marry the first girl I met, Dad. If I had done that, I would have been married a long time ago. As for a prenup, trust me when I say I don’t need one.”

He looks at me sympathetically. “Let me tell you something, son. The only men who don’t believe in prenups are fools who end up losing their asses when the relationship ends in divorce. Now, I contacted Steven, and he’s willing to backdate one. We just need to get her signature.”

“You’re bringing your lawyer into this?”

“Yes, now can you get her signature or not? We can forge it, but it’s preferable if it’s real.”

“Not. I’m not faking her signature or making her sign shit. If our marriage goes up in a ball of flames, then fuck me, but it won’t.”

He sighs in disappointment. “You’re going to regret this. I’m going to have to cut you off to save our finances.”

“Just as much as you are going to regret trying to buy her off. Let’s see which one of us folds first. To be clear, I don’t need or want your money.”

“That was a surprise I wasn’t expecting,” he confesses.

Something close to pride fills me over the fact my wife caught him off guard.

“Since neither of you are willing to work with me, I guess this means we will just have to do this another way.”

“What the hell does that mean?”

“It means I’ll make all this go away one way or another, and in return, you will stop playing hockey.

Ever since you’ve gone to college, you’ve been rebellious and your life has gotten off track, but that’s okay.

It’s nothing I can’t fix. I’ll clear up this little marriage issue, and then you’ll start properly courting Penny. ”

I lean forward and wait to speak until I know all of his attention is on me.

“I’m going to say this once, okay, so listen really close, Dad.

” His eyes narrow, but I push forward. “I’m not divorcing Peyton.

She is my wife and will be my only wife until the day I die.

I will not quit hockey until the day I can’t play anymore.

My life is on track for exactly how I want to live it, and you just need to accept it. ”

“Beckett…” he warns, his face becoming red.

“No, Dad, I’m done with you and your bullshit. We are done.”

“You’re cut off. I’m serious about that.”

“You can keep your money. I don’t need it,” I tell him as I stand and start to walk away.

“You’re going to regret this.”

“The only thing I regret is not cutting you out sooner. Now stay away from my wife and me.” I pause before I step outside and throw one last barb. “And for the millionth time, I don’t like lamb!”

As soon as I step out of the café, I take a deep breath and feel like I can breathe for the first time in years.

Good fucking riddance.