Page 64 of Never Gonna Lie (Forbidden #2)

Chapter Sixty-Four

JAMES

I t’s been a month since the incident and Drew still won’t return any of mine or Raven’s calls.

I know how much it’s affecting her by the way she jumps for her phone every time it rings and how her face falls when she sees it’s not her dad.

Knowing what it’s like to have a shitty relationship with a parent, my heart breaks for her.

I want to give her the world, but even money can’t fix this.

My office door opens, and the woman who owns my soul walks in. “Hey, pretty boy. I brought lunch.” I grin as she sashays her way to my desk, swinging a takeout bag in her hand.

Rounding my desk, I haul her into my arms. “Hi, baby,” I say, giving her a chaste kiss. “What do I owe the pleasure of this visit?”

Raven shrugs. “Can’t I come and visit my favorite person at work?”

I raise an eyebrow at her. “We both know Mia’s your favorite person,” I laugh as I take the bag from her outstretched hand and walk her to the sofa in the corner of the office .

“Shh, don’t tell her that, I’ll never hear the end of it.” She smiles, but it doesn’t reach her eyes.

I haul her into me, stroking a hand down her back. “He’ll come around, pretty girl.”

“I know,” she mumbles against my chest, clutching my shirt in her grasp. “I just wish he’d talk to me.”

I hum my agreement but keep quiet. We eat lunch together, and before long, Raven’s waving at me as she heads back to school for afternoon classes. She graduates in a few weeks, so I know how important her study time is.

Making a spur-of-the-moment decision, I grab my shit, calling out to Rebecca to cancel my meetings for the rest of the day.

I’ve got something to fix.

This isn’t going to go down well, but I have to try, for Raven’s sake if nothing else.

I’d spoken to Drew’s PA, Danielle, who’d informed me he hadn’t been into the office in days.

We have a good team around us, so even if he did drop the ball, there are enough people to pick up the slack while he’s out.

It’s not like I’ve been much help either, as I’ve been knee deep in everything too.

Putting my key in the lock, I twist the doorknob and walk in. The cleaners have clearly been, the place looks spotless, unlike the last time I was here. Everything looks untouched as if no one’s been living here. I make my way through the eerily quiet house until I come to Drew’s office .

Pausing, I take a deep breath and knock before pushing the door open.

He looks up from behind his computer, a look of confusion on his face before it’s replaced with anger. “Get the fuck out,” he roars, standing up and walking around his desk. “I don’t want you anywhere near me.”

I put my hands up in a friendly gesture. “I’m not here to fight, Drew. I’m here to ask you to take your head out of your ass and fix things with your daughter.”

He stops. “I have nothing to say to her.” By the way his voice catches, I don’t believe him.

“You can be as mad as you want at me; hell, you don’t ever have to speak to me again, but don’t do this to Raven, Drew. She deserves better than that.” I run a hand down my face, exhaustion at the situation hitting me. “She needs you.”

The man I’ve called my friend for the last eighteen years looks at me, tears lining his eyes. He looks awful, sallow skin, bags under his eyes, and I know this has hit him harder than any of us thought it would.

“She doesn’t need me,” he says as he huffs out a derisive laugh. “She has you.”

“She’ll always have me, Drew, but you’re her dad. Please,” I implore as I take a step forward. “For her, for you, fix this .”

He sighs. “ Why ? Why my daughter ? Of all the people in the world, James. Why her?”

I don’t have a good enough answer, so I go with the truth. “I don’t know, all I know is that I love her, Drew. I want to spend my life with her if she’ll have me.”

“She’s twenty years old, she has her whole life ahead of her,” he points out .

I bristle at his words. “I’m well aware,” I drawl, rolling my eyes. “I’ll be here as long as she wants me. She’s it for me.” I shrug.

Drew assesses me. His eyes narrow and his head tilts to the side, but he won’t find a lie. I meant what I said. I just need to tell her that.

“You mean that, don’t you?”

I nod my head slowly. “Yup. I tried to stay away from her but…” I smile. “She has a way of burrowing under your skin.”

He goes silent for a while, and I can feel the bead of sweat working its way down my spine.

He has to be okay with this. I need him to be okay with this.

He exhales heavily, running a hand down his face before he finally says, “I don’t agree with this, and it’s going to take me a long time to be okay with you and my daughter, but… I’ve already lost so much, I can’t lose her as well.”

“That’s all I’m asking for, man.” I nod my head. Taking a seat opposite him, I ask, “How are you doing?”

Drew sighs, crossing his arms across his chest and leaning back on his desk. “Honestly? Not great. I loved Emma, I did. I guess I just loved the company more.”

“You need some time away, Drew,” I suggest. “You working constantly like this, it’s not healthy.”

“It's all I’ve ever known,” he states with a shrug, his eyes glossy with emotion.

“Maybe it's time to find something else worth living for?” I raise an eyebrow at him. “Go on vacation, go skydiving, hell, go on a road trip across the country, just… take a breather. You’re forty-one years old, live a little, hmm?”

Drew looks like he’s contemplating my idea. “Maybe. ”

With a curt nod of my head, I push myself up from the chair and leave. I just hope that in time, what’s been broken can be fixed, and those wounds can start to heal.