Page 51 of Tender Offer (Chance at Love #3)

Preston

“ I ’m sorry. She’s not in at the moment. Would you like to add a message to the six others you left?”

William pats my shoulder. “That won’t be necessary, thank you. Come on.” He pivots me to face the doors. “Let’s go. You tried.”

I cut my eyes over my shoulder at the front desk attendant. The least he could do is deliver my messages. And maybe polish his balding head.

The bins lining the pavement smell like stale beer and chips from a nearby bar. New York gets muggy in the summer, and the first day of the season is no exception.

“Any luck?” Dayo lowers his head at my pointed stare.

“Pres. It’s time to go—at least for now,” William says from behind me. He lets out a dejected sigh at my headshake. “Okay.”

Dayo opens the back of our town car for William and I to toss in our suit coats. He closes the door, and I begin my nightly walk around Madison’s neighborhood with a concerned little brother and a bodyguard in tow.

We’ve been in the city for two days after stops in Atlanta and Miami. All it took was a response to my text, and I was on the first plane out to Madison. I’m following her around, forsaking business obligations for the chance to talk to her in person. To prove I won’t stop fighting for us.

On the outside, I manage the appearance of keeping it together. On the inside, I’m a fucking wreck. I can barely sleep without her next to me. I even moved to my other home in Knightsbridge after she left. Nothing is the same without her.

I tried to hold on as long as I could.

Please don’t be mad at me.

I recite the words from the note she left on the kitchen counter next to her key. It’s become my chant, a reminder of the void in my life and my heart out of reach.

The last time I saw Madison was when I bumped into her after KD’s appointment a month ago. I felt the baby kick for the first time on the sidewalk, which caught me by surprise. I didn’t spot Madison, who was only feet away from us, and I won’t forget the look on her face when I did.

Shame tightened my lungs at the tears she forced away until the pain became unbearable. Our conversations up until then were minimal—not from a lack of trying. Neither of us knew how to navigate my new normal. We were still dealing with whiplash from the news.

I struggled to look Madison in the eye knowing it’s my fault, never mind make love to her. I never wanted to tie myself to KD like this, but wanting and having aren’t the same. I still struggle with that weekend. The condom broke, but KD is on birth control.

Still, no matter how we got here, I vow to be a better father than the one I had.

KD moved back to London to be closer and now works with me out of the main office. She wasn’t happy when I rushed her home after her appointment, but I saw Madison’s eyes. I was losing her. A fact that was confirmed when I arrived home to an empty house less than an hour later.

“Eat.” William thrusts a barbecue lamb skewer in my face. He passes two others to Dayo, who devours everything but the wooden sticks. “Damn, Deep Throat.”

“Fuck off,” Dayo chides, tossing his rubbish into the bin. “I’m grabbing halal.” He heads across the street to a corner spot we discovered during my daily walks.

I pop over from our office for lunch and after dinner in hopes of seeing Puff. Texting is the extent of our communication. She’s not ready for a call yet, but I’ll take whatever I get.

Madison

You have a child to worry about, and I don’t want to get in the middle of any mess.

I reread one of her recent texts and sigh. She has every right to feel the way she does, which is part of the reason I gave her space after she left. How could I beg her to stay when I was struggling to come to grips with the fact that I’m going to be someone’s father?

It wasn’t fair to Madison, but I refuse to let her think I stopped loving her—or that me and KD will rekindle something that was never there.

Our interactions are solely baby-related now.

William takes meetings with her unless it’s imperative I’m there.

He and Dayo are the only ones who know about the baby.

Outside of Puff, who I plan to win back.

“How long are we in New York?” William gnaws on his skewer like our father didn’t shell out hundreds of thousands on etiquette lessons.

“At least a week,” I say.

“Jewel did you a favor disclosing her aunt’s location. How much did that bribe cost?”

“A month’s worth of groceries for struggling neighbors in her parish back home, funding for political education about climate change, and bail fund investments for mothers and caregivers.”

If it weren’t for the trust Jewel and I established, she would’ve told me to fuck off a long time ago. Madison didn’t tell her niece about the baby, but Jewel knew to give me a hard time.

William whistles. “Whatever it takes.”

I nod.

Dayo returns with some chicken over rice, which he shovels into his mouth. Then we do our laps until it’s time to go back to the office.

The sun is lower, no longer strangling us with its heat, but it’s still boiling. William and I model sweat marks on our shirts rolled up to our elbows. Dayo is breathing easy in a light polo and shorts with trainers.

I sigh at another unsuccessful attempt but welcome the blast of cold air once we reach our Donnelley property. The Upper East Side location is a beaux-arts building with ornamental windows and a grand staircase.

“Good evening,” Sadie, our new general manager, greets. She hands me a thick manila envelope. “This came for you.”

“Thank you,” I say.

Dayo heads to the security room, and William and I take the lift to our tenth floor offices.

“You know you have to let go at some point, right?” I meet William’s frown with one of my own and open the envelope. He runs a hand through his blond hair, which remains unbothered by the humidity.

“I love Madison for you, but you can’t keep chasing her. You got a baby on the way no one knows about and our father on your heels trying to deprioritize damn near every initiative you have in place. Bow out, bruv.”

My eyes snap from the document in my hand to my brother. “What did you say?”

“Bow out. All of this isn’t the answer.”

“Take myself out of the equation.” I repeat Jewel’s words as I zero in on a highlighted clause.

“Exactly.” William’s relief comes through ragged breaths. He’s been more than my brother these last few weeks. He’s been my best friend, a surprising voice of reason who kept me fed and out of jail.

My steps slow off the lift, until I’m laughing for the first time in over a month. The answer to ending my father’s reign has been here all along. “You’re a genius,” I say.

“Obviously.” William pauses. “Want to clue me in?”

His face twists at my grin. “I’m calling an emergency board meeting. I quit.”