Chapter 1
Chapter One
KALEB
My phone continued to buzz with notifications, but I ignored them.
I knew what they were for.
Who they were.
And it was no one I wanted to talk to, or even think about.
"Are you going to get that?" Andrei asked with an arched brow.
Snarling, I flipped my phone over and declined the call, then turned the phone off.
"That's one way of taking care of it, I guess?" Andrei's brow furrowed at he regarded me.
"Leave it." I sighed and ran a hand over my smooth head.
"Patrice?"
"Andrei," I snapped, in no mood to hash this out with my friends. "Just enough."
My Russian friend shook his head. “You didn’t let it die when it was about me and my grandfather. So, I’ll give you a pass this one time, but you’re going to need to deal with your issues sooner or later, my friend.”
He tossed the file on my desk, then just stood there. The weight of his stare was heavy upon me as I did my best to try and ignore it.
“Don’t you have some reports to compile or numbers to crunch?” I waved a hand in the air. “Perhaps a vendor to strong arm into giving us discounts?”
Andrei’s head cocked to the side. “Do you even know what I do here?” There was a hint of humor in his question.
Of course I did, I just wanted to piss him off and get a rise out of him.
“You’re an ass,” he finally said after a few minutes of silence. “Stop ignoring your mother. You know she only gets more persistent when you do.”
He was correct. One did not ignore Patrice Wulf-Huntington.
“I need to think,” I admitted softly as I pinched the bridge of my nose.
Because I didn’t want Lottie anywhere near her or her piece of shit husband.
“Don’t think for too long,” Andrei placed a hand on my shoulder. “You know how persistent and intrusive she can be. Next thing you know she’ll be showing up at the house.”
“Fucking hell, I know.”
“Maybe call Sierra?” Andrei shut his laptop and rose. “But let’s stop thinking about this for now. It’s time to get home.”
I nodded. We made a promise to Lottie, and she to us to work less and be home more.
Which included being home at a reasonable time for dinner.
I glanced down at my watch and it was creeping closer to six pm.
I saved the document I was working on and shut down my computer.
“Let’s get home to our girl.” I sighed and rose from my chair. “I’ll figure out what to do about my mother.”