Chapter 15
Chapter Fifteen
Kreed
Bonnie was pissed. She wouldn’t stop blowing up my phone, and I knew it was only a matter of time before she showed up at the house because I was ignoring her calls.
My attorney had advised me to cease contact with her now that her papers had been served.
He was working as fast as possible and pulling every string he could to get me out of this marriage quickly, and Bonnie was raging about how soon our court date was, and she was even angrier at Hudson, though he really didn’t have anything to do with our divorce.
She’d brought this upon herself by literally allowing a doctor to abuse Hudson.
Finding that out had been my final straw.
I was trying my damnedest to shield him from her while he was in town. I kept my phone on silent and kept all the doors and windows locked. I knew Bonnie had a key, but I was hoping I could intercept her before she got into the house, so she wouldn’t get near Hudson.
She’d done more than enough to him, and that slap yesterday had been too fucking much. Had she not been a woman, I’d have laid her on her fucking ass for raising a hand to him.
I glanced at my work phone when it rang. Picking it up, I answered my personal assistant’s call.
“Hey, Greta,” I greeted. She was in her sixties with silver hair she kept pulled back into a severe bun, but she was the nicest woman I’d ever met, and she did her job efficiently and effortlessly.
She was damn near ready to retire, but she told me she wouldn’t be doing that until she absolutely had to.
Her husband had already passed away, and her kids were grown and moved out.
She liked to be busy, and she said she didn’t want to rely on the government for a single penny.
Couldn’t blame her for that one.
“Hi, honey,” she said, her aged voice washing through me like sunshine. She was more like a mother to me than a personal assistant, honestly. “You have a meeting on your calendar for two this afternoon. I know Hudson is in town. Will you be making it in, or do you need me to reschedule?”
My PA was aware of everything in my life. When I didn’t show up for work, she immediately knew the reason why, since there was only ever one reason I stayed home. She knew when Hudson was there, I tried to be home as much as possible, even during his summer breaks.
Pulling up my calendar, I asked, “Who is the meeting with?”
“Intelite TV. They want to discuss a possible partnership in the hopes you will develop a more user-friendly app.”
They were a pretty big company, and while I wasn’t hurting for money by any means, I was always open to broadening my horizons and bringing in more income.
I’d been wanting to have a sit-down with Intelite TV for a while.
I was afraid if I postponed this meeting, I’d lose my opportunity, even if they’d been the ones to request this discussion.
I wasn’t cocky enough to think they wouldn’t go seek out a different app developer if I pushed them aside.
“I’ll come in,” I said, glancing at my clock. “Give me time to shower and get ready, and I’ll be on my way.”
“Sure thing. I’ll have coffee and lunch waiting for you.”
We ended the call, and I pushed back from my desk. I found Hudson in the living room, watching the third Fast and Furious movie. He tilted back his head to look up at me before shoving a Skittle into his mouth.
“Hey,” he greeted.
I leaned over him and pressed my lips to his. It felt as natural as breathing. How had I ever thought being with him could be wrong when it was obviously so fucking right? Hudson was everything I never knew I needed in my life.
“I need to head into the office,” I told him. “Bonnie is still on a warpath. I’d like it if you came with me, but I know you won’t.” Especially when he was watching his favorite movie series.
He snorted. “You know me well.” He fingered the collar of my shirt, and I shivered when his fingertip glanced over my collarbone. “I’m not worried about Bonnie. I’ve been dealing with her my entire life, remember? Go to work. I’ll order us something for dinner later this evening.”
Sighing, I nodded then kissed him one more time before heading upstairs.
I just hoped Bonnie stayed the fuck away from the house while I was gone.
Hudson was right; he had been dealing with his mother his entire life, but I didn’t want him to have to deal with her any longer.
She was my problem now, but I knew that didn’t matter to Bonnie.
For as long as I’d known her, she’d thought everything that went wrong in her life was because of Hudson. And this was no fucking different.
Stripping out of my clothes, I stepped into the shower.
I just needed to go to work long enough to handle this meeting, then I’d come straight home so I could be here in case she showed up.
Leaving Hudson by himself left a sour feeling in my gut, but I couldn’t just abandon my duties. He and I both knew that.
When I got out of the shower, I grabbed my phone off the bed then typed out a quick text to Corvus. He hadn’t been back since he’d escorted Bonnie out Sunday, wanting to give us alone time, but alone time was over. I didn’t want Hudson here by himself while Bonnie was so fucking unstable.
Kreed:
Hey. I have to go into work. Think you can come chill with Hudson for a while?
Corvus:
Dude, he’s grown lol
Kreed:
I know, but Bonnie got served her papers, and she’s on a warpath.
Corvus:
Fuck. Yeah. Give me about an hour, and I’ll be on my way. If I can get away from this sooner, I’ll be there ever faster.
I didn’t know what Corvus was doing, and I didn’t care. The kid had always run by his own book.
Feeling a little better about leaving Hudson by himself, I tossed my phone back on the bed and hurried to get dressed. If Corvus said he’d be here, he’d show up. And knowing that made it a little easier to breathe.