Epilogue
CHYNA
“Ijust got one question.” Keegan interrupted me as he cut his eyes at the new hire HR rep I was currently training on the new format for orientations.
I was now the head of the HR department, which was extremely hard being Keegan’s wife.
His ass didn’t care about HR nothing. He would harass his employees and bully everyone.
He didn’t care who they were. The only reason he hadn’t been sued yet was because he ultimately treated his employees extremely well and paid them even better.
The company was super relaxed and had an inviting environment, as long as they steered clear of Keegan.
James’s face turned beet-red as he looked at Keegan. “Yes, sir?”
“Do you enjoy employment?” Keegan asked.
By now, I’d learned to just let Keegan rock out when he got like this, which was still often, with his old ass. Over fifty years old now and still acting like a damn bully was insane, but what could I say? That bully shit was in my husband. Not on him.
James visibly swallowed nothing but some damn air as he glanced at me for help. I shrugged and looked at my husband.
“Y-yes, sir,” James replied.
“Then why do it look like you ain’t payin’ Mrs. Slater any attention? Does it look like she’s talking just for fun? Because she likes hearing the sound of her own voice, perhaps?”
“I was paying attention—”
“Daddy Kee ain’t ask you no question,” Liam snapped as hopped up from his seat at the back of the meeting room, pointing his bony finger at James.
“He kinda did, but I ain’t really like his tone,” KJ said with his feet kicked up on the table in front of him and his chair leaned back like he didn’t have a care in the world.
“Answer him!” a small voice shrieked, and I groaned. This was officially a family ordeal.
Kori glared at James as her twin sister, Kya, stood up and crossed her arms. They were in the row in front of their brothers, and the four of them together looked like some bad-ass kids.
And they definitely didn’t just look the part.
They were their daddy’s children, even Liam.
He had their little asses trained so well, oftentimes I felt like the only sane one in the house.
“I . . . I don’t even know what the question was anymore,” James said as he looked at all the kids and then back to Keegan, who still glared at him.
With another sigh, I gave my kids the look. They all knew when I was about to get serious and straighten everyone out. Liam and Kya quickly sat back down.
“I need y’all to be quiet. I told y’all you could come to this meeting with me if you stayed silent. One more peep, and I’m calling one of your grandparents, godparents, aunts, uncles, or cousins to come get you. Am I understood?” I hissed.
“Yes, ma’am,” they all responded.
I nodded and looked at Keegan. “Why are you even in here?”
He blinked at me. “What you mean?”
“Don’t you have some work to do?” I asked as I propped my hand on my hip.
This was the first year I participated in ‘bring your kids to work’ day.
All the kids pleaded with me to allow them to come.
They weren’t slick. I knew it was just because they wanted to skip school.
The girls, at nine years old, liked school well enough, but they wouldn’t skip out on the opportunity to miss a day.
Liam and KJ were a different story. At thirteen years old, they hated school and often concocted plans to skip days. They were just as mischievous as they had been when they were toddlers, and their sisters were no better.
“No,” he replied simply.
“Great. Then take your kids and get out of here. Let me finish this meeting, and we can leave.”
“But, Mommy, who will make sure Mr. James is listening to you?” Kori asked. Her innocent face gazed at me, and I huffed.
“You know what, James? How about we pick this up again tomorrow?” I asked the older white man who sat there looking confused and like he wasn’t allowed to move a damn muscle.
Quickly, he stood up and gathered his things. “That sounds perfect. Just email me the time.”
He didn’t wait for my response. Before I could blink, he was out the door.
Keegan clapped his hands with a smile on his face. “Looks like your afternoon just freed up. How about we all go grab some lunch?”
I shook my head and pulled him into me by the collar of his dress shirt. “What am I gonna do with you and your bad-ass kids?”
“Mommy, I’m not bad,” Kya said before she flicked KJ’s hand away. He had been trying to dig in her ear to annoy her.
I rolled my eyes away from them and focused back on my husband.
The past ten years had been glorious, even with all their crazy asses.
I wouldn’t have it any other way. My life was absolutely perfect, and it was all because of him.
Keegan Slater was a force to be reckoned with, but he was the softest man on Earth for me.
Somehow, fate found it fit that we mesh together as one. How did I get so lucky?
“You love me?” Keegan asked, ignoring my original question.
“More than anything.”
He gazed at me with so much love swimming in his eyes, I couldn’t help but to melt into him.
“You wanna know something?” he finally asked after planting a kiss on my nose.
“Of course.” I looked up at him like he had personally bullied the moon to stay in the sky while the sun was away.
“You are my everything.”
“Everything?” I beamed up at him. After all these years, he still knew how to make my heart flutter.
“Everything. I may not know everything in the world, but one thing I do know, Mrs. Slater, is I would be Nothing Without You.”
The end.