Chapter 20
Davey
“I need answers and explanations,” Daphne said. “And I need them from you, asshole.”
We sat in my father’s old office, piecing together a strategy to deal with this.
“Do you want me to begin at the start and explain the nitty-gritty or—”
“I want to know how you impregnated my employee, yes. What the fuck, Davey? The timeline does not work. And you were such an asshole to her—”
“Fine, you asked for it,” I said. “I met Eva at a bar. She was overseeing her best friend’s bachelorette party. I sort of ran into her, found her cute, and… we hooked up.”
“So, you just willy-nilly think it’s cool to have unprotected sex? That’s so stupid, Davey!”
I did not need a lesson from my baby sister on wrapping it up right now.
“Daph, the condom broke. I went out and bought her Plan B. It didn’t work. Then, she decided to block my number. She sorta freaked out. It upset me. That’s why I was an ass.”
“So, she’s a conquest?”
I balled my fists. “Can you stop it with the fucking accusations, Daph? No. She’s not.
I care a lot about her. I am obsessed with her, in fact.
She’s gorgeous. I find her addictive. Is that what you want to hear?
That I’m completely wrapped up in a woman I have no business with—one who probably doesn’t want me?
That we’ve been hiding it because she’s terrified of you firing her? ”
“I should fire you. I have the votes and everyone is here!”
“Fine, try it,” I sighed. “Daphne, I’m so tired. So fucking tired.”
“You’re tired? I’m cleaning up your fucking mess right now while about to pop! I’m worried about your ability to manage the company—”
“I can manage the company,” I assured. “I did it before you. I’ll do it for a few months without you, damn it! And you should be relieved. I wanted to IPO. This will kill those chances the minute my philandering gets out.”
“You wanted to IPO? You wanted to take Dad’s company public?”
I winced. “I told you I was being honest.”
“No. I won’t permit it. That’s a hornet’s nest. Why would you want that?”
“I’d rather take my chances with shareholders—”
“Why?”
“Daphne, I hate this job. Honestly, you’re better at it,” I said. “I fought you tooth and nail for it. I wanted to be good at it, but even Dad knew better.”
Face sympathetic, Daphne sat on the desk’s edge, defeated.
“What? You don’t want to be CEO now? You wanted my head on a spit a year ago, sister.”
“I… I like to win a fair fight. And anyway, that’s not what I need right now. I need to be able to sleep—”
“I can hold the well. You’ve done a great job. This acquisition with the sustainable building firm will wrap up in a couple of weeks. But I don’t know what I want to do. Everything is up in the air, Daphne.”
“Yes. We’re both having babies. Are you planning to parent or just cut a check?”
I paced. I wanted to scream at my sister but knew doing so only made me look like a monster. I remembered Eva’s words about my only emotion being anger and took a deep breath.
“Daphne, I plan to parent these babies—to be a good father like Dad was to us. Don’t throw that at me. It hurts. I have been there with Eva for every appointment. She fought me at first, but she’s coming around.”
“But you aren’t together?”
“Not right now—not really.”
I wish.
“Are you still sleeping with her?”
“Consistently?”
“Oh, good God, Davey! I cannot even with this!” Daphne threw her hands up. “What the hell are we going to do?”
“She doesn’t report directly to me. There are no policies.
As well as we are clear about this, legal will look the other way.
HR will, too. We just cannot fire her. But given that I’m going to be paying child support to the tune of who even knows, I think it would be hard to say I was treating her poorly. ”
“But if people—people like Claire—see favoritism, you could also be in trouble.”
“That is why I am not supervising her,” I said. “What else can I do? Resign?”
In a way, that would be a relief. Suddenly, I wanted nothing to do with it all.
“Not right now. That’s everything I don’t need.
No, you will take your lumps, tell everyone how much you love this woman you didn’t know I was going to hire, and move on.
You will be a father to that baby. You will take time off to help her.
And you will support her. After all of that, we can talk about the next steps. ”
“Fine,” I sighed. “And Mum?”
“You’re left to swing in the wind there. Protect Eva. Mum is on a warpath. I told Delanie to stand by her and fight Mum if necessary. She’s not happy.”
“Eva is a wonderful woman,” I said. “She should be grateful.”
“Trust me, I’m glad you knocked up someone with a brain if you knocked anyone up, but Davey, this wasn’t what Mum wanted. It was bad enough me getting pregnant while engaged. She shit a brick. This is far worse. She works for you. She’s not even remotely from our social circle. It’s bad.”
“She’s more than I deserve. Everyone can fuck off if they don’t want to accept her—that includes Mum,” I roared. “And you… of all people… to throw Eva under the bus? How dare you!”
Daphne stepped forward, pregnant rage palpable. “I am never going to complain about Eva, okay? I think she’s definitely too good for you, brother. However, it looks bad. And you know nothing about her family. If you think Mum is conservative, good fucking luck!”
I didn’t know what that meant. Eva was out as bi, right? She was also close to her parents. That felt like an empty threat. It would be fine. Everyone would get on board.
“The line is that you’re in love with her. That you fell for her before she came on. The baby is an oops, but we don’t have to say that—they’ll understand it. You two are taking it in stride. You’ll plan to leave when I return to the office.”
“Daph, it’s babies,” I said. “We’re having twins. Which means, she’s actually due in the new year.”
Daphne’s mouth dropped. “Tw-twins?”
“Yeah They missed them on the first ultrasound. But that’s what we just found out today.
And while Eva is wild about it, I’m… I’m still wrapping my head around somehow being a father to two babies instantly.
Her pregnancy has gotten infinitely more complicated.
We cannot just hide this. The press will find out. She’s going to be huge soon.”
“Oh, I’m sorry! I hope her body doesn’t disgust you too much, brother! Never say that—”
It didn’t. I found her sexy as hell.
“It’s not that. Jesus! Why does everyone assume I mean the worst!
? I’m speaking in practicalities, Daphne.
She’s gorgeous. To me, she’s fucking perfect.
That’s not it. This is for fear of reputation—of the company.
I’ll take the hit personally. But we cannot slow ease into this the way I thought we could. ”
“Well, you’ve got a room full of people who want an explanation. I will not speak over you. I won’t be your adversary, Davey. We need to project strength.”
“I’m quite aware,” I said. “But I must speak to Eva first. Because if I proclaim my love for her in front of our entire leadership team, it’s going to freak her the fuck out.”
“Fine,” Daphne said. “She’s in the drawing room. You are treading on the thinnest of ice, brother.”
Don’t I know it!
Eva
I got nosey during my exile to the drawing room.
With an arm in a sling, I spied something in the corner on a mahogany writing desk I doubt anyone used.
A series of family photos in heavy silver frames sat on it.
My mother would have been envious of how nice they looked.
I filed silver frames away as a Christmas present idea, praying I still had a job in December.
I observed these normal family photos—starkly contrasting to the dining room’s massive family portrait.
There, the family presented as the royals might—if royals casually gathered on the shore of their private beach for a portrait.
An elegant oval frame held a photo of a beautiful woman in an off-the-shoulder dress looking out a window.
I figured that was Lady Danna in her prime.
If so, it made sense why Lanie and Dora, her mini-mes, had such presence.
Another photo showed Daphne and Cal on their wedding day.
Finally, a larger rectangular frame held a photo of Davey’s father on the phone in his office—a place I recognized—surrounded by his brood.
Teen Davey and Daphne camped out on the floor—Daphne on a laptop and Davey leaning over, pointing at something.
Dahlia read on the couch. The brother I’d yet to meet, Derrick, played on a gaming system nearby.
Delanie played with a car at the foot of the desk near Daphne.
In David’s lap sat a fat, chubby baby eating something. It had to be little Dora.
“Eva?”
Fear shot down my spine as Lady Danna approached.
“Yes?”
She gently plucked the frame from my hands.
She smiled and cooed, “Oh, this one. It’s one of my favorites. Daphne has another one like it up at home. I took it when they were all there.”
“Your husband had all of them in his office at once?” I asked. “Was that… a normal thing?”
“We were hit with a bad storm,” Danna explained.
“The kids were all out of school. I’d not slept in days since the baby was up about five times in the night.
Well, David let me sleep. He didn’t wake me, just packed them all off to work.
He bundled them up and Davey and Daphne helped herd the little ones.
Davey pulled Dora and Delanie in a sled there per what I was told.
David kept them all morning until the staff told me what he’d done.
I was concerned. By then, the roads were passable enough. So, I went to collect them.”
I smiled. “That is sweet. He didn’t mind?”