Chapter 16 #2
“Yeah,” Walt sighed. “I just want you to be prepared for when the fireworks start,” he went on, bitterness in his voice. “You might have to take over everything I’ve been doing, not just for this event tomorrow, but all the other things I’ve been doing for the company, too.”
“I doubt it’ll come to that,” I said, glancing at a curious Shawn. I didn’t have the call on speaker, so he could only guess at what Walt and I were talking about.
Walt huffed sourly. “You don’t know my dad like I do,” he said. “He’ll take one look at me, at my stomach, and he’ll call security to escort me out of the building.”
“He wouldn’t do that,” I said.
“And then he’ll turn around and praise Shawn for being the good son and not getting himself knocked up by a stranger,” Walt went on as if I hadn’t said anything. “He’ll probably praise you for being an ideal omega because Shawn hired you.”
“I’m definitely not his ideal of an omega,” I said, touching a hand to my stomach. “Honestly, Walt, I think you’ve got more people on your side and more things going for you than you realize.”
“I doubt it,” he grumped.
“I don’t,” I said. I took a breath, trying not to be impatient with what I knew was real pain for him, and said, “Look, it’s Christmas.
Christmas is the time of forgiveness and reconciliation.
It’s the time when families are supposed to come together, putting their egos and the pain of the past aside, to just love each other. ”
“You’ve obviously never spent Christmas with our family,” Shawn muttered as he turned into the Pullman Center parking lot.
I sent him a look that said he wasn’t being helpful and I was talking about him, too, as I continued with, “It’s also the time of miracles.
And birth, really. So don’t give up hope about any of this.
I know we’ll be able to sort everything out, get all of the family secrets out into the air, and deal with them together. ”
“That sounds really nice and pretty,” Walt said, sarcastic but with a kernel of sincerity behind that, “but you’re not part of the Wythe family. Not really.”
“Wanna bet?” I asked wryly.
Walt didn’t have a chance to answer back or ask questions. At least, not on the phone call. Because Shawn pulled his sedan up into a parking space right next to Walt’s car, where he was sitting, his phone held to his ear.
“Hey,” I said into the phone, ended the call, then got out of the car and tapped on the window of Walt’s car. “We’re going to handle this together.”
Walt’s expression said far more than his gloomy, angry words ever could have. He was desperate and afraid. All of his sharp edges and snappish way of speaking on the phone or video calls were just defenses he’d put up to hide the fact that he was a scared, vulnerable, lonely omega.
Walt opened his car door, then scooted uncomfortably so he could stand with his enormous belly. “I’m going to need some help,” he said with a sigh.
“You can say that again,” I teased him, offering him a hand.
Shawn rushed around the front of his car to help, but by the time he reached us, I already had Walt on his feet. He was rounder than the last time we’d seen him. Honestly, he looked like he was about ready to pop.
“When is this baby due again?” Shawn asked, taking up a place on Walt’s other side as we headed to the Pullman Center’s main entrance.
“Early February,” Walt snapped. “And I don’t want to hear any jokes about how big I am or ‘I told you sos’ about getting into this condition in the first place.”
“Walt, you know I would never—”
Shawn stopped as soon as we crossed into the large lobby of the Pullman Center to find Anthony talking to one of the building managers. He looked as elegant as ever, and even though he was an omega, the beta building manager looked at him with respect and deference as they spoke.
That conversation died as quickly as Shawn’s statement when Anthony glanced toward us. He almost went back to his conversation with the building manager, but went rigid instead and jerked his head back to stare at us. Or more particularly, to stare at Walt’s belly.
“Oh my God,” he said, leaving his conversation to walk swiftly over to us, eyes wide. “Is this why you haven’t been in the office or visited any of us for months now?”
I had to hand it to Anthony, he was direct.
“Hello, Papa,” Walt said, hiding his panic behind formality.
“Don’t ‘hello, Papa’ me,” Anthony said coming to a stop in front of us and planting his hands on his hips. “Do you have something you’d like to tell me?”
Walt swallowed hard. Then he blurted, “Shawn and Enzo are dating. They’re living together, too. They were dating before Shawn hired Enzo to work for the company. Shawn hired his boyfriend.”
Shawn sucked in a breath. To me, the pinched expression that took over his face was more hurt and fear than anger.
I frowned, but really, I wanted to roll my eyes.
I wasn’t at all offended by Walt attempting to throw us under the bus because I knew it was done out of fear.
If he’d known I was pregnant, too, he would have used that to try to deflect his papa’s anger.
What surprised me was that it worked.
“Is this true?” Anthony asked Shawn, looking equally offended.
“Um, well, the thing is,” Shawn stammered, looking about half his age as his papa stared him down.
I couldn’t take it anymore. “Why is any of this an issue?” I asked, focusing on Anthony. “It doesn’t affect the Christmas Eve supper or anything having to do with the reasons we’re here today.”
Anthony turned the same disapproving look he had for his boys on me. Ouch. Maybe I understood why they were so quick to deflect blame onto the other after all.
“Is it true that you’re dating my son?” Anthony asked, brittle with me where he’d been at least cordial before.
“Yes,” I said, showing as little fear as I could.
I might have been a sub between the sheets, but I sure as hell knew how to hold my ground when I knew I was right.
“Does that change the fact that I know what I’m doing and that I’ve committed to making this event as successful as possible for both the Wythe Foundation and the people who truly need the help and services we’re trying to provide for them? ”
For a few seconds, you could have heard a pin drop.
Then Anthony grinned at me. He crossed his arms and stared at Shawn. “Why didn’t you tell me you were dating Enzo?” he asked.
“I—”
Before Shawn could answer, Anthony turned to Walt and said with even more feeling, “Why didn’t you tell me you were pregnant? You look like you’re at least seven months along.”
“Just over seven months,” Walt mumbled.
“I am your papa,” Anthony snapped, though there was more love than anger in him. “Don’t you think I would want to be involved in my baby having a baby?”
Walt had lowered his head, but he snapped it up now and looked at Anthony like he couldn’t believe his ears, and like he’d wanted to hear his papa say something like that for ages.
“I thought you’d be disappointed in me, embarrassed.
Dad is going to kill me. This just confirms everything he thinks about how useless and worthless I am. ”
“You are not worthless and useless,” Anthony said, still fierce on the surface, but I could see now that was his way of showing his love.
Hope started to spark within me. I could see it right there. Anthony loved his sons, and he was excited about Walt being pregnant, he just had a weird way of showing it.
But all of my hope flattened when Mr. Wythe entered the lobby through one of the doors that led into the event space and saw our group standing there. Or more specifically, he saw his pregnant son standing there.
“What in the hell is this?” he boomed, striding across the lobby to us so aggressively that I flinched back along with Walt.
“Now, Tristan, calm down,” Anthony said, sounding exasperated. “I was just trying to get to the bottom of this myself.”
“It looks like someone has already gotten to the bottom of things,” Mr. Wythe said, glaring at Walt. “And clearly, you have kept this a secret from me for too long.”
“This is exactly why I didn’t tell you,” Walt said, though his voice was thin and weak. “It was an accident. The whole thing was an accident when I went into heat unexpectedly.”
“That is what Bangers & Mash exists for,” Mr. Wythe said without sympathy.
“It was when I was in the Caribbean,” Walt tried to defend himself, though he just looked miserable as he did.
“Oh, honey,” Anthony said, reaching for Walt.
“Don’t,” Mr. Wythe stopped him. “What are people going to think when they see this?” he demanded from Walt. “Think about how having a bastard child in the family will affect your brother, will affect all of us.”
I’d never wanted to slap an alpha so hard in my life.
“I have thought of it,” Walt said, not quite standing up for himself, but not completely caving either. “I haven’t thought of anything else since I was a kid but how you both love Shawn more than me.”
“We do not—” Anthony started.
“I’ll do this on my own,” Walt cut him off, then turned to march out of the building with as much dignity as he could muster.