Chapter Forty-Three #2
“Us!” I volunteered, hand shooting in the air.
Grant frowned as his jaw worked to polish off what I hoped was his last slider of the night.
I don’t want to hear about his stomach hurting later when I’m trying to get mine.
“I didn’t agree to this,” Grant protested as I tugged on his arm, desperately trying to pull him out of his seat.
“Happy wife, happy life,” Daisy volunteered.
“That’s easy for you to say when you’re both the wife,” Grant mentioned, finally budging. “The phrase is ‘Happy spouse, happy house.’”
Ten minutes later, I was buzzing with energy after we selected our song. I couldn’t stop grinning as I gripped the microphone in my hand and waited for the opening lyrics.
“How do you want to play this?” Grant asked, tucking a few curly ringlets behind my ear.
“Together… how it should be—always together.”
Grant’s lips slipped into a soft smile.
“Always together.”
Thaddeus
Droplets of whiskey sloshed over the rim as I scrolled, spilling onto my desk.
My jaw tightened until it ached as I watched the friends-only social media posts from Kieran Baker’s account.
Kiyah and Grant were dancing while singing “Out of My League” by Fitz and The Tantrums like two sick lovebirds whose wings I wanted to tear off.
Grant was laughing and smiling, and his eyes never left Kiyah as she spun around him, demanding his attention.
By the chorus, the entire family, plus their legal counsel, were belting out the lyrics.
Kiyah and Grant ended their duet with a bow and a deep kiss that edged on inappropriate.
The night proceeded with speeches, cake-cutting, dancing, and gift-opening. It felt like a knife to the gut when Jonathan Baker gifted Kiyah and Grant their signed divorce papers that he never dropped in the mail. Symbolically, the happy couple burned the divorce petition in one of the firepits.
My stomach twisted with acid from the happiness they didn’t deserve. I took another swallow. The liquor scorched down my throat, but it didn’t soothe the rage. It intensified as they paraded their obscene joy for the world to see.
I slammed the glass down and watched the amber liquor roll like a tidal wave while my pulse hammered in my ear.
They were mocking me, and my patience had run its course.
“Do you see this?” I asked, flipping the tablet to Desi.
“I do, sir.”
“That’s my first lady.”
“It is, sir.”
I turned the tablet and rage to the man who failed me.
“What is that, Stone?”
He mumbled around the gag, blood and snot dripping from his nose. I frowned when he began crying.
“Hit him.”
Desi reared back and punched him, landing a powerful hook to his jaw. Stone’s head slumped forward. Desi grabbed his hair and yanked his head back, forcing our eyes to meet.
I poured another drink, and my hands trembled with fury.
“Hit him until I tell you to stop.”
Stone was barely conscious by the time I gave the signal. I stood from my desk, dragging the empty glass across the gleaming surface. I leaned against the desk and crossed my arms, glaring at the pile of stinking trash before me. I motioned for Desi to remove the gag.
“I-I-I’m so sorry!” Stone blubbered, spit spewing through broken teeth.
“You’re right. You are the sorriest motherfucker I’ve ever employed. Well, the second sorriest. Desi’s brother would take the top spot.”
Desi stared straight ahead, blood-drenched hands clasped in front of him. I caught a nearly imperceptible twitch in his jaw as he ground his molars together.
“You had one job.”
Stone groaned, and his Adam’s apple bobbed repeatedly as he attempted to swallow down the pain.
“I-I-I did it. I d-did what you asked of me.”
“No, you didn’t. Because we wouldn’t be here if you had. I ordered you to secure the contract, have my men in place, and drop off a little present. You only managed one of those three tasks. And because of your sloppiness, I’ll have to appoint someone to take your place on short notice.”
“Please, don’t do this,” he whispered.
I raised my hands in surrender.
“Stone, do you think I want to do this?” I shook my head. “I don’t want to do this, but you have failed me tremendously.”
Desi cleared his throat. My eyes flickered to him in annoyance.
“How would you like me to take care of him for you, sir?”
I smirked.
“This is what I like about you, Desi. Always straight to the point. I’ll let you decide.”
I watched Desi yank Stone out of the chair and drag him kicking and screaming out of my office.
“Desi?”
“Yes, sir?” he answered, poking his head back into my office.
“Take her.”
“Right away, sir.”
“You’re dismissed.”
My phone vibrated across my desk. I checked it, and my expression soured.
It was another video of Grant and Kiyah being disgustingly in love.
Grant ran after her with a handful of cake.
Kiyah screeched as he closed the distance between them.
He caught her around the waist, lifting her in the air, and gently smushed a slice of cake into her face.
She let out a piercing laugh as he smeared cake and frosting across her cheeks.
The cake assault ended in another heated kiss that stoked the flames.
They think this reception is the start of their forever. They’re wrong. It’s the beginning of the end.