The Punk and the Plaything (When Rivals Play #3) - B.B. Reid Page 0,138

he announced before pushing away from my cubicle to leave.

I stood from my chair and called his name.

He faced me with a complete lack of interest. “Yes?”

“When you told me I’d be the one running the company because your blood runs through my veins, you also told me I’d have to start making decisions that were best for more than just myself. Do you remember that?”

He sighed. “Of course.”

“Well, I think I’m ready to start now.” I smiled at the wary look he was giving me now. “For my first decision as head of the family, I’ve decided not to take the job.”

“Excuse me?”

“Actually, that’s not true. I will take the job, but only if your son knows exactly why he was passed up.”

“That’s none of your business, Jameson.”

“It is when you force me to look my best friend in the eye every day and lie to him. I won’t do it a second longer. Tell him the truth, or I walk.”

“Everson doesn’t even want the job. He wants to be an architect.”

“Of course, he doesn’t want the job.” I fumed. “Who’d want to sit at a table where they’re not welcome?”

“So…” My uncle frowned, suddenly looking very disturbed. “He knows?”

“You’ve been showing me off as the future face of the company for months. He’d have to be an idiot not to. Besides, I think he’s known for a long time.”

“Does he know—” He seemed unable to speak the words.

“That his sperm donor is alive?” I finished for him. “I doubt it, but you should tell him. Sean isn’t behaving like a man content to stay in the shadows.”

My uncle was a foolish man, but he wasn’t an idiot. He knew he couldn’t keep Sean at bay for much longer. After eighteen years, he suddenly wanted to play daddy, and nothing on earth was going to stop it.

Unless we somehow found something that Sean wanted more.

“It was my fault his mother left,” my uncle announced, which sent me reeling, even though it wasn’t much of a surprise. “Ever thinks it was because of him, but it was me all along. She wanted to tell Ever the truth about his father. I didn’t. I raised Ever. I was there for his first words and his first steps. I was the one who taught him to catch.” In an explosion of anger, he slammed his fist on top of the cubicle wall. “He’s my goddamn son!” I silently watched my uncle’s chest heave as he tried to regain control of his emotions. Taking a deep breath, he shook his head. His voice, though still laced with anger, was much calmer when he spoke. “We argued about it for months, and when she found out that Sean was still alive, she sought him out. I’m still not sure if it was because she thought he’d be a better father or because she still loved him.”

I decided not to point out the obvious fact that they all seemed to be making decisions that were best for themselves and not for Ever.

“What about you?” I asked, instead. “Do you still love him?”

By now, I’d lost count of how many times I’d managed to shock my uncle in a single conversation.

“What are you talking about?”

“I’m talking about this weird little sex triangle you’re in.” I waited for him to admit it, but he simply stood there… blinking at me. I sighed. “I’m going to take an educated guess and say that you and Sean found each other early in life. You were best friends until one of you realized you wanted more. Since I already know Sean is Crow, I’m also going to guess that you hit a fork in the road. Only his path was much darker than yours. Years pass before you see each other again. By now, you’ve met a nice, wholesome girl. You think you’re in love. And because fate is cruel, here comes your old flame. With your heart in one hand, he steals hers with the other. Knocks her up too before he disappears again, leaving you to pick up the pieces.”

My uncle looked like a fish out of water, probably wondering how I possibly pieced everything together. Sticking my nose where it didn’t belong was a favorite pastime of mine. The sound of clapping had me spinning around. Sean was making his way toward us, looking like a thief in the night dressed in all black. The feeling that he was fucking bad news just wouldn’t dissipate. I couldn’t