Bereft - Jennifer Foor Page 0,51
break her heart. If I could spare her the pain I would do it again and again. “There was nothing you could have done. It’s a mess your dad and I have to fix together.”
“I’m embarrassed to call him that. And Kyla, oh my god don’t even get me started. How could she? I mean, how long was she trying to get with him? It makes me sick. She was always trying to spend the night. Do you think it’s been going on longer than they say? Could this have been happening since we were minors?” She shivered and shook her body around. “I can’t even think about it without feeling sick to my stomach.”
I was trying to put myself in her shoes. Sometimes, her inability to understand was because of her age. However, in this situation I felt like she was in the same boat as I was. We were both losing people we loved. “I believe your father when he says it’s only been going on for six months. Last night we talked some more. Nothing is resolved, but we agreed to take some time apart.”
“Are you getting a divorce?” Her question was abrupt and to the point.
I shrugged. “I don’t know, Steph. I can handle a lot of things, but this, I’m just not sure I can ever get over it.”
She frowned and turned her head to look away. I could tell it was because she was getting upset. I reached for her wrist, catching her attention. “You’re not going to lose me. No matter what, I’m always going to be your mother.”
She hugged me again, this time while sniffling. I needed this kind of embrace, especially after the night I’d had.
A quick knock followed by someone speaking sent our eyes toward the door. “Hey, are we doing…” Chad met my daughter’s gaze and smiled, quickly stopping his sentence before there were questions to be asked. He scratched his head. “Sorry to interrupt. I didn’t know you had company.”
“It’s fine,” I managed to say with a smile.
“Are we still doing that conference call at three?”
I knew there was no conference call. Chad was giving me a way out of the curious look my daughter was giving us. “Yes, it’s all set up.”
He tapped on the door frame. “Cool. Ring my office when you’re finished so we can go over details.”
Once he disappeared Stephanie turned around and gave me a once over. “Who was that? Holy crap he’s hotter than hell. Why have you been hiding him from me?”
Of course she’d want to know more about Chad. Every woman did. If it wasn’t his fit physique, it was his sugar-bowl dimples, or his bright white smile. It didn’t hurt when he opened his mouth and spoke with his gruff voice. “That’s the new owner of the company. His name is Chad Rollins.”
“Mom, don’t hold out on me. Is he married? Single? Is he gay?”
I started to nod, but knew I couldn’t lie to her in that way. If she ever saw him again she could open up a can of worms I didn’t want to come out. “He’s a womanizer. Steer clear of that one.”
It was the best I could do without giving away the rush of jealousy I was feeling imagining him having more in common with my daughter than myself. In the past week my views of Chad had changed. I didn’t want to have to share his attention with someone else, especially Stephanie.
“That’s a shame. He looks like he’d be a real good time,” she snickered when she said it.
I slapped her lightly on the shoulder. “Stephanie, you should be ashamed of yourself.”
“What? I’m a grown woman. I’m not naïve to what goes on between men and women. I have a little experience myself.”
I put my hands up to my ears to muffle the sound. “Stop it. I can’t hear this right now.”
She giggled and removed my hands. “Let’s get lunch.”
“Wait. Aren’t you supposed to be at school?”
“I had an eight o’clock class this morning. I’m off for the rest of the day. Come on, Mom, don’t you miss me?”
“Of course I do. We can go to lunch. I’d love to spend time with you.”
Then I stopped dead in my tracks. I’d emailed an agent about seeing two apartments close to the office. I wasn’t sure Stephanie would be prepared for that type of move from me. “Wait. There’s something I need to tell you.”
“What?”
“I made an appointment to look at a couple places to