Chapter 40
Thane’s pov.
Mom?!
+20 Bonus
Does Andera have a child?
A myriad of emotions coursed through me at once. Shock, surprise, Unbelief. Andera had a daughter? Wait, that would mean she has a partner in her life.
No! Andera is single, or why else would she be using her father’s surname? Right?
“You have a child?”
with the
I type and send it to her. Despite it being almost six pm, with the cool Seattle air and air–conditioned office, heat was rising inside of me. I shrugged off my suit jacket and loosened my tie as I waited for Andera’s reply. If she doesn’t text me back, I swear to God, I will go to her home this instant and find out answers for myself.
Shit, I want her. I don’t care if she’s had a child during our time apart, it makes no difference to me. I would love her and love her
child equally as well.
Paul pokes his annoying head into my office, aggravating me further
“Planning on staying here tonight, Boss? The company is already deserted.”
“Get the fuck out.” I sneer at Paul. I’m not in the mood for games; it’s been over two minutes since I sent her the text, hundred and twenty seconds; how long does it take to type a ‘Yes‘ or ‘No‘?
that’s one
“Geez, Louise, calm down, sir; the PR team and Imogen were doing their best to curb this scandal. Don’t worry yourself to death over it,” Paul said, only causing me to snort.
“That’s not why I’m worried. I can handle Harrison.” I respond, but I can’t handle it if Andera had a man in her life. I don’t trust myself to not do something crazy. Could that be the reason why Andera has been giving me cold shoulders?
“What’s bothering you?” He prods.
“Mind your business, Paul”
“You are
my
business.”
I raise my face from my phone to give Paul a half–disgusted, half what–the–fuck–did–you–just say kind of look.
–
Paul raises his hand in the air as a sign of defeat and walks out, then closes the office door. When I returned my attention to my phone, Andera already sent me a text. I suck in a sharp breath.
“That is my C.O.Os niece. They are both staying over at my mine tonight.”
1/4
+20 Bonus
Something about h
text seemed off; I could sense it, the way she easily answered me without her usual hint of annoyance. It has my dialing my private investigator’s number.
“Hey, I need you to do a thorough background check on Ms Andera Campbell. I want to know everything that happened over the
last five years, who she has been with, where she studied.” I sucked in a breath. “Child or no.”
“Alright, sir. I will get on it.”
The call ends. I stare at Andera’s text for a long minute before picking up my suit jacket and putting it back on. A part of me wants
to drive over to her home and find the truth out for myself; the other part–the voice of reasoning asks me to do the same.
So that’s it, I’m going over to Andera’s.
I put on my jacket and storm out of my office. I bump first thing into Paul
“What the?” I groan
Paul sighs.
“Finally, I can go home now” he muttered. I walk past Paul. “I didn’t ask you to wait up for me,” I say.
Paul trails closely behind me, and as soon as we are out of the company, the securities lock it up for the day.
Paul takes a detour to his place while I turn my car in the direction of Andera’s home. This is another time I am invading her privacy and overstepping boundaries.
Fuck it.
I need answers, and I won’t get them from just that text. If the kid is her’s, fine; if it isn’t her’s, also fine.
Soon enough, I park my car in the street and stare at Andera’s duplex for a while. The road is already dark and quiet. Night has fully settled, and there’s no light on from any of Andera’s rooms. She must be asleep.
The best thing would be to put my car on reverse and quit acting like a goddamned prick, but I don’t; I alight my car and move to ring her doorbell.
Three minutes later she doesn’t come out. I pull my phone out of my pocket to call her
First ring second ring. third.. she answers by the fourth.
“It’s nine pm. What?!” Andera yells, her voice groggy.
“I’m outside”
The line goes silent for a beat. Then she speaks up again, more clear and coherent than when she first answered.
“Out…Outside where?” She stutters.
My heart twisted. I hate to be the guy who disturbs her night rest just over something silly. This isn’t how I get Andera back. What was I even thinking? One of the lights in the room goes on, and before I can tell Andera not to worry, she already ended the call.
2/4
From the window upstairs, she looks out, then down at me. Her mouth opens in a gasp.
+20 Bonus
In a minute, Andera is already running downstairs. I swallow. I started this confrontation tonight; I might as well finish it. Andera
walks out of the door and closes it. There was no invitation to come inside; I wasn’t expecting any.
“What on God’s green earth are you doing here at this time?!” She whispered furiously and shut the door, leaving us both outside
in the chill.
“Why are you whispering?” I ask instead.
Andera palms her forehead in frustration, her eyes narrowed to slits.
“If you’re high on something, Thane. Take it else where, I’m getting fed up with you, I need you to leave this very moment, or I’ll call the cops.”
Fair enough.
“Let me see the kid.” I requested. Andera stiffens, her eyes turn bleak and she wraps her hand around her small body.
I shrug off my jacket and place it on her nightgown, it’s an effort not to look at those lush curves as I do.
Andera tries to talk again, but her voice becomes more shaky as though I pour her a bucket of ice–cold water.
“Hun?” She manages.
“I want to see the child I heard from the background and her mother. The kid is a girl, right?”
Andera doesn’t reply at first. She seemed to be gathering herself. Working out an answer made me only more suspicious.
“What do I tell my guests? That I’m waking them up from their sleep because my crazy ex–husband wants to see them?” She drawls. Her eyes flashed with fury, her auburn hair turning a shade of burnt gold under the moonlight, creating a form of halo
over her.
Fuck, Andera is so beautiful it hurts; she’s like a fucking goddess, and I will gladly kneel before her if only she lets me.
“Leave Thane, or I will call the cops on you, that wouldn’t be good, considering you already have a serious case at hand.”
“Okay, I will leave once I’ve seen them.” I maintain my stand.
I stretch my hand to reach for the doorknob and gesture to Andera, but instead, she grabs my vest and crashes her lips onto mine
in the most demanding of kisses.
