Egotistically Yours by Hayley Faiman

Chapter Forty-One

BETHANIE

Picking up Tucker,I don’t tell the day care that this is possibly his last day. I don’t think I can make a decision like that right this second. Honestly, I don’t even know if it’s a decision I’m making. I don’t know what is going on and what tomorrow holds. I’m scared.

Laurent is sitting in the lobby, and as soon as he sees me, he smiles and shoves his phone into his pocket.

“We need to go up and meet with Dad,” he announces as soon as I walk up to him.

Laurent takes Tucker’s car seat from me and together we make our way toward the elevator bank in silence. There is something wrong, but he’s not talking to me, not telling me what is going on, and it makes me really nervous.

When the elevator doors close, I turn to him. “What’s wrong?” I ask.

He shakes his head once. “Nothing.”

“Laurent,” I warn.

He chuckles, shaking his head once and his eyes find mine. His lips curve up into a grin and whatever it was that was bothering him, it’s gone. There is no more worry etched in his features. But I’m not fool enough to think that it’s magically just disappeared. I know that he’s hiding it from me and I’m scared.

Instead of asking him, demanding an answer that I don’t think he’s ready to give me quite yet, I just smile. “Okay,” I exhale.

He lifts his free hand and cups my cheek. “Trust me to get this handled, baby. I got this and I got you more than you could ever know.”

God, I want to believe him. Especially when he looks at me the way that he is, the way he watches me, the way his eyes bore into my soul. I want to believe everything that Laurent says, but I also know him and I know that he’s keeping something from me.

The elevator doors open and together we walk through and toward Landry’s office. I wonder if he’s tired of these visits. I don’t want to overstay anything, especially since he’s as close to a father-in-law as I’ll ever have, plus the grandfather to my son, plus my best friend’s husband and my boss. Landry Astor is a whole lot of things for me and I do not want to piss him off.

Laurent lifts his fist and knocks on Landry’s office door. I notice, yet again, that his secretary is not at her desk and I wonder what is going on. There has to be something there. Usually she’s right there, no matter what. At least the few times that I’ve been up here, she has been.

“Come in,” Landry’s deep voice calls.

Together, we walk into his office and I chew on the inside of my cheek as he lifts his head and looks across his desk at us. He smiles, then frowns, no doubt seeing the worry etched on my face, and whatever the hell expression Laurent is wearing, which I’m sure isn’t easygoing and carefree.

“So there’s a problem, sit down and let’s talk it out,” Landry says.

“The security guard walked away last week. During that time, this guy, whoever the fuck he is, appeared at Bethie’s desk. He made it pretty clear it was Mom. Bethie went to visit her today and she’s not backing down. I think things are going to get ugly. I’ve called Detective Chenault and Hansen.”

“But not Bash?” he asks.

“Not yet,” he murmurs.

“I’ll call him immediately,” Landry grinds out. “What are your plans right now?”

I feel like I’m nothing more than a fly on the wall. I’m here to observe and nothing else, because right now this is about Landry and Laurent. This is about Susan and I do not factor in, even though this is happening to me and not them.

“Bethie is going to stay home with Tucker until we move.”

Landry nods his head, his eyes finding mine and then something happens. I see the shift in his gaze and I know what it is. The look of guilt consumes him. He feels guilty for this man getting to me. He feels guilty and I hate it.

He shouldn’t feel that way, not at all. None of this is his fault. But I can see that he does and I want to reassure him that everything is okay, but my voice is frozen. I can’t speak.

“We will get this taken care of. You will never live in fear again, Bethie. I promise you that,” Landry grinds out. “If you want to stay at my place every day during the day, you’re more than welcome. I know that Tennessee would love to have you there, she’s about to lose her mind being home on maternity leave still.”

“I can’t do that,” I whisper, finally finding a semblance of my voice. “I can’t put her in danger.”

Landry’s face softens and he shakes his head once. He opens his mouth to say something, but Laurent interrupts him.

“Bethie and Tucker will be safe in the penthouse. I am going to have someone watching them.”

Landry arches a brow, but Laurent doesn’t offer any more information than that. Instead, he shifts the conversation to something else, to Susan.

“Mom has officially lost whatever sense she had left. I’m done, Dad. Completely and totally done.”

“And you’re sure she’s heading all of this?”

Laurent nods his head. “I am. Chenault is going to look at her visitation and phone records. I don’t know what that’s going to yield, but I’m hoping it’s something.”

“And Hansen?” Landry asks.

“He’s going to look at all the things that Chenault can’t.”

“Good.”

Licking my lips, my gaze flicks between them. “What happens next?” I ask.

“I’m going to call Bash. He needs to look at your contract with your mother. I don’t know what her paperwork said when she gave you everything. There could be hidden things in there that you didn’t realize. It’s not like you really had anyone look it over, did you?”

“Fuck,” Laurent hisses. “She said she was just going to leave it to me to run. I scanned the docs, but I never had an attorney look at them. She acted like she was in a rush and it needed to be done immediately, that I was doing her a favor. Stupidly, I believed her.”

Landry chuckles, but it’s not really a humorous laugh. “Yeah, that’s Susan. No doubt there’s some fuck you clause in her documents somewhere.”

Laurent lifts his hand and runs his fingers through his hair. I don’t even have to look in his face to know that he’s worried. His body language shows me everything that I need to know, but I don’t understand what he’s so worried about. We’re going to move to Denver. He’s going to run that division of LoneSTAR Investment, what does it matter what happens to Astor Investment?

Licking my lips, I start to ask him what the problem is, but I decide against it. There is obviously and issue that I don’t quite understand, but this isn’t my place.

“Just stay here, let me call Bash,” Landry says.

Landry picks his phone up from the cradle and I watch him touch the buttons on the desk set before I turn to Laurent.

“I’m confused,” I whisper.

He shifts his gaze to me, but I almost wish I wouldn’t have said a single word. The way he looks, the worry and almost fear that’s in his eyes, causes my stomach to twist. He shakes his head once, as if to ward me off from asking any questions, but I can’t help myself. I need to know what the hell is going on.

“Laurent,” I say pleadingly.

LAURENT

Bethanie is staring at me.She’s pleading with me to tell her the truth. She wants to know potentially what is going to happen, but she doesn’t want to know because I can think of about a dozen different scenarios that my mother could have put in that goddamn paperwork. Scenarios that would make me broke as fuck. Scenarios that could make it impossible for us to move.

I hear my father explain everything to Bash, his attorney, then he lifts his gaze and looks across the desk to me. “Do you have the documents?” he asks.

“I scanned them. They’re in my Dropbox, I can send them.”

My dad’s lips curve up into a grin, obviously loving how prepared I am for this situation. “He’ll send them over to you.”

He ends the call, then jerks his chin toward me. “Send them to Bash, then he’ll look them over. I don’t doubt that he’ll call you sometime tonight about them.”

“Until then?” I ask.

“Go home, be with your family. Relax.”

I snort. Relax. Easy fucking words for him to say. “Look for real estate in Colorado,” he suggests.

Now that I can do. Real estate is totally my thing, I love to look at houses, to imagine myself there, changing what I want, adding and taking away things that don’t work for me. It’s almost more relaxing than sex—almost.

“And Bash is going to call me?” I ask.

My dad nods his head. “He will, and if you want to set up a meeting with me, just let me know. I’m pretty free the rest of this week.”

I stand at the same time my dad does and I don’t hesitate to make my way over to him. Wrapping my arms around him, I give him a hug. “Thanks, Dad.”

“I just want you and your family safe,” he rasps.

“I don’t know what I would do without you,” I admit.

He snorts, but he doesn’t say anything else. I don’t know if he chokes up or what, but it doesn’t matter. I know that my dad is here for me and I know that he always will be. Taking a step back, I give him a smile. He shakes his head.

“Sunday,” he mutters.

Lifting my hand, I give him a wave. “Sunday,” I agree.

We leave LoneSTAR Investments and I can’t help but think that although some shit is about to go down, that this is the way it’s supposed to be and that, without a doubt, this is going to work out.

It is scary as fuck, but I have no doubt that this is the path that was meant for me, for Bethie—for us. It feels too damn good for it not to be the right road. I don’t know that I have ever personally felt this way before.

I went to school the way that I was supposed to, studied what I was meant to. I worked for my dad. I followed the flow, but never have I felt like I was doing what I was meant to, not until now. Bethie and Tucker came into my life and Colorado was put on the table and it’s like I’ve felt at peace, finally.

Bethie, Tucker, Colorado. These are all of the things that I need in my life and I’m going to make them happen, no matter what shit my mother tries to pull.

She will not win.

I finally know what I want. I have a goal and I never fail.