On His Knees by Tabatha Kiss
Chapter 68
Seth
November
It’s a beautiful day in Chicago.
Autumn is officially here. I have a girlfriend. The air carries a soft chill, but it’s still warm enough to be comfortable in a T-shirt. Midterms are over. I have a girlfriend. The holidays are right around the corner. It’s my little sister’s birthday. Tonight, my best friend is proposing to her and, oh yeah...
I have a girlfriend.
And by the end of the night, everyone will know it.
I glance at the clock. Not busy today at the Botsford Plaza, but it’ll kick up a notch tonight for Heidi’s birthday-slash-engagement party.
Yup. It’s a good day. And there is nothing that can ruin this mood.
Jenna.
I spot that familiar tuft of reddish-blonde hair across the lobby as she passes through the golden doors. Head down. Eyes on her phone. A black pantsuit?
It’s Jenna, but not my Jenna.
It’s Jenna Senior.
What’s she doing here?
She strolls toward the front desk with a scarlet red carry-on rolling behind her. It matches her shoes perfectly. Like mother, like daughter, as they say.
I stand a little taller as she stops in front of me. “Good morning,” I say. “Welcome to the Plaza.”
“I have a reservation,” she spits, barely looking up.
Hrm.
“All right,” I say as I type her name into the computer.
“Jenna Abrams,” she says.
“Yeah, I, uh...” I bob my head. “I know who you are, ma’am.”
Finally, she raises her eyes. Confusion crosses her face as she tries to place me.
“Seth Newbury.”
“Oh, right. You’re…” Her stiff mouth purses. “Heidi’s brother,” she says as if she had trouble remembering Heidi’s name as well.
You know, her daughter’s lifelong best friend.
The girl who spent countless nights sleeping over at her home throughout the years.
She used to have lunches with her mother, like... every single week.
I sigh inside. Not worth it.
“Yes, ma’am,” I say with a smile.
She hums slightly, easily slipping right back into that uncaring countenance she loves so much.
I turn away to fetch her room key, then pause.
Don’t.
Don’t do it.
It’s not your place.
“You know, ma’am...” I say as I turn back to her.
She piques a brow. A near-exact replica of Jenna’s impatient sneer. “Is there a problem?” she asks.
“I just want to say that your daughter is in a great place right now,” I say. “So, if you’re in town to confront her with some ridiculous ultimatum again, then I really think you should just turn around and leave.”
The fuck are you doing, dude?
“I don’t see how that’s any of your business, Seth,” she says, stabbing my name.
“Jenna is my business, actually.”
“Oh, I see,” she says, unamused. “You must be the latest in a long line of my daughter’s time-wasters.”
“She’s happy,” I say, ignoring it. “The last thing she needs is another reminder that her own pathetic mother would rather punish her for her ex-husband’s infidelity than support her being who she is.”
Her jaw drops. “I beg your pardon.”
“You heard me.”
“Mr. Newbury...”
Ah, shit.
I don’t move as the hovering presence behind me drifts closer.
“Would you kindly wait in my office while I finish with Judge Abrams?” Ian Botsford says.
I keep my eyes on Jenna Senior, her expression full of wounded surprise. “Sure,” I say, standing tall.
I step back from the counter and bolt into the back hallway. Once I’m out of sight, I exhale hard, expecting to feel a hole form deep in my gut. But it never collapses. The guilt never surfaces.
Never mind.
That was totally worth it.