Ihad no time to reflect on Avery being in my office, or exactly what I’d said to encourage her to allow me another opportunity with her. This day wasn’t any less busy than my usual routine in the office. Still, by pulling recordings on my employees and going over them with human resources, Alex, and the lawyers, it wasn’t necessarily an average day in the office either. It also wasn’t usual practice for an employee with multiple supervisors above them to end up in my office, but I had Alex’s intervention to thank for that.
Thank God Alex swiftly caught on to her being my Avery from England. Because of that, no one questioned Alex insisting that she was to report directly to me over her incident. In my opinion, Avery was justified in her actions toward the woman. How that old battle-ax made it through background was beyond me. Perhaps a psychiatric evaluation would have precluded her from even starting. There was no empathy or consideration for my employee’s children, that was obvious from observing the way she treated Avery when we brought Addison into the preschool. Then her behavior toward Avery this morning? How many parents and children had she treated so rudely? It was unacceptable, and it wouldn’t happen again.
I had Alex put together a strike force team that consisted of members that would begin internal investigations of all departments. This entire event with the Children’s Center prompted me to ensure that all departments at Mitchell and Associates were functioning at optimum levels. After putting this new plan of investigation in action, I was feeling slightly better knowing we were taking steps to improve the quality of employment here at my company.
This day certainly did not want to end. Even after I packed up and left the office, my email was exploding. Thank God I had my driver today, or I’d be stuck in the office finishing this shit up. With my driver, Blake, at the wheel, I was able to keep my laptop open and answer pressing emails while he drove me to meet up with the guys for dinner.
Even with traffic tagging on an extra fifty minutes to my commute, it felt like I’d just sat in the damn car when we pulled up in front of the restaurant. “Give me another second to send off this last email,” I announced to Blake.
“Not a problem, Mr. Mitchell,” he said, getting out of the car and advising the valets that we’d have the Bentley out of the way promptly.
I worked quickly and once all the necessary items were taken care of, I stepped out of the car and headed into the restaurant. My muscles were tense and I was ready for a drink now more than ever.
“So,” Jake said after I was seated at the table. “New rules for all of us, eh? No more fucking around in bars now that Collin has his docuseries out?” He shook his head at me. “Glad my documentary could be your test monkey to figure that out. You do realize that unexpected fame almost cost me my relationship with Ash, correct?”
I eyed my brother’s cheeky grin. “You did that shit to yourself and you know it.”
“Yeah, thanks to Jakey here using and losing the ladies, that stupid title we were given backfired on him after his interviews went out to the media outlets.” Collin chuckled.
“Speaking of which,” Alex pulled his menu open and smiled, “does Miss Gilbert know about this little gossip club headline of which you are an esteemed member? The Billionaires’ Club.” Alex laughed. “It has such an alluring ring to it. I personally think she would be impressed with your being a charter member, Jimmy.”
“Order your goddamn dinner,” I said, laughing off my best friend’s remarks.
“Miss Gilbert?” Collin asked while sipping his gin. “Do you have a woman we don’t know about? What the hell, Mitch?”
Alex chuckled and motioned the waitress over to him to ask about something on the menu. Meanwhile, I took a nice, long sip of my bourbon, something I’d needed for hours.
“Jimmy,” my brother said slyly, “who the hell is Miss Gilbert? Are you fucking a teacher now?”
“Miss Gilbert has definitely taken my ass to school if that’s what you’re implying,” I answered just before the waitress asked for my order. I glanced up and ordered my filet mignon, medium-rare, with steamed vegetables, and handed my menu back to the waitress.
“Just fucking tell them,” Alex said when the server left. “Or I will.”
“It’s Avery.”
“How in the hell did you manage to find her?” Jake asked. “Or wait, did she google you and stalk you out?”
“No,” I said, rolling my eyes. “She actually works at Mitchell.”
“So, she is a crazy-ass stalker, then, eh?” Collin tipped his glass to my brother.
“You both have no idea what you’re talking about. It’s not like that,” I said.
“I’ll agree with Jim,” Alex snickered. “This chick is definitely not a stalker, though. In fact, it was more than obvious that she wasn’t that impressed with Mr. Mitchell at all.”
“You mean she didn’t hide under her desk when he walked in the room?” Jake said.
“Nope. In fact, Jim called me over to her desk yesterday while he talked to her daughter, and she looked like she was going to strangle him if he made one wrong move.”
“No shit? So, what’s the deal? Are you finally ready to commit yourself to a relationship with a single mom?” Jake shook his head and sipped his scotch. “Last you told me, commitment issues were the reason you two parted ways.”
“I’m joining her and her daughter at McDonald’s for dinner tomorrow night. How’s that for a commitment?”
Everyone laughed at that one.
“Let me guess,” Collin said. “You can’t afford to take another big risk by bringing her to a nice restaurant?”
“Her idea. I’m going for it. I’ve actually changed some things in my life after Avery gave me a few reality checks back in England. And now meeting her daughter? Jesus, the little toddler is just as adorable and strong-minded as she is. I can’t seem to turn my back on either one.”
“Okay, she’s hot as fuck,” Alex said as he looked at the guys. “She seems to be pretty feisty.”
Jake’s stark blue eyes never left mine as he interrupted Alex. “Not turning your back on these two is a very nice gesture, Jim. However, it’s bullshit when it comes to a relationship with a single mom. She deserves a committed man, and we all know that is your biggest fear.”
“Fact,” Collin chimed in. “You’re a chick whisperer, man, but that fucking company always comes first—or at least you hide behind it.”
“The guys are right,” Alex added. “You might be out of your league with this one, brother.”
I should have been getting pissed by this point, but the guys knew me well enough to understand I’d most likely lost my mind. “That’s an excellent way of putting it, Coll,” I said. “I suppose I’ve hidden behind the company for long enough. I can’t explain this without looking or sounding like a fucking idiot. All I can say is, I trust this one.”
“Trust this one?” Jake said. “What the fuck does that mean?”
Our conversation ended when our food arrived, and our plates were placed in front of us. The waitress left after we were settled with our dinner, and I instantly carved into my steak and took a bite. Fucking hell, I was starving.
“Answer the question, Romeo,” Alex said, cutting into his lobster tail. “Trust this one?”
“I can’t explain it, or I would,” I answered, forking through my steamed vegetables. “I’m a different person with her. At least I was in England.”
“Okay,” Jake said. “She has a kid, dick brain.” His tone was sharper, and I got it. Jake went through hell and back to keep Ash after the press went wild, and a psychotic ex tried to ruin him. Ash was seven months pregnant with their first child now, and Jake—the biggest player of all of us—had changed significantly because of their relationship. He was the one who grew out of this lifestyle of using women for sex and not committing. He knew the drill.
“I know,” I answered him with as much annoyance as I felt that he would question me being that big of an asshole.
“You know?” Jake said, taking a bite of his salmon. “So, you know what comes along with that, right? You hurt her, you hurt the kid. That’s major.”
Oddly, instead of fighting my brother’s accurate words, I smiled. “That’s the thing,” I responded. “It’s also the reason I’ll be eating a big mac tomorrow night instead of taking the two to an ocean-view restaurant or whatever bullshit you all mentioned earlier.” I took another bite of steak, and while I chewed, Alex spoke up.
“She threatened to kick your ass herself if you fucked with that adorable child.” Alex laughed.
“Just like she did the woman that we fired today,” I answered.
Collin laughed. “She threatened someone—and you fired the person she threatened instead of her?”
“It’s not like it sounds,” Alex defended me. “Trust me. We had a long-ass day, dealing with the old crone bringing in her lawyers and human resources. It’s also the reason we’re learning about Casanova getting his big mac date too.”
“Exactly,” I said, “and after asking her for another chance, we are both of the understanding that Addison comes first. If I am to try and make this work with Avery, I have to know it’s not just Avery—it’s Addison too.”
“And Addison is already best buddies with your brother.” Alex elbowed Jake, who sat to his left. “She calls him Mitch.”
“You better know what you’re doing, man,” Jake said, ignoring everyone but me. “A kid is involved now. That is a road none of us have been down.” Then he smiled. “I do trust you to know what you’re doing, though. A single mom would’ve normally sent you running the other way; instead, you must have really found something in her—your dumbass only needed to get over your insecurities to acknowledge it.”
“And who knows better than me that when you lose them, that’s when you find out exactly how stupid you were to doubt yourself in the first place.” I tipped my glass to my brother. “Thank God she’s giving me another chance. I only hope she’ll keep me around.”
“Well, let us all know how your McDonald’s date goes,” Alex said. “You’d better pretend to love every last bite, or Addison will toss you aside.”
“I should probably have her order for me,” I smiled, imagining I was sitting with them at McDonald’s and not here, getting my ass lectured.
“Good idea. Better dunk those chicken nuggets in the right sauce too,” Collin added.
“Hopefully, Addison picks ketchup.” Jake started laughing, dabbing the corners of his mouth with his napkin. “That would be ideal.”
“Disgusting,” I answered.
“The one condiment you hate,” Jake said.
“Can we move off the McDonald’s food menu, please?”
“So long as we get a detailed report from you,” Alex chimed in.
The rest of the evening went off-topic from my personal life and back to business as usual. We mainly discussed Jake’s video and Collin’s interview, but my mind could hardly stay focused as I thought about Avery and Addison. I knew the guys meant well by bringing up the fact that fucking with a single mom was no joke, and I whole-heartedly agreed with them.
If I couldn’t go all-in with Avery and her daughter, then I shouldn’t do it at all. I had no idea what Avery’s ex had put both of them through, but I understood well enough that if my bullshit got in the way, I could hurt them both. And hell if I’d do that to either one of them.
