Andy’s secretary, Ellie, was sitting behind the large granite desk.
“Brody!” she sang cheerfully as I walked out of the elevator.
“Hey, Ellie. How are ya?”
“Really good, thanks.” She smiled and batted her fake eyelashes at me. I had never seen teeth as big as Ellie’s. They were like white Chiclets in her mouth. She glanced at her computer screen and frowned slightly. “Is Mr. Shaw expecting you? I don’t have anything on the schedule.”
“Nah, he has no idea I’m here. Is he busy?”
She looked down at her watch. “He’s in a meeting with Brice Foster, but they should be just about done. Do you want to wait a minute?”
“Sure.” I walked over and slumped down in one of the oversized black leather chairs.
Before I even had time to pick up a magazine, his office door swung open and the hottest up-and-coming college baseball player walked out.
I stood up and rubbed my damp palms on my jeans when I caught Brice’s eye. He was a little over six feet tall, but skinny as hell. Someone needed to plump this kid up if he was going to make a run at a professional sports career. He had long hair, brushed off to the side like that annoying Bieber kid, and a baseball hat propped on the very top of his head.
Who the hell taught this kid how to dress?
“Brody Murphy?” He said my name excitedly as he extended his hand.
I smiled politely and shook it. “Nice to meet you. I’ve heard great things about you.”
He grinned as his eyes went wide. “Wow! That’s awesome. Can I take a picture with you?”
“Sure. Ellie, would you mind?” I called out, but Brice shook me off.
Brice waved at Ellie to sit back down. “I got it. We’ll just do a selfie.” He held the camera out in front of us. “Ready?”
“As I’ll ever be.” I sighed, putting my arm around his shoulder and flashing a quick smile.
“Thanks so much!” He grabbed my hand and shook it quickly before rushing off.
I looked at Ellie who watched Brice walk into the elevator. When he was out of earshot, she looked back at me and rolled her eyes. “Cute kid.”
“If you say so.” I laughed.
I heard Andy on the phone, so I turned the knob quietly and slipped inside. His back was to me as he stood looking out the window with his phone at his ear. Being the boss had its perks, especially when it came to offices. You could’ve played a full-court basketball game in there. A seating arrangement off to my right looked more like a high-end living room than office furniture. I parked my ass on the brown leather couch and propped my feet up on the coffee table while he paced back and forth, still oblivious that I was there.
“No. You have more than enough. Send the bill to my assistant and I’ll pay it, but I’m not giving you any more cash, Blaire.”
Wait. What?
I cleared my throat to get his attention. When his eyes snapped up and caught mine, I grinned at him and flipped him off. He rolled his eyes and pointed toward his phone. “Look, I gotta go. A client just walked in, a real pain in the ass.”
I picked up the Sports Illustrated with Brice Foster on the cover and threw it across the room at him.
“Yeah. Yeah. Whatever. Set it up with my assistant. Bye.” He turned the phone off, tossed it on his desk, and ran his hands through his hair. “Jesus, how did I deal with her all these years?”
I laughed loudly. “I’ve asked myself that about a hundred times.”
He walked over and offered his hand to me as I stood up. He got closer and I swatted his hand away. “Fuck your handshake,” I said, pulling him in for a hug. We both sat down and, for the first time, I could see how exhausted he was. He looked pale and had dark lines under his eyes.
“You look like shit. What’s going on?” I linked my fingers and tucked them behind my head.
He rubbed his eyes with his palms and shook his head. “Being a single dad is tough.”
“Single dad?” He officially had my attention.
“Yep. We’re done.” He leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest. “Actually, I’m done. I left. If she loves that ridiculously ugly castle house so much, she can have it.”
“What about Becca and Logan?”
“I took them with me.”
My mouth fell open. “You did?”
“Yeah. I sure as shit wasn’t leaving them there with her. Of course, she argued, but only because she would’ve looked like an even bigger bitch letting me take them without a fight.”
“Wow.” I leaned forward, resting my elbows on my knees. “How did you get her to let you take the kids?”
Andy looked at me and rolled his eyes. “You know how Blaire is, Brody. Money talks. Instead of ten thousand a month in child support, I offered her thirty in alimony. She couldn’t sign those papers fast enough. Gloria helped me pack up the kids’ shit and we left. I’m renting a house in town until I figure out what I want to buy. A real house—one that they can actually play in.” He sighed. “Gloria has been a huge help. I pulled the kids out of day care and I’m paying her double to be with them during the day. They seem so much happier. Me too.”
“Holy shit, dude. I had no idea all this was going on. Why didn’t you call me?” I felt awful that my best friend of twenty years was going through so much and I’d been so clueless.
He shrugged. “Last time we talked, you had a lot going on with Piper’s accident and all. You didn’t need my shit weighing on you. Besides, I’m good. Better than I have been in years. You know what the worst part is?”
I shook my head.
“We’ve been out of the house a full month and Becca and Logan haven’t asked for her once. How pathetic is that?”
“Has she asked for them?” I asked cautiously.
“Today, finally. She asked if they can spend the weekend at her house, with Gloria, of course, because God forbid she be alone with them without a nanny for longer than ten minutes.” He exhaled loudly. “It’s fine, though. I have work to catch up on and house hunting to do.”
“I’m so sorry about all this.” I was trying to ignore the knot in my stomach. “You know I’ve never been a big fan of Blaire, but I never wanted you to be a single dad either.”
“Oh, I know that. I got the best parts of her in Becca and Logan, so for that reason, I’m glad I was with her for the last few years. Now that I see how she is, I know what not to look for next time.” He laughed.
“Well, you sound pretty content. I’m happy about that.”
“I’m glad you stopped by, actually.” He stood up and walked over to his desk, picking up a piece of paper. “I have the contract termination ready for you to sign. As you know it doesn’t go into effect for sixty days, and should there be any team negotiations or if you need a new contract in that time period, of course I’ll still help you out with that.”
He handed me the paper and a pen and sat back down across from me.
I stared down at the legal bullshit, not understanding a damn word of it.
“Go ahead, sign it. Business is business, Brody. No hard feelings.”
“Fuck this,” I said, ripping the paper in half. “Regardless of your marital situation, no one has my back like you, Andy. They never have and they never will.”