Brazen Bossman: A Hero Club Novel

by Emma Nichole

  He is silent at first, and truly, I’m not even sure he is going to say anything, but he continues to surprise me.

  “I have made so many mistakes in my life as your father, and as a husband. I put many things first, when they should have been last, but all I was trying to do was make sure you and your mother would have the lives I wanted for you. Maybe I was too hard on you for some of the things you did in your adolescence, and it clouded every judgment call I had to make.”

  He normally averts my gaze during serious conversations. He always has, but right now, he’s looking directly at me.

  He continues, “My mind is leaving me every single day, almost. I wake up and I don’t know where I am or what day it is sometimes. I see the sadness on your mother’s face, and the anger in yours, and it makes me wish neither of you had to deal with this because of me. I want nothing more than to make this go away not just for me, but also for you. Regardless of what you think of me, I have so many regrets as your father. I know that now. I may not be able to control the future and what this disease does to me, but I can control the now. And right now, I want to say I love you, Son. I always have, and I want you to always know it.”

  The weight of my entire world crashes on my shoulders right then and there, and I can’t stop the flood of tears that escape my eyes. I’m a little boy again, right now, finally receiving love from the father he always needed.

  “I love you too, Dad. I love you too.”

  We both rise from our seats and grab onto one another in a tight hug. My hand fists into his shirt, holding him as if I’m scared this is a dream and he’s going to disappear any second, and we’ll be right back to where we started.

  “A clean slate from this moment forward, yeah?” He pats my shoulder and steps back to his chair, trying to hide his own tears. He’s never been one to show his emotions.

  “I think that’s needed for many reasons.”

  My father and I spend the next hour simply talking in a way we really never have. From Lennox to NCL to Mom and everything in between, even Piper.

  Don’t let that girl go, Nathanial. Love like that only comes around once in a lifetime, and you’d be a damn fool to let it slip by. Do what it takes to make things right. No matter what.

  His voice plays in my head as I hug my parents goodbye, and as I slip behind the wheel of my car.

  I know exactly what I need to do. No more accepting things as they are. I’m a Lennox, for fuck’s sake. We make shit happen and we get what we want.

  And right now, I want to go win back a raven-haired bombshell who has stolen my heart.

  Chapter 25

  Piper

  Mister Paradise is clearly the spot to be for happy hour.

  I have to squeeze my way through a small huddle of men in suits, who were having an intense conversation, just to make my way to the bar.

  Tan, crescent-shaped booths with red and blue cylindrical stools on the outside of the table line the left wall, and the bar itself, with high-back barstools in the same blue and red, takes up the entire expanse of the right wall.

  I wasn’t sure what to wear, as I’ve never been here before, so I went the safe route and opted for work clothes, and I’m thankful I did. Everyone here seems to be fresh from the workplace grind, still in their suits, slacks, and pencil skirts.

  I slip up onto a chair at the bar and order myself a whiskey sour while I wait, and even that makes me think of him. Goddamn him.

  I cross my legs, smoothing out and brushing off nonexistent fuzz on my white pants that I paired with an emerald green, sleeveless top. My gaze flits around the room, looking for anyone who I think looks like an “Ida” but no one really sticks out to me.

  Great. Knowing my luck, Ida is probably a sixty-year-old murderer who is going to drug my drink and kidnap me.

  “Whiskey sour for the lady.” The bartender places a glass in front of me. “Thank you.”

  “Another for me, please, and put hers on my tab.”

  I look at the chair next to me as the owner of the voice takes residence there.

  She is a bombshell at first glance, no doubt. She’s around my age, I think, with black, sleek hair like mine, except her tips are dyed a bold shade of red.

  “That’s not necessary. I can get my own drink. I’m actually waiting on someone,” I tell her.

  “You must be Piper?” she asks with a tilt of her head.

  “Um, yeah, yes, I am, and you are?” I leave the sentence open-ended, hoping she’ll tell me her name because honestly, I was expecting Ida to be a grandma type.

  “Soraya Morgan.” She extends her hand to me.

  I glance down at her hand, noting the fucking gigantic rock on her ring finger, before I return her handshake.

  “I’m sorry, but I think you have me at a disadvantage. I’m meeting someone named Ida here, tonight.”

  “Oh.” She laughs. “I probably should have led with that. I’m Soraya Morgan and I work for Ida Goldman. You had been writing in to her… a lot… and I field what gets tossed or what gets sent her way. I, perhaps without permission, started answering your emails.”

  It takes a moment for it all to sink in and when it does, I laugh. “So you aren’t Ida, but you are kind of Ida, and you were whom I was talking to the whole time?”

  “Well, not the whole time. She did get to your emails before I did occasionally, but as time went on, I just stopped sending them to her and answered them myself.”

  “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to seem too weird about it, I just wasn’t expecting it.”

  “Look, girl, you’re a Brooklyn native of Italian descent, just like me, so we need to stick together. I guess you could say I felt a certain obligation to guide you on the right path.” She snickers and sips her drink. “Look at me, sounding like fucking Dr. Phil.”

  Her accent is much thicker than mine, and to be honest, it suits her well. I instantly like her.

  I laugh with her. “You’re much prettier than he is, so at least you have that.”

  “Thank you.” She tosses her hair over her shoulder. “So tell me what happened with your boss.”

  I sigh and look down at the condensation forming on my glass. “I don’t even know where to begin.”

  “Well, I only know what you’ve said in emails, so how about we start at the beginning?”

  Over the next hour, I tell her everything that I didn’t elaborate on in the emails. From the first romp on his desk, all the way to leaving him at the Hamptons house in tears.

  By the time I finally stop talking, Soraya is seemingly rendered speechless.

  “Wow.” She blinks a few times. “I think we need another round to tackle all of this.”

  I can’t help but laugh at that. “That’s probably a good idea.”

  She orders us another round of whiskey sours and the bartender works quickly, placing them before us just a couple of minutes later.

  “So you haven’t talked to him at all?” she asks, using the slender stirring straw to swirl the ice in her drink.

  I shake my head. “No. I don’t want to. I feel like I can’t trust him now.”

  “And you’re positive it’s your family’s restaurant he bought?”

  “Mmm hmm. I saw the address in the email, and once I saw that, I was done. I couldn’t even look at him.” Even though I miss him so badly it hurts.

  “So you haven’t listened to his side at all?” She stares blankly at me.

  “Well, no, because there isn’t anything to say. I saw it on paper. Black and white.”

  “Piper, I’m not one to ever defend a man, especially if he’s an asshole, which this Nathanial has absolutely been to you in the past, but from everything you’ve said to me about him lately, I think you may have fucked up… just a smidge.” She squeezes her index finger and thumb together, showing me.

  “I can’t let anyone hurt my family. They are all I have.”

  “Why do you automatically assume he’s trying to hurt your family?”

  “Why
else would he feel the need to buy the damn building?”

  “That’s a fair question, but asking me that isn’t going to get you the answer you need and deserve. Only asking him will.” She holds her drink up in a toast, like she knows she’s just made some extremely valid point.

  Maybe she has. I made sweeping assumptions, just like I always do, and reacted badly… just like I accused him of doing. He and I are so alike sometimes that it is astounding.

  “And what if I do go hear him out? I show up, opening myself up to hurting even more than I already am, just to have him laugh in my face and tell me he was just using me to score a business deal. He doesn’t want to even talk to me. He hasn’t even reached out.”

  “He’s giving you space,” she says matter-of-factly. “Trust me. Men are stupid, stubborn, and infuriating. Women are complex, equally as stubborn, and frustrating. When you left the house in the Hamptons, you told him you were done. He’s listening to you, and giving you exactly what you wanted. Could that be because he’s a dick who never wanted you? I guess that’s possible, but not likely.” She pauses to toss back more of her drink. “My guess is he is giving you space because he respects your decision as a human, a woman, a colleague, and someone he cares for, even if it’s killing him. You need concrete reasons for his choices. If for nothing else except closure.”

  “Wow,” I say simply. “Wow.” I lean back in my chair, letting her words marinate in my brain.

  “I’m assuming those are wows of clarity and not annoyance.”

  “Yes.” I take a sip of my cocktail and prop my elbow on the bar, using my hand to support my chin. “You’re right.”

  “Say it again, but slower. I have an incredibly frustrating husband who never lets me be right, so I want to savor this.” She closes her eyes and sighs happily. “Yeah, that’s good feeling.”

  I shake my head and giggle. “I don’t know if I overreacted given the circumstances, but I didn’t act like someone who deserved the trust he put in me the night before.”

  “So that means you’re going to go to him, right?”

  “Right. I’m not going to rekindle or even expect anything. I’m going to let him tell his side so I have answers and can move on, in either direction, from there.”

  “Exactly. Just have a conversation. You have a lot of giant life changes coming from this, so you owe it to yourself to exit or enter the next stage of your life with all the answers you can have.”

  I check the time on my phone. “Holy hell. How is it already eight o’clock?”

  “Time passes when you’re in therapy?” She laughs. “That’s a great idea. Tipsy therapy.”

  “Remember me when you hit it big with that idea. I was a key player in the discovery after all.”

  She pulls her credit card from her bag and slides it across the bar to settle the tab.

  “Really, I can pay for mine,” I tell her.

  “Oh, don’t worry. Graham, that’s my husband, is treating us both tonight. He’s babysitting our kids and covering drinks. Honestly, I think he’s just trying to get laid.”

  We stand and make our way through the crowded bar and out to the sidewalk.

  “Thank you again, for talking me through this, Soraya. I needed it, especially from a third party.”

  “Anytime, and just because you’re settling your drama doesn’t mean I want to stop hearing from you.” She laughs and pulls a business card from her purse, using the bar exterior to press it against, scribbling her email address on the back before handing it to me.

  “Tig’s Tattoo and Piercings,” I say, reading the front.

  “Friends of mine, and a great place if you’re ever looking for ink or holes.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind.” I slip it into my bag.

  “Well, I better go. I’m betting the little ones have their dad covered in makeup and glitter by now.”

  “Uh oh. Yeah, you may want to go save him. I think I’m going to head to see Nathanial while I still have the nerve.” Just saying the words out loud makes me want to lose all of my drinks right here on the sidewalk.

  “You’ve got this, and let me know how that goes, all right?”

  “Okay. It was nice finally meeting you, Soraya,” I say.

  “Likewise, Piper.” She gives me a wave before turning on her heels and heading back down the sidewalk toward a waiting SUV.

  I take a few seconds to decipher exactly where I am and which trains I need to take to get to his penthouse. When I finally formulate a plan, my cell phone rings.

  It’s my mother.

  “Mom.” I answer. “Hi. What’s up?”

  “Piper, I need you to come to the restaurant. Are you close?”

  “Uh, well, I’m in the Village, so not really, and I was actually heading somewhere else and…”

  “It’s important. I need you to get here as soon as you can, okay?”

  I change my direction and walk the other way, so I can hop the appropriate train to Brooklyn.

  “I’ll be there soon. Are you all right?”

  “Everything is fine, but we need to have this conversation face-to-face.”

  “I’m on my way, but Mom…”

  The line clicks, going dead. She hung up on me.

  What the hell?

  ***

  After what feels like the longest commute in history, I’m finally stepping into Kingston’s, which is just winding down from a dinner service.

  Casey is at the hostess stand, putting menus together when she looks up to see me. “Hi, Piper.”

  “Hi. Where is my mom? Is she okay?”

  “She’s in the back, I think, and yeah, she seems perfectly fine… why?”

  I peek around her and just see a few occupied tables that seem to be nearing the end of their meals.

  “No reason. She just seemed off is all. I’m going to go find her.”

  I slip around Casey and head through the dining area and into the kitchen.

  “Ma?” I call out for her.

  Benjamin pokes his head out from around the corner. “She’s waiting for you in the office.”

  “Is she okay?”

  “Seems to be. Why?”

  “She called and said it was important and I needed to get down here quickly.”

  “You know her. She’s cool calm and collected with a side of over the fucking top.”

  Boy, isn’t that the truth?

  I knock on the office door once before pushing it open, finding her behind the desk, wiping tears away with a tissue.

  “What happened? Why are you crying?” I close the door behind me.

  “Sit down. You’ll want to be sitting for this one.” She sniffs then fans her face with her hands in an attempt to stop the tears.

  “You said everything was fine.” I sink to the chair across from her.

  “Read over this and then you tell me what you think.”

  She slides a folder across the table to me. I stare at it for a moment like it’s going to bite me, but I shake off the anxiety and flip it open.

  As I read over each word, over each page, a knot the size of Manhattan forms in my throat.

  The deed to the building, in my mother’s name.

  The property deed to the land, in my mother’s name.

  The notice of payoff for not just one, but both mortgages. Zero balance.

  Page after page of creditors that have been beating our doors down to settle debts my father left behind, all paid to zero.

  “What is this? How did this happen?” I’m quaking from head to toe.

  “Nathanial Lennox came by with his business partner and an attorney a couple of hours ago to make all of this legal. Piper, he saved us.”

  A broken sob leaves my throat, and I stare down at the pages even as tears completely blur my vision.

  “Why would he do this?”

  “He told me that he did this because he loves you. That was his answer. He loves you.”

  “Oh my God.” My hand goes to my chest because I feel
like my heart is about to explode out of my body.

  “It’s ours now, baby. No more worrying or wondering how ends will meet. We can finally relax.”

  I gather all of the papers up and place them back in the folder before going around to hug my mother as tightly as I can.

  “I need to go see him. I have to tell him thank you. I need… well, I just need him.” I wipe my face with the back of my hand. “God, I’m sure my makeup is a mess.”

  “You’re beautiful.” She kisses my cheek.

  “Do Oliver and Ben know?”

  “They do, but I made them swear I’d get to be the one to tell you.”

  I blow out a heavy breath, trying to settle my roller coaster of emotions before I walk back out to the dining room.

  “Go to him,” she urges me on.

  I hug her once more before bolting from the office, suddenly desperate to throw my arms around him, to thank him, to hit him for giving us money, to kiss him for being so amazing, to scream at him for making me fall in love with him, to be with him.

  I push through the swinging door that leads back out into the dining room and skid to a stop, and my lungs fall to my feet.

  A tingle pricks my skin that only happens when he is near, and sure enough, I don’t have to look far because he’s standing right there in front of the hostess stand with his hands shoved in his pockets.

  When his eyes meet mine, they turn up in a smile, and I can’t waste a single second.

  I all but run through the maze of tables and throw myself around him, sinking into the warmth and power of his embrace.

  Chapter 26

  Piper

  “Hi, baby,” he whispers in my ears.

  “I’m so mad at you,” I tell him through my tears. “But I’m so happy and I’m so fucking grateful.”

  He cups my face in his hands and slides his thumb over my tears.

  “I have some things I need to say,” he tells me plainly. “Can we sit?”