Men in Charge: A Contemporary Romance Box Set

by Natasha L. Black

  I quietly cooked Cooper some eggs and toast and waited for him to come down ready for school. He wasn’t much of a morning person, just like his dad. I let him fully wake up over breakfast before saying anything. It had become a routine of ours, sitting quietly across the table from each other, thoughts of his father running through both of our heads, but nothing actually being said about it. I could tell Cooper appreciated me not pushing the subject, and I didn’t want to bring it up anyway, not before he left for school. He needed to be focused and ready to attack his day, not thinking about things like his father’s adult issues.

  “You ready for school?” I asked, putting our dishes in the sink.

  “Yeah,” he said quietly. “I just gotta grab my bookbag from upstairs.”

  “Okay.” I smiled, smoothing down his hair.

  I went out to the SUV and started it up, getting the heat running. It was starting to get cold in the mornings now with winter approaching. Cooper came back out to the car and smiled as he buckled his seatbelt, and we headed off. I pulled up out front of his school and handed him his lunch.

  “Have a good day, okay?” I smiled. “You’re already halfway through the week.”

  “Thanks,” he replied, getting out of the car.

  It made me sad watching him walk into the school, obviously with his father on his mind. The teacher waved at me and put his arm around Cooper’s shoulder, leading him inside. Hopefully, he would perk up and have a good day, at least until he got home. I headed back to the house and went straight upstairs, excited to continue my classwork. I was making great headway with my work and wanted to continue that streak. As I opened the course on my laptop, though, my phone rang, and I saw Hollis’s name appear on the screen. I smiled and picked it up.

  “Hey there, big brother,” I said.

  “Hey there, little sis,” he chuckled in response. “Did I catch you at a bad time?”

  “No, you actually had perfect timing,” I said. “I just got back from dropping Cooper off and hadn’t started my schoolwork yet. What’s up?”

  “I wanted to call and check up on everything,” he said. “See how it is going, if you’re having a good time.”

  “It’s going great,” I said. “Cooper’s an amazing kid, and I’m keeping up with my schoolwork. It’s exactly how you wanted it to be.”

  “And Blake?” he asked. “Is he being good?”

  “Yeah,” I said in a curious tone.

  “He’s not being pervy or anything, right?” he asked. “Because if he is, I’ll get on a plane today and come down there and kill him.”

  “No.” I laughed. “Of course, he isn’t being pervy or anything. I barely see him at all. He leaves early for work or shuts himself in the office and comes home really late.”

  “Good,” Hollis said. “And how about school? Are you liking it?”

  “I don’t know if liking it is the best term.” I laughed. “But it’s meeting my expectations, and for the first time in my college career, I’m getting all my work done early, I’m prepared for the next lesson, and I’m getting killer grades in all of my classes.”

  “That’s great to hear,” he said.

  “How about you?” I asked. “You holding down the fort for me?”

  “Always.” He chuckled. “Though I have to say our mother is not thrilled that her baby girl is all the way on the other side of the country and barely ever calls her. You know how she is.”

  “Yeah to me, but you guys could get lost in the jungle somewhere, and she wouldn’t be upset you didn’t call,” I scoffed.

  “The trials and tribulations of being the youngest child,” Hollis sighed. “But I’m serious. You need to call her.”

  “I will,” I said. “I promise. I just completely blanked this week so far. There’s been a lot going on with Cooper and school, and then there’s my work. I know it’s not an excuse, but I promise I’ll call her.”

  I sat on the phone for about another twenty minutes or so, talking to Hollis about his life, what was going on back at home, and how Boston was. When I hung up with him, it occurred to me I had a big, happy, very close family, and I hadn’t been shown any other type of family in my life. Because of that, I didn’t understand the dynamic between Blake and Cooper. Everybody had a different family dynamic. Some were close like ours, some were more businesslike, and some were like Cooper and Blake’s. They stayed out of each other’s way, they made do with the relationships they had, and they didn’t move from that. I was sure Cooper’s mother changed that dynamic quite a bit, but she was gone, and this was what they were left with. I had to remember that when I pushed things on Blake. I needed to do better with fitting my expectations to their family style and not my own.

  I sighed and turned back to the computer, moving the mouse and turning the screen back on. There was nothing I could do about any of it, so it was best to focus on school and handle everything else later. The day went by quickly, and before I knew it, I was getting dinner ready and putting it in the oven before leaving to pick up Cooper from school. He was in a much better mood when I picked him up than when I’d dropped him off, and he and I had a fantastic time eating dinner together and talking about his assignments for that week. I wanted to watch a movie with him again, but he had homework that had to come first.

  After dinner, he went upstairs to work, and I cleared and washed the dishes. I took him some dessert before bed and then went back up when it was bedtime. I tucked him in and smiled as he hugged me tightly. The kid had pretty much stolen my heart. When he was good and asleep, I went to my room, leaving my bedroom door open in case he called for me, and jumped in the shower really fast. When I got out, I walked into the bedroom from the bathroom with my towel wrapped around me. I stopped at the sound of footsteps coming up the hall, and before I could move again, Blake rounded the corner, catching me in nothing but the towel and wet hair.

  He stopped in the doorway, and I froze, clutching the top of my towel and staring at him with wide eyes. He didn’t make any kind of move, just stared at me from the doorway. We stayed like that for several awkward moments before he took a step forward. I watched as he moved through my room, stopping in front of me close enough to smell the cologne on his shirt. Slowly, he picked up his arm and ran his finger down the slope of my shoulder, sending goosebumps all over my body. My nerves flip-flopped inside my stomach at the simple touch of his hand.

  I bit my bottom lip and looked up at him, catching his deep stare. I tilted my head studying his normally vibrant eyes, and that was when I caught a whiff of whiskey on his breath. He was drunk, and not just a little, I realized as I noticed the swaying motion of his body. Wherever he had gone after work, he had come home completely wasted. I only hoped that he had been smart enough to take a cab home.

  I looked back up at him, and his face was still perfectly straight, no reflection of emotion on it at all. The cold temperature of his finger pressed against my hot skin, and I tried to control my breathing. He dropped his hand to his side and turned around, walking back toward the door. When he reached it, he looked back over his shoulder and let his eyes scan me from top to bottom.

  “I’m sorry,” he said, reaching for the door handle.

  I stood frozen until he completely shut the door all the way. My shoulders relaxed, and I let out the air I was holding tightly in my lungs. I rushed forward and flipped the lock on the door, knowing it was for the best, even if I did wish in the back of my mind that he’d come crawling into my bed. My heart was pounding in my chest, and I stood there, my thighs clenched, needing him more than I ever had before.

  15

  Blake

  The alarm blared in my ear, making the thumping in my head a reality. I groaned, reaching up and pressing the button, the effects of all the alcohol I had drunk the night before landing on my head. I felt like complete and total dogshit, and to make matters worse, I had some weird dream of Aly, standing in a towel, and me running my finger down her arm. It felt so real, like I could almost see her
in my head still, standing there, dripping wet, surprised at my forwardness.

  I turned over in bed and stared up at the ceiling, thinking about the night before. The bar was packed, but I didn’t know anyone there, which was exactly why I went to a bar away from the office. I hadn’t really talked to anyone either. I’d been in a mood of sorts. I’d had a bad day, undoubtedly. I was in the middle of work when the weight of everything that was happening in my life suddenly hit me like a ton of bricks. I was a shit father, a practically absent owner, and a dick of a boss to the one person who was trying to keep it all together. Aly haunted my thoughts both day and night and I had no fucking clue what to do about it. My heart was starting to thaw after all this time and it turned out the one person that warmed it was the one person that shouldn’t.

  I ended up gathering my things and heading out of the office to a little dive bar far enough away to not run into anyone who would know me. I sat at the bar sipping a beer and taking multiple shots of whiskey. Before I knew it, I was sloshed with crazy thoughts whirling around in my head and the ground waving under my feet. I knew I couldn’t drive, so I’d called an Uber to take me home, leaving the car parked at the bar.

  I crawled out of the bed and forced myself in the shower, letting the hot water rush over me. I was getting too old to wake up with hangovers. Where I used to be able to pop a couple Tylenol and head out for my day, I now felt like I got hit by a bus. Every muscle in my body ached, and every time I moved quickly, I could feel the alcohol swishing around in my stomach. It was miserable, to say the least. When the shower was done, I felt about two percent better, so I changed into a suit for work and headed downstairs to find Aly cooking in the kitchen. She turned to me and shook her head, obviously seeing the pain on my face. I poured myself a cup of black coffee and sat down in the chair for a moment, letting the hot brew flow down my throat.

  Aly moved around the kitchen not saying a word, buttering some toast and setting it in front of me. I swallowed hard, the idea of putting food in my stomach more than nauseating. I didn’t want to be rude, though, so I picked up a piece and took a bite. I could smell the remnants of the night before on my breath and made myself a note that I needed to brush my teeth again before leaving the house.

  “I need you to drop me off at the bar I was at last night when you drop Cooper off,” I said. “I left my car there last night and took an Uber home.”

  I looked up as she walked toward me with the coffee and filled my cup. She stopped and stared down at me with a blank expression on her face. She nodded and turned to put the pot back on the burner. She didn’t say a word, and as much as I wanted to hear something from her, anything, I didn’t have it in me to push the subject. If I moved, I might hurl all over the place, so talking was out of the question. When Cooper came down, I was glad for the first time in my life that he’d inherited my extreme hatred for mornings and didn’t want to say a word.

  I sat at the table until they were ready to go. Had I said anything to her the night before? She was way quieter than normal. After breakfast, we headed toward the school. We dropped Cooper off first to avoid questions as to why my car was parked at a bar. I was thankful for Aly’s thoughtfulness because it hadn’t even crossed my mind. When Cooper was out of the car, and we were on our way to the bar, I cleared my throat and looked over at Aly.

  “This is a slightly embarrassing question, but did I say anything to you last night?” I asked.

  “No,” she said, looking straight ahead, gripping the steering wheel.

  As much as I wanted to hear that answer, and as relieved as it made me feel, there was something about her demeanor and shortness that made me feel like she wasn’t telling the truth. At the same time, what could I have said that would warrant her lying to me? She hadn’t been quiet about anything else up to this point, and I couldn’t imagine it would change overnight unless it was really bad. I dropped the subject, though, and decided it was best to move on with my day. She took me to my car and left without another word.

  In the office, Inez could see the pained look on my face and chuckled, shaking her head. She had seen me hungover enough times in my life to know when I’d had a rough night before. She brought some bottled water and Tylenol into the office and forced me to take them. Knowing it was for my own good, I agreed. About an hour and three bottles of water later, I was actually starting to feel much better, which was good because Hollis called, and I didn’t want him to know I’d been out drinking away my memories.

  “Hey, man,” he said cheerfully. “I was just calling to catch up.”

  “Hey,” I said, mustering the happiest tone I could. “How are things in Cali?”

  “Good, man, really good,” he said. “I wanted to make sure you weren’t being a dick to my baby sister.”

  “Me?” I laughed. “I would never.”

  “Yeah, okay,” he scoffed.

  “No, for real, ,” I said, rubbing my temples. “She’s a really good girl, and she’s doing wonders for Cooper. I’m glad she’s around. Why? Did she say anything different?”

  “Nah,” Hollis said. “But I know her. She wouldn’t tell me if you were. I figured I’d go right to the source and double-check on things. You know I have to.”

  “Of course. You’re the tightest-knit family I’ve ever met.” I laughed.

  Hollis switched up the subject and started talking about a girl he’d met at the bar the night before. My eyes wandered off toward the window, and my mind sank back into what had happened in my own life after drowning myself in whiskey and self-pity. Suddenly a flash of something came into my mind, and it made me cringe. Images of me in Aly’s room started to come back to me. Images of her in a towel, her hair wet, and me running a finger down her silky, wet shoulder. I shook my head and focused in on the memory, making sure it was that and not a dream I had. But sure as day, I could remember exactly how she smelled, how she felt, and the feeling in my stomach when I touched her. So, I’d confronted her the night before, and not only that, I’d come on to her pretty hard-core.

  “Hey, man,” I said, interrupting Hollis. “Hey, sorry, can I call you back later? I have another call coming in from a partner.”

  “Oh, yeah. Sure, brother,” he said. “And tell my sister I said hello.”

  “Will do,” I said before hanging up the phone.

  I sat staring into space, replaying the moment from the night before over and over again in my head. I could almost smell the sweetness of her body wash in my nose. Should I pretend I didn’t remember or apologize for being a drunk ass? At the same time, though, I’d asked her specifically if anything happened, and she’d told me no, point blank. I couldn’t wrap my head around why she would lie about something like that. Why wouldn’t she come forward and tell the truth about it? She was an adult, I was an adult, and from the memory in my head, she didn’t shy away from my touch. You’d think she would have been more than ready to let me know what was going on.

  I turned in my chair and propped my elbows up on the desk, planting my face in my hands. I couldn’t believe I’d been such an asshole only to turn around and molest my son’s nanny in a drunken haze. I almost wished I’d stayed oblivious to what I had done.

  “You need more Tylenol?” Inez asked, bringing me a fresh cup of coffee.

  “No, but I could use my dignity back, please,” I groaned.

  16

  Aly

  It was Friday, and a teacher workday at Cooper’s school. He was off for the day, and I hadn’t even realized it until the night before. Luckily, I hadn’t planned anything for the day anyway except continuing with schoolwork. When I went downstairs that morning to prepare breakfast, Cooper was already down there, pouring himself a glass of orange juice. He smiled at me when I walked in the room.

  “Hey, Aly,” he said.

  “Hey, mister. No sleeping in for you today?”

  “My friends asked if I could come over and have a video game tournament with them today,” he said with a pleading look on his fa
ce. “His name is Andrew, and Dad knows their family.”

  “Okay,” I said. “I don’t see anything wrong with that, but I have to run it by your father. In the meantime, get me the address so if he says yes, I can put it in the GPS.”

  “Thank you,” he said, running over, hugging me tightly, and then bolting back toward his room.

  I laughed and shook my head, walking over and grabbing a cup for coffee. I filled it to the brim and made my way toward Blake’s room. I stood there for a moment, thinking about the last time I had been in his doorway and then shook the thought, knocking on his door. He opened up and nodded at me, fixing his tie.

  “Your son is off from school today for a teacher workday and is requesting to go over to Andrew’s house for a video game tournament with his friends.” I smiled, handing him the coffee.

  “Thank you.” He accepted the cup and took a long sip. “Yeah, sure, that’s fine. I just want him home for dinner.”

  “Okay no problem,” I said, leaving and going to tell Cooper the good news.

  I dropped Cooper off at Andrew’s and headed back home to find the house empty. Blake had already left for work, and I was left with schoolwork to do. However, as I looked around the house, I remembered that Blake had accidentally let the maid service lapse, and the house was a bit of a disaster area, especially since he was terrible at cleaning. I sighed and shrugged my shoulders, deciding to start out by catching up on the loads of laundry overflowing from the baskets in everyone’s rooms.