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Elijah looks up at me hopefully. “Okay. I’ll see you later?”
“Yes, sir! I’ll see you at three, Nemo!”
“Dude, that movie is for babies!”
He shuffles out of the car and walks toward the school.
I roll the passenger window down and shout, “Now I’m making you watch the second one!”
Elijah laughs but doesn’t look back, catching up with his friends and going inside. Smiling, I roll the window up and start back for Noah’s. I have a stack of laundry, dry cleaning, and a grocery run waiting for me, and crushing Mr. Steele’s to-do list would be a serious win in my column.
Chapter 4
Noah
“Look, I’m already twenty minutes late,” I growl. “You’re keeping me from getting inside and seeing our son.”
Pulling my car into the garage, I throw the thing into park and quickly cut off the engine.
“I don’t care. You haven’t been answering any of my calls, and I’m not dealing with your fucking lawyer anymore.”
Natasha’s voice screeches out of my cell, and I nearly crack the thing from squeezing it so hard.
“Well, I answered this one, and you’re reminding me of all the reasons I didn’t want to talk to you. I still need to speak with my attorney. You can wait.”
“You’re not getting rid of me, Noah. I’m sick of you holding out on me!”
Rage erupts through my veins like a volcano.
“Holding out on you? Are you serious? I’ve tried to be nothing but amicable. You can’t get everything you want, Natasha. Apparently, that’s the main issue.”
I step out of my car in the garage and start for the door to the kitchen.
After going back and forth all day with contractors and investors about the Hawaii luxury development, the last thing I need is for Nat to pile on. She’s never cared about that, though, so why would she start now?
“I’ll reach out later after I’ve spoken to my lawyer. If you’re looking for fast and easy, why don’t you try Henry?”
The jab is way below the belt, but I can’t be bothered to care right now. After everything she’s done, I’m entitled to be pissed.
The line goes dead as Natasha hangs up. Whatever. It’s not like I was the one caught riding her friend on her desk. That honor rests solely on Natasha’s shoulders.
Standing with my hand on the knob, I take a deep breath before I go inside. It’s been like this for months. Natasha just won’t be happy until she’s squeezed every last penny from me for some imagined offense.
This court battle should be over by now, but she has one hell of a lawyer behind her. She must be paying him a shit ton.
It doesn’t help that the judge we’ve been working with somehow equates being a single dad to the morality of a cheating wife. And keeping all this shit away from Elijah is getting harder and harder.
Steadying my breath, I try to push her from my mind. The divorce has already taken so much from me; I don’t want it to take Elijah, too.
When I enter, the kitchen smells like baked goods, and a rack of cookies is cooling on the counter. I didn’t even know I owned a cooling rack.
Elijah’s backpack is hanging on the hook, and I can hear the dishwasher running.
No one is there, but I can hear laughter and what sounds like explosions coming from upstairs.
Quickly ditching my jacket and briefcase on the counter, I head up to Elijah’s room.
It’s not that late. I’ve actually made it home in time to help tuck Elijah in for bed in a bit, which was a challenge considering all the calls I kept getting. And this is what I come home to, the two of them goofing off?
