Page 16 of Joey

“Oh,” I say, looking over at the door where the other two women disappeared. “I thought—”

“We’re doing new management hires today,” the woman says. “But we have an introductory meeting set up for tomorrow morning, if you’d like to just jump right in.”

“I would!” I say, so excited. “Yes. For sure. I’m interested.”

“Great,” she says. “I’ll send your application up to HR and they’ll put you in the database. Just show up at the check-in desk tomorrow morning at nine and you can see if it’s a good fit.”

“Thank you,” I say, breathing out a sigh of relief. “I’m sure it will be.”

I turn, smiling like crazy, and walk back outside.

This is my door. I can feel it.

My future is here at Bright Berry Beach Cosmetics.

CHAPTER FIVE - JOEY

The first thing I notice when we arrive at my lawyer’s office is that there’re so many people in this lobby Huck, Wald and I have to push our way through just to let the receptionist know we’re here.

I figure, OK. They must be busy today. But when a woman calls my name and everyone in the lobby begins to shuffle towards the same conference room, I realize we are decidedly outnumbered.

My lawyers are not small-time dudes. They own this place. So there are two dozen partners here on my side if I need them.

They’re just not here in the room with me now, so it feels very unequal.

The conference table seats sixteen and there are place cards, like we’re about to sit down to dinner.

Wald and Huck don’t even get a seat. They have to stand behind me.

I sit at the head of the table, my two principal lawyers both sit on either side of me, and the rest of the thirteen chairs are filled with the Kane family legal team.

No one from the family even showed up. Not even the guardian, Michael Conner.

Just lawyers.

Wald leans down in my ear and says, “I think it’s safe to assume you’re the father.”

“Yeah,” I mumble back.

Then I sigh. Because I was worried. And I get it. I’ve been missing from this little girl’s life for five years. Haven’t even thought about her in ages. But ever since I picked up that phone, ever since I heard her voice, she’s all I can think about.

And if I wasn’t her father it was gonna be hard to make that stop.

Now it will never stop. I will never stop thinking about her. I will never stop picturing her as a baby. I will never stop feeling guilty about the moments I missed. Her first words. Her first steps. Her first everything.

Gone now.

And I missed it.

“Shall we get started?” the man sitting opposite me on the other end of the long table asks.

I swallow and nod. Start to wipe my hands on my pants and then catch myself.

He clears his throat and says, “The test results confirm that Joseph Boston is the father.”

Kinda knowing this was true five seconds ago and hearing it confirmed in this moment are two very different things. Because my heart immediately begins to beat fast, and my leg is nervously bouncing, and there’s a whooshing sound in my ears that I can’t turn off. I can’t fucking focus on anything but the wood grain of the expensive table in front of me.

It’s true. I’m hers.