Page 28 of A Bossy Surprise

“I’ll say…” He pours me another.

“So what’s up?”

“Well, you know my friend, Lucas?”

“You mean your friend who I’ve never met, but who you talk about constantly?” He chuckles. “Yeah, I know Lucas.”

“Well, I’m going to tell you something and I need you to look at it as my friend and not a business associate.”

He raises an eyebrow. “Okay…”

“So…Lucas is mad at me.”

“Mhmm.”

“And it’s not your average anger. I mean, he punched me in the face the other day, and this guy has never hurt a fly in his life.”

“What did you do?” Arthur sits forward as he sips on his drink.

“Well, you know Kayla?”

“Which Kayla?” Arthur’s brow scrunches.

“Kayla Wood. Your Head of News.”

“What does she have to do with any of this?”

“She is Lucas’ sister.”

“Really? What a small world.”

“Indeed…”

“So Lucas is angry at you because you bought the company his sister works for?”

“No, that’s not it. He’s mad because Kayla and I slept together at the end of high school and she got pregnant.”

Arthur’s jaw drops to the floor.

He sits back in his chair. I give him a moment to gather his wits.

When he does, he looks me straight in the face. “Did you know?”

“Why do all of you keep asking me that? Do you think if I had known I would’ve stayed away? She never told me. I only found out a few days ago that I am her son’s father.”

“I’m sorry. I just had to ask.” We are silent for a while. Then Arthur whistles. “Man, I would want to punch you in the face too.”

“Why? We were a couple of kids. Just 18-years-old at the time. It’s not unheard of for 18-year-olds to fool around. Plus, I didn’t know she was pregnant.”

“Yeah, that’s true, but that was your friend’s sister…”

“So what are you saying? That I violated the bro code?”

“I know it sounds a little corny, but yeah, you did.”

“Can I remind you that I was 18?”

“Still…”