Page 64 of Counterfeit Connection

I laugh. “Less stressful for sure. I do like the investment side. It’s not my passion. It sounds like that’s what you’re passionate about, and I’m sure your patients are all the better for it.” I quietly exhale into my wine glass before I take a long sip.

“Well, son, if your passion isn’t there, where is it?”

“Daddy, don’t grill him, please?” My blond beauty is trying to swoop in and save me, even when I don’t need it.

“I don’t mind, Pixie.” I wink. “I love to draw, honestly. Combine that with an obsession for angles and you have an amateur architect of sorts. It was my path for a while until I was needed to fill the large shoes of my brother.”

“I’m sorry for your loss, Griffin. We know a little about that in this house,” Sam responds, staring down at his food, sliding it onto his fork as if it’s the toughest task in the world.

Hilary reaches over and squeezes his arm. “So, Griffin, how did you meet our Kaitlyn?”

We speak at the same time. “It’s funny…” I say while she says, “Actually…”

“Go ahead, baby,” I tell her and internally delight at the flush of her cheeks. She likes that term of endearment. Duly noted.

“He came into Elliot’s while I was working,” she says truthfully. “We hit it off instantly.”

And there’s the lie. She conveniently leaves out that I was an asshole to her and she wanted to stab me in the eyeballs by the time she left the restaurant that day.

“When was this?” Sam asks.

“Uh.” Kaitlyn looks to me for an answer that works for our timeline.

“A few months ago,” I tell them.

“Yes, that’s right,” she chimes in. “A few months ago, but it has certainly felt longer.”

“A few months? Were you keeping him a secret on purpose?” Sam asks.

I see Kaitlyn’s cheeks and top of her chest glaze over pink for a very different reason. “I can answer that. I asked her to. To be honest, again, I’m often followed by the British press due to the global nature of my business and the money that flows with it. I wanted to make certain Kaitlyn was and is protected at all times. Kaitlyn, I think we should tell them about your boss. I don’t see another way around it.”

I reach across and offer her a hand on her thigh as she did for me moments ago. “I thought it could wait until tomorrow. I didn’t expect the third degree at dinner. That’s usually my specialty.”

“Sweetheart, I just have questions. I’m sorry you feel picked on in some way. We’re family. I’m not going to judge you. I don’t think I ever have. Please tell me what happened.”

Kaitlyn lowers her hand to rest on top of mine on her leg. She’s looking for some supportive contact, and I’ll be damned if I won’t give it to her. “Wilder showed his true colors that I’ve tried really hard to ignore. Please don’t ask me to go into detail. Just know, I quit.”

“Did he hurt you?” Sam asks, his proverbial feathers are standing on end.

“Had he, we’d be having a very different conversation right now,” I tell him plainly.

Kaitlyn shakes her head. “No, he didn’t hurt me, but he was inappropriate so I quit.”

“Christ, Pixie, I’m sorry,” Sam says. “What are you going to do for income? I know how hard you worked for that position. I can help in transition if you need it. You just have to say so.”

“I get it, Dad, and thank you, but actually, I’ve accepted a position to work in the legal department of Griffin’s company. They wrote up an offer and it honestly fits my needs. I accepted it yesterday.”

“Wow. All right. What does that mean for your location? Will you have to travel or move? I have so many questions,” Sam replies. I can sense he’s more than a little confused, perhaps a little frustrated. I’m sure he feels out of the loop and that I could be the cause. I don’t want that in the short term for Kaitlyn on top of everything else she’s taking on at my expense.

I turn my chin toward Kaitlyn, our ruse taking yet another turn we should have anticipated. “Allow me?” As she nods her approval, I raise her fingers to my lips, offering what reassurance I can. “I know it’s a lot. It was a lot for us as well. Kaitlyn and I will travel together. Yes, she will have to come to London with me from time to time, but we will be here in the States more than over there. That I can assure you.

“Will there be other times she will need to accompany me to other parts of the globe? I won’t know that until or unless that comes up and we discuss it. I can assure you, this job for her is based on strictly merit and necessity from Orion’s point of view. I will place her needs above my own. I hope I already do.”

I can see my answer provides some clarity and relief for Kaitlyn too. We had still been hammering out the fine points so she needed to hear this.

“Wow,” Sam replies. “That sounds exciting, Pixie, and as long as you’re happy, I’m happy for you.”

The rest of dinner passed with ease. We answered questions, ate our fill, and when the kitchen was clean and coffee was had, Kaitlyn and I announced we were going to retire to our bedrooma little early tonight since travel days can be exhausting, which was to be expected. What I didn’t expect, however, was to sense how nervous she was to have me in her bedroom, which clearly hadn’t been touched since she was a teenager.

---