Page 99 of Losing Faith

“Because I don’t trust your horny ass to not sneak off backstage or to the bathroom.”

A smirk grows on his face, but he complies.

Before I can add more, a message pops up on my phone.

Sire G

Hey, my sister still there?

I feel my brows furrow at his text and rise from my seat. When I open my office door, Lisette’s sweet laugh echoes through the house before my daughter’s laugh follows. I smile at the sound of the happy house and respond to him.

Yeah. Why wouldn’t she be?

Just making sure.

His text bubbles appear and then disappear. This happens three more times before another message comes through.

I’m gonna pick her up later but do me a favor & lmk if she leaves.

You her chauffeur now?

Just let me know. Please.

I will.

Everything okay?

I’m worried about her.

His text bubbles disappear then come back.

Keep an eye on her for me. Let me know if she seems off, zoning out and stuff. Joking more than usual about being sad and shit.

A bad feeling settles in my stomach, but I only like his message.

I walk back to my desk but as I look back at my laptop, I can’t think about anything else but that girl in my kitchen.

“You don’t need a second mommy.”

Was that her way of telling me she doesn’t want this? My mind trails back to our conversation in her room, the way she tried to push me away from the hard part of her life. I know she doesn’t want my support, but I can’t shake this overwhelming need to help her. To do everything in my power to make sure every day is a good day, one she can look back on when those dark thoughts run through her mind.

I shut the laptop and pull in a deep breath.

“I’ll call you to discuss the rest,” I tell Rome. “Charity event on Tuesday. Do not be late,” I warn.

“Okay, Dad,” Rome mumbles as he rises to his seat. He turns to look out to the backyard and nods to himself. “You have a really nice house.”

He glances over to the side before nodding again. “You’re a good dad, Jackson.”

I’m thrown off that he called meJackson,but I don’t miss the sincerity in his words. I follow his eyes to Isabelle’s newborn pictures.

“Thanks,” I reply.

He nods in return before we walk out of my office. He keeps his head low as he walks for the door, but before walking out, he turns to me. “Thanks for this,” he mumbles. “You can clearly afford a lawsuit from me and simply drop me as your client, but you won’t.”

“Yet,” I add and his brows pull together. “This is my last resort, kid. The Red Sox put your contract on hold.” I tell him the actual reason I needed him to come in today and I see the fear in his eyes.

“When?”

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