Page 108 of Anti-Hero

“What does this”—he holds up the envelope—“have to do with custody?”

“It’s a paternity test.”

The explanation doesn’t clear the confusion. Kit’s frown deepens instead. “What?”

“It’s a paternity test,” I repeat. “For your lawyers or whoever needs to see it.”

He tosses the envelope on his desk with a low scoff. “I didn’t ask you to do a test, Collins.”

“I know you didn’t. But I’m sure you wanted to. We’ve never been in a relationship. Weweren’tin a relationship when … it happened. I’m sure you’ve wondered if?—”

“I haven’t,” Kit states flatly.

“Okay.” I swallow hard, completely thrown by his reaction. And increasingly concerned about how the letter is going to land next. I thought handing him the test results was going to be the easy part. That he’d nod, thank me for taking care of this, and tuck the envelope in a folder for safekeeping. “Well, even so, this way, there’s no doubt about?—”

He interrupts, “I didn’taskyou to do this, Collins! And I’m pretty sure collecting my DNA without permission is a federal crime.”

I blanch. Swabbing one of his coffee cups while he was in ameeting seemed simple and harmless, not criminal. Something I thought Kit would laugh or joke about.

“You’remadthat I?—”

“You’re damn right I’m mad.” He roughly runs a hand through his hair. “What the hell happened to making decisions together?”

“This—I—this had nothing to do with the baby. It was about?—”

Again, he interrupts, “Nothing to do with the baby? It haseverythingto do with the baby. Because I trust you, but you don’t trust me.”

Now,I’mmad. “Because I gave youproofyou can trust me? That I told you the truth? That means I don’t trust you? That doesn’t make any sense, Kit!”

He shakes his head. “You didn’t take this test for me. It’s insurance—foryou. If anyone asks the question, you wanted to have the evidence handy. And the only reason you’d need evidence was if you didn’t trust me to protect you.”

“That’s not …” I chew the inside of my cheek until I taste copper. “I can’t believe you’reupsetabout this. I thought you’d ask me to take one, but you never did, so I figured I’d just … handle it.”

“If I’d wanted a paternity test, Iwouldhave asked you for one. So, are you sure you didn’t do this to reassure yourself?”

My spine snaps straight. “How long have you been waiting to ask me that?”

I’vebeen waiting for him to ask me that.

I never expected Kit not to question me about paternity. A leadingyou’re sure …when I said it was his. Or a question at a doctor’s appointment, clarifying the conception date.

We hadn’t seen each other for two years before that night. He knew I’d recently gotten out of a relationship with someone else. Andhe’s rich, with obvious assets to protect.

Not asking is careless, and Kit is smart.

“How long? Since you handed me this.” He nudges the offending envelope with the tip of a pen.

“If I neededreassurance, I would have opened the results before I gave them to you.”

I stand, still clutching my letter of resignation. I’ll have to give this to him tomorrow. I don’t have the time or the energy to handle another argument right now. Everyone else must be down in the lobby already, and tonight’s supposed to be a celebration.

“Andyou’rethe billionaire who’s slept with half the women in this city and every sorority girl at Yale. For all I know, this has happened to you before. Stop acting like I’m being unreasonable. This situation is complicated, and I’m trying to make it a little more straightforward. Don’t pretend you don’t know how the world—yourworld—works. A paternity test is the first thing your family’s team of lawyers is going to ask for, and that’s notmyfault.”

I stride out of his office as fast as I can without jogging, blinking away the tears before they have a chance to fall.

29

At eight fifteen, she finally shows up.

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