Page 173 of The Bet
“Good,” he replied, wondering why Tobias was so calm and hadn’t uttered an expletive yet. Or maybe this was the calm before the Stone eruption?
“Need to talk to you. Are you free to meet up? I can come by if you’re at home.”
Free to meet up?His brother hadn’t yet made any accusations, or apportioned any blame, or made assumptions. This didn’t sound like Tobias at all. Dare he risk it? “I can come by your office,” Xavier suggested. “I’ve come out of a meeting, and I’m a couple of blocks away.”
“Come by.”
And so he did.
Tobias had a relaxed look about him, and he was actually smiling at him as Xavier walked in, so much so that he was tempted to ask him if he was feeling alright.
“Everything okay with Savannah and Jacob?” he asked, sitting down across the desk.
“Everything is fine.” Tobias got up from his desk, and gazed out of his floor-to-ceiling windows. “Do you know why I like being so high up here?”
“Because you like to feel like a king?”
His brother issued a rare smile. “Because it gives me a bird’s eye view of things.”
“Oh-kaaaay,” he said slowly, and wondered if he ought to call Savannah and ask what the hell had happened to Tobias, because clearly, something had.
His brother gave him a sidelong glance. “I need to remember that, because it’s easy for me to get so caught up in the minutiae of business that I don’t see the bigger picture. And that means, I don’t have clarity.”
What the fuck was he going on about? “What—” Xavier paused, and struggled to find the words. “are you saying?” he asked, slowly.
Tobias turned away from the window and stood facing him. “I’m sorry for blaming you. I know you didn’t leak the news about the twins.”
Jeez. This wasn’t even about the Shoemoney incident. An apology from the almighty Tobias. He’d expected that Savannah would tell him at some point, but he’d never held out for an apology. He’d have been lucky to receive an acknowledgement via text, butthis, an apology, and in person. “Savannah told you.”
“You should have said something,” Tobias continued
“I didn’t want Jacob to get into trouble.”
“I know. That’s what Savannah told me. He would never have gotten into trouble.” Tobias walked over to him and perched on the corner of the desk. “Do I come across as a monster?”
Xavier blinked. “Uh—” He was caught in a serious dilemma, should he tell the ugly truth or make up a pretty lie?
“The truth, Xavier. I want the truth.”
“Can you handle the truth?”
His brother raised an eyebrow, and swallowed. “Yes.”
“I find you intimidating at the best of times, and I’m a 27 year old guy. Can you imagine how you might come across to that kid?”
“I love that boy. I’ve never raised my voice at him, I never would. He can’t do any wrong in my eyes, not only because I’m biased, but because that’s the kind of child he is, because of the way Savannah raised him.”
“Sometimes you don’t even have to open your mouth, Tobias. You have a look about you that could turn people to stone, if you had any supernatural powers.”
“I’m working on fixing that.”
“Marrying Savannah was a start.”
“It was. I’m going to adopt Jacob, before the twins are born.”
“You are?”
“Would have done it sooner, but his damn father was hard to track down.”
