Page 14 of Second Chance Wedding
She glanced back at him, obviously not following the topic he and his brothers discussed just before her arrival.
“Ana, please have a seat,” Alec murmured. “We have some things to go over, and this could take a while.”
Ana ran her hand along the top of the chair as though she needed something to hold onto before lowering herself onto the cushion.
“I take it you have an idea of the repair cost?” she asked Alec.
Alec’s gaze shifted to Gage.
Gage repeated what Frankie had told him, and Ana’s gasp filled the air. Her head whipped to the side as she stared at Ben, and Cole saw the way her hands tightened to a white-knuckled grip over the arm of the chair.
She looked…heartbroken. And more than a little panicked and sick.
“I take it payment would be a problem?” Alec asked.
ChapterFour
Ana could only remember a few times in her life when she’d felt as embarrassed, humiliated and panicked as she did right now.
Cole’s presence charged the air with electrifying tension, and the hard gazes of his brothers twisted invisible knives shoved into her years ago because of how she’d handled their breakup. “Um… ”
“We know you’ve recently expanded your store and moved the location into the hotel. That couldn’t have come cheap,” Alec said.
“It didn’t. I’m afraid I’ll…need to make payments for the amount I owe, but I’ll figure it out,” she said in a rush. “I will pay you.”
“No need,” Alec said.
“No need? I’m not following,” Ana said, her pulse pounding through her veins as if she ran a marathon.
“Ben, take a seat while we go over a few things.”
Ana said a quick prayer that Benji would cooperate and not cause more trouble than he already had.
Getting him here had been problematic. He hadn’t wanted to get out of bed this morning and dragged his feet to the point she was ready to break down and rage because she felt so frustrated by his behavior. So helpless in this situation.
Her job was to protect her child. And he was a child. His actions and behavior proved as much.
But when it came to changing his attitude from this angry, hormonal, belligerent monster, she was at a loss. Yelling didn’t work. Taking away his phone or video games never seemed to have the impact one might think.
Once they’d gotten home, she’d discovered he’d added a passcode to his phone. One she didn’t know and of course he’d refused to reveal.
She’d read enough books on raising boys as a single mom to know she battled hormones and peer pressure, but the sheer amount of anger Benji blasted out in all directions?Why was he behaving this way? Where did it come from?
Benji flopped into the spare seat and glared at Alec. Ana winced, and when she shifted her attention to the eldest Blackwell brother, she saw disproval flash over his expression before it turned unreadable once again.
Gage stood to her right, but she noticed something catch his attention. That something had to be Cole because a slight turn of her head allowed her to watch Gage walk to the door and take Cole’s place so that Cole could move to stand leaning against the wall between Alec and Brooks who sat at their desks.
Cole had silently ordered his brother to guard the door so that Benji couldn’t just up and run. It was smart but also aggravating. She knew a power play when she saw one. The brothers had teamed up to take on her son, and witnessing them working together made her realize just how hard it was to do everything on her own.
“So let’s hammer this out,” Alec said. “Ben, you took something that didn’t belong to you, and you damaged it. Your mom has offered to pay for the repairs, but we don’t think that’s fair. So instead we’ve agreed that you will work off the money you owe us.”
“Work it off. Like, for free?”
“If you’re asking if you’d earn a wage, the answer is no. Your earnings would go toward the debt as compensation. Are you involved in sports or after-school activities?”
Ben’s face flushed a bright, ruddy red with his anger.
“Basketball,” Ben bit out.
