I rub the pain in my head away, trying to focus once more. I actually got more done when Jodi was here, which is a fucking nightmare and really pisses me off. If I could just focus on what I need to do, I could forget about her. Everyone else has moved on, and time has whizzed past quickly. I just need to forget.

Karen peeks her head around the door. “Uh, Mr. Stanton? There’s a woman here to see you . . .”

I sigh loudly and shake my head. “No, I don’t have any meetings scheduled today. I don’t want to—”

“But she’s quite insistent. She’s saying that you will want to speak to her about this.”

Karen is so organized, but she’s nowhere near firm enough with people. Because of her, I keep finding myself in situations I could do without, and it looks like this is going to be another one.

“Karen, I really don’t want to speak to anyone today. Do you think you can get rid of her?”

“Uh, yes sure. I will see what I can do. Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt you . . .”

She bows her head and slides out the door. I put my pen down, knowing that she won’t be able to keep whoever it is outside. They’ll be through that door in a heartbeat, bombarding me with sales stuff.

“No fucking way you’re getting away with this any longer, Brock. I won’t have it.”

As predicted, the person bursts through the door to speak to me. However, I wasn’t expecting it to be that familiar face staring down at me as if I’m the worst person on the whole damn planet.

“Millie?” I furrow my eyebrows and glare right back. “What are you doing here?”

“I’ve tried to keep out of it, Brock. Believe me, I have really tried to keep my nose out, but I can’t keep out of it any longer. I can’t. This is pathetic. You’re both adults. You need your heads banging together.”

“What the hell are you talking about, Millie? I haven’t got time to talk to you about this.”

She slides into the chair on the other side of the desk with her arms folded across her chest. “Trust me, you will want to hear what I have to say, and I’m not leaving until you listen anyway.”

“My place of business isn’t the time or place for this sort of conversation.”

“Well, there isn’t anywhere else, is there? So it’s here, and it’s now.”

I roll my eyes and snort angrily. “Fine. Whatever, Millie. Get it over and done with then.”

“Okay, let’s start with your behavior then, shall we? Because you are being pathetic.”

“Pathetic? Are you fucking kidding me?” My temper rears its ugly head again. The bottle cap has popped, and everything I’ve locked away is spilling forth. “I was wronged, and I shut it down before it could turn toxic. If that isn’t the right thing to do, then I don’t know what is. I didn’t let it turn into a load of messy rows.”

“No, you just shut Jodi down and wouldn’t let her explain. You didn’t even hear her.”

“She admitted it! There’s nothing else to say than that. She told me right out it happened.”

“What did she admit? I don’t understand that. There’s no way. If I remember rightly, it’s the kiss, right?”

“Yes, it was the kiss. She told me that she kissed Lucas. What do you want me to do?”

“I don’t know what she said to you, but you misunderstood. She didn’t kiss Lucas.”

“I saw them kissing. I saw them out in that alleyway, kissing. With my own freaking eyes.”

“You didn’t see them kissing. You saw him grabbing her and threatening her. That’s what you saw. Maybe you couldn’t see it clearly because of the shadows. Jodi told me he even tried to kiss her. Maybe that’s what you saw, I don’t know. But shutting her down and not even listening was wrong.”

“I don’t believe you. That all sounds like a load of excuses to me.”

“Lucas is in jail now for drugs and petty crime. He wanted money from Jodi to pay off debts.”

“Who the fuck is Lucas anyway?” I toss my hands in the air, frustrated. “I don’t understand any of this.”

Millie sucks in a couple of breaths, trying to steady her thoughts. I can almost see the cogs in her brain spinning far too fast. “Okay, sorry, let me explain. I’m too angry to do this properly. Jodi came to Las Vegas after all her trouble in New York. You know about that, right?”

“I sort of know something. There was some trouble with a guy she went out with, right?”

“Yeah . . . I mean, that’s putting it mildly, but yeah. She came here to get away from it, and Lucas just lured her in. He pretended to be very much something he isn’t, and Jodi needed that. It was only later on that his gambling addiction and much darker side came out. That’s when they split up.”

“So why are they still in touch? That doesn’t make any sense. If they split up, then what’s the point?”

“Because she feels very sorry for him. He lost both his parents in a horrible accident, and she’s always felt a level of responsibility for him. I suppose he relied on her, and she was too afraid to let him go. The deeper the addiction got, the more it became a horrible emotional abuse too, which Jodi struggled to get out of. I know she did because even when I tried to help her, she got sucked back in over and over again.”

“But she’s such a strong person. I don’t understand how that would even happen.”

“She’s strong with an open heart. Plus, she’s had troubles herself, so she wants to help everyone.”

“Yeah, I suppose that makes sense. I can see that in her.”

“Exactly, so she just wanted to help him, and this time he got even more desperate. He told her there were people about to kill him if he didn’t give them money, and since he’s driven everyone else away with his behavior, she’s all he has left. Jodi felt bad. She didn’t want to think about him dead . . .”

“But we were seeing one another. Why didn’t she tell me this was going on?”

“Because it got nasty. He threatened you, too, and the casino. She thought it was too new, that it would push you away. She just wanted to handle it without getting you involved. She didn’t want to bring you into drama that she’s always dealt with herself before then. She’s so independent. Too independent.”

“Well, that’s just stupid. That’s absolutely ridiculous. She should have asked me for help.”

“Maybe so, but it’s easier to say that with hindsight. At the time, it wasn’t easy.”

“Hmm, I suppose so. But that doesn’t explain why she was kissing him.”

“She wasn’t kissing him, you idiot. She loves you. She’s loved you for a long time.”

The word love hits me like a knife in the chest. I don’t want to think about it in the same context as Jodi, not anymore. Especially since Millie has me all churned up in knots now with her words.

“I don’t know why you’re here, Millie. Too much time has passed anyway. We’re done.”

“That’s just your stupid pride talking. You don’t really mean that. I know it.”

“No, Millie. I really don’t know what to think about what you’re telling me. It all just sounds ridiculous. Some ex-boyfriend threatening her for drug money. She doesn’t even have any money.”

“She doesn’t have money because she’s always bailed him out. But you do.”

“Are you telling me that he went after her because of me?”

“Because he was jealous, he didn’t want her to move on, and he also wanted to blackmail her into giving him money. He told her he had the guys who were threatening to kill him surrounding your casino, ready to kill you. She thought he was going to either murder you or ruin your casino. She was scared. That’s why she went outside to talk to him alone—she didn’t want you to get hurt. Don’t you remember seeing her afterward? She was covered in bruises and all dirty. Or were you too wrapped up in your own pride to see anything other than anger? I saw you that night, so I already know the answer.”

“Alright, fine,” I concede while darting my eyes downward. “Maybe I was enraged.”

“But plenty of time has passed now. You’ve had lots of time to pull your head out of your ass and start acting like a normal human being. Yet, somehow, you still aren’t doing that. You’re ignoring Jodi’s calls and messages, her texts, her emails, her voice mails. All of it. Just because of your pride.”

“It isn’t because of my pride. It’s because we need a clean break to move on.”

“To move on why? She didn’t do anything wrong? Why do you still need to be so stubborn?”

“Because it just proved that we aren’t meant to be together. She isn’t my soul mate or whatever.”

“Now who’s being stupid? Honestly, I haven’t ever heard anything quite like it.”

“Why are you here, Millie? I assume you’ve come for more than to tell me to call her back. I can see it in your eyes. So, since we’re about to hit a dead end, you might as well get it off your chest.”

“It isn’t my place to say it. I feel really bad in doing so, but I have to. I can’t just sit back and let everyone make silly mistakes around me when I know what the answer is. You need to talk to each other.”

“What is it, Millie? I’m starting to lose patience. You’re seriously winding me up.”

Her eyes flash at me. “She’s pregnant, okay? She’s having your baby. And yes, it’s yours, before you make some snide remark about her cheating on you because as we now know, she wasn’t.”

“B-baby?” I gasp out, clutching my stomach. “She’s having a baby? My baby?”

“Yes. I went to the ultrasound with her yesterday. There’s definitely a baby in there.”

“But why wouldn’t she just tell me? This is so much bigger than some petty fight. This is a life.”

“Because of how you’ve treated her, you idiot. I hope you realize that now.”

I’m silent. I let all of this wash over me in waves. I’m having a baby. Jodi is having my baby. Everything that came before this moment doesn’t matter anymore. The fact that Jodi wasn’t even lying to me, that she didn’t cheat on me, is amazing, but it pales into insignificance compared to this news.

I’m going to be a father. There’s a baby growing in the world that will belong to me.

“I’m going to leave this ultrasound picture right here for you,” Millie says quietly. “I hope you look at it and it leads you to the right decision, because all of this is silly. It doesn’t need to be like this.”

She closes the door behind her, clicking it after herself, leaving me in a resounding silence with only the picture for company. I pick it up and run my eyes all over it, tears pricking behind my gaze as I do. This is an emotional roller coaster like no other. Everything I thought I had to feel is no more. Now, I suppose I can love Jodi again if I want to. Which I do. The question is whether or not she will ever love me again.

“What am I going to do?” I mutter to myself. “How will I make this right again? I need to make it right.”