13
JJ
Isaac raises his arm, and the breath slams into my rib cage. The rest of the room fades away. All I can see is Isaac and his girlfriend. All I can think is he’s going to hit her. My guts churn, adrenaline laces my blood, and my feet seem to move of their own accord.
"Get away from her." I hear my words but am not aware of having spoken them aloud. Then, suddenly, I’m standing between my son and his girlfriend. I grab Isaac’s arm and shove him away.
"What the?" Isaac gasps in surprise. He jerks his chin up and his gaze meets mine. He must see the anger in mine, for he pales. He glances from me to his girlfriend, then back at me. "Did you think I was going to hit her?" He sounds shocked. "Really, JJ?"
My heart twists. He started calling me JJ when he was five years old. I’d come home after another business trip which had kept me away for a month. I’d walked into his room that night, hoping to put him to bed. But he’d glanced up at me and begun to cry. He hadn’t wanted me in his room. He hadn’t recognized me. I’d told him I was his father, but that had only made him cry harder. He’d only settled down after I’d left. He’d never called me father after that. I had decided to be a better parent after that day, but I hadn’t been able to keep my promise. Not to him, not to myself. Now, here I am, holding his arm because I thought he was going to hit his girlfriend.
"Of course, you’d believe the worst of me, wouldn’t you? Easier to label me the culprit than giving me the benefit of the doubt. Well, you and your so-called friends can go fuck yourselves." He brushes past the both of us and stomps toward the door.
"Isaac," I take a step forward, but he’s already marched out of the room. The door slams behind him. Every single person in the room is watching us, but the fuck do I care?
"Now look what you did." She turns on me. "Why did you have to interfere? I had it under control."
"Oh, yeah?" I look her up and down. "From where I was, it seemed like he was going to hit you, and I’m not going to stand by and watch that happen in my home."
"Isaac is a lot of things but he has never physically abused me. Ever." She huffs.
"What about emotional and mental abuse?" I retort. I wish I could say that my son wasn’t capable of it, but the fact is, I don’t know him at all. Isaac is more of a stranger to me than the Sovranos, with whom I’ve spent a hell of a lot more time in the past few months.
She hesitates.
"That’s what I thought."
"This is your son we’re talking about," she protests.
"All the more reason he should behave." I draw myself up to my full height. "As long as the two of you are under my roof, my rules apply. And that includes him being civil to you."
She juts out her chin. "You have no idea about the relationship between the two of us. I know I’m living under your roof, so I don’t want to appear ungrateful—"
"You already do, but that’s not going to stop you from saying whatever it is you’re going to," I mutter.
"—but you coming in between us is not helping at all. It’s only making things worse. So can I request that you stay out of our dealings and let us work things out?"
What the hell? Did she just sass me? Shedidsass me. Why is she upset with me? I was only trying to help her, after all.I open my mouth to tell her off, but before I can speak, she turns and stomps toward the doorway.What the fuck?No one turns their back on me. Not when I’m speaking. And definitely not someone who is my employee. Not to mention, she is half my age—lessthan half my age. I wince, then stiffen my spine. "Girl," I call out after her.
She pauses, then scowls at me over her shoulder. "I do have a name, old man."
Old man? Who the fuck is she calling old man?I’m not old… Not in years and not in virility. I have more stamina than a twenty-three-year-old, and staying power, not to mention experience.
"Don’t walk away while I’m talking to you," I say through gritted teeth.
She laughs, then raises both her middle fingers. "Try and stop me." Turning, she stalks out.
"What the fuck?" I take a step forward but a hand on my shoulder stops me. I turn to find Adrian, Michael’s youngest brother at my elbow.
"Steady there, you don’t want to say or do something you might regret later," he murmurs.
"So, what’s new?" There’s already so much I regret. One thing more is not going to make a difference. I shake off his hand and move toward the doorway, but he walks around to stand in front of me.
"Don’t do this; have a drink and cool off,stronzo."
I glare at him. "Out of my way, Sovrano."
"He has a point," Michael joins him. He hands me a glass of Macallan. "You made it a condition that we attend this celebration for Massimo and Olivia’s wedding. You’ll be failing as a host if you leave now."