Chapter 0023
BAILEE
My knee bounced as we sat in the waiting room. I was nervous, but not because of my meeting with Mr. Collins.
I was nervous about giving Alexander the apology he was owed.
He had hurt me beyond belief when we were younger, but the way I had treated him today was unacceptable. Over the past twenty–four hours, he had been kind, stood up for me, brought me to a safe place to stay, and got medicine for my daughter
He deserved an apology, and I had been so caught up in my head that I wouldn’t have realized it if it weren’t for the damn jalapenos
After Brinley’s fever had been broken, I brought her into the kitchen to make breakfast, and the guilt I had been feeling tripled
On the kitchen island sat a take–out bag with several containers. One with bacon and sausage, another with hashbrowns and scrambled eggs. The last sizable take–out box had biscuits, and my mouth watered when I realized he had ordered a side of sausage gravy to go with it.
Spreading them out onto the counter, I smiled, happy I wouldn’t have to cook. Brinley would have a breakdown if I tried to put her down long enough to cook a meal while she was sick.
“Bread” Brinley insisted, reaching for the biscuits. I sighed, knowing once she had that, she would refuse everything else, but I handed her one anyway and grabbed the empty bag the food came in to throw it away.
Only it wasn’t empty. At the bottom was a small dipping cup with jalapeño slices in it.
I hated jalapeños and knew most restaurants wouldn’t provide a side of them without it being requested
And it was something Alex would request
He loved spicy food. I had seen him put them on his plate at the diner in our hometown when he would join my family for breakfast.
The realization hit me that he had wanted to join us for breakfast today
Even if he was doing it out of a sense of guilt to make amends for our past, he bought all three of us breakfast, and I had been rude and ungrateful, kicking him out of a house I didn’t even own.
After Brinley and I ate, I adjusted the car seat in Ben’s Range Rover to Brinley’s height and weight requirements before heading to Andrew Collin’s office.
We hadn’t scheduled a specific time, and I was surprised when Brinley and I were called back after only a few minutes
“Ms Evans!” A man greeted me, and I looked up to see a husky yet fit man standing in the doorway. His sleeves had been rolled up to his elbows, and if I had to guess, he had been wearing a tie earlier but had taken it off when he unbuttoned the top button of his shirt
His dirty blonde hair had a slight curl to it, even though I could see that he had attempted to style it back. His brown eyes were warm as they landed on me. The subtle crow’s feet in the corners of them made me feel slightly better about Ben working with him because it meant he smiled often.
Ben had made questionable decisions in the past about who he could trust in his inner circle, and I would hate it if another person screwed him over when he had done nothing to deserve it.
“Mr. Collins, I presume,” I said, standing with Brinley in my arms.
“Just Andrew, please. It’s lovely to meet you, Ms Evans Benjamin has told me so much about you. This must be Brinley!”
“You can call me Bailee. Ben told you about my daughter, too?”
+25 BONUS
“Of course, he gushes about her every time we discuss the performance of the account he opened for her.”
“I’m sorry, what? He opened an account for her?”
“The day after she was born” Andrew laughed, and I let out a fast, pained breath. It seemed like a normal question to ask how much was in it, but I refused to add that quilt to my plate when it was already overflowing from the two million that I hadn’t earned yet was about to be transferred to me. “Right this way.”
Following him into his office, I was surprised by the wall of signed sports apparel. Front and center was my brother’s jersey, with the signatures of every man on his team
rolled his chair in and began to reach for a tablet.
“Are you a fan?” I said as a joke, but Andrew’s checks turned pink as he roll
“Yes,” he said, bringing the screen to life. “Hopefully, I can make this quick and easy for you, and you can leave here a happy and rich woman.”
I laughed with him but then paid close attention as he explained the process and what I was signing on the tablet he had placed on the desk before me.
It took me a few minutes to enter my bank information before Brinley became too frustrated with not having my undivided attention. She decided it would be best to rip the tablet from my hands every two seconds and cry that it was her turn. So, I skipped all the terms and conditions, signed where it asked, and handed it back to Andrew.
“All
Il set!” He exclaimed, and I raised my eyebrows.
“That
t was it?”
“Yes, ma’am! Based on the amount, the transfer can take some time to clear, but I have been advised that you are to use this in the meantime.” He slid a card across the table, and I pressed my lips together when I saw a card with my brother’s name on it.
“Thank you for all your help, Andrew,” I said, taking the card from the desk.
“It is my pleasure! I’ll let Mr. Evans and Mr. Kingston know it is complete.” He said, walking around his desk to get the door for me. “Let me know if you need anything”
“Excuse me? What does Alexander have to do with this?” I askedys I stood from my seat.
“He owns this company and asked for you to be a top priority,” Andrew said, his smile falling slowly as if just realizing I was irritated instead of celebrating my newfound wealth
“Right,” I said, licking my lips and moving to the door.
I couldn’t quite place my finger on the reason why Alex’s involvement angered me so much Perhaps it was because I didn’t want him involved in my personal business, especially my finances
Or rather, I didn’t like that I felt a flutter of butterflies in my stomach, knowing that he was looking out for me.
“He’s just making amends. He doesn’t really care.” I reminded myself. Alexander Kingston hadn’t cared back then and he didn’t
Care now.
Still, it seemed Alex and I had several things we needed to discuss today, and his office would be my next stop.
