Page 182 of Bridesmaid By Chance
“What’s going on?” I ask.
His tongue darts out, wetting his lips. “It could all be a fucking lie.”
“What could?”
“The lawsuit,” he says through clenched teeth.
“Oh, did you hear from Hardy?”
“Yes, he’s just waiting to hear back from the lawyer, but he glanced at the documents and they don’t match up.”
“Oh my God. I mean, that’s good news, right?”
His eyes find mine and I can see right away that this is not good news, at least not the kind of news Hudson wants to deal with.
“Do you see what he’s trying to do, Sloane? He’s trying to fuck over his two sons and lay claim to something he has no right laying claim to. It’s undermining and deceitful, and it’s coming from my fucking father.”
God, I don’t know what to say because what do you really say to something like that?He’s a dick?He’s awful?You deserve better?
Those are all things Hudson knows.
I don’t feel like stating the obvious and I’m sure he doesn’t want me stating the obvious.
But before I can decide on what to say, he lifts me off his lap and stands from his chair. Still wearing his dress shirt and pants from before, but now his shirt is undone and hanging open, he walks the length of the terrace, his hand in his hair, looking distressed and angry.
“Did he just think that we would roll over and give him what he wanted? It’s fucking absurd.”
Standing awkwardly, I clasp my hands in front of me and say, “I’m sorry, Hudson.” Because what else is there to really say?
“Nothing was ever good enough for him, you know that?” he asks, looking me in the eyes. Is that rhetorical? Do I need to answer him? “And I did everything he fucking wanted. Everything. I worked as an intern in the mailroom. I sat through meeting after meaningless meetingtaking notes for him, only for me to type them up and him to toss them in the trash the minute I handed them to him. He would use me when he needed, touting me around to family-oriented business partners, but would kick me to the curb when I wasn’t useful. And then when I was finally put in charge of something, when I put in my time and did everything he asked, he undermined every decision I made. Never once said he was proud and often took credit for the ideas I came up with.”
“Hudson—”
“And then when he tries to blackmail our sister, to hurt her business, we step out because we want nothing to do with him, only for him to retaliate with false information.” He tugs on his hair hard. “Do you know how fucking worried I’ve been?”
I nod, realizing he just needs to vent in this moment.
“Terrified. Fucking terrified that I not only ruined my business but the businesses around me, attached to me. All for what? So that my dad can try to make me feel less than what I am? What a fuck!”
I’m about to say something when his phone rings. We walk over to where he was sitting, and he picks up the phone and says, “Yes?”
I can’t hear who is on the other line, but I’m going to assume it’s Hardy.
And as Hardy speaks, I can see the tension grow in Hudson’s shoulders. I can see the anger start to billow out of him. Everything inside him is tightening.
“Countersue,” Hudson says in a meaningful voice. “I don’t give a fuck, Hardy. He wants to pull that bullshit, fucking call him out on it and sue him back.”
He’s silent for a second, his hand pulling out strands of his hair as he paces. “This is about us settling scores with our dad. He needs to realize he can’t fuck with us.” He moves toward the balcony of the terrace. “His lawyers should lose their licenses.”
Wanting to calm him down, I walk up next to him and place my hand on his back, only for him to shrug away.
“Hold on a second,” he says into the phone and then turns toward me. “Go to bed, Sloane.”
“Huh?” I say, feeling like I got slapped in the face.
“Bed. Go to bed.”
“I…I can wait for you.”
