Page 43 of When You Stayed
Once we were near the office, I tilted my head. “Killian, a word?”
I could see it in his face that he was still pissed at me, his jaw was so tight it looked like he was chewing on a shit ton of gravel. I ignored my father’s curious glance as Killian trailed me into the room and shut the door, preventing anyone elsefrom following.
“You need to say anything else to me that you haven’t already said with your fists?”
I took a seat at the desk, which would soon have my photos and my shit on it. Not his.
Laura would eventually clean out her side of the office too, making way for Johnson. Even though her role technically shouldn’t change with the club, out of loyalty to Killian she would remove all her items from the desk across the room. She would take her plants out, making the room look stark and empty. It would hurt, but then again, this was the way of things. The order was changing, and it was either a clean cut or it was a bloody mess.
Killian’s arms folded across his chest, covering the lingering president patch on his cut.
“Said all I needed to say. But can I ask what happened to your fist?”
“Then why the fuck are you freezing me out down there? And no, you can’t.”
His nose flared, and I knew I had him.
“Fine, I’m still pissed.”
I knew it. “Well, that isn’t going to work for us, Killian. The men will pick up on it.”
“Well, you being near my daughter doesn’t really work for me, Ford. So what the fuck do you want to do?”
I slowly stood from my chair and pushed it back. “Near her in what capacity? I haven’t?—”
He stepped closer, slamming his hand down on the desk. “You were at her work last night, pulled her off stage and behind an employee door. You think the men are loyal to you now that you’re going to wear that patch? They weremymen first.”
My face likely conveyed how angry I was getting because all I seemed to do was pull myself back from Royce, and it was still not enough.
“Your men lied to you. So fuck off with that loyalty bullshit. A bass player was feeling up Royce and pulling her behind the curtain even as she tried to break free of his hold. I ran on stage and pulled him away fromher.”
“Bullshit,” he seethed, leaning over the desk.
The door to the office opened, and my dad and Jameson walked inside.
“The fuck is going on here?” Jameson asked, but my dad was the one who replied flatly.
“Royce.”
Jameson lifted his chin like he understood exactly what he meant by that.
I searched the three men standing in front of me, confused.
“What does that mean?”
Jameson flicked his eyes to my dad who let out a heavy sigh. “Think if you approached this whole thing with her differently, it would go a bit smoother, son.”
“Approached what?”
Jameson patted Killian’s shoulder, which made the Wolf finally collect himself with a shaky breath. “He can’t even admit it, so he has no place chasing herorconfusing her.”
“Admit what?” I snapped, feeling irritated by their inside joke shit.
My dad was the one who sat on the edge of the desk and softened his tone. “You had a full-ride scholarship to Virginia Tech.”
My neck felt a little warm, so I rubbed it then searched each of their faces. “So what?”
His steady gaze remained on me as he continued, “You had your dorm room assigned. You had a roommate, and classes picked.”
