The Billionaire Playboy's Regret (Lark and Max) novel Chapter 38

Lark was exiting her bedroom at her parent’s home early Friday morning carrying a suitcase and her father met her in the hall pulling his own along.

“I don’t want to go,” she whispered nervously. “Doug has ruined Houston for me.”

“I know honey but the sooner we get this done, the better. I need to meet with my investigators and get set up before Monday’s meeting.”

“I don’t want to see Doug.” She admitted as they made their way out of the house in the quiet of the dawn. She let her dad take her suitcase and put it in the trunk of the car.

“Is it because you’re afraid of what he will do when he realizes you are already with someone else?” her father asked her curiously as he rounded the car to the driver’s side. “Last night was the first night you slept home all week. It’s a little late to hide it from me now.”

She got into the passenger side and clipped her seatbelt, “actually Dad, I’m not going to deny it. Max set up his spare room for me and we’ve been really getting to know one another and catch up on the things we’ve missed over the last twelve years. He even stocked a closet for me. I mean, I’m sharing it with Johan’s clothes, but he has really great taste. He has been very respectful.”

“Are you being respectful?” his father teased her as he backed the car down the driveway.

“Dad!”

“Are you?”

“Yes. I am.” Indignancy coated her words.

“Good.”

“Mom still mad at you?” Lark shot him a sideways glance.

“She’s not mad, Lark. She is very protective of you and me and she was not appreciative of me asking her to stay home for this trip. She wants to be there to make sure we’re both safe but her mama bear tendencies where you are concerned might make things worse. Right now, Doug hasn’t mentioned the kick she took to his ribs when we all came outside. I don’t want her named in this s**t. It’s enough with you and Max in it.”

Lark snickered, “I knew you would veto her going when she said she wanted to beat him in the head with a chair.”

“I swear Lark,” Grady eyed his daughter, “there are times I listen to the way she and Bobbie talk, and it scares the hell out of me. They were talking about the case for Mori on the weekend and your mother asked if Gael’s criminal friends could simply make her disappear. Said it would save a bunch of money and time and they could go to the beach and relax instead of deal with all this s**t. Ollie and I were reviewing my retirement plan funds and I told him I’m probably not going to need it anyway because my wife was going to get us killed by the mob or thrown in prison long before I reach sixty-five.

”

She giggled and patted his leg, “Dad, you act like you wouldn’t have wanted the exact same thing to happen to Doug.” “That’s different. You are my baby girl, and nobody f***s with my daughter and gets away with it.”

“Right. You and mom are so,” she stretched the word out, “different.”

He squeezed her knee and made eyes, “we are!”

She laughed as he tickled her and looked out the window. “How come Bobbie wasn’t traveling to the airport with us this morning?”

“She had a therapy session with all her kids this morning. Olivier is frustrated as hell. He said he’d rather punch himself in the balls than sit in a room with his six kids and his wife paying money for a stranger to tell them the reason his kids are assholes is his fault.”

She laughed, “Dad!”

Olivier laughed, “shenanigans. You mean my co-” Bobbie covered his mouth and waved her hand at the four younger people watching their interactions. He pulled her hand away and kissed the back of it, “don’t worry Grady. I’m only here to see her off. Therapy was a b***h, and she was sad,” he gave an irritated glance at his eldest children, “and I wanted to make sure she was no longer crying before she got on the plane.”

“You made your mom cry?” Lark spun and glared at Max and Ollie.

“Not me!” Ollie held her hands up defensively. “Stupid LJ made a comment about Mom being an absentee-mom because she was working on passing the bar. Dumbass LJ said it was clear she loved me and Max more than the other kids because she was actually around for us. Mom cried so Max punched him in the face for making her cry. Nobody makes his mama or his Larky-poo cry, so he gave LJ a smackdown. Dad and Ronnie pulled him back and then the therapist threw us out. Thankfully, we” she wriggled her thumb between herself and Max, “go to a different therapist and we still have a counsellor.”

“You punched your own brother?”

“He made Maman cry,” Max rolled his shoulders and looked to his mother, “and you were never an absentee mother. You were and are the best maman in the world and he’s a selfish t**t who needs his ass handed to him. He’ll think twice before he shoots his mouth off again.”

“He’s entitled to his opinion,” Bobbie said quietly fiddling with her rings.

“No, he’s not,” Lark shook her head decisively. “But Bobbie. I bet if Max hadn’t jumped him, the therapist would have made him express more his thoughts and he would have concluded his behavior is his own perceived injustices for the fact he shares you with five other people. He is jealous and he still thinks the best way to get your attention is to make stupid comments to grab it. He loves you, Bobbie. I bet by the time we touch down in Houston, he’s called you to apologize.”

“If he’s still alive,” Ollie muttered darkly. When six sets of eyes all turned to look at her, she looked around in alarm, “that was supposed to be an internal thought not a voiced one.” When they continued staring, she groaned, “fine, it pissed me off too how LJ is an entitled little prick who thinks he gets to blame his shortcomings on the best woman I ever knew. Nobody talks s**t about my mom, not even a punk ass little brother.”

“Ollie, call off your henchmen,” Olivier rolled his eyes at his daughter and then kissed his wife’s forehead, “the attendant is coming to collect you all for the flight. I will go home and put some ice on our other son’s nose and have a good conversation with him.” When she opened her mouth to protest, Olivier simply kissed her silent.

Lark giggled and nudged Ollie in the ribs jilting her chin in their direction. “Your dad’s still got it.”