“Dad, what are you doing here?”

25

“What am I doing here? What the fuck is she doing here?” David muscles his way into the room, knocking shoulders with Levi and practically plowing over him in the process. His eyes are stormy, his deep scowl promising retribution, and the impeccable way he’s dressed—a full suit and tie with his raven hair slicked back off his forehead—makes him intimidating as hell.

And by the murderous glow in his eyes as he levels his hateful look on me tells me exactly who he’s gunning for.

I feel myself shrink back, wishing I could disappear. This is so not how I saw the morning going. Especially after such a wonderful and passionate start. But whatever resplendent feelings Levi and I conjured up have been obliterated by David’s intrusion.

“Hey!” Levi shouts, his voice dark and edgy. “You can’t just walk in here. This is my room.”

David doesn’t bother acknowledging him. His focus riveted on me, he takes in my state of undress with hard steel in his eyes. Jabbing one long finger at me, he says with an ominous calm, “You have been nothing but a thorn in my side since the day I married your bitch of a gold digging mother. I see the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree,” he sneers. “At least have some class and get the fuck out of that bed and get dressed.”

Authority rings loud and clear in his voice and like a small child, I clutch the sheet to my body and scramble to do as he says.

“Don’t you get out of that bed,” Levi commands. I pause with my feet on the floor, unsure of how to proceed.

Father and son stare each other down. They’re nearly identical in height and appearance, making them look like deadly predators facing off. My body vibrates with nerves. I want the hell out of here, to get away from these two because this is bound to end badly, but all my muscles are frozen.

“I want you out of here. Now,” Levi snarls. I notice his hands are balled into fists at his sides, and his body is coiled tight, ready to spring into action at a moment’s notice. Would he really attack his own father?

“Have you lost your damn mind? Do you forget who I am?” David rages, his face mottled red.  “Don’t you talk to me like that, you disrespectful little shit!”

“I’ll talk to you however the fuck I want. You don’t own me!”

“There’s where you’re wrong. You forget that I’m the one who secures your contracts. I’m the one who makes sure you get from A to B. I run your entire life and if it wasn’t for me, you wouldn’t be Levi-fucking-Black. You wouldn’t own a shelf full of trophies. And you sure as hell wouldn’t be stirring up the media frenzy that’s sweeping through the nation right now!”

My spine stiffens and I sit up straight. What the hell is he talking about? What media frenzy?

Levi’s jaw pulses, his eyes narrowed in hostility. “What the fuck are you talking about?” he growls.

A smug smile laced with pure animosity spreads across David’s face as he reaches inside his jacket and pulls a folded up newspaper from the inner breast pocket. With a snap of his wrist, he extends it to Levi.

“While you two are up here screwing around,” he clips, “every newspaper and magazine across the country has been chomping at the bit over what happened out on that field yesterday.”

My heart pounds frantically in my chest. My gaze falls on Levi, studying his reaction. Which is grim at best. His expression slowly morphs into deep irritation followed by disbelief and…maybe regret. I don’t have to be the one reading that paper to know what’s in it.

“They’re calling it The Kiss Heard ‘Round the World,” David says, his upper lip curling up in distaste. He flicks me an equally powerful look that shrivels my insides and turns them into dust. “Congratulations, you two. You’re famous! The only thing that could possibly make this situation any worse is if you knocked her up.”

Levi’s shoulder stiffen and I feel my eyes shoot wide. David takes in my obvious alarm, and his expression slowly morphs, turning bright red with fury.

“You stupid son of a bitch. You knocked her up?”

“Well, it wasn’t exactly on my list of goals,” Levi smarts off.

“Do you know what this means?” David snarls?

“Paternity leave?”

“Dammit, stop being such a shit!” David bellows. “Do you ever take anything seriously? For Christ-fucking-sake, Levi. You’ve really put your foot in it now.”

“Well, that wasn’t exactly the body part that was used—”

David’s finger stabs out, his tone threatening, as he cuts him off. “Shut your goddamn mouth. You’ve royally fucked everything now. There’s no coming back from this.”

With that, David strides across the room toward the door. Thank God he’s leaving. But of course it can’t be that simple. Before he goes, he stops and turns back to us. Levi’s back is turned toward his father, so he doesn’t see the spiteful look in his eyes that I do. It’s enough to make me sick. What reason, aside from the obvious, could Levi have possibly given him to harbor so much contempt for his own son? I used to think he was an alright guy, but now I have nothing but hatred for this man.

“You’ve been an embarrassment to me for the last time,” he says to Levi’s back. “Consider this the final straw. I’m cancelling all contracts that involve me and my company. I may not be able to stop being your father, but I refuse to risk mine and my company’s reputation for this sick affair you two have going on.”

Levi huffs a humorless laugh. “Don’t worry, Dad. I’ve grown used to not having a father, so you can continue to rest easy.”

Tossing the paper down on the end of the bed, Levi rakes his hands through his hair and squeezes his eyes shut in frustration.

Curious what’s in there, I pick up the paper. My eyes widen as they land on the enormous black and white image of Levi and me locked in a heated kiss. Then I read the headline and my heart sinks. Soccer’s Sweethearts…Brother and Sister?

“As for you,” David continues on, directing his hostility toward me. “I don’t care what your mother says or does, you’ll never see another penny from me.”

Seriously? Offended, I glare back at him. “I don’t want your money, David. I think I made that perfectly clear when I told you to keep your checks.”

As soon as the first check arrived, I knew that I didn’t want to start my life indebted to a man I had lost all respect for. Levi had told me things about him that hadn’t set right, but it wasn’t until that night at the hotel, the night that I left Levi, that I formed my own opinion of him. I decided then never to take a cent from him.

“That may be, but I know how you women are when it comes to money. And now that you’ve successfully trapped my son with your bastard, I just want you to know that mine is one pocketbook you will not tap into.”

My stomach clenches and pressure builds in my head in both shame and outrage. Shame because anyone would consider me a gold digger, and outrage that he just called my child a bastard. But I don’t need to say a thing, because Levi beats me to the punch.

Having reached his limit, Levi spins around and shouts, “Are you still fucking here? Get the fuck out!”

“Why, because you can’t take hearing the truth? The sooner you open your eyes and realize what an epic mistake this little tryst between you two is, the sooner you can correct it, Levi. I’m only trying to protect you.”

“Oh fuck off already,” Levi says with no small amount of disdain. David’s scowl deepens as Levi continues. “It’s one thing to treat me like shit on the bottom of your shoe, because I’ve grown used to it, but you won’t ever, ever speak to her with anything short of the utmost respect. You can think whatever you want about us and our choices, but if I ever hear you say a cross word to her or about her or my child again, I don’t care if you’re my father or the fucking pope, I will end you, old man. Got me?”