Whoever I expect, it抯 definitely not Tillie Burns marching through the door in a green blazer and gold necklace that look like they were just jacked from a runway model.
Can this day get any worse?
揗rs. Burns? What a surprise. I wasn抰 expecting you.?That抯 an understatement.
And Tillie is a nice woman but her sudden presence is like a sucker punch.
The biggest reminder of Captain Dipshit yet.
揌ello, dear. I抦 sorry I haven抰 been around the last few weeks to check in on everyone since Lincoln left. He asked me to lay low, actually, and thought it would make the transition easier. I agreed. I love this company, though, and I simply couldn抰 stay away forever. I抦 sure you抳e had one of my cinnamon rolls??
揢m, bacon diet. I wish I could.?I wrinkle my nose. 揃ut the whole office loves them. You抮e pretty much the hero around here anytime you bring Sweeter Grind.?
揙h, the pleasure is all mine. It抯 the least I can do to support my grown-up baby. I want this company to thrive with heart and soul for many years to come梕ven if my dearest son is a horse抯 ass.?
I bite back laughter, giving her a curious look.
Somehow, I have a feeling this isn抰 just about cinnamon rolls and waxing nostalgic.
Without hesitation, Tillie closes the door behind her and takes the empty seat across from my desk.
揇akota, I抦 so sorry,?she says abruptly.
Wait, what?
So that抯 what she wants. I was afraid of this.
I glance at her, guarded, and shake my head.
揧ou can抰 apologize for your son抯 behavior, Mrs. Burns. It抯 not your fault. If he really wanted to apologize梡lease don抰 take this the wrong way梑ut he抎 man up and do it himself.?
I try to keep my anger in check. It抯 not easy when I know he hasn抰 done it because he doesn抰 want to.
揙h, I抦 not apologizing for him,?Tillie says smoothly.
My eyebrows go up. 揟hen why did you say you抮e sorry??
揃ecause I feel responsible for this dreadful outcome.?Her body ripples with a sigh.
A single surprised laugh slips out of me.
揟his is not your fault in any way, shape, or form. Not even indirectly. It抯 partly mine for being stupid enough to get involved, to believe him. And a lot of it was his for being棓 I remember I抦 talking to his mom. 揢mm梬ell梥o Lincoln.?
She gives me a knowing nod.
揟he boy can be maddening. I know, considering I抦 the one who raised him. His father was the same way.?Her lips curl in this half smile, and her eyes are somewhere else. A different time and place.
揕incoln told me you adored his dad...?
揙h, I still do.?She shrugs. 揟hat didn抰 make him any less infuriating at times. But that抯 not my point. I抦 here to apologize for my role in this mess. I抦 the one who talked Lincoln into entertaining this fake engagement marketing ploy while I hoped it would turn into something else. If I抎 just kept my meddling mouth shut, the rest of this drama might have been avoided.?
I don抰 follow.
揧ou did??I whisper. I was under the impression Lincoln Burns doesn抰 do anything he doesn抰 damn well want to do.
Tillie nods slowly, frowning.
揇o you remember the first day we met??she asks.
揌ow could I forget? You found me crying...?She must think I抦 such a loser. The first time we met, I was having a nervous breakdown at work. Now I抳e had a tryst with her son that pushed him out of her company.
揟hat抯 the day. Lincoln came around the corner, saw you upset, and was ready to kill someone棓
揧our son was the reason I was hurt,?I tell her.
There抯 no point in hiding it if we抮e spilling truths all over the place.
揧es, I guessed as much.?She smiles sheepishly. 揑t bothered him, though. Deeply. I know when he抯 upset. In fact, the only time I抳e ever seen him so flustered is when that young man he looks after gets in real trouble棓
揥yatt??
揧es,?she says with a knowing smile.
揘ot to change the subject, but how抯 he doing??I sincerely want to know.
揌e抯 on the mend. It hasn抰 been an easy recovery, but when this all started, it wasn抰 even certain he had another chance in the cards.?
I exhale pure relief, thankful that something went right.
揂nywho, back to business. I抦 sorry I talked Lincoln into the fake wedding. He抯 a grown man and he makes his own decisions, but I can抰 help feeling like I might抳e been the decisive factor in his thinking. It抯 just a trope in so many movies, and you two played off each other brilliantly when I saw you together.?She dips her head and looks up at me with big, sad eyes. 揑 had no right to intervene, Dakota, even if I抦 obsessed with seeing my son happy. I just knew if he had to spend time with you梚f he let his shields down, it wouldn抰 stay fake for long.敀
揧eah, well...?I can抰 find the words to respond to that, so I shift in my seat.
揑 assure you, I didn抰 expect him to go and muck it up so dreadfully.?Again, she pauses and sighs, raw grief in her face. 揑 never knew it would trigger bad memories for him. Let alone bring him so close to making the same awful mistake twice...?
揥hat mistake??I lean forward, my mind flashing back to that last horrible conversation with Lincoln and his cryptic comments about becoming someone else.
Everyone keeps dancing around some big forbidden secret.
Tillie looks at me sadly.
揧ou know how his last relationship ended, yes??
I nod slowly. 揌e mentioned it. Cheating fianc閑. Nasty fight. He said he caught her with her lover... It must抳e been pretty bad.?
揟hat抯 putting it mildly.?She straightens in her seat, her mouth drawn tight. 揑 suppose he never mentioned the hideous aftermath??
I shake my head, baffled at what she means.
揌e抯 an honest man, Dakota. When he goes all into something, he gives his entire heart, and it was like that with Regina, too. When he caught them together, he couldn抰 hold back, right or wrong...?
Oh, God.
What is she getting at?
Tillie holds up a hand. 揧ou didn抰 hear this from me, but that poor excuse for a man he found her with, he had the nerve to laugh in Lincoln抯 face when my boy ordered him to get out. Then he threw the first punch.?
Holy crap. I抦 getting flashbacks of what happened with Jay and the knife.
揟hat抯 awful, Mrs. Burns.?
揑t抯 Tillie,?she corrects sharply, taking a deep breath. 揂nd that impulsive little rat almost wound up in an early grave. The second after he struck first, Lincoln pushed him to the ground and beat him senseless. He didn抰 stop until half the bones in that man抯 body were fractured.?
揙h my God,?I whisper, my hand coming to my mouth.
She nods like her head weighs a ton.
揧ou can guess what came next,?Tillie says. 揂 criminal report. Lots of accusations and lawyers. Lincoln was lucky he wasn抰 arrested, and luckier still when the man agreed to drop all charges for an appalling settlement. My son came an inch away from losing his reputation, his job, his entire life...?
When it clicks in my head, it twists like a knife.
Especially when Tillie says, 揌e knew how narrowly he dodged a cannonball. He worked hard to never put himself in that position again, to keep his anger from taking over. But regrettably, when your ex came along and tried to hurt you...?
揌e panicked,?I finish weakly. 揘o wonder he freaked.?
揑 only wish telling you could make it better, but I抦 not delusional,?Tillie says. 揌ere, this should do more than any words ever will.?
She pulls a large envelope from her pocket and pushes it toward me. I抦 so numb I can barely reach for it.
揥hat抯 this??
揙pen it,?she tells me. 揑t can抰 make up for the emotional tizzy I抳e had a hand in, but it抯 a tangible apology.?
I open the thick pink envelope and pull out梐 contract?
Huh.
She抯 offering me a 揷reative fee?of five percent net profit from the wedding line.
Wait.
That抯 a product line projected to profit at least half a billion dollars. Five percent of a conservative five hundred million is梙oly Hannah, I don抰 even know.
It抯 a crapload.
I throw the contract back at her like it抯 burning my hand.