I rolled my eyes. “That’s a bit dramatic, don’t you think, Callum? Especially considering I have such a large family.”
“You know what I meant.”
My tone was dry when I responded. “Yes, well, I’m glad I put your fears to rest. As you know, your happiness is my primary concern.”
“Good grief. I fucking hope not,” he snorted.
“Anyway, this is why I want to have a discussion about your role. I’m going to be backing off a lot, and I think you’ve earned the right to step in.”
“Sure. I can make sure things run smoothly whenever you can’t be there,” he said distractedly when his phone pinged.
I snatched his phone, and his head flew up, his eyes narrowed, and his lips pursed in annoyance.
“I’m trying to tell you that I’d like for you to take a bigger role in the business because eventually, I’d like to make you a partner.”’
He stared at me in silence, his face awash with shock, his mouth opening and closing like a fish. Then he audibly swallowed and rasped, “A partner.”
“Did you think I was grooming you to be my assistant for the rest of your life, idiota? I’m pretty sure that job description doesn’t include business meetings with potential investors or putting together assessment portfolios for properties or businesses we’re considering.”
The car slowed down as Derek parallel parked in a tight spot in front of the small building that housed a medical office. “Think about it, and we’ll talk later. Don’t be here when I get back.” I rechecked the time as I exited the vehicle and was pleased to see Allison’s appointment wasn’t for another fifteen minutes. If she wasn’t early, I could have a chat with the doctor before she arrived.
Not to mention, make sure it was a female doctor. I didn’t give a fuck if he was a doctor, married, a monk, or a eunuch, no other man would be anywhere near my wife’s pussy. I wasn’t all that happy about a female either, but that was unavoidable since I didn’t have the knowledge and skills to handle Allison’s every need.
It turned out that luck was on my side. Dr. Frazier had been the OB-GYN for Allison’s mother and aunts. Once I told the receptionist—Harriet, if the stitching on her scrub top was correct—that I was Allison’s fiancé, she’d rolled her eyes and led me back to an exam room. “Figures she’d fall for a guy just like her dad and the other men in that family,” she muttered. We entered the room, and she pointed at a chair and snapped, “Sit. And behave yourself.”
“Yes, ma’am,” I replied automatically, barely refraining from giving her a salute.
After a minute, a woman in a long white coat stepped into the room and gave me an exasperated smile. “Cut from the same cloth as the Kendall brothers, are you?”
I didn’t pretend to be ignorant of her meaning. “If you mean devoted, protective, and a little overbearing, you would be right. Now, let’s add demanding to the list. You are not, under any circumstances, to give my fiancée birth control.”
The doctor rolled her eyes so hard, I almost heard them rattle in the back of her head. “Like I said,” she drawled, “cut from the same cloth.” She pointed her finger at me and narrowed her eyes before adding, “And I’ll tell you what I told them. I will not help you be a controlling bastard or interfere in my care of my patients. If your wives are fine with your caveman tactics, that’s their choice, but if they come to me asking for birth control, or anything else they need, I will not turn them down. You want to try to ruin my practice or take away my license for putting my patients first, go right ahead.”
While I wasn’t exactly happy with her answer, I respected her backbone and dedication to her patients. “I can appreciate the spot that would put you in, so I’ll just stay here and make my demands to her.” I grinned when she exhaled with a huff.
She picked up a clipboard from the counter behind her and looked over the contents of the top sheet. “I don’t know why you’re going on about this right now anyway. Obviously, it would be pointless right now. She won’t need it again for another eight or so months. Are you going to spend her entire pregnancy convincing her to let you knock her up again right after your first kid? Because I don’t want you adding any undue stress on her.”
Too many emotions were crashing over me in heavy waves for me to breathe, much less form a sentence. Elation being the most prominent. Fucking, hell. I’d done it. My nena was pregnant with our child.
I was also a little pissed she’d kept her suspicions to herself and hadn’t tried to contact me. We were going to have a very frank talk about her habits of running and keeping secrets.