Chapter 5: Noah

That was all it took. A few words on a piece of paper, it seemed, was all I needed for reality to hit me. I was a father…an actual father.

That’s not overwhelming at all, I thought as I slumped down into my chair, my sudden weight causing the mechanisms underneath to groan in protest.

I sank deeper into the soft leather cushions. Reality sure showed no mercy, hitting me with a right hook full force across the face. I have new responsibilities now. Big ones. Looking after a child was no joke. I was more than capable on the financial front—it was all the other parts of caring for a kid that scared me.

What was I going to tell him when I got home? What were dads supposed to do with their five-year-old sons they’d only just met?

My door creaked open and I almost jumped to my feet—for what reason, I didn’t know. It was probably all the thinking and worrying making me jumpy. When I saw it was just Joe, I relaxed.

As always, he sauntered into my office as if he owned the place. It was part of the reason I liked the guy. He was a bulky and tall man, with a full, well-groomed beard which many ladies found attractive for some reason.

He was my CFO, and I’d known him since high school; we used to be on the basketball team together. Even as teenagers we’d been taller than most other boys our age. We also ended up playing for our college team for a few years.

The closest we came to playing basketball these days, however, was when we organized a bit of friendly competition with some of the other guys from college over a weekend here and there.

He was probably here to check up on me again—for the umpteenth time this week. He paused, looked at me for a few seconds like he was in the wrong office, then burst out laughing.

I stared at him in confusion. I didn’t know what was so funny. I looked down at myself to make sure my tie was knotted and that I hadn’t wasted coffee on my shirt, but I couldn’t find anything wrong or out of place. I turned back to him, frowning.

“Is there something about my appearance you find amusing, Joe?” I asked.

This only made him laugh more as he strode over to one of the couches and all but plunged right down, making himself comfortable without an invitation. Typical Joe. I smiled, despite the tinge of irritation prickling underneath my skin, as I walked over to the wine chest.

I brought two glasses in one hand, and a wine bottle in the other over to the coffee table and sat down across from him. While I silently set about pouring us both drinks, I could feel his eyes on me.

“Isn’t it too early for you to start drinking?” he asked jokingly, but the humor in it was half-hearted.

“There’s no such thing as too early for good wine,” I said as I tilted the glass, filling about a quarter of it with rich and fragrant crimson liquid for him.

He shrugged, took it from me, and started drinking from it after we clinked our glasses together. I looked at him as the drink hit his lips. I waited for him to take the glass away from his mouth and savor the taste of it. I kept a close watch on his every movement.

“Wow, my man. This is it!” he exclaimed after he swallowed the wine, pointing at the glass in surprise. I detected neither over-exaggeration nor falseness in his tone, nor his expression.

I relaxed my shoulders, crossed my legs, and gave a light shrug. “It’s the new special edition I’m adding to our line. I actually wanted to discuss it with you after my meeting this morning to estimate how much the company has to push this in the market, but since you’re here already, you might as well give it to me now.”

“I’d say go for a full push.” Joe took another swig from his glass and smacked his lips in satisfaction before crooning, “I’ve never tasted anything like this. Everyone’s gonna be obsessed, I have no doubt.”

“I know, right? Here’s to us being miles ahead of our rivals.” The room got quiet after I said those words. Probably because they came out more apathetic than I’d intended.

Joe had that expression that told me he was about to ask me if I was okay. I’d forgotten how perceptive Joe could be. He always saw right through any façade or pretense.

He didn’t even have to ask me; those big, compassionate, and all-seeing green eyes were enough to make me want to confess everything to him.

I blinked and took another sip of my wine, avoiding eye contact. The drink was truly delicious. “How is Felicity?”

“You and I both know it would take more than that to distract me, Noah,” he drawled. He placed his glass on the table before leaning back on the couch again, crossing his arms at me with a knowing smirk on his face. “It’s because of Chris, isn’t it?”

I shoved myself up from my seat, the glass still in my hand, and started pacing around the room. “My life is falling apart, Joe. I have a son, and the test results just confirmed it. Can you believe it? Even though he’s been living with me for a week already, I guess I was still subconsciously holding on to the hope that this was all just some joke or mistake… I barely know what I should do with him.”

Joe remained silent, his understanding nods the only indication that he’d heard me.

I let out a humorless laugh. “I still think about and miss Brianne every fucking day—regretting how we left things between us. But this? Now I have a kid with her and she’s not even around anymore to share this with me. I can’t deny it’s messing me up a bit.”

I ran a frustrated hand through my hair. I suddenly felt so hot that I removed my suit jacket and flung it over the back of my office chair haphazardly.

Joe looked toward my office door. He stood as well and moved to the blinds to pull them down,  preventing anyone from seeing their CEO having something akin to a mental meltdown. Or maybe he didn’t want my employees to see my friend—who was technically also an employee—placing his two bear paws for hands on my shoulders and pulling me in for a hug.

“Take some time off to figure things out, bro,” he said, his voice low and laced with concern. “Get to know your kid a little better, and go see your therapist. She’ll help you process all of this, and give you some coping mechanisms for dealing with this unexpected turn in your life. I can take over your meetings for the rest of the week.”

“Okay,” I conceded, surprising myself. Even Joe gave a little jolt of shock. “Tomorrow I’ll spend the day with my son.”