her. // dacre montgomery

13.

Dacre spent the rest of the day behind his desk as David played in the corner with some of his toys. He had sent Jack out to supervise the construction site like he always did, as he shuffled papers and took notes about how he was gonna provide for his new kid that would be arriving in a short six months.

As crazy as it sounded, Dacre couldn't help but be excited. He was bringing another life into the world. Just like his first child, he knew they would be loved unconditionally.

He and Liz had spent a good while at breakfast discussing all these things. He knew she wouldn't be able to pay a majority of the costs and obviously it would be him taking charge. They just had to figure out how to explain why Dacre was being so helpful. It's not like Dacre was stretching his pockets to help, he had more than enough money to help out, but they both couldn't deny it looked pretty sketchy from the outside.

After he had taken her back to her place, he drove straight to work and began to figure out discrete ways to funnel money to Liz. It was comical it the greater scheme of things, but when he looked up to Shay standing in his door frame, he quickly remembered it was also his biggest kept secret.

"Geez Shay. I didn't even notice you standing there." He says, startled.

"Well I didn't mean to scare you," She chuckles, bringing a Chick-Fil-A bag into view. "If I had known Dave was here I would have brought him something to eat." She nods to small boy.

"Shay!" David runs over to hug her.

"No worries, he can have whatever you brought me." Dacre says as he quickly begins gathering up all the papers on his desk and stuffing them in his drawer.

"Okay." She says and hands the chicken sandwich to David who was currently latching on her leg.

"I was running a little late this morning. School just wasn't in the plan." Dacre tells Shay as he quickly clears off the rest of his desk.

"Sooo, whatcha working on? It had to be important if you didn't notice me walk in." Shay pulls her food out of the bag.

"Just child support stuff. Seeing what Jennifer owes me." Dacre lies, sucking his teeth.

"Oh. I didn't know Jennifer still pays child support."

"Yeah, well it's not a lot because I don't really need it from her. Just keeps her in line. That's all."

"I see," Shay nods as she stabs her fork into her salad. "Well if I'm gonna be honest, I came to ask how you and Liz's conversation went earlier today. I tried calling her but she didn't answer."

"Well, we just pretty much talked about the ins and outs pf raising a kid on your own. I told her about what it was like with David, and I guess she just took mental notes."

"That's all?" Shay asks.

"I mean there's not much we can do now. She's only a few months pregnant, Shay."

"I know, but she didn't ask more? The doctor's visits, dietary regulations, body changes?"

"Baby, you do know I did not carry David in my stomach right?" Dacre laughs.

"I know. But I know you were there with Jen. You know how all this stuff works."

"I mean yeah, I was, but I don't know exactly what Jen was going through. And if I have any sense, I definitely know that as a man, I have no business telling a woman about her body." Dacre says.

"That's not what I meant Dacre. I just mean that I wish she had her head on straight. There's so much to learn in six months, so much money to save up, so much-"