All by Chance {Brollins}

/ Chapter 35 \

Colby walked downstairs to find the sound of a collar jingling along with a burst of giggles.

He stopped and watched the love of his life playing around with his daughter as his dog jumped around in joy.

Everything was as it should've been, and he was almost scared to go to sleep at night, worried that he might wake up and realize this was all a dream.

Although inside his home, things were perfect, when he quietly went to the kitchen and saw the stack of bills sitting on his counter, reality from the outside world came crashing back down on him.

He flipped through property tax bills, utility charges, and his monthly spendings. He was on the brink of being broke, he was overworked and underpaid, but he had been for a while.

Colby didn't want to go to his parents. He knew they were disappointed enough as it was. If he asked them at any point in time, he knew that the only thing they'd say he did well in his life was adopt Danielle and meet Rebecca.

All his life, Colby tried to prove himself, but his goal felt unfulfilled. He had fallen for a shady woman who stole not only his happiness but a large portion of his savings. He tried to constantly show he could handle his job and eventually take over, but he was always overwhelmed. And he couldn't even tell Danielle was his own child before a few DNA tests did.

"Did you think you could sneak by without me noticing?" He heard Rebecca's whispers moments before she hugged him from behind.

He turned to face her, and suddenly the paper behind him and his self-criticism wasn't important. Colby leaned back against the counter, admiring Rebecca and her half-awake state. He loved waking up to see her droopy eyelids and bedhead hair, wearing his T-shirt as clothing. She was effortlessly beautiful, and he couldn't believe he was lucky enough to have her in his life.

"Just didn't wanna interrupt." He kissed her gently before pulling her into a hug.

They both knew they had to leave the house in about an hour, but they stayed quiet in each other's arms for a while.

After they had gone to pick up paperwork the day before, they learned Ron had already agreed to have them meet with a contractor for a potential area they were interested in building a condo in. It had been what Colby and Rebecca had been discussing the day prior and the condo company that hired them to sort everything out hadn't been shy about pressing for information quickly. It was the most stressful part of their jobs, making the two almost wish they had joined a different department when they first started working.

Regarding Danielle's mystery mother, unfortunately for Colby, all signs pointed to Leighla. He tried calling to ask multiple times, even leaving voicemails, but she never replied. She suddenly stopped picking up Kevin, and he started to connect all of the dots. Before he adopted Danielle she was never really interested in co-parenting the dog. However, once she found out he had a child in his possession, things changed and her demeanour towards him shifted.

"We better change." Colby kissed her head, "Mom's gonna be here soon."

"What's wrong?" Rebecca smiled, "Mommy can't know you're sleeping with your coworker?"

"I'm sure she already does." He laughed, "Just not sure if she wants to."

They walked upstairs so they could both get ready, and Colby watched Rebecca through the mirror. No comments, no remarks, just admiring his partner straightening out her blazer and fixing her hair.

When Holly arrived, she watched Danielle and Kevin while they went to their meeting. They reached the site and immediately wished Ron had put someone else on the job.

They could tell before they even reached the man that he was the typical ego-driven and power-hungry type that they loved to avoid.

"Let's cut to the chase." He started before they even introduced themselves. "Three million for the plot, take it or leave it."

"Three million?!" Rebecca responded before she thought about it, laughing at the man.

"Yes, sweetheart. Three." He looked her up and down before positioning himself towards Colby. "Take it or leave it."

"Excuse me?" Rebecca's eyebrows raised as she quickly began to get riled up.

Colby could see it in her eyes and tried whispering to her, turning his back towards the man. "We'll get what we want. Just stay cool. I know he's a dick, but we can't screw this up."

Rebecca just clenched her jaw and stared at him unimpressed, crossing her arms and letting Colby lead the conversation. After minutes of going in circles, Rebecca spoke up again.

"We're not doing three mill. Not a chance in hell." She rolled her eyes, "Best we're doing is one, and that would've been if you were polite."

Her smirk arose, "But since you wanted to be a total douchebag, I'm gonna call your boss right now, and I'll deal with him directly. Then maybe you can tell him how you screwed this sale over so badly."

Rebecca's stare was deadly, and the man grew uncomfortable. "Two million."

She shook her head and crossed her arms, "Our company owns the land your building sits on. It'd be a shame if you got bought out and everyone there was out of a job. Half a million now."

"Half a million? You're insane." He laughed, looking at a just as serious Colby. "You always let your puppet master speak for you?"

"Mr. Lopez." Rebecca just raised her hand out, "The phone."

"Miss Quin." Colby smiled, "It'd be my pleasure."

"Okay, okay, fine." The contractor extended his hand out when Rebecca began to dial his boss's number. "Deal."

Rebecca's eyes went from his hand to his face, and she just shoved the confirmation file in his hand. "Shut up and sign the damn papers."