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“I’ll be over in a minute. I want to tell the kids ‘Good Night’ before they go to bed,” she yelled over to him.
He nodded and headed into his garage.
After grabbing her mail and checking her phone messages, she ran upstairs to change out of her business attire and into a pair of jeans and a sweater. The burden lifted from her lightened her steps.
She snatched a bottle of wine from the wine rack in her kitchen, slipped on her coat and boots, and headed over to Joe’s just in time to help tuck the kids in and chat with his dad for a bit before he left.
Joe opened the wine and poured her a glass and then he grabbed a beer out of the refrigerator for himself.
She followed him into the living room where she proceeded to tell him about how she’d set Darcy up earlier in the day, and that her plan worked. Mr. James had left a voicemail for her, inquiring about her ill status, before she even returned from lunch.
The second she said Mr. James’ name, she was sure she could see the smoke start to roll out of Joe’s ears.
“He called you?” he asked. Anger radiated in his tone.
“Yes, he left a message, but I didn’t call him back. Nor am I going to. I’m in the driver’s seat right now, and he can just leave me the hell alone,” she stated firmly, hoping that would put him at ease.
He smiled at her.
She took a sip of her wine and stared straight ahead for a moment.
“Sweetheart, what are you thinking about?”
She turned her head to face him. “Actually, I’m trying to devise a way to stick it to him and his creepy nephew. Who does he think he is that he thinks he can play with people like this? First Maddie, and now me. How many others have there been? When I talked with Mr. Kent about this, he commented that maybe someone should stand up to Mr. James. He keeps doing this to women because he keeps getting away with it.”
“Are you saying you’re ready to go public with this?” If she didn’t know better she would have sworn his tone was hopeful.
She thought hard about what he asked. Could she handle it if the news went public? Everyone would learn of her secret, the very one she hadn’t even told her friends. She took a sip of wine and swished it in her mouth before swallowing.
“Yes, if that’s what it takes to get him to stop. And you know what else? The more I think about it, the more I think Mr. James forces his nephew into this little game somehow.”
“Why do you think that?” he asked, surprise sounding in his voice.
“That day they were talking to me in the conference room at the office, Mr. James harshly dismissed Patrick from the room because he actually spoke when not authorized to do so. It was the unusual soft tone of voice Patrick used, and the odd, almost sympathetic, look he gave me as he exited the room that makes me wonder. It was almost as if he was sorry and wanted to tell me more. I bet he’s just a little pawn in Mr. James’ game. He probably does it to secure his inheritance. He’s the only heir to the empire.”
“You know, since you just talked about sticking it to him, I can’t help but wonder what his next move would be if he confirmed that you were indeed pregnant with his child. If you are serious, maybe we should have a little chat with Nick about how to go about this.”
And with that, a call was placed to Nick and a tentative plan was put into play.
Though the thought of playing the role of ‘puppet master’ made her nervous, the outcomes she imagined possible, made it worth the risk.
