Page 116 of Line Change

I’m working from the couch on Friday afternoon, with one cat on each side of me as I attempt to finish my tasks for the day, when my phone rings from its spot on the coffee table. I grab it, hitting the Accept button.

“Hello, Mrs. Henderson. Glenn here,” he says.

“Hello, Glenn. What can I do for you?” I set my laptop on the coffee table and absentmindedly run a hand over Bert.

“Your father has reconsidered and is willing to let you keep the hotel chain.”

“If?” Because I know there’s going to be strings attached.

Glenn sighs. “If you ask your PI to stop sniffing around.”

“I don’t have a PI.” It’s not a lie. I’m not paying anyone to investigate. Bash is.

“Mrs. Henderson, I’m begging you …”

There’s noise in the background, like a scuffle, and then my father is on the line.

“Sutton Amanda Jefferson,” he barks.

“It’s Sutton Henderson to you,” I retort, my heart racing.

“I don’t give a damn what you’re calling yourself. You’ve gone too far.”

“I’ve gone too far?” I let out a bark of laughter. “I’m not the one who’s bribing people. Doing illegal things.” I point out the obvious.

“You can’t prove it.”

“Right. That’s not what Mike Meadows told me. Does that name ring a bell?” I tilt my head, hoping I sound convincing, because I have no idea if anything has even happened with the league yet, just that Alex has talked to them and provided evidence. “What about those council members you tried to bribe?” He stammers something I can’t make out. “I think you’re going to be too busy dealing with all this fall out to want to worry about my inheritance. And if you’re not, well, I’m not afraid of you or your threats anymore. Try me. Just fucking try me.” I shout the last bit, anger coursing through my veins because I have had it with him. I’ve had it with him for a while but now that we actually have proof of his wrong doings, I’m not afraid of him. What’s he going to do? Deny it? I’d like to see him try.

“Fine, fine,” he mutters.

There’s a loud clatter, and I have to move the phone away from my ear. If I had to guess, my father just threw the phone on the ground or at the wall. Do I hang up or wait? The call hasn’t dropped, so the phone wasn’t completely destroyed.

“Mrs. Henderson,” Glenn says, sounding out of breath.

“Yep.”

“It would appear that whatever you said to your father has made him change his mind.”

I laugh dryly. Fucking finally. “You don’t say.”

Even though my father tries to act all tough and in control, the minute someone turns the tables on him, he runs for the hills. Typical elite wealthy narcissistic male behavior. Hell, probably doesn’t matter the gender.

“I’ll have the paperwork drawn up for you to sign so everything can be transferred to you.”

“Do we need to meet in person?” I ask, moving around on the couch, trying to get comfortable when little miss shifts to rest on my ribs.

“We do not.” Shocker. “I’ll overnight the documents to you. Please sign at your convenience. There will also be information about a messenger service that will pick up the envelope. Can you confirm your address, please?”

I rattle it off, Glenn repeats it back to me, and then we hang up.

I exhale. “Bloody hell,” I mutter as the front door opens.

“Hi, love,” Bash calls out.

“In here.”

A few seconds later, he strolls into the room. His eyes light up when he sees me on the couch with the cats.