Page 8 of Raised By Firefighter Daddy

CHAPTER EIGHT

Jordan

"You're serious?" Jeremy asked as he stared at me from across his desk. "Not only is that mainland tramp staying in town despite the fact that she tried to steal my wife, but she's staying with you?" I narrowed my eyes as I stared him down, daring him to talk more shit about Lacey.

"She's not a tramp," I shot back, already tired of the way he was treating Lacey. "If your little whore of a wife would actually pay attention to more than what's between her legs, then you would know that Lacey's only here because your in-laws are getting put into a nursing home because of her." Jeremy scoffed as he rolled his eyes at me.

"I don't believe it," he said as he crossed his arms before turning away. "First if all, if that were the case, Clary would tell me, and we would have gone to visit at the very least. Lacey's just jealous that Clary left her behind and is trying to ruin her new life." I laughed as I shook my head, annoyed at how naive and gullible he was being.

"Is that so?" I asked as I crossed my arms, matching his level of annoyance. "Does that mean that the rumors that Lacey tried to sleep with you are also true?" He frowned as he turned back to look at me, tilting his head to the side as he did so.

"What rumors?" he asked in a much softer voice. "I never heard about any of this." I scoffed as I rolled my eyes.

"Obviously," I replied, still annoyed. "Clary is threatened by the fact that her old friend is here to warn her about what happened to her family, so she's trying to run Lacey out of town by any means necessary. That includes claiming that Lacey tried to sleep with you because she wanted what Clary had." Jeremy looked angry as he rose to his feet.

"You're lying," he said before turning to look at Shane, who was watching our heated exchange. "Tell him…" Looking a bit panicked, Shane held his hands up in surrender.

"As much as I hate to say it, Jordan's telling the truth," he said as he stared at Jeremy. "I heard them talking about it the other day at the inn. Clary told Nicole, who told everybody else in town, and now everybody is supposedly mad at you for cheating on Clary." Jeremy immediately deflated as he sank back into his chair, looking shocked and completely lost for words as he processed what Shane had just told him.

"Makes you wonder what else Clary has lied about, doesn't it?" I asked after giving him a moment to consider everything. When he nodded his head, I continued. "Lacey only came here because she was concerned about her friend, especially since her family was going to be put into a nursing home, and Clary lied to everybody, saying that Lacey was just here because she was jealous of the life she had. The least you could do is give Lacey the benefit of a doubt." He looked down at the desk, looking a bit ashamed as he did so, and I knew I had won the argument.

"I suppose you're right," he said after a long silence as he finally looked back up at me. "I suppose I owe you both an apology." Raising an eyebrow at him, I shook my head.

"You don't owe me anything," I reassured him as I tilted my head to the side. "Just have Clary apologize to Lacey and make sure the rumors stop, and I'll consider us square." Rising to my feet, I continued. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have plans for tonight. Call me if you need me." With that, I turned around and left Jeremy's office, heading straight for the door.

I hadn't been happy about getting called into work on my day off, especially during the off season just because my best friend and boss wanted me to turn my guest out of my house all because of some female lies that had been sparking controversy. It wasn't right that people were trying to chase Lacey out of town, and I was getting tired of being told what to do by everyone in town. It wasn't Lacey's fault that Clary was stupid and don't want to listen to her. She shouldn't be punished.

"Jordan, wait up!" called Shane from behind me.

Even though I was ready to go home and spend more time with Lacey, who was supposed to go camping with me that night, I turned and waited while Shane hurried to catch up to me. As soon as he caught up, he smiled at me, looking a bit smug as he stared at me.

"I'm sorry about Jeremy calling you in because of all this," he said as he tilted his head to the side. "I tried to tell him that Clary was the one making life miserable for everyone, but you know how he gets with people who talk bad about Clary." Waving a hand dismissively at him, I chuckled.

"Don't worry about it," I reassured him. "Trust me, it's not your fault that Jeremy is blinded by his love. He's a strong Daddy with a willful Little." Shane shrugged as he leaned against the wall.

"I'll never understand it," he said as he crossed his arms. "Anyways, I'll try to keep Jeremy off your back. Go have fun, and tell Lacey I said hi." With that, he made his way back towards the office, making me wonder when he might find a Little of his own.