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Why go through all of this to harass her just because she refused to abort the child?
There’s something else going on that I don’t know about.
But I haven’t found anything in the contract I can use against Darren and nor have I found a way to get it rescinded in court. I have a meeting with a friend of mine who’s a judge and usually presides over family court cases, in about two weeks when he returns from his vacation.
So, in the meantime I’m steering clear of Darren because I have a feeling I might lose control and beat him within an inch of his life. There are better ways to handle this slime.
Sighing loudly, I glance at the wall clock and wonder if Debra has picked up our mother from the airport. After forcibly sending her on a world cruise to get her away from Leon’s influence as he knows, getting to our mother is the easiest way to integrate himself into the family.
Mom has always had a soft heart.
Now that her cruise is over, she will be busy with the wedding preparations. She’s staying with Debra and I’m more comfortable with that rather than both my sister and my mother staying in their own apartments, making them easy targets for my father to manipulate. Together though, they’re so intent on protecting each other, it would make it difficult for Leon to get money out of either of them.
He’s called me a number of times, asking me about the wedding details.
I’ve warned Debra not to invite him. And now Riley knows as well.
But I have a feeling in my gut that it won’t be enough to stop a man like our father. I still don’t know exactly what he’s after.
I turn my attention back to the document at hand and toss away the distracting thoughts. I ignore the pangs of hunger that strike me and my brow is furrowed as I go through the details.
It’s the sound of my office door opening that has me looking over.
My brows rise even higher when I see who it is.
Elise is standing at the door, peeking in. When she meets my gaze, she smiles, hesitantly. “Can I come in?”
I immediately straighten up from my sprawled position and swing my legs around so I’m sitting upright. “Yeah. Come in.”
Wearing a relieved expression on her face, she enters and she’s carrying some containers in her hands. “Do you want to have dinner with me?”
I feel surprised. “Didn’t you go home? Where’s Sophie?”
Elise’s lips curve in a soft smile. “Well, I asked Kendall to babysit her for a few hours. I’ve been a bit worried about you. You’ve been working late for so many days and I know you’ve been skipping meals.” She sets the containers down. “It’s not much and it’s definitely not fresh. I cooked it in the morning. But I heated everything.”
As she removes the lids, steam emits from the food and the delicious scent wafts through the air, making my stomach rumble and my mouth water.
I’m so absurdly touched by her gesture. I’ve always been the caretaker in the family, looking after both Mom and Debra, having it done for me so out of the blue, leaves me speechless for a while. I’m almost paralyzed with happiness and it takes me a few seconds to realize Elise is saying something. “Huh? Sorry, I was just looking at the food.” I smile sheepishly.
Elise doesn’t look bothered, and she continues, “I was saying that we never got to go on our date. So, maybe this can be it.”
I laugh. “Well, this certainly counts as a date. But we have no music and I promised myself, I’d take you dancing.” With an afterthought, I reach for my laptop and put on some jazzy tunes. Grinning, I waggle my brows. “Got the music.”
Elise just chuckles as she hands me a plate and utensils.
I get a close look at her face. She looks relaxed and happy but there is a strain in her eyes, a lingering unhappiness that my sharp gaze doesn’t miss. Before she can retreat, I grasp her delicate wrist. “What’s wrong?”
She tugs her wrist free. “Let’s eat and maybe today, instead of dancing, we can talk.” She comes and sits next to me, our thighs brushing each other.
I’m not going to press her until she’s ready so I pick up my plate to put some of the potato salad and pasta on it. “Thank you for this.” My words are earnest and heartfelt.
She beams at me. “Well, I’ve kind of missed you. And you keep getting all these sweets delivered to my desk every day which just makes me miss your company even more.” She shoots me a narrow look. “You’re a devious man.”
I bump her shoulder with mine. “And yet, here you are.”
She smiles widely. “I don’t know what I was thinking.”
We eat in a companionable silence which is sometimes broken when she tells me about something or the other that Sophie did this past week.
