AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“She’s an editor at Willow—”
“Willow?!” Mom exclaimed. “That’s one of my favorite magazines! I didn’t realize she was part of it.”
“Yeah, and she’s busted her ass to get where she is, but she couldn’t keep working remotely from St. Louis. She had to make a choice and I guess the judge made it for her.”
“I thought you were a couple now?” Dad asked in confusion. “Or was that just convenience?”
I scratched my chin. “It’s a gray area. I thought we were getting somewhere with it, too. We’d just gotten to a point where things felt…serious. Then shit hit the fan. I don’t know what to do at this point.”
“Have you told her how you feel?” Dad asked pointedly.
“Well, no, but—”
“Did you really expect a successful young woman like that to give up everything without some kind of promise? A proclamation of love, a ring, something to let her know you’re serious?” My father looked equal parts amused and annoyed.
I gave him a dirty look. “Last time we talked, you were telling me to forget the gold-digging wannabe journalist and walk away.”
“Well, I hadn’t checked her out yet then.”
I stared at him, dumbfounded. “You did a background check on Hadley?”
“Of course. Once I realized you were serious about this whole situation, I needed to make sure she was what you thought she was.”
“And?” I asked dryly. There was no point being pissed; what was done was done.
“There were no red flags. She has no criminal record, no bankruptcies, no messy or public entanglements or affairs, her bank account is modest but respectable and—”
“Ugh. Stop.” I held up a hand. “Thanks. I know why you did it, but I don’t want to know anything else. It feels dirty.”
“That’s your problem, son. You don’t know the difference between dirty and important. I didn’t hurt her. I merely made sure she wasn’t hiding anything that could hurt you. And now you need to grow a pair and take on the Whitmers the way Ben and I would want you to—you’re not out to hurt them, but you’re going to get those kids. Do you want me to get the ball rolling?”
I looked him right in the eyes without an ounce of hesitation. “Yes.”
He smiled. “Watch and learn, son. Watch and learn.” He picked up his phone and sent someone a text. “We’ll have a handle on this by supper.”
It was almost comical to see my dad at work. It wasn’t that I couldn’t handle what was going on with the custody battle, but simply that I didn’t operate in the world of cutthroat business like he did. He chewed entire corporations up and spit them out before breakfast most days, and that just wasn’t me, so I tended to do things my way. However, for Annalise and Benny, I was more than willing to let him do some of the heavy lifting.
“And while your dad is handling the custody situation,” Mom said to me, “you’re going to have to figure out what you want with Hadley.”
“I want custody of the kids,” I responded automatically. “Once I’ve taken care of that, I’ll work on getting Hadley back.”
“Multitasking, son,” Dad chuckled. “It’s a skill you need in business and in life.”
“Wesley!” A tall, stacked brunette with dark red lips and long red fingernails came running in my direction.
Fuuuuuck. I’d hooked up with her a couple of years ago when I was visiting my folks, but now I didn’t even remember her name.
“Heyyyy…” I held out a hand to her to try and head her off but she wasn’t having it, throwing her arms around my neck and kissing the side of my face.
“Dolores.” Mom gave her a cold smile. “It’s good to see you, dear, but we’re in the middle of lunch.”
“Wesley, you’re here and you didn’t call.” She was still clinging to my neck.
“It’s Weston,” I said, giving my mother a pleading look.
“Dolores, I think you’re choking him,” Mom said. “Now go on back to your table so we can eat, and you and Wes can talk later.”
“I’ll call you in an hour!” Dolores said, pressing her lips to mine, though I turned my head at the last minute, so she caught the corner of my mouth instead.
“That girl.” Mom shook her head. “I’m going to have a word with her mother. Dolores is a grown woman, but she acts like a teenager.”
“This is your fault,” I grumbled. “You had to put the word out that I was in the market.”
“Well, how was I to know you’d fallen for this friend of Lauren’s? You have to tell me these things, Weston.”
Technically, I didn’t, but I wasn’t going to point that out.
I spoke to two different lawyers the next day. One was my father’s personal attorney who handled everything my father dealt with outside his business dealings, and then a woman he handpicked to handle this for me. Her name was Regina Rittenhouse and when I looked her up online, she was badass. We spent several hours on the phone getting her up to speed on the case and then I had Tim email her copies of everything from the will to the temporary custody agreement.
