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“Did he—”
“Have a kid with someone else?” Trig finishes my sentence. “Near as we can figure. She got pregnant before Mayer’s divorce… Might have even been the cause, if he got caught twice with his pants down… He must’ve persuaded her not to list him as the baby’s father. In my digging around, I found one instance where a William Mayer cited this other woman’s residence as his own on a single document after his wife had filed for dissolution. So they had to have been together after the baby was born. But they aren’t now, and without proof of paternity, she can’t get child support. William’s been living in Raleigh quite a while, avoiding the mess he made.”
“He has three kids he owes money to?”
“Holly, he has two other child support payments he’s behind on. He’s trying to weasel what he can from you togiveit to them,” Jake explains. “This isn’t about Bhodi at all.”
I think I’m going to be sick. I believed I was playing by my rules, but I hadn’t fought William at all. He expects me to roll over the way I have. He’s counting on it.
“What do I do?” My voice waivers as I shut the folder and stare at it on my lap. What I really mean is “what do I do next?”
“Take it with you. Give it to your lawyer to present to the judge.”
“What if that’s not enough? None of this says William is unfit. That he’s abusive. The judge disregarded that William hadn’t held up his end of the bargain before. Why would the court care now when William has two more kids clear across the country?”
“Get it to the judge and I’ll take care of the rest.”
I startle. “You’re going to bribe a judge?”
“Pipe down, Holly!” Jake demands. “I run a respectable business here.”
Trig snorts. “Respectable my ass.” He winks at me and tosses a thumb in Jake’s direction. “The fucker has done far worse than call in a favor to get your ex’s rights terminated.”
“Don’t involve her, Trig. She doesn’t want to be involved.” Jake gets angrier.
“Are you here for help?” Trig pushes on.
“Uh-Yes,” I respond.But what happens to Bhodi if I’m charged with a crime?
“She’s involved, Jake.”
“Cass has the resources to do the same,” Jake says about convincing the judge to see my point of view.
“He’s not a party to any of this.” I’m steadfast.
I don’t want any of what we’ve discussed touching Cary or his business. It’s why I left last night and why we aren’t getting married.
“You heard her, Ballentine.Any of it.Let’s keep it that way… For Bhodi’s sake.”
Trig departs after a hug. I’m left with Jake, who tucks behind his desk, focusing on the scratched silver laptop, clicking away on the keypad. I wonder if the thank yous I’ve gushed to them come close to being enough. Unsure what the correct next step is, I wait a beat. Accepting my boss intends to ignore me, I get up to leave when the air gets thick and awkward.
I’m about to close the door when Jake pipes up with his instructions.
“Hol, the girl out there. Get rid of her before you leave. And be back here on time tonight to go over next week’s schedule with Kelsey.”
“Sure thing.”
This is my life, and I’m now indebted to more Jake than I ever was.
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38
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I pull into the lot at Sweet Caroline’s. Taking the space closer to the entrance and next to Holly’s Honda, I use the Colony Park to hide her car. She can’t duck out without me knowing.
I picked up the car Bhodi and I worked on from the dealership this morning and switched the title to my name. Not because I’m giving it to anyone, but because it’s special to me the way Holly and Bhodi are and I want it. Also, I needed to fill time and the registry motor vehicles seemed like the best way to waste it waiting for Holly to make her move.
