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Malcolm pauses and then says, “Well, I’m not sure anecdotal evidence will hold up in court.”
“Court? You’re…you’re suing me?”
“Bingo. You were always the smart one, Grant.”
“What does that make you?” I ask, jaw tense. “IfIwas the smart one.”
He laughs. “Well, you were smart, I was charming, and Kent…well…” There’s a pitiful tone in his voice that I don’t like. “He’s a good guy. He really is.”
“If he’s good, you’re–”
“Let’s not start name-calling or anything, eh?” Malcolm interrupts. “Listen, I have the request drafted. All you have to do is fulfill it. Otherwise, lawyer up, buttercup.”
“You’ve got a lot of nerve to–”
“Don’t say that like you’re surprised. I’ve always taken what I wanted. Always. Why should this be any different?”
I look around and suddenly realize people are watching me. I guess I am a recognizable face. Hopefully, none of them heard me talking about being sued. That’s the last thing I need TMZ commenting on.
Okay, maybe not the last. But it’s definitely on the list.
“Listen, I gotta go. We’ll talk, ‘kay?”
“Why in the world would I waste my breath on you?”
Malcolm pauses. “I’d think long and hard about how you want to proceed, Grant. You know how shrewd I am.”
“Malcolm, it’s been over ten years. I don’t know anything about you.”
“Hmm. Guess you’re right. Well. Ciao.”
The call goes dead. I stand there, the Los Angeles sun beating down on me. I want to scream out a string of curse words but hold it in. People are always watching in LA.
I don’t know Malcolm anymore. I don’t know how conniving or cutthroat he’s become. This could be dangerous.
But he also doesn’t know whoI’vebecome and what I’m capable of.
I’m Grant Fucking Neville. I get whatIwant. I’m just not a fucking heartless piece of shit about it.
17
HARLEY
It feels like a fever dream, sitting in the living room of my childhood home with my mother, a woman I never thought I’d see again in my life. And if I did, I imagined it would be on her deathbed as she attempted to make amends before she met her maker.
Instead, it’s the day I’ve found out I’m pregnant with Dad’s best friend’s baby. As if I wasn’t already thinking about all the betrayal my dad has gone through in his life, thensheshows her face.
I’m sitting next to Amy who walked in shortly after I did; she has been doing her drawing in a park nearby in order to avoid the new neighbor’s annoying habits. It was interesting to see how the shock transpired through her versus how I felt it through me. Mine came in a wave, crashing over me, emotion tumbling outward. Unusual for me…although not so unusual now that I know my emotions are about to be haywire for eight more months and then some.
Amy, on the other hand, was frozen in time, her expression of concern not dropping from her face, even when she conceded to a hug from Mom.
“You were so little the last time I saw you,” Mom had said as she wrapped Amy in an embrace.
Amy was fourteen at the time and did have a ginormous growth spurt in high school. But Mom is acting like she left babies behind when we were girls about to grow into young women. Hell, Dana was already out of high school.
For Dad’s sake, Amy and I are keeping our cool. I can’t even imagine how he is feeling. He’s trying to be sweet, his quintessential Kent Solace way. With his delicate voice and smile, you wouldn’t know he’s a high-powered entertainment lawyer. He was always meant to be a girl dad.
I don’t know how Mom could have given up such a good man. Many women have tried to take her place, but Dad has never been on a date since she left. At least as far as I know.
