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I laugh. “Sure.”
We appropriately embrace, but when we do, I feel his phone vibrating in his pocket.
He pulls it out. “It’s my mother. Do you mind?”
“Of course not. Go ahead.”
I expect him to walk away for a little privacy, but he accepts it in front of me.
“Hey, Mom. Is everything okay?”
I can hear her crying hysterically, but I can’t otherwise hear anything she says. I can only hear Carter’s side of the conversation.
“What’s wrong, Mom?”
“He what?”
“Mom, just leave. We’ll figure something out.”
“No, I don’t care about the company. I care about you. He’s driving you crazy. Walk out the door. Go to the police.”
He rubs his hands through his hair and sighs. “Well then go to my place. I can be there in less than two hours.”
“Money is meaningless if you’re miserable all the time.”
“I think this is foolish.”
“Fine. I’ll come by later to check on things.”
He hangs up. He looks lost. I put my arms around his waist. We stand in silence.
I eventually pull away and look up at him. He has tears welling in his eyes.
I whisper, “What happened?”
He swallows hard. He looks off into the distance. “He tried to force himself on her. Apparently, he got a little rough. When she eventually got away and locked herself in another room, he brought home another woman and had sex with her in their bed.”
I look at him in complete and total shock. “Remind me again why isn’t he in jail?”
Carter has a look of disgust on his face. “The Golden Rule, Reagan. Those with the gold, rule.”
“All these years and no one pushed past the money?”
“I remember once, about fifteen years ago, someone didn’t care about the money. I was away in college, so I don’t know much about the situation. I do know that the woman’s boyfriend beat the shit out of my father. Hospitalized him for nearly a month. They did eventually settle, only to protect the guy from assault charges, but it was for way more than the normal amount, and my father had to agree to a few years of probation. That one still fires him up. Otherwise, no. Everyone takes pennies to stay quiet. It’s disgusting.”
I take a deep breath. “Okay, Carter. We’re back on.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean our deal is back on. Let’s take away his power.”
“I didn’t come here for that.”
“I know you didn’t. It’s my idea this time around. But I need you to respect my boundaries.”
“I promise. Are you sure?”
“I am.” I grab his hand. “Let’s go inside and have breakfast with everyone.”
