“Okay, let’s roll. You can tell the kiddos we got together for coffee after running into each other the other day. By the way,” he whispered, “you look sexy. Are you sure you’re working?”
I was wearing a black jumpsuit with short sleeves and a plain zipper up the back. “This is hardly sexy, but thank you.”
“I want to tell you about my lawyer. He’s drawing up some papers for Piper, but also, we have a new witness in the case. It’s top secret right now, but I want to fill you in. Also, I spoke with my dad. I know he came to see you, and I won’t tolerate it.”
We were outside by the time he finished, and Aston was unlocking his SUV and ushering me inside.
“Do you have more hours in your day than everyone else? Wait just a minute—you talked with your dad?” I swiveled in my seat and stared at him. Aston seemed to work at a speed I couldn’t keep up with.
“Yeah, one sec.” He handed me back my coffee, shut my door, and ran around the front. Seated in the driver’s seat, he said, “I have just as many hours as everyone else, but I have a staff that helps, and I also want to get my life back together. As for my father, I told him about Pipe—”
“Wait a minute? Pipe? Her name is Piper ... don’t give her a nickname. You haven’t even formally met her.”
“Yeah, I know. Piper. I’m just a little wound up. So my dad ... of course he knew about her, the slimy fucker. He finally admitted to paying you a visit, and said he was working on things, so I didn’t need to worry about my little problem. That’s what he called Piper ... the fucker. He actually said he was working on making it so Piper wasn’t my concern.”
Grimacing, Aston went on. “I almost punched him, but I’m working on remaining calm, so I didn’t. I had plenty of harsh words with him, like threatening I would walk into every CEO’s office on the Strip and tell them what a cocksucker he is, disparaging Federal along the way, until they took their business to the cheaper outlets with less customer service and quality, but I didn’t care.”
“Take a breath, Aston. You’re going to faint. Slow down. You don’t need to defend me to your dad. He’s not going to make any problems go away, because I don’t do business the way he does, with payoffs.”
Aston ran a hand through his thick hair and then dropped it to take my hand in his. “Don’t worry. He’ll stay away now, especially after I brought up his wife and her tennis pro. He’s so fickle. The business, Nan, he doesn’t want his legacy disrupted. Well, he’ll have to accept a granddaughter born out of wedlock and kept a secret.”
Then Aston actually winked, like this was fun. Like telling a teenage girl she was a long-lost secret daughter of your teenage love affair ... wasfun.
“This isn’t my life,” I said, staring out my window as he pulled out, cocky and confident. “You don’t even know what school we’re going to ... oh, wait. Of course you do. Anyway, you can’t just keep threatening people. First me, and now I got involved with Seth after your threats, and now you and your dad. Oh, and by the way, you’re still being investigated.”
We sped along the correct route while I ranted and Aston let it roll off of him, staying calm as he drove.
“Bexley, I’m protecting what’s mine. Get used to it,” he said, but I didn’t respond. “And before you go down the whole path that I didn’t protect you back then ... I wasn’t a man yet. But now I am.”
“I’m going to need some time alone with Piper to sit down and explain everything. I did some reading on how to break sensitive topics to teens. I’m going to be as honest as possible with her. I thought about how I may leave your dad’s part in this out of it, let him save face—”
“Absolutely not!” Aston turned his head for a second to glare at me. With his eyes back on the road, he spoke firmly. “No, he doesn’t get to be absolved of the role he played. I’m never going to be close with him, and I doubt you will. Piper will know the truth.”
As we neared the school, I moved on. “I’m not sure whether Tyler should be around or not. I would ask Seth, but he barely had time for me when I called about Piper. He was thrilled you’re stepping up—”
Aston interrupted again with a quick flash of his smug expression. “More like me letting him off the hook financially.”
“It doesn’t matter now,” I said, trying to reason with him.
“It does, and don’t defend him.”
“Listen, I wronged him first.”
“No, you wrongedmefirst—”
“Aston! That’s not fair.”
Glancing at me, he sighed. “You’re right. Listen, why don’t you let me take Tyler to the arcade with Little A? And you can have time with Piper.”
As we pulled up to the school, I asked, “How would we pull that off?”
“Simple. I need a helper.”
My eyes rolled on their own. Aston had an answer for everything. As usual, he ruled his world.
I opened the car door and walked toward where I met the kids when I picked them up. The lower school and junior high shared a campus, which was great for a single mom like me. They took the bus when I couldn’t be here on time, but I tried to pick them up one or two days a week. Today, I wished it had been a bus day. As the kids ran out of school from all directions, I wondered how I would explain Aston’s presence.
“Hi, Mom!” Tyler called to me first.
