“Don’t you know I’m always right?” He laughed. “I thought I’d mention one aspect of business you’ll eventually need to deal with.”
“Do I want to know?”
“Probably not. Lainey’s attorney, Jackson Winfield has filed a lawsuit against Dmitriyev Enterprises and you personally.”
“For what?” Another wave of anger hit me hard. I was sitting on rocket fuel at this point.
“Get this. Alienation of affection.”
“Oh, for the love of fuck. I could kill the motherfucker and his manager. And the goddamn record producer who wanted to control her life. They tried to turn her into a machine and they certainly didn’t give a shit about her when her fake fiancé beat her to the point she had to disappear from public for a couple of months. That’s why she backed out of the residency in the first place. I should have killed the motherfucker when I had him in my clutches. Maybe I will when I get back to the States.” Huffing, I raked my hand through my hair. I couldn’t remember being this angry. Vissarian was quiet. “How fucking dare they. I assume you contacted our attorneys. I want a counter suit. Now. We’re not going to wait.”
My blood pressure was through the roof.
Vissarian was still silent.
Until I heard a short laugh.
“You motherfucker. You made that shit up. Didn’t you?”
His chuckle continued. “Most of it, although there was a heated conversation between the two attorneys, but you know ours. He’s a shark and shot down Jackson in a heartbeat. What it did show me was exactly what I was hoping for. You’re hooked, buddy. You might as well admit it to Lainey if not to yourself. You’re in luv.”
“Fuck you.” He’d teased me relentlessly as a young kid, always managing to get one over on me and I fell for it every time.
“Go tell her that. Try and relax, bro. We got your back and your front and whatever other parts you aren’t giving to that girl you act like you’re not in love with.”
At least now I was smiling. “Like I said. Fuck you.”
“One serious piece of good news. Damien was kicked off the project.”
“You’re kidding me.”
Vissarian chuckled again. “I thought that might make your day. You were right about the morals clause. It was explained to Damien and his manager in black and white.”
“Any idea of the person in the photograph who trashed the other house?”
“Not yet. We’ll find him.”
I only hoped he was right. If he hadn’t been found when I returned, I would hunt him down like a damn dog.
As soon as I ended the call, I headed up the stairs toward Nina’s room, stopping just outside the door.
I’d been lucky in that I’d managed to convince her teacher to send Nina’s lesson plans via email. She’d been reluctant at first since Lainey hadn’t taught in years, but she relented after I played the sympathy card. Since everyone had heard about the attack, that had bought me cred points.
Plus, it didn’t hurt that our family had given millions to the private school.
Hearing Lainey’s voice always caused the same reaction. My breath hitched and the desire began to roll out of control. I’d learned to think of some pretty awful stuff to block out my desire when doing family time. But it was tough.
Very tough.
“That is exactly right. See?” Lainey said, her tone entirely different. “You didn’t think you liked math.”
“Why are you so good at it?”
“I dunno. Just something I picked up in school.” She changed her voice and whatever she was doing was making my little girl laugh. I hadn’t heard Nina so happy since I could remember.
She’d turned into a little adult when I hadn’t been looking, taking care of me when it should have been the other way around. I moved closer, taking a peek.
The two of them were crowded around a desk with Nina’s laptop. There were papers and several pencils on the surface. Lainey was using old-fashioned methods of teaching whatever the hell Nina was learning in math.
