He chewed on his bottom lip. “Not sure. I haven’t thought about it. Are you ready for what might come your way?”
“Because of my father?” At his nod, anger swelled inside me. “The last time I cared about what my father thought I was fifteen, in a hotel hallway, watching him stick his tongue in another woman’s mouth.”
“Are you sure? You were pretty angry during that phone call. Maybe there’s more there than you think.”
I picked up my iPad and slid my phone into my pocket. “I have work to do, and I presume you both do as well. My father can go to hell.”
I left them in my office and headed to the conference room, but I was waylaid by Daniel. His concerned gaze met mine. “Weston. We’ll talk later. Stop by after your meeting, please.”
“Sure. No problem.”
Did the firm have a no-fraternization policy? I hadn’t a clue, and to me, it didn’t matter. Neither my father’s threats nor Daniel’s rules would keep me from being with whom I wanted to be with. But was Brenner having second thoughts?
Chapter Nineteen
Brenner
The weight of Grady’s gaze rested solely on me.
“I should get back to work,” I told him. My damn ankle still made movement slow-going, which gave Grady the chance to put in his two cents.
“I’m not judging you. I hope you know that. But it could get complicated.”
“I’m aware. Because of his father.”
“Indirectly. But being with a high-profile person such as Weston, even though it’s not his choice, means more eyes on you as well.”
“I have nothing to hide.” The conversation was getting a little too personal for my liking. “I appreciate your concern, Grady, but I don’t think it’s going to be a big deal. West is a politician’s son, but he didn’t do anything wrong. I’d better go. I have a client meeting at ten.” Before Grady could respond, I escaped to my office, making sure I shut the door behind me. For only a moment, I hesitated, then placed a call.
“I need your advice.”
“What for?” Christine purred. “Your man looked totally smitten—he couldn’t take his eyes off you.”
Even with the situation brewing, I couldn’t help the happy bounce of my heart. “Uh, well, it’s not about that. Well, maybe it is…” I floundered, and she jumped in.
“What’s the issue?”
When I explained, she sucked in a sharp breath. “Poor Weston. I think you should meet with Madden. He’s lived through a scandal, and he knows how to handle the press.”
I hadn’t thought about that. “Good idea, but I’m not friends like that with him. We’re more business acquaintances. Wouldn’t it look odd to just call him up to discuss his personal life?”
“Well, of course, sweetheart. That’s where I come in.” Her laughter lightened the lead weight in my gut. “We’ll have lunch. I’ll arrange it and let you know when and where.”
“I appreciate it, but I’m sure a man like Madden Steele has his time booked up. This is a time bomb.” I leaned my forehead on my hand. “I can only imagine if they find out who I am, a foster kid whose mother was a drug addict…”
“Stop that,” she snapped. “I won’t let you go down that black hole. We’ll fix this. Let me go and make my calls.”
I sat at my desk, grateful for my friend but uncertain she could pull off a miracle. I should break my rule of ignoring my past and find out who I was before someone else did it for me, so I called ACS, and after a few minutes of being transferred between departments, I finally found a person to help me. He put me on hold, and I waited, listening to the canned music.
“Mr. Fleming? Thank you for waiting.”
“No problem. Did you find anything out?”
“Being that your case is over thirty years old, none of the files are computerized. They’d be in a warehouse, and we’d haveto put in a ticket number to retrieve them. Those files would contain notes from the social worker who worked on the case.”
I winced. “I see. So there’s nothing you can tell me?”
“Just the basics that you likely already know. You suffered from secondhand exposure to various drugs and spent some time in the hospital. You were made a ward of the state when she was sentenced.” I could hear the clicking of the mouse. “That’s all we have in summary.”
