Hah, motherfucker, joke’s on you.
Even so, there was no safety in that—in fact, it made him even less safe, because if and when Emily discovered who Mick really was, well... His entire world would explode.
Still, an evenmoreworrisome thought was that Emily wasn’t safe either. How could she be, with an asshole like Harper running the show, with so much money on the line?
“But I cut ties with my father a long time ago,” Mick added to hisI don’t know her,after Harper started babblingAre you sure, is it possible you knew her mother, any female friend of your father’s named Johnson...?
As the initial jolt of surprise faded, Mick was again left wonderingWhat the hell?How could Harpernotknow who Emily Johnson was?
Except, of course he wouldn’t.
She had a different last name than her dead mother, and Harper, like Mick’s father, had never given a shit about any of them—the woman who’d died or her grieving family. It wasentirely possible Harper had forgotten Marina Santana’s name, too.
“I completely cut all contact,” Mick continued, padding his kneejerked lie with the truth. “You know that. I have no idea—none. Less than you—who he might’ve met since I left.”
Because, yeah, if Milt really didn’t know Emily, and he heard that his father had left nearly everything in his will to an unknown woman, he’d no doubt assume, too, that she was the old bastard’s latest romantic dalliance, regardless of the man being in his fricking nineties.
“Well, I guess we’ll have to hire private investigators to find her,” Harper huffed. “But talk about a needle in a haystack. Another, easier option might be for us simply to contest the will?—”
“Yeah, I don’t want to do that,” Mick cut him off. “In fact, I’m gonna give my percentage to charity. I don’t want it.” Because in that moment, he knew with a brilliant clarity thatthiswas his way out. This was how he’d survive this latest fucking from his father. He’d already told Harper that he didn’t know Emily, and likewise, he’d never tell Emily whohereally was. “Iwant to hire the PIs.”
Harper immediately started makingnonoises, which Mick shut down fast with “I’ll pay for it myself, out of my own funds,” because no way was he going to let that asshole pick shitty investigators who’d conveniently never find Emily. He wanted her to have it—the money, the property, all of it. It should’ve been hers, years ago.
And he, too, could then have what he wanted. A life finally and completely free from his father.
He could do this.
He could keep Milt and Mick separate, and Emily would never need to know.
He hoped. God, he hoped.
He’d require a solid disguise to make it work, but he had enough contacts among Hollywood’s makeup techs for that to happen.
Miltwould personally hire a reputable team of investigators to “find” Em—which they’d do easily enough—whileMickstayed well in the background, supporting her in Palm Springs as best he could. She’d inherit the money and never discover who he was—who he’dbeen, because he truly wasn’t Milt anymore.
Meanwhile, Harper was still talking.Blah blah blah.“We have to plan the funeral service, the burial of Mr. Devonshire’s ashes in the plot at Forest Lawn.”
“I don’t give a shit about that,” Mick said. “Do whatever you want, whenever you want—including never.”
Harper sniffed his disapproval. “We do have to deal with the estate. Can you come into my office for a meeting, maybe first thing Monday? No, wait,” he corrected himself. “I’ve got court, my first day available is... Wednesday, late morning.”
Mick made noncommittal noises, because no, he absolutely could not. He was going to be in Palm Springs next week. With Emily. “Let me check my calendar. Might need to be the week after next. We’re not really in a screaming hurry, are we, Ernie?” Asshole hated being calledErnie.
“We actually are,” Harper said, his voice ringing with his annoyance. “We want to do this as swiftly as possible. Make an effort to find this Emily. Get the ball rolling.”
“Finding her could take some time,” Mick pointed out even though he knew damn well that it wouldn’t.
“If you’re serious about paying for the investigator, I’ll give you a list of people that we regularly use?—”
Mick cut him off. “No thanks, I’ve got this.” He didn’t, not yet anyway, but anyone he found, even through theinternet from Yelp reviews, would be better than someone who would secretly be working for Harper.
“Of course, there’s a strong chance we’ll simply never find her,” Harper said again. “She’ll have to prove her connection, and she may not be able to do that. Plus we can work to take care of any... revealing paper trails on our end.”
Was he actually suggesting...? “I don’t want his money,” Mick emphasized.
“More of his money, you mean,” Harper said with a sniff.
Fuck you. He’d full-on earned the money he’d taken with him when he’d left all those years ago. “Wednesday, eleven AM,” Mick said instead, even as he added the meeting to the calendar on his real phone. He’d get Emily settled in Palm Springs, then drive back early on Wednesday for this bullshit—get it over with, get the investigators started investigating—and be back with her in time for bed. “I’ll arrange for the PIs to meet us there. I’m sure they’ll have questions for both of us.”
