Jaw tight, I pulled out my phone. I scrolled through my contacts, stomach sinking deeper with every name I passed. I’d have to tell my team principal tomorrow. Wouldn’t that be a fantastic conversation?
Liam sat forward. “Go on. Rip off the plaster.”
I shot him a look but pressed call anyway.
“Griffin.” She answered on the second ring, her voice cool and clipped. “I assume you’re not calling me after hours for a friendly chat.”
I hesitated, gripping the phone tighter. “No.”
“What happened?”
I stared down at Hazel, her tiny fingers curled into my t-shirt. My throat constricted. “Someone left a baby on my doorstep with a note saying she’s mine.”
Selene didn’t respond. No sharp inhale, no shocked silence. Just a long, long pause where I knew she was calculating.
Finally, she asked, “Are you sure she’s yours?”
My jaw tightened. “The note was addressed to me.”
“You and I both know that’s not the same as proof.”
She sighed. I could hear the gears turning in her head, the ruthless efficiency of a woman whose job was to stop PR nightmares before they happened.
“Have you spoken to the mother?”
I hesitated. “No.”
“Then you need to?—”
“I’m not calling her. Not yet.”
“Alright. Who is she?”
My stomach twisted. “That’s not relevant.”
“It’s entirely relevant.”
“I’m handling it.”
“Griffin.” Her voice was all steel now. “If this gets out, the press will go digging. I need to be ahead of it. That means I need to know who she is.”
I gritted my teeth. “You don’t.”
She let out a slow, forced breath, the kind that usually meant she was trying not to murder someone through the phone. “You are making my job significantly harder.”
“Yeah, well,” I muttered, dragging a hand down my face. “Welcome to my life.”
Selene ignored that. “How many people know?”
“Just me and Liam. Jace saw her, but he won’t talk.”
“Good. Keep it that way. Under no circumstances can you be seen in public with that child.”
I closed my eyes. “Figured.”
“If this leaks before we’re ready, your career takes a hit. The board will not be pleased, and the sponsors—” She sighed. “Some might not care. Some might decide they don’t want to be associated with a driver caught up in an unexpected paternity drama.”
I pinched the bridge of my nose. “Yeah, I got that part.”
