“What is it? Is it about a member, or did something happen yesterday?”
“It is about a member. I’m just going to lay it all out there in as much of a condensed version that I can, then I’m going to ask a favor of you that I really have no right to ask and shouldn’t expect you to oblige. But I’m going to ask it anyhow.”
I swallowed hard and nodded. I gestured toward a chair at one of the tables, and we each took a seat.
“I have a younger brother, Chase. He’s in his late thirties now, but when he was about sixteen or seventeen, he was a model. He and another young model, who was his age, ended up in a bad situation with a photographer. The end result was that Chase got the girl pregnant. The girl’s mother blamed my brother, just as she blamed the photographer and the modeling agency. The girl ended up keeping the child, but her mother demanded Chase stay away. My brother wanted to take responsibility and be a part of the child’s life. He tried many times, and our parents tried. She named the little boy Brandon.”
“That’s terrible,” I said.
“Yesterday, when I was talking to James and Brandon, Brandon mentioned that he used to model. He elaborated and said his mother used to model too. I felt as though a bucket of ice had been poured down my back. I stared at his name on my notepad. Brandon Cooper. Things fell into place, and when he told me his mother’s name—Haley Cooper—I just knew. I knew I was sitting across from the boy my brother desperately wanted to get to know.”
Oh fuck!
“My God,” I murmured. “You’re Brandon’s uncle.”
Morgan nodded.
“I can’t photograph him. But more importantly, I need for you to put me in touch with James. My brother needs to talk with James, and perhaps, God willing, he’ll be able to convince James to arrange a meeting between Chase and Brandon.”
I leaned back in my chair and took a deep breath. I kept thinking back to when Brandon came out of that kink house and was such a wreck. If he’d had a father—if he’d known he had a father who wanted him—he wouldn’t have been so scared and felt so alone. Oh my God… they have no clue what Brandon has been through, or how much progress he’s made. This… I couldn’t even begin to think of what this would mean or how it would affect Brandon and James.
“Andrew, I’m aware of the privacy and protocol here, and I realize what I’m asking of puts you in a bad position. But my brother needs to at least be able to talk to Brandon. We never knew where Brandon disappeared to after Haley died. My brother has carried the guilt since he was seventeen.”
I exhaled loudly as I looked at Morgan. The least of my concern now was the photo shoot Brandon had been so excited about. We’d get that part figured out, but there were bigger things going on right now.
Morgan wasn’t a member of Oxygen, and I wasn’t a close friend of his, so I wasn’t used to seeing him daily. Though, the times I had seen him, he had always looked pretty calm and in control of his emotions. I wasn’t used to seeing him so exhausted, tense, and stressed, and I could tell this meant a lot to his family.
“I understand this situation could mean a lot to your family, so let me see what I can do. Let me make a couple of calls this morning. I’ll catch up with you in between your consultation appointments.”
“Thank you, Andrew. I really appreciate it.”
“I can’t promise anything, but I will call James.” I stood and picked up my coffee cup and took a sip. “Do you happen to know any other photographers? In case Brandon still wants to do the photos.”
“I do. If it’s something he still wants to pursue, I can put him and James in touch with someone I trust who is extremely professional.”
I looked toward the main room and saw that Morgan’s first consultation of the day was here. I excused myself and headed to my office with my head ready to explode. After I closed the door and sat back in the chair behind my desk, I pulled the phone over and stared at it for a few moments.
I needed to call James, but my first thought was to call Tabitha. I quickly dialed our home number and tapped my thumb on the desk while I waited for her to answer. I glanced at my watch and saw that it was just after ten.She might be tending to the boys.
“Hello?” Tabitha’s sultry voice filled my ear and immediately calmed me down.
“Hey,” I replied.
“Andrew, what a pleasant surprise.” I could hear one of the boys giggling and making noise in the background. Tabitha must have been really close to them because the sounds of the kids laughing and making noises grew louder when I heard her say, “Daddy is on the phone,” to them. It brought a smile to my face, and for a moment, it took me away from the awkward task at hand.
“What are they doing?” I asked.
“Oh, they’re rolling around on the play mat, grabbing and slapping the toys on the activity wheel.”
“That’s great,” I said. I could picture our twins rolling around and playing while Tabitha sat with them.
“So, how is your day going so far?” Her tone was warm and seeking. She knew it was out of character for me to call home in the mornings unless something was going on. But she always knew how to ask me without coming right out and asking what was wrong or why I was calling. Though, her being an attorney gave her knowledge on how to get a person to volunteer the information she wanted from them.
“It’s been an interesting morning.”
“I figured as much,” she said.
“I knew you did,” I teased back. “Morgan came in early and looked stressed. We sat down and talked some, and come to find out he’s the estranged uncle of Brandon.”
