I’m Losing Him
Archer
“That’sexactlywhatI’msaying, Miranda. Yes. That’s what he just sent me. And you’re sure you’ve never seen this document?”
“I absolutely have never seen this before. I would never have let you sign a contract that was so easy for your father to revoke. I’m too familiar with men like him to have let that slide. Leave it with me, Archer. I’ll make some calls and get back to you. Don’t worry about a thing. I’m going to enjoy every minute of this.”My lawyer, Miranda James, laughs like the cutthroat legal shark she is.“One more thing. Are you comfortable pressing charges against your father and his lawyer? Because that’s where I’m going with this.”
“More than comfortable. That’s not my signature on the contract he sent me. It hardly even looks like my handwriting. I don’t know how he thought this would work.”
Miranda’s hearty chuckle rumbles through the phone.“It sounds like he was desperate. Desperate men aren’t known for thinking clearly.”
“Yeah, you’re right about that.” It’s my turn to chuckle. “He must have been pretty surprised when I refused to bend to his ultimatum. I’m not sure Annabelle’s father will be interested in forgiving my parents’ debt once he realizes I won’t marry her.”
“I suppose he won’t. Too bad for your father. Okay, let me make those calls now, and I’ll get back to you tomorrow at the latest.”
She hangs up without saying goodbye, which is fine by me. Every minute we spend on the phone counts as billable hours for her, and she’s not cheap. That’s not an issue for me either, since I know she’s worth every penny. And now that her name is in question because of the falsified document my father has in his possession? Well, let’s just say I’m glad I’m not the one on the receiving end of Miranda James’ ire.
Still, there’s a small part of me that worries she won’t be able to figure this out. After everything I’ve accomplished this past year, the mere thought of letting my father take over Fade Toys again is enough to set my insides to burning. I can’t let him ruin all my hard work like that. More importantly, I can’t let him destroy what I’ve built for the staff. If he has his way, they’ll all be out of a job or back to working for as little as he can legally pay them. Within the law or not, it’s not right.
“So, how much do you think your dad owes the Meyers? It must be a lot if he’s willing to forge signatures on fake contracts and get his lawyer involved. What do you think? Five million? Ten? Twenty?”
I release a slow breath and slump back in my desk chair, stretching my neck to work out some of the tension of the last hour. It’s a relief to know my lawyer has this handled, but it’s still frustrating to see the full scope of what my father had planned for me. Imagine promising my hand in marriage for the forgiveness of his debts. It’s positively medieval.
“However much it is, it’s up there,” I tell Eric. “What I’d like to know is how he got into so much debt in the first place. The pension my parents get from Fade Toys is nearly six figures. Add that to the income from their investments and they should have more than enough to get by.”
“Wow, sex toys really are good business.” Eric laughs. “But you should know your parents better than that. The elder Fades have no interest in getting by. They want what all Westborough society folks want; to lord their wealth over everyone and to make other people feel less than by comparison.”
He’s right, of course. I do know my parents better than that. All they’ve ever wanted is to prove that they’re better than everyone else. Well, since Fade Toys started making real money, that is.
“At least I know my virtue is worth a small fortune. Not that I would consider marrying Annabelle. I dodged that bullet once, and I have no intention of putting myself in the line of fire again.”
Eric looks out the window for a moment before looking back at me. “Do you think she knows? That her father and yours are trying to arrange a marriage?”
I shrug. “I don’t really know. I don’t know that I ever really knew Annabelle, not the way I should have. For all I was planning to propose to her, we were virtually strangers. The months we were together, we were rarely actually in each other’s presence, you know? She was modeling a lot then and always flying off to another fashion show or photo shoot. And when she wasn’t away, I was busy rebuilding Fade Toys. Revamping all the means of production, sourcing new materials, and changing the entire company culture took a lot of late nights and early mornings.”
Eric nods. “It wasn’t really fair to either of you.”
“No, it wasn’t. But I’m so much better off now. Phoebe is amazing.” I can’t stop the grin from spreading across my face. “And Lincoln is the best.”
Eric smiles. “He’s a pretty cool kid. You’re a lucky guy. Who would’ve thought you could score such a cool little family after a one-night stand dressed as Santa? I bet that wasn’t on your wish list.”
I chuckle and shake my head. “No, it wasn’t. This family is all I ever wanted, but after Annabelle I was sure I’d never get it. I mean, being crapped on wasn’t the greatest thing to ever happen to me, but still…I wouldn’t change much.”
Truthfully, the only thing I would change about the whole situation is, I would have liked to have been involved much sooner, well before Lincoln was actually born. If Phoebe and I had met under normal circumstances, I know I would still have been interested. Even without the wedding dress, fancy hairdo, and full makeup, she’s the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. I love the way her freckles give her an outdoorsy glow, and how her hair never seems to behave. And when she blushes? It makes indecent thoughts run rampant through my head.
Eric’s sudden gagging noises break through the near silence and I can’t help but laugh at the thought that he’s inside my head and seeing the filthy things I’m imaging doing with Phoebe the next chance I get. It doesn’t strike me until speaks up that he’s still thinking about babies.
“I can’t believe you were covered in shit and you didn’t immediately go to the hospital. What about that disease, Ecology? Ebola? Esophagus? I don’t know exactly what it is, but I know there’s something in poop that can make you sick.”
I bark a laugh and shake my head. “I think you mean E. Coli. It’s bacteria. And It’s not like I sat there in filth for hours, Eric. I got up and showered right away.”
He shakes his head in disbelief. “I don’t know, man. I’m not sure regular soap is up to the task when there’s that much crap on you. At that point, you should call the hazmat team to hose you down with a medical grade disinfectant just to be safe.”
“You’re an idiot.”
“Maybe, but at least I can say I’ve never been covered in shit.”
“Touché”
