I take the card, turn it over, and smile. “Thanks for your help, Jordan. So, when can I expect to get any updates from you? Is there like a weekly thing or what?”
She flashes me a reassuring smile. “I don’t normally send weekly updates because my job often presents many dead ends. But let’s see what I can do. Any friend of Dewayne’s is a friend of mine. Our families go way back.”
I frown at the mention of Dewayne, but then it clicks, and I laugh. “I only know him as Mitchell. I had no idea his first name was Dewayne.” Mitchell, well,Dewayne, is Eli’s lawyer and sometimes goes out with us.
“I’ve told you that at least ten times,” Eli says with a dramatic roll of his eyes as he and Jordan walk to the front door. They promise to keep in touch, and I wave till they’re in the elevator. I close the door and rest my forehead against it, thinking about how everything got so complicated. I can’t believe I’m even keeping hope alive regarding finding my father. It feels like trying to find a needle in a haystack.
Ten days after meeting with Jordan, I'm in my office working on a new design for myself when my phone rings with her name. I take a deep calming breath and answer the call. "Hey, Jordan.”
“Hey, Jax.” She sounds chipper, and her voice raises slightly in her excitement. “I think I found your father. It was much easier than expected?—”
I thought I would never hear those words. And not this quickly.
I think I found your father.
My father.
“Jax, you still there?”
I realize that she’s been talking this whole time. I rub my face as I speak. “Sorry, what were you saying about my father?”
She laughs. “I know it can be a shock to hear those words. I would rather give you all the information in person. Are you free to meet today?”
“Yeah, I’m at the shop. Come by whenever.”
“That sounds great; see you then, Jax,” Jordan says and hangs up.
After the call with Jordan, I walk around the shop in a daze until I stop at Soph’s desk. I watch her organize our filing system, which Tiffany was never good at and never even tried to do properly.
“I can feel you staring at me,” Soph says, snapping me out of my daze.
“Jordan, the PI, might have found something about my father, and she's coming over. Could you call me when she does?” I ask, forcing a smile, so she won’t see how nervous I am.
Soph is up from her chair and hugging me. “Jax, that’s huge!” She leans back to look at me when I don’t match her excitement. “What’s wrong?”
“I’m worried it’s all false hope. Or that he doesn’t want anything to do with me.”
Soph reaches for my shoulders, massaging them lazily, soothing me. “We’ll deal with it if that happens. All you need to know for now is that Jordan might have the information you’ve been waiting for all this time.”
“Okay, yeah, thanks,” I whisper, comforted by this woman who is the woman of my dreams. And that thought doesn’t scare the shit out of me like it would have only a few months ago.
I get back to work and try to do something useful. But there’s no way I can focus. If Jordan has found the right guy, I would know who my father is before the day ends. How wild is that?
Forty minutes of doodling later, there’s a knock on my door. “Jax, she’s here.” I hear Soph’s pretty voice tell me.
Wiping my sweaty palms on my jeans, I get up and walk toward the door. I stop mid-step, panic washing over me again.
What if I don’t like what I find out?
What if he doesn’t want to get to know me?
What if?
All these thoughts run through my mind as I force my feet to move forward. Opening the door, I’m relieved that it’s Soph. Seeing her smile and those kind eyes make me feel better instantly.
“Hey, is everything okay?” She asks and puts her hand on my face, looking at me worriedly.
“No, but I sure hope it’ll be.”
