Diana swept to the empty chair next to us and sat down. She did not meet our eyes. “This has come at a very inconvenient time. I have a big meeting to prepare for.” She checked her watch.
Mrs. Baring looked at us. “Ms. Morgan is a managing partner at Backhouse Dunne.”
Backhouse Dunne was a big London law firm. This was why Baring was taking it so seriously. She was terrified of Ted’s mother suing them for the bitch slap Bibi had given her little shit of a son.
Fox cleared his throat. “We’re very sorry about this unfortunate incident. We will—”
I elbowed him hard, and he went quiet. “I think you’ll find Ted and Bibi have not been getting on for a while. Just yesterday, Ted pulled her hair, which was very upsetting for her.”
Diana turned to look at me. “Any evidence of that? Video? Witnesses?”
“No, but—”
“Your daughter thumped Ted in front of two of their peers and a teacher. There is no denying what she did.”
I took a breath. “I’m explaining her motive.”
Diana snorted. “She waited a day and then took her revenge? It’s not exactly self-defense is it? She’s clearly a savage.”
“You’re a fu—”
Fox squeezed my thigh.
I stopped and tried to deep-breathe.
Fox leaned forward. “Until we talk to Bibi, it’s hard to understand the full situation.”
Mrs. Baring cut in. “Absolutely! But the main thing is everyone is very sorry this happened, and it won’t happen again.”
“Children need boundaries,” sniffed Diana, “and strong parental guidance to behave appropriately.”
This ice-queen bitch was questioning our parenting? How dare she? Onlywewere allowed to do that.
Fox spoke before I could. “Bibi has excellent instincts and a strong sense of right and wrong.”
Diana snorted and ran a hand through her hair. She didn’t get to sit there and judge our daughter, when look at how her kid had turned out.
“Ted is the one who’s clearly trouble. It starts with hair-pulling, then a shove, then a punch—then, next thing you know he’s got zero respect for women’s boundaries and understanding that no means no.”
Diana stared at me. “Are you…Are you suggesting my four-year-old son is going to grow up to be a rapist?”
Mrs. Baring paled.
“No!” Fox squeaked it out. “Absolutely not.”
At the same time, I said, “I think you should watch him carefully.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Fox
I think it was fairto say we had made an enemy for life in Diana Morgan.
Mrs. Baring had wrapped up the meeting with a shrill announcement that she had to leave. I think she needed to go and cry somewhere.
Diana and Haze had been death-staring each other to such a degree I didn’t know where to look.
Bibi seemed unfazed by us both arriving to take her home two hours early. We got her into the car park before unleashing.
