“What’s going on?” I asked, needing to focus on the reason for the call.
“There’s a bit of chaos here today with an onslaught of media. Things like this can’t always be helped considering your status. The staff was well aware prior to accepting Rylee as a student about the potential of having your name attached to Chandler. I assure you it’s not a problem, but if at all possible, I was wondering if you could make some calls to have them cleared out. I would like to avoid any disruption to the other parents and students if we could. But if not, we completely understand and will pivot to make this work. As I’ve stated, we considered this possibility. The gate keeps them off the property, but they are clustering around the entrance and?—”
“Media?” I repeated. Everything she said rushed through my mind but that one thing stuck because why would the media be at Rylee’s school?
“Yes, several media outlets, reporters, and news stations. I’m assuming you haven’t been notified about what’s going on.”
What the fuck?
“No, I haven’t.”
“Oh, um, it appears someone leaked details of your custody situation with your sister and?—”
Shit.
“I’ll make some calls. I apologize,” I rushed out, needing to get her off my line so I could see what she was talking about. If reporters were at the school, I had no power to have them moved unless they were on private property. Since they wereoutside the gate, the only recourse was making sure the crowd was controlled.
“Please don’t apologize. This is no fault of yours. We empathize with your situation. Your privacy was violated and I understand. I just wanted to give you a heads up about what to expect when you arrive to get Rylee this afternoon.”
“’Preciate that. I’ll get on the line with my team to see if we can get them cleared out.”
“Thank you. We’ll see you this afternoon.”
I ended the call and swiped through my phone, trying to find the reason the media was camped out in front of my sister’s school. Somee was at my side, eyes glued to my screen watching while I typed my name into Quest. The search populated, and within seconds, a scowl was on my face while tension crept down the back of my neck and across my shoulders.
I tapped the first link I came to and my eyes blazed with rage as I scanned the images. Copies of the papers I filed to allow me temporary custody of my sister, the one my father signed relinquishing his parental rights, and a copy of the NDA delivering the terms of our agreement. There was even a copy of the form that provided his banking information along with details on where to wire the agreed upon amount.
“Fuck…” I yelled, gripping my phone so tightly I was surprised the damn thing didn’t shatter.
“How did they get this? It’s the original copies. She’s a minor. Isn’t her name supposed to be blacked out?”Somee’s hand movements were fast and angry.
“I don’t know,” I said without signing since she was within proximity to read my lips. “Get dressed. I need to make some calls and we have to pick Rylee up from school.”
“Does she know?”
I shook my head. “They said she was fine. The school is gated, so there is no access allowing them on campus. Get dressed.” Istepped closer and dropped a kiss on her forehead. She huffed in anger and began snatching up her clothes while I dialed Raaj, my attorney.
“Hey, Land, I’m working on it. Sov and Van already hit my line.”
“How the hell did this get out there?” I asked, once again cradling the phone between my shoulder and my ear while I reached for the clothes I had on earlier, feeling grateful we’d both showered after Somee tapped out on me.
“The NDA and your father’s banking information was leaked by the paralegal from the law firm we hired in Chicago who was sent to get your father’s signatures on the paperwork.”
“How you know he didn’t do that shit?”
“It wasn’t him. The minute the documents went viral, I called the firm, making sure they understood their best course of action was to hand over the reason why those documents were leaked. Took them less than ten minutes to call me back with all the details on what happened. Alyssa Martin, the paralegal, leaked the paperwork. According to them, she didn’t think it was a big deal.”
“It’s a very big fucking deal. You think I want people in my personal shit? It’s not just me, Raaj. Rylee doesn’t know anything about this or him. Now her name is attached to stories about me paying that muthafucker to move the fuck on so she wouldn’t have to be rejected by him.”
“I’m aware. It’s out there now, so we do the best we can with damage control.”
“Nah, fuck damage control. I want this handled legally.”
“I’m already in the process of finishing an ethical complaint with the state bar against the firm since she worked for them. The state will make a recommendation to revoke her licensing as well. We can sue the law firm for breach of contract since she was employed by them with a demand for punitive damages.”
“She needs a more severe consequence than losing her fucking license. I want her world flipped upside down like ours is gonna be. Rylee is a gotdamn child and she disclosed personal and confidential information about my sister’s life.”
“She was fired immediately, and if you want to go after her personally, we can. But that’s going to be civil, which means a waste of time and paperwork. She doesn’t have anything of value, Land. You’re speaking from a place of anger…”
