“I can,” I lie.
“You’re new in the city and don’t know where anything is, right?” he asks.
Licking my lips, my mouth turns up into a grin. “I have a new phone with GPS,” I remind him.
He chuckles. “You do. If you ever need help on an errand that I send you on, don’t hesitate to say something. I’ll find a safe way to get you there and back here.”
“Thank you, Mr.—” He arches a brow causing me to pause. “Landry,” I correct.
Landry grins. “Okay, the rest of the morning you’ll file after you set your devices up. Julie can help sync everything, mainly because I don’t even know how to do that.”
I stand to my feet, thanking him again and feeling my face heat even hotter with the praise, because I’ve said thank you about a thousand times and now it’s starting to get awkward. Instead of allowing more awkwardness, I turn away from him and hurry out of his office.
LANDRY
The offer is drawn up. As I watch Tennessee leave my office, I know that Susan will not accept it, not on the first go anyway. She will fight me, for my money, for the company, just to make me miserable because she will not want her society people to know I’ve filed. She will force me to pay for the embarrassment.
Shoving the document into a folder, I turn toward my computer. Typing in her name, Tennessee Bradley into the search engine, I do something I haven’t ever done before. I contact my private detective and ask him to look into her as well.
I don’t know why I even do it, but I do know that it’s wrong, I’m just not sure how much that I care. His confirmation of my request is swift. Closing my email, I look at the searched name on my screen.
There is no social media, which is odd for her age. There is nothing except her being listed in her college directory, then I see something. University of Arkansas. I hadn’t seen it on her resume.
From what I can tell, she is only in the directory for two years, her first two years. Frowning, I wonder why she would stay only one year then go home. Her child. She became pregnant, perhaps? Her mother lives in Tulsa, maybe it’s something as simple as she went home so that Helen could help her with the baby?
It all could be just that simple. Girl meets boy, girl gets pregnant, college boy doesn’t want anything to do with the child, girl goes back home to her family. It could be that easy, but I have a feeling that it isn’t.
Judging by the way she spoke of him, which wasn’t until after she was hired. Which wasn’t until she felt that she had to, I have a feeling that it is something more. A few moments later, after not finding a damn thing, I close out the browser and lean back in my chair.
My phone rings and I’m glad that it does, because I’m thinking far too much about my new employee. I’m not surprised to see that it’s Lawrence on my caller ID.
“Lawrence,” I greet.
“How are you doing?”
I smile to myself, wondering how this child is mine. He’s so thoughtful and caring, and it makes me realize that he did the right thing by going into psychiatry, namely child and adolescent psychiatry.
“I’m fine, Lawrence,” I answer with a chuckle.
He’s quiet for a moment, then he clears his throat. “I called and talked to mother,” he announces, his voice dipping low. I don’t respond, unsure of what he is going to say next. “She is going to make this ugly and I just… I wanted to let you know.”
Closing my eyes, I know that I made the right decision by living in misery the past decade. Lawrence would not have been able to handle any of this as a child of seventeen. He was even more sensitive back then.
My lips curve up into a smile and I have to be thankful for the soul that he is, especially in this cruel world. A thought pops into my head. Tennessee has much of the same traits as Lawrence, as far as I can tell. Life can be cruel and yet, she seems so untouched by it.
I know that she isn’t untouched by the hard realities of life, not now that I’ve found out about her child. She has suffered some kind of hardship, though to what depth I’m not sure of, quite yet. No wonder I am drawn to her, it’s just because she reminds me of Lawrence. That must be what it is.
“I know she will. I’m prepared, my attorney is prepared. I’m under no illusion that any of this will be easy, on any of us. Just know that I am here, always. No matter what.”
“I know,” he rasps. “I just… at your age, do you think that you can take such stress?”
I let out a bark of laughter, it is so loud that it bounces off the walls of my office. “So I’m ancient?” I ask.
“Dad, you’re over sixty. Let’s not pretend.”
“My son, the doctor,” I murmur. “I run forty miles a week. I lift weights three days a week, and I box two days a week. I think my old heart can take the stress of divvying up some assets.”
He doesn’t say anything right away, instead he’s quiet, then I hear him clear his throat. “You do all that?”
“I do.”
“How?”
Chuckling, I lean back and look at the ceiling. “I wake up every morning and run. Then I have scheduled trainers for the rest. Usually in the afternoons when I know that I’ll need to blow off some steam.”
“Okay, then,” he grumbles.
“I appreciate your concern, Lawrence. How about we do lunch later this week? I’ll have my assistant schedule it and make reservations.”
“How is Julie?”
I debate not telling him the truth. I debate letting him believe that it’s Julie, but a lie by omission is still a lie in my book.
“I hired a new assistant. One who handles just my personal affairs. It will be good for her to practice. She’s never done anything like this before.”
“You hired someone untrained? You? Landry Astor, hired someone to help in your personal life, untrained?” he asks.
Clearing my throat, I look around the room, sweat trickling on my forehead. “I did,” I admit. “She is just out of college, she needs experience,” I halfway lie.
I do not need rumors and speculation to begin, not when I’ve done nothing except imagine Tennessee’s lips on my body. No, I do not need Susan poking around, wondering why I hired Tennessee as my personal assistant and not simply an intern, when I know without a doubt that she believes there is someone else. The last thing I need is to scare poor Tennessee with false allegations.
If there are going to be any allegations at all, I want them to at least be founded.
Ending the call with Lawrence and his speculations, I call Tennessee into my office and give her instructions on how to check my calendar and where to make the reservations for later in the week, preferably Thursday if I have an opening.
Chapter Eight
TENNEESSEE
I practically run toward the childcare center when Landry says that I can officially leave for the day. It doesn’t take me long to pack up my things and take off toward the elevators. Pushing the main floor button, I shift from side to side as the elevator begins to make its descent.
The car stops on the fourth floor and I inwardly groan as the doors open and a few more people pile in front of me. I’m practically vibrating with excitement to see Holden. It’s only been a few hours since I popped in to see him at lunch, but it’s felt like a lifetime.