“Where’s Chris?” she asks joining me at the table.
“He’s actually meeting with Dexter. He’s finding out about his financials and plans to get more information on… his job,” I tell her. She looks at me wide-eyed.
“Wow, I didn’t think of all the little things he’d need to do to merge his lives together. How did his session go?” she asks curiously.
“It went well—a little shaky at first—but we’re really counting on Helen to be professional and honest with us.”
“I know you probably can’t go into much detail but… did he mention me and his father?” Her warm expression suddenly becomes a bit gloomy from the nervousness that she is likely feeling.
“We didn’t really focus on his family in this session. It was more of coping techniques and him finding commonalities with Collin and Cal. He said he’s glad you’re here,” I tell her taking her hand and squeezing it, and this time her smile is genuine though there’s still worry etched on her face.
“Has he spoken to Aidan by any chance?”
“No not that I know of,” I tell her honestly.
“And… Lisa hasn’t reached out?” That question catches me completely off guard. It’s a name that sucks the life out of the room. Thinking of her is bittersweet. I had grown really close to her before everything happened. She always supported me when Chris was confused about me and was still with Jenna. I hate how things were before me, and she still crosses my mind every so often. But what she did with Mr. Scott was terrible, and no one hates it more than Mrs. Scott.
“No, I haven’t heard from her since… since before everything happened.”
“Well, a lot has happened since then,” she sighs. My pulse starts to climb, and I let out a deep breath and prepare myself for what she’s about to say. I pray that what she says next is something good despite my intuition screaming otherwise.
“Well, Lisa came to our house last month and she dropped off her daughter to us,” she says tightly. My eyes widen in shock.
“Dropped her off as in—she has been visiting you and Mr. Scott?” I ask confused.
“No as in she signed over custody to William and me,” she pushes out her words quickly and my mouth drops open in surprise.
“W-what?”
“She signed over custody, dropped her off with a suitcase and a duffle bag, and a letter saying that she was sorry. She asked me to love her daughter.” Mrs. Scott voice breaks, and I’m not sure what to do. Do I tell her I’m sorry or congratulate her because her eyes are smiling but she’s on the verge of crying?
“Wow. I don’t know what to say. How are you handling things?”
She smiles tightly. “You know after I found out about her, when Chris first told me, all I could imagine was the betrayal and how the child I imagined was a symbol of that.” She takes a deep breath then her eyes smile.
“But when I saw her, she was just a little girl. She wasn’t the monster I had made her to be in my mind. She was this beautiful little thing with William’s eyes, who was coloring and eating the cookies I baked that morning.”
Though she has a tight smile, her eyes glisten and tears fall down her cheek. I grab a paper towel and hand it to her. I try to keep my face blank, but I can’t help fighting my own tears. I cannot imagine the situation Mrs. Scott has found herself in, how she’s managed to pull something good from it, and my heart breaks for the little girl caught in the middle.
“The letter that Lisa wrote me made me see her as a broken girl who made bad decisions not as this conniving femme fatale.” I can feel the weight of her conflict—sadness vs. the fear of happiness—the same things I’ve battled.
“You’re going to stay with Mr. Scott?” I guess giving her a warm smile.
“I don’t know. I’m still dealing with things, but I don’t hate him more than I love him. After everything that has happened, I was sure it would be the opposite.”
“No one can judge you for the decision that you make, Mrs. Scott.” I assure her but she covers her face with her hands.
“I’m worried about how Chris will deal with this,” she whispers quietly as if he’ll walk in at any moment. My thoughts drift to the night when Chris and Mr. Scott had their big fight, how he said he’d never forgive him. We haven’t talked about what’s happened with his parents since he’s been back. I know secrets and omissions have never been a good thing for him but thinking of how he will react when Mrs. Scott tells him that not only is she leaning toward staying with Mr. Scott but that they’ve taken in his love child, a nervous feeling runs through me. I swallow hard and try to choose my words carefully. This situation is so sensitive and the wrong word could put an ugly scar on the entire situation.
“Did Mr. Scott talk to you about the last time he saw Chris?” I ask carefully and she nods ever so slightly.
“He told me that Chris hates him—and from the brief conversation I had with Chris this morning—I’m not sure if anything has changed. Though he hasn’t had much time to change his mind.” Technically Chris has only had a few days to process all of what’s happened.
“I think the best thing is to just take things slow,” I tell her, not thinking of anything else that we could do.
“I haven’t made my decision yet,” she adds, and I let out a sigh of relief.
“Right.” If she hasn’t made her decision yet about staying with Mr. Scott then this isn’t something that is urgent for us to tell Chris—at least not right at this moment.
I ignore the little voice that is telling me that I’m lying again as my worry grows of how this will all affect Caylen if this doesn’t come together soon.
Chapter 27
Chris
Walking into Crestfield Corporation is surreal—seven floors at the top of one of the tallest buildings in Chicago, people in suits and expensive looking clothing all bustle about, women in heels that look like they should be on the cover of magazines instead of in offices. Glass windows overlooking the waterfront. It’s unlike anything I’ve seen in Madison.
“Mr. Scott, you’re here to see Mr. Crestfield?” a short, cute, blond-haired woman asks me with a bright smile.
“Umm, yeah,” I tell her and she cheerfully gestures for me to follow her.
“I like your haircut.” She seems very lively and animated, and though I don’t remember her, she has obviously seen me before if she is noticing my haircut.
“Uh, thanks.” I follow her down a long hall toward two big glass doors. She swipes a card.
“Well, hello, Collin. You wanted to see me?” My face goes blank when I see who it is, and I look back at the woman who brought me here.
“I meant the other Crestfield,” I tell her and she looks at me baffled.
“But sir, you told me it was a priority to secure you the first meeting available with Mr. Crestfield Sr.,” she stammers. I nod and let out a an exasperated sigh. This meeting must have been Collin’s idea.
“He’ll be fine from here, Stacy.” Dexter gives her a charming smile before she scurries out of the office.