"They're Danny's grandparents," he says. "And they're trying to get partial control of the company."
My jaw drops. "Your company? The one you have with my dad?"
"Yeah," he says.
"Oh hell no," I say. "I'm not going to let that happen."
"I appreciate the thought, but you may not have any control over this," he responds. "Look at me," he says, stretching out his arms. "I'm just a single dad. There are two of them. They weren't exactly loving parents, but they want the money and power that custody of Danny could get them. They're trying to tell the court that I'm an unfit parent because I don't have a wife."
"Well, we could fix that," I say.
He looks at me. He puts the bag of food down. "Elia." That's all he says.
"Think about it," I tell him. "You don't have to answer me now. But think about it."
Chapter 17
Eating Mee Goreng
Jeff
I get out plates and utensils. My mind is spinning. Marrying Elia might be the answer to my problems, but I think it’s unfair to her. She’s just a teenager. I don’t know how Eric will react.
I wince. She hasn’t dated boys, so it’s a big leap for her to marry me. I’m going to have to call him after dinner is over, no matter what time it is.
For some reason, I can’t think of an alternative. They’re coming for Danny and I will do anything when it comes to protecting my son.
He turns over in his sleep. Elia is still eating as I pull him into my arms and walk upstairs with his light weight pressed against me. I kiss his forehead when I put him down in the crib in my room.
Nothing is out of the question when it comes to protecting him. And my decision is made. I’ll call Eric as soon as I’ve finished eating.
When I walk downstairs, Elia’s almost done. It seems like she inhaled dinner. When she hears me walking down the steps, she inhales the last bites of her ice cream and stands up to put her dish in the sink, choking a little bit.
“Are you okay?” I ask.
“Fine,” she manages to squeak.
“I’m calling your father after dinner,” I say.
“I’ll be in my room,” she says before walking off.
I’m not sure what’s going to happen now. There’s a chance that Eric will explode when I ask him if I can marry his daughter. We’ll just have to see.
As soon as I’ve washed the dishes, I go to my computer. Calls to China cost $0.02 per minute through VoIP. I take a deep breath before calling his cell phone. Both of us have one, since we travel to China, although my own trips have been less frequent with Danny around.
“Hello?” Eric asks. “This better be an emergency. It’s dark o’clock, you asshole.”
“Yeah, yeah, whatever,” I say. He’s not the cheeriest morning person. I check the clock. It’s actually not dark o’clock. “Listen, I’m getting hit with a lawsuit.”
“You’re getting hit with a lawsuit or we’re getting hit with a lawsuit?” Eric sounds a lot more awake now.
“My in-laws are trying to take half of my voting stock.”
“What the fuck?” Eric screeches. “How?”
“My living trust, the one that I created with my wife. We had some ambiguous language that they’re trying to use to get half of my voting shares.”
“Fuck,” Eric repeats.