“James!”
I exited the inner office, and just as I reached the door to the outer office, George Keyes appeared in the doorway.
God, could this day get any worse?
George sported a victorious smirk. "Well, well, well. It sounds like your wife has left you. But I guess it's not a big deal because your whole marriage was fake?"
Jesus, fuck.
Amelia stepped up to him, and for a moment I thought she was going to slug him too. "George Keyes, do you spend all your time peeking through keyholes looking for gossip as my dad’s little bitch?”
My eyes widened nearly as much as George’s at her tone and word choice.
“Because we both know that you have no care or concern about the health of this company. If you did, you would see that under my brother's care, profits are up."
His eyes narrowed at Amelia, not liking being called a lowlife gossip. "Those profits could tumble at any moment when they discover what your brother's been up to."
I went to open my mouth, but Amelia charged in again. "Oh, please. If the company was going to fall apart at the mere hint of scandal, it would've fallen apart twenty years ago the first time you and my father scammed somebody. And every time since then, up until that moment my father drugged me and Max." She jammed her fists on her hips, leaning toward him, her eyes narrowed with hate. "What is your game with my father?"
George looked startled for a moment but quickly pulled himself together and turned his attention to me. "What kind of man allows his sister to fight his battles?"
I shrugged. "I'm just glad she's attacking you and not me."
Amelia shot me a look of daggers.
"I don't know what you think you have, George, but it's not going to be half as interesting as what I have. Why don't we both bring them to the next board meeting, and we can share?" I looked at both George and my sister as I stepped past them. "Now if you don't mind, I'm going to go have lunch."
I left the office and headed straight down to the garage to my car and then home. I'd have lunch there and not bother going back into the office at the risk of running into George or Amelia or anyone else. I could work from home without all the drama.
When I walked into the house, I really wanted to head to the whiskey bottle, but that seemed like a road that I shouldn't go down, so I made myself a sandwich, then went to my home office and got to work. I didn't stop until I heard a knock at the door.
Pulling my attention away from work, I realized it was dark outside. See how much better life was when Reyna wasn’t occupying space in my head?
I headed to the door, opening it to a courier. "Mr. James Dunsmore?"
I nodded. "What's this?" I wondered if George was making a legal move.
"Sign here." The young man handed over a clipboard that I signed and handed back. Then he gave me a legal-size envelope.
I shut the door behind him, opening the envelope and pulling out a small stack of papers. My breath caught as I read divorce documents. Jesus Christ, she was fast. Was she heading home with Dean, after all? If so, why was Amelia busting my balls today? When did Amelia talk to Reyna, anyway?
I was about to set them down when I realized there were other papers attached. I scanned them.Putative Father...relinquish rights... Just as she had promised me, these were documents that would allow me to say that I wasn't the father, but I would relinquish my rights to the child if I was. No, not child,children.Twins.
For the longest time, I stood in the foyer of my home feeling like somebody had hit me in the gut with a two-by-four. Why? This was exactly what I wanted.
I headed straight to the liquor cabinet, dropping the papers on the coffee table as I passed the couch. I poured myself two fingers of the hard liquor and returned to the couch to study the paperwork.
"This is what I want." I said the words out loud because on the inside, something felt off.
I got up to look for a pen to sign them. I found one in the kitchen and returned to the couch, re-reading the documents page by page. Reyna wasn't asking for anything. Not that she had any right to because we'd had a prenup, but I was surprised her attorney didn't encourage her to ask for something.
I read through the termination of parental rights papers as well. Several times, my pen hovered over the signature lines, but I couldn't sign them. I finally gave up, deciding that it was smarter to take them to my lawyer. That was why I was hesitating.
I shoved the papers back in the envelope and tossed them aside. I turned on the TV to distract myself but was failing. I couldn’t pay attention to anything because the envelope sat on the table, teasing me. Goading me. Chastising me.
I was about to get up and get another drink when my phone rang.
"James? Simon Jones."