Page 61 of Secret Baby for the Bad Boy

I lean back against my desk, suddenly weak-kneed. Relief floods me and I let out a deep breath, feeling relaxed and like I can finally breathe again. But the officer isn’t quite done talking just yet.

“Seems he resisted arrest or upset someone. He got a bit roughed up.” There's no remorse in the officer’s tone, and I'm not searching for any. The guy probably got what he deserved. He’s a low life, petty thug who hurt my company, my friend, and my life.

“Good,” I say, more to myself than to him. “So, what happens now?”

“Restitution, most likely. He won't be doing this again anytime soon. I’ll be in touch.”

“Thank you, officer.” I hang up and exhale a shaky breath. This has to be some of the best news I’ve gotten in days, and I’ve had some good news lately.

My door swings open. Shana's there, her eyes wide and excited. Obviously she got the news, too, because she crosses the room in two strides.

“Did you hear—” Her voice is animated, almost breathless.

“He’s locked up.” My voice is strong, and I know that no matter what, we are going to be just fine. How can we not be?

“I’m so happy!” Her arms wrap around me in a tight, warm hug. “You can relax now.” There’s more than a hint of humor in her voice, but I’m happy to hear the absolute relief in her tone.

I hug her back, feeling the tension in my neck begin to relax. “Yeah,” I say softly. “Relax.” There’s no way I’ll do that – there’s so much work to do, ideas to work on, paperwork to fill out. I can’t wait to get started on the next step, because these next few years, they’re the ones that are going to make us billionaires; I just know it.

The chime of my phone breaks the post-victory hush with a light melody that has me pulling back and checking the screen. Carol’s – Lark’s mom’s – picture stares back at me. Confusion and a touch of fear pinch my brow as I answer the call.

“Mom!” The word is a giggle, all the joy in the world stocked into a single word. My heart swells.

“Hey, buddy!” I couldn't stop the smile that spreads across my face if I wanted to – but I don’t. “How are you? Where are you?”

“Grandma took me to this cool place!” His voice bubbles with excitement. I imagine his whole body wiggling like a puppy as he tries to contain his excitement, his wide eyes darting around, trying to soak in everything all at once. “I painted a big picture and got to look at some really old bones!”

“What kind of bones?” I ask, waving at Shana as she heads for the door with an apologetic smile on her face. She’s gone in a moment, and I focus all my attention on my son.

“Dinosaur!”

I can hear Carol’s voice in the background.

“Wow, that sounds amazing!” The warmth of his happiness seeps through the phone, a much-needed antidote to the stress of the past weeks.

“I love you!” he says, and then there's the muffled static sound of the phone changing hands.

“Hi, Lara,” Mom says, her voice filled with affection. “He's having such a wonderful time.”

“Thanks for taking him. He sounds thrilled.”

“He's a delight, truly.” There's a pause, and she says, “Enjoy your weekend, dear.”

My forehead creases. “This weekend?” What the heck is she talking about? We don’t have plans for the weekend.

“Didn't Lark tell you?” Her tone suggests a smile I can’t see, and I want to know right now. I don’t like feeling like the last person to know something and so help me, I’ll march into his office right now and drag him out by the ear until he tells me what he did.

“Oh, got to go! Win’s on the move.” With that, the line goes dead, leaving me with more questions than answers.

Before I can call her back or make my way to Lark’s office, my office door swings open once more.

Lark strides in, a grin on his face that tells me he’s up to something, even if his mother hadn’t already clued me in.

“So, I just got off the phone with Carol,” I say, giving him the chance to come clean about his plans, even though I’m feeling more playful than annoyed at this point.

“Really? What did she have to say?” He’s feigning innocence, but I know better and cross my arms, eyeing him with suspicion.

“She told me to enjoy the weekend,” I say, wanting him to know he’s caught. His expression doesn’t seem all that worried, though, and he moves closer to me.

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