Page 62 of Gross Misconduct

“Always.”

“Report the piece of shit. This is going to escalate.”

I covered my face with my hands and groaned. “Then he goes to the press.”

“Let him. He’ll look like a disgruntled ex-employee with an ax to grind. I know you can spin this to make him look like the garbage human being that he is.”

“But I’m also dating Jeremy. No, I’mengagedto him! That’s not in doubt. It will look bad.”

“Who cares? Like every other stink, this will pass too.”

“Or I wait this out to see what he wants next. I don’t think I need to act quickly unless I have to. My gut is telling me to report him, but I need more time to think about it.”

Tangi reached out and squeezed my hand. “Take the time. There is no deadline. The last thing you want is to rush in and be unprepared. Now, I have a feeling there is something else you want to talk about. Does it have to do with Jeremy?”

“No. You’ll never guess who it has to do with. My father called today, totally out of the blue.”

Tangi’s hazel eyes grew wide. “Your dad? What did he say and want?”

“I didn’t talk to him. He called while I was in my meeting with Mark. I don’t know if I should call him back,” I said, sipping my wine. Good thing I wasn’t driving, because I was already pouring my second glass.

“What do you think he wants?”

“No idea. He’s never come around asking for money, not that we had any to give him. But maybe he heard about Jeremy,and he thinks it’s a payday for providing some sperm three decades ago.”

“What is your gut telling you do to?” she asked, clearing away our dinner plates.

“I’m definitely curious. A huge part of me wants to call him, but what if it’s a Pandora’s box?”

“I know I’d call him only because the curiosity would get the better of me. But that’s me.”

“I want to go back on holidays.”

After my third glass of wine, I was feeling a bit tipsy, but still had my wits about me. I was getting sleepy, though, and I had work in the morning. Tangi plied me with two full glasses of water before I left to ward off a hangover, and by the time I got to the condo, the water had gone through me, and I raced for the bathroom. Once I’d solved that problem, I stared at Chloe. She was staring back at me.

“Do I call him?”

She didn’t answer.

Maybe it was the wine, but I found myself fishing out the number Oliver had given me. Without thinking, I called Bill Rebchuk. It didn’t occur to me that it was after ten back in Minnesota, not overly late, but he didn’t answer. I got his voicemail and should have hung up, but I left a message instead. No turning back now.

I didn’t expect him to call me back that night, so I leaned back on the sofa and closed my eyes. The day had been so awful, and I just needed some rest. I must have fallen asleep because the next thing I knew, Jeremy was coming through the door, and Chloe had gone to greet him. I rubbed at my tired eyes and asked how the game went.

“We lost.”

Right. Icing on the cake. And hopefully the third bad thing to happen. “Damn,” was all I could muster for a reply.

“How was your day?” he asked, kissing me on the forehead.

He probably didn’t want to know, but I told him all about Mark. I’d never seen him so angry, and like Tangi, he wanted me to report Mark. And just like with Tangi, I told him I needed time to think about it. I couldn’t make decisions when I was angry.

“But it gets worse,” I said. “My father called. Out of the blue, the asshole.”

The shock on Jeremy’s face was a bit strange, as if more confused than surprised. “What did he say?” he asked.

“Nothing. I left a message.”

Jeremy sat beside me and took my hand in his rough one. He let out a deep breath. I had no idea what was going on with him. He certainly couldn’t ask me to marry him again.

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