Page 43 of A Little Harmless Pleasure

She pulled the phone out of her pocket and clicked it on.

“I just left yesterday,” she said without greeting him hello.

“Maybe I miss you.”

She snorted and bent to pick up the letters. “Yeah, right. What do you want?”

“Anna wanted me to check and make sure you’re getting settled in.”

She paused in her retrieval of a credit card bill. “What happened?”

“What do you mean?”

“Max, Anna wouldn’t tell you to call, she’d call herself. Something else happened.”

He sighed, the sound of it filled with regret. “Georgia Bureau of Investigation announced that your father is under investigation.”

She sat on the arm of an overstuffed sofa, her mind going blank. When it started working again, she asked, “What for?”

Max didn’t say anything for a second or two. Knowing her father, it could be anything.

“Bribery of a state official. It has something to do with a project for the University of Georgia.”

She closed her eyes as regret and pain lanced through her. Her father was a horrible parent, but she didn’t want something like this to happen to him. “Seriously, Max, do you think they have anything?”

Again, he paused, and worry morphed into panic. “You know your father.”

“Yeah, so it’s a definite possibility.” She tossed the envelopes onto the coffee table and rubbed her temple, trying to ease away the headache threatening to explode. “Do you think this is why he was trying to steal my money?”

Maybe he had been worried about his defense, of going to jail. It was almost understandable in a sick kind of way. Of course, Max broke through those illusions.

“No. I have a feeling your father had no idea this was coming. The investigation has been kept under wraps. Stealing your money was just more convenient than having to live up to the fact that he is, or pretty close to, bankrupt.” When she didn’t say anything, he continued. “Your father has some heavy mortgages on almost all his properties.”

“I know.” She hated the way her voice sounded, like a little girl unsure of what to do. She hated that her damn family was ruining her first full day in Hawaii. Truly, it was petty of her to think of herself considering what the rest of the family was going through, but, dammit, she hadn’t been the one who bribed an official.

“I don’t want you feeling guilty about this.”

She smiled. “How did you know?”

“I heard it in your voice, and I know you well enough to know you would. You have no reason to feel that way. Your father has been getting away with a lot for a long time. And you willnotsend him money.”

She ignored the last comment completely. “If you don’t want me to feel guilty, why did you call to tell me?”

“I figured you would find out soon enough, and I wanted you to hear it from a friend.”

Her heart warmed. It had been a long few months since their breakup, as she faced the disapproval of her family and pity from her acquaintances, but she had gotten two very precious friends out of the bargain. In her mind, it had made it worth it.

“Thanks, Max.”

He cleared his throat the way he always did when he was embarrassed. “So, how is everything there? Have you been out yet?”

Cynthia chuckled, knowing exactly what Max was asking. “Everything is fine. I just got in from the post office. I stopped there after seeing Chris.”

“So, you went out to see him this morning?”

She laughed at that. “You don’t play subtle when you act like my big brother.”

“Cynthia…”

---