Page 113 of Just Like That

His dress shirt was rumpled and his expression was well past annoyed.

“This is highly unusual,” he said.

Still, he led the way toward the visitors’ center, presenting his credentials and assuring the receptionist and guard that he was requesting an emergency attorney-client meeting. A few smooth words and placating smiles later, I was led to a room where we waited for my father.

The attorney’s attention was focused on his phone when it rang. “I need to take this. Don’t speak with him until my return.”

I nodded, fully intending to say whatever I needed to, whether or not my father’s attorney was present.

Fuck that guy.

The air in the room was stifling, and the cool metal table in the center of the room suited my grim mood.

When the door opened and my father sauntered in, it took everything inside me to not come unglued.

“JP.” He smiled. “I wasn’t expecting to see you here.”

“Sit down.” My voice was ice, and even the guard’s eyebrow pitched up. He stayed silent as he uncuffed my father and allowed him to sit.

When he moved toward the corner of the room, my eyes sliced in his direction. “Get out.”

My father crossed one leg over another. “Now ... that’s no way to speak to this gentleman.” He gave the officer a kind smile. “Please excuse his appalling behavior. I think we just need a moment to speak in private.”

The officer nodded with a smile and removed himself.

I scoffed. “You say jump and people fall over themselves to askhow high.”

He spread his hands before clasping them in his lap. “It’s a gift.”

This was fucking ridiculous. I wanted to cut the shit and get at the heart of the matter. “I came to you and asked you about Olive Adams.”

Dad rolled his eyes and let out a mocking laugh. “I thought we already dealt with that?” He laughed again and my blood ran hot. “You’re losing your touch, kiddo.”

His patronizing tone grated on my nerves. “The child that Olive had. It’s not mine. We had a test to confirm it.”

He picked at an invisible piece of lint on his pant leg. “I could have told you that. In fact, I’m pretty sure I already did.”

I just stared at him.

Realization dawned on him and helaughed. “It’s not ... mine, is it?”

He laughed again and I was struck mute by blind hatred.

He exhaled with a laugh and wiped a tear from the corner of his eye. “It didn’t take much comfort before that whore spread her legs for me, butdamn.”

His hand moved over his mouth as he tried to wipe the grin from his face, but it clung to the edge of his lips. “I did not see that one coming.”

Red rings of fury seeped into my vision as my voice rose. “How dare you. How dare you call Teddy’s mother a whore. She was a young woman who’d come to you for help. For comfort.”

Unmoved, my father shook his head. “You really are that fucking stupid, aren’t you? She didn’t come to Michigan looking for comfort. She wasn’t even pregnant. She came looking for a payout.”

“A payout?” The pieces were rapidly clicking into place, and I was too stunned to believe it.

My father rolled his eyes as he continued: “She went to the office, looking for you. She had plans to tell you she was pregnant in order for you to give her money for an abortion.”

He scoffed and laughed again to himself. “When I found her at the café, she broke down and admitted everything. She was going to use your reputation against us. Turns out she left with what she came for. Well ... maybe a little more than she bargained for, but it all worked out in the end.”

I felt sick.

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