Chapter Twenty-Seven
Jackson
Seeing Emily so upset really affected me in a way I didn’t think it would or could. When she stepped into my office and I saw the tears running down her face, I froze, fearing that something bad had happened to her. This was the first time since I’d known her that I saw her that way. She crumbled before me, and my first instinct was to put her back together. I wanted to be with her tonight despite having other plans. Her encounter with Gregory wasn’t something she would forget about anytime soon, and I didn’t want her to be alone.
After wrapping up at the office, I picked up some Chinese food and went over to Emily’s apartment. When I arrived, she answered the door and waved me in while on the phone. I walked to the kitchen, set down the plastic bag with the food on the counter, reached into the cabinet, and took down two plates.
“Sorry,” she spoke as she set her phone on the counter.
“That’s okay. It sounded important.”
Taking the food from the bag, she brought it over to the table.
“I was speaking to Crystal, my mom’s best friend since high school. If anyone would know about Gregory, she would.”
“What did she say?” I asked as I took a seat.
“She’s planning on coming here next week, and we’ll talk then. I got the impression she was shocked by my phone call, and I could tell she knew something.”
“Maybe you should meet with Gregory before her so you can find out if their stories are the same.”
“Do you think?”
“I do. If you want answers now, I think that would be the best thing to do.”
“I don’t know, Jackson. I’m kind of scared to find out if my mother was lying to me all these years.”
“I know you are, sweetheart, but you can’t just ignore it. You’ll spend the rest of your life wondering. It will follow you unless you find out the truth.”
“Did you just call me ‘sweetheart’?” She smirked.
“I did, and you know why?”
“Why?”
“Because you have a sweet heart.”
She laughed as she took a bite of her chicken. The truth was that it just slipped out involuntarily. I sighed as I finished my dinner.
I arrivedhome from the office the next day and found Jules sitting at the island eating a plate of food that Terrance had made.
“Hey,” I spoke as I kissed her cheek.
“Hi.” She smiled.
“On break?” I asked.
“Yeah. For the next couple of hours. I’m pulling a double shift. Mom called me today. She said she tried to call you, but you didn’t answer.”
“I’ve been in meetings all day. I was going to call her later. What’s up?”
“She wants to have dinner with the two of us tomorrow night.”
“I’m supposed to see Emily tomorrow night.”
“It’s the only night I have off this week. I think she may have some news for us.”
“Divorce news?” My brow arched.