Page 40 of Regards, Mia

“My boyfriend,” I say. The lie rolls off my tongue more easily than I would have thought, and I can imagine myself saying it to my close friends, my family. Would they fall for it?

Elena spares Jay a glance. “He’s cute.”

I laugh under my breath. Calling Jay cute is like calling a grizzly a pet. “Thanks for meeting me.”

Her small shoulders lift in a shrug. Elena is young, only twenty-five. A single mom with a criminal record for petty theft and a GED, she has had a tough road in life. “I don’t see what good it will do.Jeremy!” She yells at a kid on the playground. “Don’t push your brother!”

“I found something I need you to verify.”

Elena shakes her head. “Whatever it is, just forget it. That man will never go to prison. His type doesn’t have to pay.”

My mouth turns down in a grimace as I picture Mattson’ssuperior smile and arrogant gaze. “He isn’t any better than the rest of us. He did the crime, he should pay for it.”

Elena laughs. “You’re naïve as they come, Ms. James.”

I don’t agree with her assessment. “I’m determined to put him away.”

“Some people don’t have to pay.” Her voice is flat, more resigned than outraged. “Some people do. I’m one of those who pays more than her share.”

Anger simmers in my blood. “Not on my watch. I’m going to put him behind bars. All I need for you to do is verify that these were customers at Mattson Payroll Services while you were there.”

“What does that have to do with sexual harassment and rape?” she asks.

“Nothing,” I admit.

Elena shakes her head at me. “This is total bullshit.”

She starts off in the direction of the playground, but I catch her arm, stopping her. “Please. Let me explain.”

Elena gives me a stern look that probably works wonders on her children. “Go ahead, but it better be something better than tax fraud. That’s never gonna work.”

My chest pinches as she easily guesses my intentions. Tax fraud had been my brilliant plan. It doesn’t seem so genius anymore.

“What if you confronted him?” I ask, getting a wild, desperate idea. “What if you met him, somewhere safe, a public place, and got him to admit what he did?”

She looks skeptical. “I don’t know. Would I have to wear a wire?”

I shake my head. “You can use your phone. It only takes consent from one party to record a conversation.”

She bites her lip, deep in thought. “I’ll let you know.”

“So, you’ll think about it?” I sense victory on the horizon.

“We’ll see.” Elena hurries off to the playground, gathering up her children and herding them off toward the swings.

It’s not a promise, but it’s better than what I could have hoped for. I watch Elena wrangle her children, emotions churning in my gut. Envy rears its ugly head before I remind myself how rough she has it and how much better off I am being single, childless, and alone.

“Everything okay?” Jay asks, coming up beside me.

His gaze scans the playground as if looking for a sign of danger.

“That one looks like trouble.” I nod at a boy hanging upside down on the monkey bars.

Jay’s lips twitch in what appears to be a tiny smile. “Not as much as her,” he says, pointing out a little girl with bright red hair poised to push a little boy off the slide.

“Shouldn’t we stop her?”

“She won’t really do it,” he says.

---