Page 8 of Hartley

Her long, dark brown hair flowed over her shoulders onto a lilac blouse. “JJ will be right over.”

“Thank you. Hartley, this is my assistant. Carissa, this is one of my uncle’s partners, Hartley.”

We shook. “It’s very nice to meet you,” I told her.

“You as well.” I could see the questions sparkling in her eyes, like she wanted to ask me about Jordan, but didn’t dare do so.

Perry continued forward. “Let’s sit in my office while we wait for JJ.”

The view immediately captivated me. Past the bookshelves lining either side of the room, beyond the large desk, were floor-to-ceiling windows that overlooked this side of the city. I should be used to a view like this living with Jordan, but it was different here.

“Wow,” I said, walking to them. “You have a beautiful view.”

“Thank you. Would you like something to drink?”

“No, I’m good.”

“Have a seat at the table.”

In the corner of the room on the same wall the door was on was a four-person table and chairs. I chose a seat facing the windows so I could still look out of them. Perry joined me, unbuttoning his jacket before sitting. Peyton sat betweenPerry and me, most likely so he could see the door. I’d been around Jordan and his guards long enough to know their mannerisms.

“So,” Perry began, leaning his elbows on the wooden table. “What’s this about?”

4

HARTLEY

I smiled, hoping it would soften my wanting to delay this until JJ got here. Not knowing what Perry and Peyton were, or weren’t, aware of would drive how much I said about Jordan’s past. I wouldn’t break his trust. If they already knew, I wasn’t doing anything wrong. Unless Jordan got pissed at me for involving JJ in this, then I’d deal with the fallout. It was worth it if Jordan let go of the guilt that had resurfaced.

“Can we wait until JJ gets here?” I asked, smile still in place.

“JJ’s here,” Jordan’s son said, walking into the room. He shut the door behind him. He took the remaining empty seat. “What’s going on?”

“Okay, I’m going to begin this by relaying the events that have most recently happened. You all know about Gil, so there’s no need to rehash that nightmare. But what you don’t know is Gil had a sister who died in a car accident. His sister left behind a twelve-year-old daughter.”

“Oh, shit,” JJ gasped.

“Yes, and in Celine’s will, that’s Gil’s sister by the way, she granted Vail custody.”

“Vail has custody of Gil’s niece?” JJ asked, his eyes wide. “Holy fuck. How does he feel about that?”

“He was shocked. Not only about Celine’s death, but about him getting custody of her daughter. Apparently, Celine had Gil in the will until everything happened, and she found out Gil was an asshole who held people hostage and abused Vail. And that he was dead. Celine didn’t know Gil had done so many awful things until he was gone. She went to her attorney and had the will changed to grant custody to Vail.

“Celine must have seen the good in Vail while he was still with Gil. Vail took the time to play with her daughter and be the amazing person he is, even though he was dealing with hell at home. We’ll truly never know what she was thinking, but Vail couldn’t bear the thought of Ava, that’s Celine’s daughter, going to anyone else. Celine chose Vail for a reason, and he’d honor her wishes.”

“Jesus,” Perry muttered and leaned back in his chair. “Are the three of you going to raise her together?”

I narrowed my eyes at him. I didn’t care that I was in his building, in his office. He would not speak ill of one of the men I loved. “Yes, the three of us are.” My tone was hard.

Perry held up his hands. “I didn’t mean it like that.”

I cocked an eyebrow.

“Okay, I kind of did. But you have to understand where I’m coming from. My uncle wasn’t the best father to JJ.”

“Wellll…” JJ said, drawing out the word.

Giving JJ his full attention, Perry asked, “Well?”

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