Page 36 of Ruthless Financier
I backed up to head to the living room and said, “I’ll give you a minute.”
She reached out and took my hands, sending a sweet zap through me. Somehow, my life was better these days, and her touch only made my heart beat in a better way. She quickly said, “Don’t. Stay with me.”
I nodded. She answered the call and put it on speaker phone as she said, “Ridley, what’s going on?”
“Chloe and Bernie died in a car crash last night.”
“That’s awful!” she said, and her face went white.
Were they discussing family? Did Indigo need to stay? How did this affect my plan? And how could I help? These questions flew out of my head fast.
“I’m in shock,” her sister blurted out. “They have no family and I’m worried about their daughter, Chelsea. She’ll have no one.”
So they weren’t family. I swallowed. I’d still help if I could. I remember being sent to live with my biological father like it was yesterday. The social workers practically dragged me into that house.
I took my phone out of my pocket and went through my digital cards for names, as Indigo asked quickly, “What do you want to do?”
“Find out what it takes to bring her here. Chloe made me promise to take my godmother role seriously if something happened. Now I’m a wreck and have no idea what to do.”
Done. I airdropped her the business card and texted my lawyer to fill him in. Then I said, not caring if Ridley heard me, “Have your sister call Frank with all the info. He can help her.”
Indigo received the file and, with a click, forwarded the number and email to Ridley. She said, “Jacob said to call Frank, his lawyer, and give him all the information you have. He’ll help you.”
A moment later we heard a beep over the line like she’d received the contact, and her sister said, “I got the text. Thanks.”
A child should be with people who will care.
Indigo let out a soft sigh and said, “No problem. Look, we have to go to Florida today.”
Indigo’s face was red and I wondered if she’d want to join Ridley. I’d figure out my own path next. My mother would have rushed to her friend’s side. For now, I hugged her, and Ridley said, “Have a fun honeymoon.”
She turned her phone off like she was done but I raised my eyebrow as I asked, “Do you want to go be with her? You and your family are close.”
“No. Ridley will handle it. She and Chloe were close, like Jasmine and I are. Chloe was like family for a while. If I could have done anything to prevent the car accident, I would have, but …” She took a breath and headed into her closet.
When she came out, she was holding light blue Bermuda shorts and a clean white t-shirt that said “Vera Wang” on the front. She said, “But our relationship is business, and I made a promise to you. Thanks for giving her Frank’s card, though.”
Right. She wasn’t in love with me and I wasn’t with her. I caught her arm as she hung her stuff on the bathroom hook and said, “I’m sorry about Ridley’s friends.”
She turned and wrapped her arms around my neck. “Georgie was the one she probably spent hours crying with, before calling me to find out what to do. And you don’t have a time machine to stop tragedy. None of us do, but we do have a job to do.”
Her face flushed red and I reached out to caress her cheek as I said, “That means you don’t get to cry.”
She trembled in my arms, “I never cry. Not even at my parents’ funerals. I tried, but I couldn’t.”
The last time I’d cried was when my mom died. Indigo’s goodness shone in her quiet strength. I let her go and leaned against the door and wondered why she grew so quiet. “It must have hit you later.”
She let out a soft sigh like I didn’t understand her and shook her head. “No. I was told it would hit me hard later. I booked myself into therapy and the therapist said I was a hard case. But no … I’ve been numb for years.”
Or she had just bottled everything up. I know I did. I took every pretend moment of family bliss my father staged, each one like a dagger he pierced into my soul, and used it to make me stronger. I pressed my lips together and refused to give him another thought as I asked, “Did you find another one?”
“Another what?”
“Therapist.”
She wrinkled her nose and three cute little lines appeared on the sides. “No. Therapy took my time away from other matters.”
“When my mom died, I was torn up.”
