Page 14 of The Reality of Us
Teddy stood and pushed Nate aside, grabbing a pizza box from the fridge. “Here’s a novel concept: you don’t have to help everyone.” He pulled out a slice before offering the rest to his brothers. Rafferty helped himself, but Owen and Nate shook their heads.
“Come on.” Owen looked at Rafferty and Nate for support. “It was obvious something wasn’t right there.”
“Exactly, but someone else could’ve stepped in.” Teddy flopped back into his seat, his runners automatically returning to the top of the table. “It didn’t have to be you. Wyatt was keeping an eye on her. You’ve got a saviour complex.”
Owen pushed Teddy’s feet off the table again and moved to refill his water bottle, anything to escape his brother’s smug grin. “It’s called being a decent human being, Ted. Maybe you should look it up. Besides, she’s new in town and …” He paused, and his brothers perked up, waiting expectantly for him to continue. “She’s my client.”
“So?” Teddy asked around a mouthful.
“It’s literally my job to help her.”
Teddy pushed a chunk of hair that had escaped his man bun behind his ear. “It’s your job to get her a divorce, not be her bodyguard. Why’d she marry that idiot, anyway?”
That was the question Owen had been asking himself for the last few days. The background checks he’d run had all come up clear. Alice didn’t seem like the type to idolise a rockstar. He shrugged.
“How’s business going?” Nate pushed his shaggy brown hair away from his face and changed the topic. Owen shot his brother a small smile.
“Slow, but fine.” He pulled his phone out of the front pouch of his hoodie, brushing away the errant fleecy fibres that clung to the back of it. It wasn’t eight yet, but he was suddenly desperate for his own space. He needed to follow up on a few things for Jessica’s case today. A lawyer representing Rob had left a message for him yesterday, which made him think the easy slam dunk case they’d been hoping for wasn’t going to happen. “Speaking of which, I’d better get in the shower.”
He grabbed his suit bag from the hook on the back of the front door. The hot water system at his place was dying a slow death, so he usually showered here after his morning run. “Any luck with your roommate search?” he asked Teddy.
His brother stopped picking pineapple pieces off his slice, looking up as he licked his fingers. “Are you asking as my brother or as my landlord?”
The apartment had been included in the sale of the building, but Owen had never planned to live in it. The temptation to duck downstairs and keep working late into the night would’ve been too great. Instead, he’d chosen the little detached studio that was part of the land he’d purchased on the outskirts of Wattle Junction. Teddy’s offer to move in here had been an ideal solution. And it was, mostly. But with his bills piling up, the extra rent from another tenant would ease some of the pressure.
“Either. Both.” Owen toed off his runners while he waited for a response.
“Seeing as though you keep vetoing my mates and this town is the size of a thimble, I’m a bit stuck. And I don’t want to live with a stranger.”
Owen picked up his black leather toiletries bag. “Keep me posted, okay? The sooner, the better.”
“Like you need the money,” Teddy scoffed as he moved to the futon in the corner and picked up an Xbox controller.
When Owen turned around, he could practically see the wheels turning in Rafferty and Nate’s heads. Between Rafferty’s detective training and Nate’s overflowing bank account, thanks to his years overseas in the NFL, it was obvious what was going to come next.
“Is everything—?” Nate asked.
The idea of his family knowing how much he’d overextended made Owen answer too quickly. “Just seems good business sense to have as much incoming cash as I can while I’m starting out.”
He felt his brothers’ eyes on him until the bathroom door closed.
He could only keep this ruse up for so long.
6
It was always horrible when a client cried. It didn’t matter if they were angry or sad tears, big or small. Thank goodness Eloise had taken Sam for a walk so Owen and Jessica could talk in private. Big, gulping breaths shook her small frame. “I’m sorry. I’m wasting your time.”
“Not at all.” He nudged the tissue box closer to her. “When you’re ready, we can go through the custody split they’ve proposed and the financial implications.”
“But I don’t want Rob to have Sam! I don’t care about the money.” Jessica buried her face in her hands.
Owen picked up his pen, eager to start working on a solution. “I know, but we need to comb through their proposal so we can refute it and argue that our suggestion is what’s best for Sam.”
Jessica sniffed. “I don’t get it. He hasn’t seen Sam for over a year and now he wants fifty-fifty custody? Suddenly he has money to support him? Since when? Why is he doing this?”
“If you were to agree to an equal split—”
Jessica shot to her feet. “I won’t!”
