Page 32 of Deny Me
“Like?”
“Large financial deposits around the time of their child’s birth.”
“How are you going to find out something like that?”
King’s mouth quirked at the high, surprised tone of her words, but he didn’t respond.You don’t want to know, that’s what he was telling her.
All right, she didn’t want to know. Instead she got to work.
Chapter Fifteen
“All right.” Charlotte picked up the list of names from where it sat next to the small stack of files she’d weeded out. “Here is the list of adoptions that were canceled in the past five years.”
King had barely taken his eyes off her since the moment he sat in the chair directly in front of her desk. Which meant not squirming had taken all her self-control. Looking at him now, she kept her focus on the smooth curve of his lips, though they were only slightly less distracting than those eyes.
King held his hand out. Instinct had her pulling the paper closer. “I can’t give this to you, King.”
“Why not? They didn’t go through with their adoptions.”
“That doesn’t matter. Until Wes goes through the legalities with me, I can’t hand over any of our clients’ names.”
His lips tightened as he considered her words. Then, “We need to contact them.”
“If anyone needs to contact them, then it’ll be me.”
King leaned forward, settling his elbows on his knees. “And what are you going to say?”
Good question. She certainly couldn’t ask each woman outright if they’d taken money for their babies. Narrowing her eyes on the opposite wall, she tipped back in her office chair and considered options until a lightbulb went off in her head. Then she leaned forward and picked up the phone.
“Charlotte—”
Jesus.Of all the things she wished he wouldn’t do, saying her name was at the top of her list. It made her lower belly tighten in a way she’d never experienced with any other man, certainly not just from her name on their lips. She pushed the thought away and leveled a stern look his way. “I’ve got this.”
She started with the earliest case on the list, Andrea Perez. The woman would be twenty-three now, but at the time the eighteen-year-old had been a freshman college student desperate for help. Charlotte tapped in her number and waited for someone to pick up.
“Andrea? This is Charlotte Alexander from Creating Families. How are you?”
The sound of a toddler squealing in the background almost covered Andrea’s surprised greeting.
“So why I’m calling…” Charlotte paused. So much was riding on these conversations, much more than just words. What if she missed the clues she needed to protect all her clients, not just Becky?
She met King’s narrowed gaze across the desk and pushed her doubts aside. There was nothing for it but to try.
“CF is creating a division to support moms who choose to keep their children instead of adopt. We’re wondering if some of our past clients who chose that route would be willing to speak to us about their experiences and needs during that time, maybe suggest ways we could support single moms that are unique to their situation.”
Andrea immediately agreed, even sharing how she’d gone on to have her second child after meeting her now husband and her little boy had gotten a bit older. Charlotte hung up twenty minutes later feeling happy that Andrea was safe and sound, and yet also frustrated.
“Good idea,” King said when she clicked off the call.
She pushed every ounce of frustration into a scowl. “I have them occasionally, you know. And it’s not a lie,” she added, more defensive than she would’ve liked. Lying never sat well with her, and she certainly couldn’t lie over and over, to clients she’d helped take care of for months of their and their babies’ lives. “CF is planning an expansion, and we definitely need to know ways to care for each client, no matter their circumstances.”
King’s eyes softened on her. “You’ve built something good here, Charlotte.”
“I’ve tried,” she said, then picked up the phone and moved to the next name.
Not everyone was home, so Charlotte left messages and moved on. One woman, Lauren, who would have given birth three years ago, heard Charlotte’s name and slammed the phone down. When Charlotte called back, she got no answer. She added Lauren’s name, along with a couple others with the same response, to a “maybe” list to check out more thoroughly.
By the time she hit the previous year’s names, she was up and pacing the limited space behind her desk. King watched her carefully, no doubt gleaning his own conclusions from what he could hear of her conversations. Saint had returned from his tour and took up position at the window of her office, a laptop in front of him, fingers flying at the speed of light. She didn’t ask what he was doing.
