Page 61 of Flame
I laugh softly. “I don’t know.”
“I don’t even know what day it is, honestly.”
“Well, since you didn’t know I was in Florida, I have some other news you probably don’t know and probably aren’t expecting.”
“What’s going on?”
I get up, too amped to sit. “I came down here with Jason yesterday and wound up staying. He got the call about Dad showing up at Brewer Air and decided to keep me removed from circulation until Landry Security could determine if there was a true threat.”
“That’s a good call, I think. But I wish someone would’ve told me this. I know you’re all adults now, but I do like to be in the loop, you know.”
“I know. But it was truly a game-time decision.”
I look out the window and watch a man and a woman wash a Jeep. I wonder which one of Foxx’s brothers it is and what he’s like.Is he anything like Foxx? Is he a chicken walker like Jess? Is he kind like their father?The thought makes me smile.There’s so much to learn about this family.
“Where are you staying?” she asks.
My smile widens. “With Foxx Carmichael.”
“Ooh…”
I laugh. “What kind ofoohis that?”
“Exactly the kind ofoohyou think it is.” She laughs, too. “How isthatgoing?”
“Well …” My laughter shifts. “I have something to tell you.”
“Okay.”
I take a deep breath and brace myself against the windowsill. “Foxx and I are getting married.”
The line is silent.
“The official line is that we’ve been having a secret relationship for a couple of years and decided to get married soon. Like, we’re probably getting married tomorrow kind of soon.”
“You’re getting married tomorrow, and you’re just now telling me?Bianca.”
“Hang on. Don’t get all crazy on me.”
“Oh, child. You haven’t seen anything yet.”
I chuckle. “The real reason we’re getting married is because Jason and Gannon found a loophole in the Brewer Sports amendment. I’m assuming they told you about it.”
“They did. I almost hunted your father down myself and held him to task.” She scoffs. “I’d like to say that this is the most surprising thing he’s done, but I’m afraid it would be setting the table for him to one-up it again.”
Sexual misconduct. Threatening his son’s girlfriend. Selling Brewer Trade for well below value. Firing our chief financial officer for no cause—nolegal cause. Purchasing a professional baseball team, the Tennessee Arrows, on a whim.
Well, maybe not on a whim. Maybe to benefit the Downings.But why?
“It does feel like that’s how it’s been working,” I say.
“Your brothers only told me they resolved it, but not how. I was in the middle of a meeting about the Arrows baseball team—I’m struggling to find a GM—so I took them at their word. But what does a loophole and you getting married have to do with each other?”
“Well, if I don’t get married before my birthday, then our only option is to fight it out in court. We may be able to do that, but not without a fortune spent—both monetarily, time-wise, and emotionally. And none of us love that option.”
“No, we don’t.”
I pace the room. “Alternatively, if I get married before my birthday, the amendment is void. Even if we shift the trust to a new document—which we’re doing, as you know—the Downings could have a legal leg to stand on. But if I’m Mrs. Carmichael, it voids the entire thing.”
