Page 49 of Accepted Precedent
Dancing bubbles appear and I squint at my screen, rereading his message while I wait. They disappear and seconds later there’s an incoming call. It’s too fucking early for this bullshit, but I pick up. “Hello?”
“You have ten minutes.”
“Ten minutes for wh?—”
He hangs up, and I’m left wondering if he expects me to be interview-ready or just prepared for his arrival. I sling my legs off the bed and sit up, careful to not wake Evelyn. I reach for her, only to find cold sheets. If she stayed with Mick, wouldn’t she have called or texted? I check my phone and I don’t have any missed messages from either of them, only one from her sister.
Kristin Proctor
I’ll be at your place around 5 a.m. I have something I need to talk to you about, but it needs to be done in person.
The timestamp is from last night, after I left the wedding.
Sorry, I just saw this. Finn should be here in ten minutes about the meeting.
Great, I’ll leave a little early and should be there in twenty minutes.
I check Evie’s location, and it looks like she’s at Mickey’s. I pad off to the bathroom, stretching my arms and shoulders along the way. Once dressed, I make my way to the kitchen and nearly jump out of my damn skin when I find Finn making coffee.
“Good morning, Mr. Adams,” he snickers, clicking the button to start the brew cycle.
“I really need to change my locks.”
“What time will Ms. Proctor be joining us?”
“Probably in about ten minutes.”
He pulls down two more mugs, adding sugar to one. “Perfect. We have more to discuss than your meeting.”
I fucking hate when he’s ominous like this. Pulling creamer from the fridge, I open my voice-note app. “Reminder: ask Evelyn to order more creamer.”We should’ve taken Mickey up on his offer to have someone handle shopping and cooking, but she insisted we could handle it.
“You should order it yourself,” Finn grumbles, removing a pastry from a brown bag on the counter. “After all these years, you still haven’t figured out Evelyn is overqualified to be a housewife.”
“You’re right.”
I lean against the counter and open the delivery app, adding creamer to the shopping cart. There’s a knock at the front door that pulls my attention, followed by Kristin’s voice carrying into the house. “Andrew?”
I stuff my phone back in my pocket and call out, “In the kitchen!”
Finn removes his jacket and drapes it on the back of an island stool, then rolls up the sleeves of his dark green button-down shirt. He takes a seat and opens his laptop, muttering to himself, “This is going to be expensive if it gets out.”
“If what gets out?” I ask, though I don’t know if I want the answer.
His narrowed eyes lock on me. “Your relationship with your wife’s sister.”
“Relationship? I?—”
“Good morning, Mr. Gallagher. Andrew.” While she probably didn’t intend for my name to come out sultry, it still makes my heart stop. “Sorry I’m late.”
“Mornin’.” He finally breaks eye contact with me to tell her, “You’re not late, but we have our work cut out for us once we’re done here.”
“Is this regarding yesterday’s incident?”
“Aye, it’s going to be a rough few weeks. Let’s get started, shall we?”
I pour coffee for all of us while she takes a seat next to Finn. They whisper about something I can’t quite hear, but she glances over her shoulder at me twice, eyes wide. I join them, setting their cups on the table. “What are you two gossiping about?”
“My brother,” Finn replies with a huff as I sit next to Kristin. “He asked me to handle the situation with the Blakes and brief you on what occurred yesterday.” He runs his finger along the rim of the mug and sighs a deep breath. “Christopher Blake wasn’t supposed to marry Jaclyn Taylor. Over the past few months, he’s become a pain in my arse. We decided to no longer back his run for President. If he married Ms. Taylor, he’d be guaranteed the nomination. So, we took matters into our own hands.” He sips his coffee and winces. “Add a coffee grinder and fresh beans to your order. Maybe a Sumatra?” He waits for me to follow his marching orders. “Okay, where was I?”
