Page 61 of Roughing the Player
“I’d like visitation rights, Ellie.”
My breath cuts short. “You going to take her to the dog park once a week, too?”
He juts out his jaw. “That’s a cheap shot.”
He’s right. I’m more mature than this. “Yes, it was. Sorry.” I pick at my fingernail polish. “Marty talked to me this morning. A couple of the senior partners were there as well.”
The GPS announces a turn and he pulls the car onto the exit ramp.
“What did they have to say?”
“Basically? Fix this or you’ll get fired.”
“They won’t do that.”
My gaze cuts to his. “Why not? I screwed up. I should have told them about you.” I turn my head to the window so he won’t see the moisture pooling in my eyes.
“If you had, would they have hired you?”
“I’d like to think they would have. But who knows?” I can’t wallow in the what ifs, not when the present demands a solution. “Marty suggested we make a joint statement to the press.”
“All right.”
I retrieve a legal pad from my briefcase to jot down some ideas. For a few minutes, I list the important, salient points. “Okay. Here’s what I have so far. You didn’t know you fathered a child. But now you’re eager to get to know her. You’re paying back child support. Anything else?”
“I think that covers it. For now.”
“What do you mean for now?”
“We’ll have to settle some things between us, Ellie. Legally. I need to confirm I’m her legal father. Which means a blood test. We’ll need to meet with lawyers to draw up visitation rights, custody rights.”
Oh, hell no. “Visitation rights are one thing, but I’m not sharing custody with you.”
“Why not? I am her father.”
“You met Kaylee five minutes ago, and now you want the part of her father?”
“I’ve always wanted a family.”
“Funny way you went about it,” I scoff. “What with your orgy room and all.”
That remark should have silenced him, but it doesn’t faze him one bit. “They weren’t the type of women you have a family with.”
“Did you use condoms with them?”
“Every single time. You were the only one. The only one, Ellie.”
“Am I supposed to believe that?”
“Have I ever been sued for child support?”
“Not to my knowledge.”
“I haven’t. I always used protection.”
Okay, so he always took precautions. But that’s neither here nor there. He’ll have a bigger issue to deal with as far as Kaylee is concerned. “She’ll fight you. Last thing she thinks she needs is a father.”
“Doesn’t matter what she thinks or does. I intend to take responsibility for her. Be reasonable, Ellie. If anything happens to me, I want her to inherit what I have. It’d be a lot easier if she were my legal daughter.”
