Page 28 of Bossy Trouble

I shook my head. I didn’t want to owe anyone any more favors. “I insist.”

The lawyer smiled wryly at me. “You cannot afford me, my dear. Luckily, he can. So just let him handle this, alright?”

Well, when you put it like that…At this point, I had no choice but to swallow my pride and nod.

“And Donovan signed it?” Garrett still sounded doubtful.

“Yes,” I said. “I confirmed it was his signature before I started working for him. I have our discussion recorded too. That way, if anything goes wrong, I can sue him.”

“You think you’ll win?”

No. The truth was that men like Donovan were above the law most of the time and knew more about getting out of trouble than I could even imagine. But I didn’t want to worry my brother.

“I’m fairly confident,” I said. “And if he beats me again. Then…oh well. I guess I lost. I’ll let it go then.”

Garrett was silent for some time. Then, his voice sounded heavy when he said, “I’m so sorry about all this, Georgie.”

“It’s okay,” I murmured. “It’s not your fault. It’s mine.”

But I’m going to make it better. All the frustration was going to be worth it in the end because I was going to find out information that would destroy Donovan Dresden once and for all.

When I got home, Avery flew into my arms instantly, crying about how much she missed me and how mean I was for leaving in the morning without saying anything to her.

“I’m sorry, Avery,” I said, hoisting her up onto my waist. She buried her wet face in my neck, and I patted her back, her scent soothing my spirits once more.

“Don’t leave me, Mommy!’ she said. “Don’t leave me again! I’ll be good, I promise.”

“Oh, Ave.” Her sobbing was breaking my heart. Another thing I could thank Donovan for. “I promise you’re good, honey. So good. You’re the best. It’s just that I have to go to work so I cangiveyou the best, give you all the nice things that you want.”

“I don’t care about nice things,” she cried. “I just want you.”

God, was there a sweeter little girl in the world? How was I going to bear to leave her tomorrow, much less every weekday for at least a few months?

I didn’t respond except to whisper more assurances into her ear. I held her to me, bouncing her slightly in my arms until her sobbing gradually subsided, and her body went limp in my arms. After about ten minutes, she released her first snore. I carried her up to her bed, then went into the kitchen, where Macy was washing some dishes.

“Oh, Mace, thank you so much. You’ve been a godsend.” I tried to take over the washing from her, but she shook her head, waving me away with a smile.

“Don’t be too complimentary now,” she said. “I’m not sure I’m going to be able to keep up with this.”

“You need to,” I pleaded. “I’ll get down on my knees and beg if I have to. Please, Macy, I really can’t do this without you.

She sighed. “It’s just…with the time and everything, and I also have to work. Sure, I work from home, but still, it’s sometimes distracting having a five-year-old around, especially one as clever as the one you have there. And I don’t know why you’re working with that bastard who stole from you anyway.”

“I need to,” I said with a sigh. “Trust me, Macy. Please.’

The emotion in her eyes resembled pity. Macy knew about my entire history with Donovan, and she likely thought that I was still hung up on him after everything, which was why I wanted to work for him. I couldn’t even blame her for the thought. It was exactly the sort of sappy lovesick thing I would have done in the past.

“I hope you know what you’re doing,” Macy finally said.

I sighed again. “I hope so too.”

She finally let me help her with the dishes, and after they were done, Macy said her goodbyes. I quickly downed the leftover pasta Macy had made before finally heading to the couch to sit and take a deep breath.

I’d just put on a sitcom to soothe my mind and soul when there was a knock on the door.

I sighed, wondering if the universe was determined to ruin my night as well.

Did Macy leave her key?I wondered as I walked to the door, too tired to even look through the peephole.

---