Total pages in book: 66
Estimated words: 68006 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 340(@200wpm)___ 272(@250wpm)___ 227(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 68006 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 340(@200wpm)___ 272(@250wpm)___ 227(@300wpm)
I’ve seen Reid’s business card, and nowhere does the word Starbucks appear.
“There’s something really fishy about this,” I say. “We’ll look into it.”
Kelly is still gulping back the end of her laughter. “You can bet it’s fishy. Whoever that guy is, Mother, he’s not my father. I mean, maybe you and my father both carry the redhaired gene, but it’s much more likely that my father had red hair.”
“I would never sleep with a redhead,” Racine says.
“Then why do you dye your hair that god-awful color?” Rock asks.
“Rock!” Lacey admonishes.
Rock raises his hands in the air, clearly exasperated. “Well, for God’s sake. This is all just a bunch of ridiculous bullshit. Anyone can see it. Anyone with a nose can sniff it out. Ms. Taylor, if you’re looking for a handout from us, you’re not going to get it.”
“Do I look like I need a handout?” She waves her hand, gesturing to her diamond studded watch. “I’m sure you’ve had me checked out. You know how much money I have.”
Rock scoffs. “You just admitted that you want this man’s billions.”
“Of course I want his billions. He’s Kelly’s father. I raised her alone. I had no financial help at all. He owes me.”
“So he owes you…” I say, “but what about Kelly?”
“Oh, of course.” Racine attempts to save face. “He owes Kelly, too.
“We will check it out, Ms. Taylor,” Reid says, glaring at Rock.
Rock just chuckles and shakes his head.
I rise then. “I’ll see you out.”
“Isn’t that nice of you,” Racine says.
“As long as the two of you remain in here with Kelly and ensure her safety,” I say, glancing at Rock and Reid.
“Absolutely,” Reid says. “You’ve got it.”
Kelly looks at me, and I can’t quite read her expression, but one thing is evident. She’s not pleased.
“I’ll explain later,” I whisper to her and kiss her on the cheek.
Then I escort Racine out of the conference room, down the hall, to the reception area.
“I saw you kiss my daughter,” she says.
“So what?”
“What do you think—”
“Enough,” I interrupt her. “Let’s step outside in the hallway, and you and I will have a little chat.” I lead her through the glass doors and then toward the elevators. “Get real with me now, Racine. None of this is true, is it?”
She blinks. “On the contrary, Leif. It’s all true. The man reached out to me. Surprised me as much as anyone.”
“How did he know you were here in the city?”
“I don’t know.”
“You didn’t ask?”
“I guess I didn’t think to.”
I roll my eyes. “No, all you saw were dollar signs. How much money will be enough for you, Racine? You were paid off five years ago—"
“What are you talking about?”
“Oh, save it. I know you received payments totaling two million dollars starting six months after Kelly was abducted. Did you even know she was abducted? You had no contact with her after you kicked her out of her house, did you?”
“She told you I kicked her out?”
“She did.”
“And you believed her, I suppose.”
“Yes, I believed her. I believe her today. She’s told me some of what you did to her, Racine, but there’s a lot she won’t talk about. A lot she can’t talk about because it’s just too traumatic for her.”
“I’m sorry she feels that way, but don’t you see?” She grabs my arm. “Everything will be okay now. She and I will have all the money in the world.”
“And you don’t think it’s just a little bit odd that Kelly’s father—if he is indeed her father—shows up now, while you happen to be in New York, tells you he’s worth billions, and offers to give it to you?”
“He owes us, Leif.”
I let out a laugh. “A lot of people owe me too, but I don’t see them coming to me and offering me all their money.”
“I don’t know what else you want me to say.”
“I want you to tell me what you’re up to. Your daughter has been through enough. I won’t allow—”
“Excuse me?” She scoffs. “You won’t allow? I happen to be her mother—”
I look her dead in her eyes. “A mother wouldn’t do what you did to her. I don’t care if you gave birth to her. You don’t deserve to be called her mother.”
Racine’s right eye twitches. “Kelly has always been imaginative. She likes to make up stories in her head.”
“I don’t doubt that that’s true. She had a lot of time to think of them while she was locked in the closet.”
Racine raises a hand. “I would never—”
I swat her hand aside. “Save it. We both know you’re lying, Racine. What I didn’t understand is why you’ve come back now. You’re financially secure, you abandoned Kelly long ago, so why would you want to see her now? Then it became clear to me.” I take a step toward her. “The father showed up. The father you wouldn’t talk about when Kelly was little. The father you told me was never in the picture. Something doesn’t add up here, Racine. The father was in the picture. Maybe not during Kelly’s childhood, but I’m betting he came to you sometime after she left home.”