I read through the letter again but this time all three pages. It’s rubbish.
Mikey’s parents were not only clients of mine but some of my very best friends. When they died in a tragic skiing accident I adopted Mikey, not only because I was his godfather but because it was the right thing to do. His parents had helped me get going when I first started out and had no clients. They referred friends to me who referred actors and politicians and before I knew it I had more business than I could ever handle.
I loved his parents and I never hesitated to make Mikey my son after tragedy struck.
But apparently Mikey’s parents made a will at one time or another. A will that doesn’t mention my name. I’m guessing it’s old, probably made on or around the time they were married, but the letter doesn’t state a date. It just states that I’m not in it and his family is. The grandparents think it’s their right to raise their own grandson.
I’m not sure about whose “right” it is but I know what is right. What is right is for Mikey to stay with me. His grandparents are nearly eighty years old and have no immediate family down the line with his parent’s passing. I certainly don’t question their love for their grandchild, one who I’m not even sure they’ve ever seen face to face, but I question the logic of them raising Mikey versus me doing the job.
I’m more cut out for it especially since Mary came into my life.
I go to put the pages back inside the envelope and when I do I see some more documents that got wedged against the side of the envelope. I missed them on the first pass.
“What in the world is this?”
What they are are pictures of me and Mary. They appear to be surveillance pictures taken by a private eye. Why in the world?
Then I see exactly why. They think we’re out messing around living it up and not paying attention to Mikey. Why in the world would they even think such a thing? And who isn’t allowed to go out for a nice night out once in awhile? Especially considering my sister was watching Mikey and she can always get through to me.
And there’s another note. I read it quickly and then feel completely disgusted.
I see what this is. They don’t like Mary. They don’t come out and say it but they mention her as “the woman in the enclosed photographs” on multiple occasions. And their mentions are not kind.
What do they have against her? They don’t even know her. They don’t even know me for that matter.
I shake off the strange grudge they’re holding against the both of us and immediately consider what I have in my arsenal to fight back.
I was the one who set up Mikey’s 529 college savings plan. I’m the administrator and the trustee, specifically named so by his parents. But that doesn’t necessarily mean they wanted me to become his father in the event of an emergency. It’s better than nothing though and does show a pattern of trust and guardianship, just like me being Mikey’s godfather does.
But the court may not see it that way. A good lawyer can swing the case either way, but the key is in this part of Colorado there’s a lot of money floating around. Even though I’ve got literally a billion dollars and cash and real estate it may not be enough. Mikey’s grandparents will have a similar level of wealth and a good attorney can easily spin the case due to the family connection. Juries often go for blood relatives over those who aren’t, no matter how high the argument is stacked against the family and for the friend. And that’s how they’ll try and paint it. I’m just a “friend” who is getting older and saw it as a good chance to finally be a dad. They’ll probably say Mary and I both schemed and connived and came up with it. Instant family they’ll say. I hate that I can think of these things so quickly, but it’s my job. When I structure wealth management portfolios I always have to take into consideration inheritances and courts. It’s just that this time I never thought I’d be the one who could be facing them down.
But this would never go to jury. It’s highly unlikely. They’ll use their influence to finagle child services to take Mikey from me. At least that’s an angle they could use. I need to think of something quick, and not just for me, but for Mikey.
It’s not in his best interests to bond with one family and then get pulled away. I see the way he cuddles up to Mary’s chest and I know how he feels when he lies on mine. How I can feel his little heart beating against my chest and realize just how tiny he really is.
Mikey knows when he’s on my chest he’s safe and I’m going to make sure it stays that way.
He may not be able to walk and talk yet, but he feels. And the power of human touch especially at this age goes a tremendous way into shaping a child. Children that are held and loved develop much better than those that don’t. I’ve seen the studies, not that I needed to be show.
I love my little guy and I’d have him in my arms all day long if I could. Except of course those times when they’re occupied by Mary that is.
My phone lights up and I see that it’s Mary calling. I take a big breath and blow it out before answering. I want to sound positive and upbeat. I’ll figure this out on my own without troubling her.
“Hello beautiful,” I say.
“Cash, what is this? What are they doing?”
“What’s wrong, baby? What are you talking about?”
“I just received a package at your house. It was addressed in my name and everything so I went ahead and opened it.”
Oh no they didn’t.
“It says…It says I’m a terrible person and I shouldn’t be around Mikey anymore.”
“I’m coming home right now. Don’t go anywhere,” I say. “Actually, stay on the line with me.”
I jump up from my desk and bolt toward the door.
I give Bunny the hand signal that I’m done for the day. Business can wait.
I’ve got to set things straight with the people who really matter most to me.
CHAPTER 11
Cash
I burst through the door and find Mary on the sofa crying.
There’s an open envelope on the table in front of her. I already know what’s inside.
I run to the couch and sit down next to her putting my arms around her.
“Don’t worry. Everything’s going to be okay.”
“It’s not. They’re so…mad at me,” she says.
“They’re not mad at you. They just don’t know how to process everything that’s happening and they’re taking it out on us.”
“They’re taking it out on me!”
“I got the same kind of letter.”
“You’re just saying that to make me feel better.”
“I do want you to feel better, but you know I wouldn’t do that. I’ll always tell you the truth.”
She stops sobbing momentarily. “You’re right. I’m sorry. It’s just that I’m so hurt right now.”
“I’m hurt too, but remember this isn’t about us. This is about them. We just happen to be the unlucky ones on the receiving end of it.”
She throws her arms around me and I can feel her chest heaving against mine and her back moving against my hands. I hate that this is happening. I don’t like seeing her sad, and especially not sad like this.
But now the real work starts. I need to come up with a plan so we don’t lose Mikey. This isn’t right for any of us.
About a half an hour goes by and everything seems to be calming down a bit. I go for a run to get the blood flowing so I can get to work on solving this problem.
When I’m back I jump in the shower. I tell Mary I’ll only be three minutes tops and then we can go out for a dinner together.
When I get back out of the shower she’s nowhere to be found.
But what I do find is a new note in place of where the old note was. But this time it’s not a FedEx. It’s a handwritten note and the kind I never wanted to get.
Dear Cash,
I’m sorry for all the trouble I’ve caused. It was never my intention.
I want to be with you so bad, but I don’t want my presence to
be a problem in your life like it is now.
It hurts me so much to say this but I have to go. I can’t do this knowing the trouble I’m causing.
Mary
P.S. I waited to leave until I heard the bathroom door close letting me know you were finished. I’d never leave Mikey alone.
I run to the door and see her car pulling out of my driveway.
“Mary!” I yell, but all I see is the back of her driving off into the distance.
I want to go after her but I know it’s not the right thing to do. She’s emotional right now and I don’t want that to spill over onto the roadways. Let her get home safely and things cool down a bit and then I’ll approach. It pains me to think this way but I know it’s best for her safety. I’m not about to chase after her and cause her to speed or run a red light or something to get away from me and then have an even more tragic situation on my hands.
It hurts me to think this way, but it’s the way it has to be right now.
I go check on Mikey who’s still sound asleep.
Even when times are tough she still thinks of him first. Not that I need a reminder, but that’s the kind of woman I need in my life.
I go downstairs and find the letter Mary received in the bottom of the trashcan.
I read it and become immediately furious. They don’t know who “this girl” is who’s raising their grandchild. They say how it’s disgusting that she’s pulling some Ben Affleck or Jude Law rubbish, or course referring to two men who slept with their nannies. How deep has their “investigation” on the two of us gone?
And don’t they know I have a moral code I expect my clients to uphold. A moral code they must live by in addition to myself. I dismiss multiple clients every year simply on the condition of infidelity or other matters. I don’t play around when it comes to character flaws. Where there’s a crack there’s soon to be a break. And those kinds of character flaws aren’t cracks, they’re the breaks that let the entire lake through the dam.
I won’t tolerate nonsense when it comes to my clients and I won’t tolerate it when it comes to my own life. And I especially won’t tolerate someone calling me or those important to me out on it, especially when it’s not even true.
Yeah, we have something between us but it’s far more than a “tryst” as they refer to it. What we have is very, very real.
And I’m going to show them, and the world, just how real this is going to get.
CHAPTER 12
Mary
After helping my parents with their physical therapy I go up to my room for bed.
Today has been a nightmare and I just want it to end.
I turned my phone off earlier, knowing Cash would probably try and call. I can’t take his calls right now. I know how good of a speaker he is and how good it will feel talking to him.
I can’t have that temptation. If I hear his voice I’ll want to go back. I’ll need to go back. To run to him.
But I just can’t. I can’t be the reason why he’s in the trouble he’s in. I can’t be the reason why he loses Mikey, even if it means I have to lose Cash…for now.
But one day we’ll be together again. One day I hope.
I think back to my resume knowing I forgot to change the address when I submitted it to him. He knows I live in the area, but the resume is the one I put together in college so it still had my out-of-state address.
He doesn’t know my home address and my parents have kept our phone unlisted and our home registered in an LLC for years. I’m not sure he’ll be able to find me, although I wouldn’t put it past him with all the resources he has at his disposal.
But I just hate that things are this way. Why should I have to run from the man I want to be with most? Why is the world so hateful sometimes?
And why me? Everything was going so perfectly with Mikey. I hate to think about it now, but I was starting to feel like…his mother.
It’s crazy I know, especially in such a short time period, but it’s true. There’s just something about the bond we formed when he’d lie on my chest or when I’d feed him or even change him. He was totally dependent on me for his survival and I loved the idea that I was the one who could take care of the little guy. My perfect little guy.
But only mine in the sense of being his nanny. It wasn’t real and it wasn’t going to ever be real as I was so rudely reminded.
Maybe it’s better this way. My head was so far up in the clouds it wasn’t ever going to come down.
But oh how it’s crashed now.
I get up from my bed and login to my job searching sites. The top field is the entry for the city to select.
I don’t want to do this. Not at all.
I stare at it for over a minute realizing this signifies taking the action that I don’t want to take.
Finally I feel the keys depress under my fingertips as I type New York.
I have to go. As much as it hurts right now it’s what’s best for everyone.
Now just to find a job that will pay my bills and take it. Anything. Just to get out of here and away from the trouble I’ve caused.
CHAPTER 13
Cash
It’s past three in the morning. Not only hasn’t Mary returned my calls but they’re going straight to voicemail. That and my messages aren’t even being delivered. She has her phone off. It’s obvious.
I know she lives nearby and I can track her down, but not at this hour.
This is time I can allocate to fixing the problem that started all of this.
I dig through all the files I have on Mikey’s parents. I’ve got to build a case that shows they would have wanted me, and not a blood relative, to have Mikey.
It’s not going to be easy, but things worth doing and worth pursuing often aren’t.
And that’s the only chance I have at getting Mary back too. As long as she knows that Mikey isn’t with me she’s going to feel responsible. It’s like a visual reminder, or visual lack thereof, of what she thinks is the result of her presence. But if I can keep Mikey then his presence will be the visual proof that makes her feel better and lets her know everything is okay.
Just thinking about all this has my head spinning at such an hour.
But it’s not because of that. My head is pounding because I can’t stop thinking about her. About how great what we have is. And I say what we have because we still have it.
She can run but she can’t hide. Not from me. She’s mine and she’ll always be mine.
I knew it when I first met her but after that first night together in that incredible hotel in Aspen it became official. And I didn’t need a five star hotel to make the night special. What made that night was her. And not just the time we spent alone in the suit, but every minute. From just enjoying each other’s company at dinner and then the hot tub, but that doesn’t matter. We can have fun together anywhere.
And soon that anywhere will be here again. Back in my home where she belongs. And one day it won’t just be my home. It will be our home.
And that’s why I have to keep digging. To keep pushing into the night, or should I say morning now.
I walk over to the window and look out. People that visit my home always tell me I have the most beautiful view. I used to agree with them, but now without her by my side I totally disagree.
The sight of her is the only view I’ll ever need.
Panoramic landscapes of nature? Wonderful.
Wild animals passing through the valley. Breathtaking.
People skiing on snow-covered mountains in the winter months? Picturesque.
But it means nothing without her here by my side to see it all with.
I check on Mikey and find him sound asleep.
“Don’t you worry, buddy,” I whisper to him. “We’re gonna get her back. Not just for you, but for me too.”
CHAPTER 14
Mary
I come downstairs but it’s not for breakfast.
“Where are you off to?” my mom asks.
“I got
a job interview in New York.”
“New York! When did that happen?”
“Last night,” I say.
“What in the world? How can you get a job in the middle of the night?”
“It’s not a corporate position so it wasn’t as difficult as I thought.”
“Oh, Mary. What kind of job are we talking about?”
Billionaire's Nanny: An Older Man Younger Woman Romance (A Man Who Knows What He Wants Book 47) Page 5
