by Tia Siren
Her shirt was unbuttoned just enough to tease. It was all very respectable, but all I could think about was me, her, and a desk. It was sexy as hell. I could really get used to having her live under my roof. Maybe we could get to know each other again and develop a friendship. A friendship with benefits if I had my way.
“Janice, what do I need to do to prove to you I am a suitable guardian for my niece?” I asked, expecting her to say nothing. I was the man for the job.
She gave me a look that told me she wasn’t going to fall under my charms. I could usually woo most women. Not this one. This lady was a tough cookie. She was not going to be so easily swayed. Fine by me. I would hire a fleet of lawyers to sway the system. That was what money could do. I had learned that in recent years. I didn’t like the word no, and when I heard it, I threw money at it until it was a yes.
“Mr. Colter, we here at child services don’t live under rocks,” she started, and I knew I was screwed. “Your reputation is quite notorious. I understand you have money. A lot of money doesn’t necessarily make you a good guardian. I’m looking for someone who can not only provide financial stability but a nurturing, loving environment. That is where I find you come up short upon initial checking. I could be wrong, but do not assume I will cave to your demands because you are rich.”
My mouth fell open. I heard Avery snicker and turned to look at her. “I don’t feel that is entirely accurate. Don’t judge me based on what you’ve read in some silly tabloids. That is not a fair assessment of my ability, and I would think, you being a professional and all, you would know better.”
“Sir, I’m not judging you at all. My assessments are based on facts. I follow the facts,” she said. “Money doesn’t mean anything to me. You can’t buy me or the system. This is a process, and I don’t intend to cut corners because of who you are or what you have.”
I could buy anything. The woman had no idea what my money could do. I didn’t see what the problem was. Iris was a very lucky little girl. She’d been born into the right family. There were probably millions of kids who would want to be in her shoes, or booties or whatever it was I was seeing on her feet.
Instead of voicing my opinion, I smiled and nodded my head. I didn’t want to come off as an arrogant prick, even if I had been called exactly that many times in the past.
“Thank you. Will there be anything else?” I asked, hoping I sounded genuine. In the back of my mind, I was already planning my way around the prudish woman.
She shrugged. “No. I’ll be in touch.”
“Actually, I’ll be in touch. I’ll have the documentation you need to prove I’m the right person to raise my niece by Wednesday at the latest.”
She chuckled. “It doesn’t work like that. We do our interviews, home inspections, and present it all to a judge. This matter will go to family court, and I guarantee you it won’t be before Wednesday. In fact, I would be impressed if it happened in the next week.”
I scowled at her. “That seems a little ridiculous. We are talking about a baby here. She can’t sit on a back burner and wait for a bunch of government red tape to be cut through.”
Janice didn’t give two shits about what I thought. That much was obvious. She turned to Avery, dismissing me and my complaints. I did not appreciate being ignored. I wasn’t accustomed to being ignored. I was generally the center of attention.
“Miss Hampstead, I’ve reached out to a couple foster families. I’m waiting to hear back. Depending on how our investigation goes, I need you to be prepared to turn Iris over to a foster family.”
The woman spoke with no feeling at all. She had to be the most callous, no-nonsense woman I had ever met. I hoped she was good at her job because I couldn’t imagine a child having to face her. I assumed she was a bit jaded because she had to see child abuse and neglect on the daily. Hopefully, she was much kinder to the children who were put in her charge.
“Why?” Avery said. “She knows me. I can’t believe you would take a happy baby out of the home she is comfortable in and put her with strangers. That makes no sense.”
“I’ve already explained the situation to you,” Janice said, clearly not affected by Avery’s pleas.
“I’m her godmother. Doesn’t that give me some rights?” Avery asked.
Janice shrugged. “Not really, no. I mean it looks great on paper, and it may foster a bond between godparent and child, but it means nothing in the legal system. It’s more of a spiritual thing or a way for a birth parent to honor a friend or loved one. Being a godparent does not automatically make you the legal guardian of a child.”
“Fine, it isn’t legal, but clearly I’m the one Tracy chose. I am the godparent for a reason,” Avery said.
Avery’s face started to pinken. I knew she was mad and afraid. My heart went out to her. I appreciated how much she was fighting for Iris. If I couldn’t have the baby, I wanted Avery to have her. It was obvious there was a bond and Avery loved the child a great deal. She may not have been able to buy the kid a new pair of shoes or send her to college, but I could see Iris would be cared for.
“Look, I understand both of you want what’s best for the child. That’s a good thing. I appreciate that. However, I have a job to do and all this,” Janice said, waving a hand between us, “this is me letting you know what’s happening. I suggest you each retain a lawyer. This matter will go before a judge. Yes, I will provide a recommendation. Ultimately, this will be decided by a family court. If you have proof or you want other factors to be considered, it needs to be presented to the court.”
Avery sighed. The woman looked defeated. I wanted to win, and I wanted Iris, but I didn’t want to hurt Avery. She had done nothing to me.
“Is that all then?” I asked, anxious to get out of the tiny, messy office.
“Yes, it is. I’ll be in touch. Mr. Colter, will you be in town or going back to California? That is where you reside, is it not?”
“I do live in California. I will see what I can do to stick around. Do I need to? You said I can’t do anything to persuade you,” I pointed out, a little irritated the woman was trying to tell me what I could and couldn’t do.
She shrugged a shoulder. “I guess that’s really up to you. If your business is more important than all this, that’s understandable.”
I shot her a glare. Now the woman was being a bitch. “I didn’t say that. I have a private jet. I can fly back and forth. I expect I would have at least twenty-four-hour notice for any hearings or meetings like this?”
She smiled. “Possibly.”
“Will I be granted some kind of official visitation while we wait for all of this to be decided?” I asked, realizing if I was going to be stuck in Phoenix, I wanted to see Iris.
She grimaced. “You can certainly file the paperwork to get that started.”
The woman loved her paperwork. I looked at Avery and decided she was an easier opponent. If Avery had Iris, I only needed to persuade her to let me see the baby. I didn’t want to have to make everything official. It seemed ridiculous I had to have a court order to see my own niece.
I nodded my head. “I guess I’ll have my lawyers start that paperwork.”
I would not let the woman see how pissed she was making me. I had a feeling this was her way of testing me. She wanted to see me lose my temper and then she could automatically cross my name off the list. Fuck that. I was not going to make it that easy.
“That’s a good idea. It’s better to have everything official.” She closed the manila file that I suspected contained all kinds of secrets about our lives.
I stood and smiled sweetly at her. “Well, if that’s all, I need to make some arrangements. I would love to stay in Phoenix. It’s been a long time since I’ve been home. I’m sure I can work from here.”
Janice nodded her head. “Good.”
“Is that all?” Avery asked in a strained voice. “Can I go?”
“Yes. I’ll be in touch,” Janice reminded her.
Avery stood, took a dee
p breath, and then reached for the car seat. Her hand was shaking. I thought about offering to carry the baby but thought better of it. Instead, I opened the door for Avery, doing my best to appear gentlemanly.
“Have a good day,” I said to Janice before closing the door behind me. It was sarcastic. I didn’t care if Janice knew it or not. She couldn’t hold sarcasm against me.
I watched Avery walk down the hall, her head held high as her heels clacked across the tile floor. I immediately went in the opposite direction, pulling my cell out of my pocket and dialing my assistant.
“Get George to call me right away,” I barked into the phone when Jason, my assistant, answered the phone.
“Can I tell him what it’s about?” Jason asked.
“He doesn’t need to know. I pay him a shit ton of money to answer my call, day or night. It doesn’t matter why I need him. I do.” I needed to hear from my lawyer, not answer a bunch of questions.
“Anything else?”
“No. I’ll be waiting for the call,” I said, hanging up abruptly.
I had too much money to be dealing with this on my own. That was why I had people. My people were supposed to make my life easier by dealing with irritations like Janice. I smiled, thinking of my lawyer, who had probably been a pit bull in a former life. He would tear her and her stupid rules and procedures to shreds.
It was good to be me. Most days anyway. Some days it really sucked—like the days when I realized my entire family was dead and I was truly alone in a very big, cold world. Harsh.
Chapter Seven
Avery
My legs were shaking, which made sense since my hands were as well. I was a mess. I felt weak, as if the weight of the world were on my shoulders and threatening to make me collapse under the pressure. The image of being on a roller coaster that twisted and turned before spinning upside down popped into my head. That was what the past week felt like.
Everything I had been dreading was happening. I didn’t understand why I couldn’t keep Iris. I mean, I did sort of understand their reasons, but it was stupid. I was doing fine taking care of her. Iris would be so loved in my care. I knew I couldn’t buy her the best of everything, but I could take care of her, love her, and in my mind, that was far more important. I would get a job and have a career and all that. It was going to take some time, but I was not the first young, single woman struggling a bit. That didn’t mean I wasn’t going to be a good mom to my goddaughter.
Iris started to cry in the car seat. I needed to get her settled before I put her in the car, so I sat down on a bench outside the building and unfastened the straps to pull her out of the seat. I needed a few minutes to get control of my own wild emotions as well before I got behind the wheel of my car with my precious cargo in the back seat.
“Hi, sweetie. What’s the matter?” I cooed. “Let’s get you some lunch before we get back in the car.”
I reached into the special pocket of the diaper bag and dug out the bottle Sally had prepared for me. I leaned back and cradled Iris as she greedily drank down the formula. I stared at her blue eyes and was hit by an overwhelming sadness. Her sweet, cherub-like face pulled at my heartstrings.
I couldn’t stop it from happening. Tears streamed down my face as I silently cried on the bench in the middle of the day. I had one hand cradling Iris and the other holding the bottle. I couldn’t wipe the tears away, so I let them fall. I could only imagine what people would think as they walked by the woman bawling her eyes out on the bench while holding a baby. I prayed that Janice woman didn’t magically appear out of nowhere and demand I hand over Iris because I was too unstable.
Turns out it wasn’t Janice I needed to worry about.
“Hi,” Jake said, sitting beside me.
I inwardly groaned and looked down at Iris, hoping he wouldn’t see my tears. My mascara was probably making black streaks under my eyes despite the claim that it was waterproof. I didn’t want him to see me broken, and that was exactly what I felt like. I felt broken.
“What do you want?” I managed to choke out.
“Let me take her,” he said and gently reached for the baby.
I held on tight. “I’ve got her. She’s fine.”
“You’re not.”
I relaxed my arms and gave the baby and the bottle to him before reaching into the diaper bag and pulling out one of the diaper wipes. I quickly dabbed at my face, not wanting to completely wipe off my makeup.
“Thanks,” I said.
“Why are you crying?” he asked.
I shook my head slowly, unable to talk around the lump in my throat. I didn’t want to tell him anything, but before I knew it, I was pouring out my soul.
“I can’t believe she’s gone,” I blurted out. “Tracy’s been my best friend for so long. I don’t know how I’ll live without being able to call her and talk to her. She was so kind. She always knew exactly what to say. And Iris. I’m going to lose her, too. They’ll never decide in my favor. I’m broke. I don’t even have a real job, and I rent a single room from an old lady who is super kind, but she’s really old.”
Jake didn’t say anything. He nodded his head and let me talk. Once I started, I couldn’t seem to stop. Everything had been bottled up inside for days, and once the cork was popped, it kept flowing.
“I know there isn’t a judge in his or her right mind who would give me custody. I just graduated college and can’t seem to find a job. Tracy would be so disappointed in me. I hate that I’m letting her down. I love Iris. I love her like she was my own baby.”
I buried my face in my hands, mortified I had bawled my eyes out in front of my opponent. I had given him all the ammunition he needed to take Iris away from me. I felt like a complete fool. The man had proven he was ruthless. It was too late now. The damage was done.
“Avery.”
I cringed. “What?” I kept my eyes on the ground, unable to look at him.
“Look at me.”
I sighed and lifted my face, knowing I probably looked a mess. “What?”
“I have an idea.”
“What?”
“I have an idea, and I want you to listen before you automatically shoot it down. Okay?”
“Go on.” I could listen all he wanted, but any idea he had was not one that would appeal to me.
“We should get married,” he said.
I looked at him before I leaned close to see if I smelled alcohol on his breath. I didn’t smell anything. I burst into laughter. He was crazier than I was. I immediately stopped laughing and stared at him. He was teasing me. That wasn’t cool.
“You’re funny. Mean, but funny.”
He shook his head. “I’m not joking. I’m dead serious.”
“Why in the world would we get married? You don’t like me, and I certainly don’t like you.”
He grinned. “That’s kind of mean.”
I scrunched my face at him. “It’s the truth.”
“Listen, if we get married, we satisfy little Miss Janice’s problems with both of us. I have the money and financial stability. You have the good reputation and a bond with Iris. We’re the perfect pair to take care of Tracy’s baby. Think of it as a merger. We are doing something that is mutually beneficial for each of us and absolutely the best option for Iris.”
I was smiling as he talked. He was cute. And funny. And completely out of his mind. “Sure, Jake. That sounds like a great idea.”
He handed me the empty bottle and then somewhat awkwardly put Iris over his shoulder. I fought the urge to help him get her adjusted. If he wanted to play daddy, he was going to have to learn how to do this himself.
“Listen, think about it. I don’t have a house here in Phoenix, but I can get one. I’ll rent something. We both move in and show the court that we have a stable home with plenty of money and love to give to Iris. That’s what they want. We can fake it long enough to get them to give us custody of Iris,” he said, his voice full of excitement.
“And then what? We divorce and f
ight over custody again?” I asked.
“Well, no. We can have some kind of agreement. I’ll make sure the house is big enough that we can each have our own space. We will have the same address and all, but we won’t actually be living together. I’ll be in California quite a bit. You’d have the house to yourself. You wouldn’t have to work. You could be Iris’s full-time caretaker or mom or whatever you want to be,” he said, talking fast as if the thoughts were all trying to rush out of his mouth at once.
I shook my head. “I’m going back to my original statement. You’re crazy. It would never work, and I think Janice is a lot smarter than you’re giving her credit for. I don’t think she liked you or your arrogance. You can’t buy everything, Jake,” I said with exasperation.
I felt like I was talking to a five-year-old. He was a little boy living in an adult world with too much money at his disposal. I doubted he remembered how regular folks lived. We had to work hard for what we wanted. We had to make sacrifices. He wanted the cake, the icing, and ice cream without having to give up anything.
“We could make it work. Didn’t you just have a breakdown because you’re going to lose Iris? I’m giving you an option.”
I reached for the baby and put her on my shoulder. I didn’t know what he was attempting to do, but his burping skills needed some serious help. I expertly patted her back and was rewarded with a healthy burp almost immediately. The look on Jake’s face when she belched was hilarious.
“Wow,” he muttered. “That was a big burp for a little body.”
I grinned. “You should hear the other sounds she makes.”
He looked horrified. “Anyway, will you please think about it? We can draw up some kind of agreement that only we know about. Of course, we can’t let the court know it is a marriage of convenience and we are basically cheating the system.”
I tucked Iris back into her car seat and buckled her in tight. “Jake, I’m not interested in defrauding the government.”
“It isn’t defrauding. We’re not taking anything from them. We are doing something that actually saves them a lot of time and resources. They won’t have to put her in a foster home or go through this whole process,” he reasoned. “No one is losing. It is Iris who will benefit.”
