Grounded

by A. E. Radley

  Simon knew that to be an absolute fact. Olivia was extremely protective of Henry, and it was clear she cared for him deeply, even loved him. Simon had never seen his boss interact with a child before; Olivia had always been the kind of woman who hesitated around children, backed away from them, even. Henry was different, and Simon knew that Olivia would move heaven and earth for him.

  “This is my fault. What kind of mother can’t provide a suitable environment for her child?”

  “Hey,” Simon said sharply. “You are a great mother. That is absolutely not in question. Don’t let some idiots make you question that. Henry is a happy, healthy, and great kid. And you’ve been an amazing mum.”

  Emily pulled a tissue out from her coat pocket and wiped away fresh tears. “Thank you, Simon. I really needed to hear that. I just feel so useless at the moment. I can’t imagine Henry not being in my life.”

  “It won’t happen,” Simon said with certainty. “It can’t.”

  * * *

  The lawyer’s office just screamed money. In a tasteful and understated way, of course. But still…wood-panelled walls, plush carpets, and antique desks made Emily even more uncomfortably aware that she could not afford to be here if not for Olivia.

  Emily sat on the very edge of the visitor’s chair in front of Christine Doherty’s enormous solid mahogany desk. She did this partially because it was an edge-of-the-seat kind of day, and partially because she felt terrified to touch anything in the room.

  Olivia sat in the chair beside her. She looked comfortable and at home in the surroundings as she scrolled through messages on her smartphone. Christine had pleasantly greeted them, then taken all of the documents Emily had provided, and was now proceeding to slowly, silently read through every detail. Every single one.

  The calm was stifling. Emily was so tense that she wanted to pace the room. She wanted to scream and shout—anything to make her feel as if she was doing something productive. But instead, she sat noiselessly, watching two important women calmly reading while desperately trying not to picture what life could be like without Henry.

  “Well,” Christine finally said. She turned over the last piece of paper and placed all of the papers back into the file they had arrived in. She took off her reading glasses, put them in their case, and clipped it closed. The snap reverberated off the walls and made Emily jump. “I’m afraid they have quite a solid case against you, Miss White.”

  “That’s ludicrous,” Olivia spoke up.

  Christine looked at Olivia with a neutral expression. “Miss White is in substantial debt, she has no contractual permanent residence, and her son has neither his own room nor his own bed.”

  “It’s a temporary situation,” Emily defended.

  “What if Mr. and Mrs. Kent gave her a contract and Henry had his own bed?” Olivia questioned.

  “There are still the debts. A judge would look unfavourably on the situation.” Christine turned her attention away from Olivia and looked at Emily. Her expression softened marginally. “While they do have a case, it can still be fought. Many judges still firmly believe that a child’s place is with the mother unless she is a danger to the child in some way. While your situation isn’t ideal, and no doubt the Brennans can attest to the wealth and privileged upbringing they could offer Henry, you clearly aren’t a danger to your son. The vast majority of your debts were accrued for Henry’s medical bills and living expenses while caring for him, after all. So if we can get an understanding judge and the right defence team, you could still retain custody of your son. I would be willing to provide you with our services for free, as a favour to Olivia.”

  “I—” Emily started.

  “She’d love to,” Olivia cut in.

  Emily glared at Olivia, but quickly relaxed and nodded.

  “Very well.” Christine placed her hand on the file. “I’ll keep hold of this and assign your case to my colleague. He’ll be able to give this his full attention and be in touch with you in the next few days.”

  Emily wordlessly nodded. She didn’t miss the inference that it would be a colleague dealing with the case—someone more junior, no doubt. And he’d be in touch in a few days. It all seemed to be moving at such a slow pace, but then, Emily didn’t really know what she had expected.

  Her life was falling down around her, and her instinct was to rush around doing as much as possible; to fight, to be loud and defensive. But the lawyer’s office, a place that clearly dealt with these sort of cases frequently, was the absolute opposite. Files were meticulously read, often in silence, notes were made with fountain pens, meetings were set up days in advance. The difference between desire and reality was exasperating.

  “Emily?”

  She looked up to see that Olivia was looking at her with concern.

  “I’m sorry. I zoned out for a moment there.” She looked at Christine, who was also looking at her. “I’m sorry.”

  “Quite all right,” Christine assured her. “I know this has been a shock, and I can’t imagine how you must be feeling. I promise you that we will do everything in our power.”

  Emily nodded and stood to leave. She shook Christine’s hand and thanked her again before following Olivia out of the room.

  “Olivia, I can’t thank you enough.”

  “You don’t need to thank me,” Olivia stated firmly. “I am going to do everything I can to make this go away.”

  “That isn’t why I called you, you know. I don’t expect you to fix this. It’s my mess.”

  “I hope you called me…because I’m your friend,” Olivia said.

  “I did,” Emily admitted. “I didn’t know who else to turn to. But I know you have your own disaster happening right now. I don’t want to take your attention away from that.”

  Olivia opened the door and gestured for Emily to lead them outside. “I could do with some distraction. Especially distraction that reminds me of the priorities in life. Now, let’s get you home.”

  CHAPTER 24

  Seb Brennan sidestepped a secretary and walked into Marcus’s office with a determined stride. Marcus lowered his pen and looked up.

  “Seb, good to see you.” He stood up and they shook hands cordially.

  “Marcus, sorry to come by unannounced, but I’ve something to tell you and I’m afraid it can’t wait.”

  Marcus gestured to the visitor chair in front of his desk. “Sounds serious.”

  “It is,” Seb acknowledged. “Irene and I have filed for custody of our grandson.”

  “Ah.” Marcus tried to sound interested, but it was obvious to Seb’s ears that the latest legal battle of Sebastian Brennan held little interest for him.

  “I’m afraid this involves you as well.” Seb took a letter out of his jacket pocket and passed it to Marcus.

  Marcus opened the letter and quickly read through the contents. He frowned in confusion. “This is a letter from Emily’s lawyer?”

  “Yes.”

  “I’m not sure what this has to do with me?”

  “It’s from Heathcote, Lambert, and Doherty.”

  Marcus looked at the letterhead, then questioningly at Seb again, still not grasping the significance.

  “Emily’s broke. There is no way she can afford that firm. I’m sorry to tell you that I suspect that she is being paid off by Olivia.”

  Marcus balked. “Olivia?”

  “We recently went to see Emily, to pick Henry up for a prearranged visit with us. Time which Emily later reneged on, I hasten to add. Anyway, there was a woman there, she had a crutch, and something about her struck me as odd. It wasn’t until later that I remembered you’d said that Olivia broke her leg in the crash, and then it all came together.”

  Marcus stood up and closed the office door. He slowly walked around the room. “So, Olivia was at Emily’s house?”

  “Yes,” Seb confirmed solemnly.

  “And you think what? That Olivia is paying Emily’s legal fees?”

  “There’s no way she could afford that firm witho
ut some kind of financial assistance.”

  “Why do you think Olivia would do that?” Marcus sought clarity, like Seb had known he would.

  “I think it’s obvious. After your successful coup, she wants, no, needs, a mole on the inside. She’s getting insider information, and Emily is clearly getting paid handsomely for it.”

  Marcus turned and looked out the window. Seb watched him with satisfaction. Sometimes manipulating people was all too easy. The letter had been a surprise, a wrench in the works of his otherwise perfect plan to gain custody of Henry. It was obvious that some kind of deal had been brokered between the two women. Emily had to be receiving financial assistance from somewhere. If she wanted to play that game, fine. Seb had been gracious enough to find her employment, but if she was so content to bite the hand that feeds, he’d take it away from her again.

  “Do you have evidence that Olivia is paying Emily to spy?” Marcus questioned.

  “Well, no hard evidence, but it’s the only reasonable explanation.”

  “Emily worked at Crown. Olivia flew Crown frequently. They could have met there; it doesn’t mean that anything untoward is happening here.”

  “I think you’re being a fool,” Seb said flippantly. Why Marcus was making this more difficult than it needed to be was beyond him. It was obvious what was going on, and Seb had graciously spelt it out for him. What more did he want?

  “And I think you are trying to bend me to your will. Again.” Marcus turned around and folded his arms as he looked at Seb. “You wanted me to hire the girl and, as a favour to you, I did. Now, you presumably want me to fire her to strengthen your court case against her. I won’t do it. I have no proof, and her work has been exemplary. I have no case to fire her, and I won’t get embroiled in this.”

  Seb stood up, regarding Marcus with a cold stare. “Just remember when all of this comes crashing down that I was the one who tried to warn you.”

  “I think it’s time you left,” Marcus replied.

  Seb stared at Marcus coldly for a few moments before he turned and angrily slammed the door behind him. He stalked through the corridors, seething with anger at Marcus’s betrayal. At this point, he hoped Emily was selling secrets to Olivia. He’d love to watch the company burn.

  He’d always considered Marcus to be intelligent and pragmatic, but clearly that wasn’t the case. And Seb had no time for people who didn’t live up to his expectations. He wasn’t going to waste another second of his time siding with or aiding Marcus in his foolish new venture.

  There had always been the possibility that Marcus wouldn’t be able to see reason, so Seb had a contingency plan worked out. He turned to the executive offices, sought out a particular name, and smirked when he found it.

  “Michael,” Seb greeted with a smile as he walked into the room.

  Michael Underwood removed his glasses and stood up, smiling warmly. “Good to see you, Seb. What brings you here?”

  They shook hands. “Oh, you know, Marcus needed some guidance. You know how the youngsters are.” Seb knew Michael had invested badly a few years back and couldn’t afford to retire. It would be easy to appear as an ally to the older man, using a shared distaste of the younger generation and their new technologies and buzzwords.

  Michael chuckled. “Yes, unfortunately, I do. I’m surrounded by them.”

  “You’re a better man than I. How about I buy you lunch? We can swap war stories and remember how businesses should really be run.”

  Michael’s eyes lit up at the prospect of a free boozy lunch. “Sounds like a great idea.”

  Seb smiled, already planning his next move. He may not have Marcus’s help, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t get exactly what he wanted.

  CHAPTER 25

  The very moment Simon, Emily, and Henry entered the restaurant, Henry’s eyes settled on the children’s play area. His head snapped up quickly as he looked at his mother with pleading eyes.

  Emily chuckled and nodded. “Go and play for a while. I’ll call you when the food arrives.”

  Henry smiled happily and dashed across the room towards the climbing apparatus.

  A waitress greeted them, offered a booth near the play area, and handed them both menus before taking drink orders.

  “Thank you so much for this,” Emily said as soon as the waitress left. She covered Simon’s hand with her own and gave it a grateful squeeze.

  “I thought it would be good to catch up.” Simon smiled.

  “Definitely. And to get out of the house.”

  Simon looked towards Henry, who was happily using a slide before running around to the stairs to repeat the process. He’d been quiet during the car journey to the restaurant, but the play area had given him a much-needed boost.

  It’d been four days since Emily had received the court notice and Simon had driven her to the lawyer’s office. He’d sat in the waiting room while Emily and Olivia spoke with Christine, and afterwards he’d driven Emily and Olivia home. Simon had promised to make some time in his schedule for the two of them to catch up, and it was only now that he’d managed to keep that promise.

  “Have you told Henry anything?”

  Emily shook her head. “Not yet. I’m kind of hoping it will all go away. I suppose I’m burying my head in the sand.”

  “Have you heard from Christine’s office?”

  “Yes. I had a call from someone to say that the case had been assigned, that they were looking through the details and would be in touch. They’ve sent a letter back to Henry’s grandparents. But that’s it. The waiting’s killing me.”

  “I can imagine.” Simon lowered his menu to the table. “I’m sorry we had to leave abruptly the other day. Things are bad at Applewood at the moment.”

  “It’s fine. I was just grateful for the help.” Emily smiled, but it was forced.

  “It’ll be okay. I’m sure of it.”

  Emily lowered her menu and looked over to make sure Henry was out of hearing range.

  “I’ve been doing a lot of research; they have a very strong case against me. There’s…” she took a deep breath. “There’s a good chance that I will lose the case and Henry will be forced to live with them. I can’t live in hope that everything will be okay. I need to be practical, and the truth is that the situation is bad.”

  Emily paused as the waitress returned with their drinks and placed them on the table. She took their lunch order and disappeared again.

  “All of the details of my debts will come out. It won’t look good, Simon.” Emily shook her head and stirred her drink with the straw. “Which reminds me, I need to ask Olivia for the paperwork back. The lawyer said they’d need it at some point.”

  “She’s not had a chance to look at it yet, but I’ll remind her,” Simon promised.

  “She might be wasting her time at this point.” Emily put her head in her hands and took a deep breath.

  “Look, things aren’t all that bleak.” Simon tried to sound upbeat, but he knew he was fighting a losing battle. “Henry’s fit and healthy, he’s clean…well, aside from that mess he calls his nostrils, which is disgusting. Seriously, it’s like a tap or something.”

  Emily snorted a laugh.

  “He has clothes on his back, food in his belly. Despite all the financial problems, you still put him first, and he hasn’t gone without. You have a job and—”

  Emily chuckled and shook her head. “Oh, don’t you worry, that job won’t be around much longer.”

  “How come?”

  “Henry’s grandfather helped me get it. I’m working for one of his golfing buddies. I’m just waiting to be fired. To be honest, I’m surprised I’m still there.”

  Simon sighed. “Crap, I’m sorry…this guy is…is…”

  “Yeah, I know.” Emily nodded. “I should be grateful that Marcus hasn’t fired me yet. It’s giving me time to look for other jobs, but there’s not much around, and I haven’t been at the company very long, so it doesn’t look good on my resume.”

  “M
arcus?” Simon questioned, his blood running cold at the implications.

  “Marcus Hind. He’s the big boss. I don’t ever talk to him, but he’s Seb’s buddy.”

  Simon winced.

  “What is it?” Emily asked, clearly seeing his distress.

  “Marcus is ex-Applewood,” Simon explained. “He’s the reason Applewood is in trouble.”

  Emily swallowed hard. “Oh my God. I didn’t know that. There’s a lot of secrecy in the office, so I just keep my head down. I try to avoid office politics, you know?”

  Simon understood. If he were in Emily’s situation, he’d do the same. “He used to work in the London branch. He poached a lot of key members of staff and set up a new practice here in New York. He’s pricing us out of business and using his contacts to take clients.”

  Emily looked horrified. “I had no idea. I’m so sorry. And that’s why Olivia is so stressed with work? I realised something big was happening, but she didn’t want to talk about it.”

  “It’s pretty bad,” Simon admitted. His mind was racing with the new information. If Marcus had offered Emily a job, then surely he wasn’t aware of her connection to Olivia. But that couldn’t last. If Henry’s grandfather had set up the employment, then it was only a matter of time until the two spoke and Emily lost her job.

  “Mommy, when will we see Olivia again?” Henry slid into the booth and reached for his drink. He was panting from exertion.

  “I don’t know; she’s very busy,” Emily said, wrapping her arm around the breathless boy and holding him close.

  “She told me to say hello,” Simon told him and reached into his jacket pocket. “And to give you this.” He pulled out a small package and handed it to Henry, who looked at it curiously and tentatively took it.

  “For me?” Henry questioned.

  “For you,” Simon confirmed, realising that Henry wasn’t that accustomed to receiving gifts.

  “Thank you.” Henry frowned at the wrapped present.

  “You can open it,” Emily told him, placing a kiss in his hair.

  Henry made quick work of the wrapping paper, uncovering a small, plastic giraffe. He giggled and showed the giraffe to Emily and then to Simon. She smiled and nodded in an effort to look impressed. Henry took another gulp of his drink before heading back to play. Simon watched as he galloped the small toy around.