Sophie nodded. She knew he had family in Fort Lauderdale.
“He’s always calling them and sometimes he goes there to visit. Number’s on the paper here.” Frannie waved the yellow sheath in her hand. “He also owns a time-share in Aruba but it’s rented now, so I can’t see him going there. Then again if we knew whether or not he took his passport…”
Sop
hie shook her head. “No way of knowing that. Let’s start with family.” She glanced at Riley through half-lowered lashes.
“Oh my! I didn’t realize you had company. I should have knocked.”
“That’s okay. This is an emergency. Besides, Mr. Nash is a client of Uncle Yank’s.” She paused. “He’s also a client of mine and we can trust him.”
Frannie smiled. “Okay then. I’ll be at my desk if you need me, though I have to warn you about something.”
Sophie raised an eyebrow.
“Spencer’s sisters are eccentric, to quote his words.”
“Whatever that means, but I’ll keep it in mind. Thanks.”
“They’re also not answering the phone and there’s no machine to record a message. Oh, and John Cashman called. Again.”
“This isn’t happening.” With a groan, Sophie flung herself into the nearest chair, more flustered than he’d ever seen before. “Maybe Spencer’s sisters are on vacation, but that doesn’t mean Spencer couldn’t be there anyway and not taking calls.”
Frannie shook her head. “They don’t travel. Like I said, eccentric. But you’re right. That doesn’t rule out the possibility that Spencer went to his sisters’ until the heat here in New York dies down.”
So he had run off, Riley thought. He didn’t blame the man for wanting to avoid the scandal, but he hated to think his father was a coward.
“Frannie, do you have an address for his sisters?” Sophie asked.
She nodded. “On the paper.” She handed Sophie the page. “Just buzz me if you need me.”
“Will do and thanks again,” Sophie said, gratitude evident in her tone.
Once the other woman had let herself out and shut the door, Sophie glanced at the paper before turning to Riley. Her eyes seemed wider, a mixture of concern and hope in their blue depths.
“If Spencer’s sisters don’t answer the phone, it looks like I’m headed for Fort Lauderdale. I need to talk to Spencer in person and figure out a game plan.”
Her intentions were too vague, Riley thought. He glanced at the ceiling, avoiding her gaze while he took time to think. If he let her go to Florida alone and she didn’t find Spencer, no harm done. If she did find the old man, Riley needed to know whether she would convince Atkins to spill his guts to the media in a sympathy play. If so, he might reveal more than the truth about his sexual orientation, and that might include Riley’s parentage.
“Once you find Spencer, all you want is for him to get in touch with his clients?” Riley asked.
“In part. I want to save the potential clients and calm his current ones.”
Apparently the frenzy surrounding this story went deep. They didn’t have time for a long conversation on how other athletes were handling the news, but Riley was curious. Personally, he had no problem with anyone’s sexual orientation. He just wished it wasn’t his biological father who’d come out. During his stepfather’s election year, no less.
Sophie had begun pacing the floor of her office. He glanced at her face and realized she was counting her steps. “Why the hell are you doing that?”
“Twenty-four, twenty-five.” She stopped at a closed door. “Routine gives me comfort,” she explained.
Anal and compulsive, he thought, and didn’t have to wonder how she’d handle his fly-by-the-seat-of-his-pants approach to life. Not well.
“Will you let me know how you make out in the Sunshine State?” he asked.
She nodded. “Not a problem.” She rubbed her hands together in anticipation. “I can’t wait to do some damage control. I need him to issue a statement in response to all this media coverage. In my experience it’s always better to have a client’s version of events sent out to the media first, forcing other people to respond. In this case we can’t do that, but if he replies with the truth before the reporters start digging and speculating, his reputation will come out stronger in the end.”
“Whoa.” She hadn’t mentioned a press release earlier.
Ignoring him, she strode to the desk and began punching in the numbers on the page Frannie had given her. She waited, phone hugged tight against her ear as the phone rang and rang on the other end.