Freedom (Billionaire Secrets 2)

“Oh. That’s what you’re calling about.” He breathed out a loud sigh that sounded to her like relief. “Yes, I talked to a reporter.”

“When were you going to tell me?” she demanded, unable to suppress her anger.

“I swear I didn’t do this on purpose, Heather,” he said. “A reporter called. He said something about Simon’s lawyer and then tricked me into spilling the beans. By the time I figured out what happened, it was too late.”

“So why didn’t you tell me?” she snapped.

“Because I knew you’d overreact like you always do. Besides, you’ve made it really clear that you’ve moved on from me,” he said. “I didn’t think we were still telling each other things. Especially since you didn’t consult me when you had our son around him.”

“For the last time, I didn’t have Finn around Simon.” She sucked in a breath, needing to calm her frayed nerves before she said something they’d both regret. “What exactly did you tell the reporter?”

“I told the truth,” he replied. “I said that your boss had come over to your place and I found you two together half-dressed early in the morning.”

Oh, fuck. It sounded so salacious when he said it like that. Which was exactly why the media would eat it up. Right now, she wanted nothing more than to bash her head against her desk.

Being married to Gary meant she hadn’t had the most exciting love life, yet the last year had been nothing but a string of bad luck. Of all the men in the world she had to jump into bed with, it just had to be the reclusive billionaire everyone wanted a piece of.

“Do you have the reporter’s contact details?” she asked.

He rattled off a name, email address, and phone number. Then, he cleared his throat. “Is that all?”

Her eyes narrowed. Something was up with him. The nice way he’d greeted her at the beginning of their call should have clued her in. Plus, he had sounded relieved that she’d called about the reporter. “I don’t know Gary, you tell me.”

“I don’t want a fight, but if it’ll get you off my back, you should check your mail when you get home today,” he said.

“Just spit it out,” she huffed. “I don’t have time for games.”

“Well, since you asked so nicely, I’ve been in touch with my lawyer,” he said. “It’s about Finn’s custody.”

“What about it?” Suddenly, she felt a crushing weight on her chest. Icy cold dread slipped down her spine. The same dread she’d felt a month ago when she’d realized Finn had gone missing. “I’ve got primary custody, while you get alternative weekends and holidays. That hasn’t changed.”

“It might,” he said sourly. “With the way you’ve been acting, I thought it was best to reach out to my lawyer and work something out. Especially if this story is about to break. I don’t want this kind of scandal and media attention affecting our son.”

“Work out what?” The anger she’d been fighting threatened to boil over.

“Finn’s custody. I’m tired of you getting to have him. He’s my kid, too, and I’m going to fight to get custody of my son. Full custody.”

Chapter 4

Simon gulped down the last of his coffee.

What a freakin’ day. First the board, then talking with Heather, catching up on business that didn’t look promising, and now he was late for a meeting he’d arranged. Arranged after the board had practically ambushed him and Heather. Now, he was walking out of work without Heather’s knowledge.

Nobody at Dover could know what he was up to. It would sabotage everything, and he needed to be sure.

Keeping his head down to avoid being noticed, he sprinted to the parking lot and got into his car. He pulled out of the parking lot, heading across town.

His phone went off. Damn. He couldn’t remember the last time he left his office and didn’t get a phone call from someone on staff.

He reached over, answered, and put the call on speaker phone. “Hi, Heather.”

“Simon? Where are you? I forwarded some e-mails to you that you need to look at, but I can’t find you anywhere.”