Seduce Me (Austin Singles 1)

“No,” Charlie and I both said at once.

Lindsey sighed.

Picking up her phone, Charlie hit a button. “Marge, I need you to come in here.”

Lindsey looked nervous as she glanced between Charlie and me.

The door opened and Marge walked in. It was then I saw the little girl sitting in the chair. She looked nothing like me, but that didn’t mean anything. For a brief moment, a sense of dread moved over me, making my chest feel as though someone sat on it.

There was no fucking way that kid was mine. I never even got off that night. I know I didn’t.

“Marge, I need you to find a lab that can run a DNA test on Mr. Middleton and the young lady sitting outside. I need to have it done today, and I’ll pay whatever it takes to get the results back as soon as possible.”

“Yes, Ms. Monroe,” Marge said as she wrote a few notes on a pad of paper and headed out the door. Charlie picked up her phone again, dialed a number, and waited.

“Mr. Donovan, I need you in my office ASAP. Drop everything, this is important.”

Damn, was it wrong I was so turned on by the authority in my future wife’s voice during this shitstorm of a predicament?

I shook my head; now was not the time to be thinking about sex.

Lindsey stared at Charlie.

Charlie shot Lindsey a smirk. “Mr. Donovan is my lawyer.” Turning away and looking out the large windows, Charlie went on. “Also, be sure to have the recording of today secured and duplicated. Thank you and see you in a few minutes.”

Lindsey sat up straighter as Charlie hung up the phone and sat down at her desk. She began looking through something as Lindsey looked from me to Charlie.

“Recordings?”

Charlie barely gave Lindsey a glimpse as she replied, “Yes. I have security cameras in my office that record both video and sound, so your attempts at extorting money from me have all been recorded. Hence the reason for my lawyer to join us.”

It was a good two minutes before Lindsey started laughing.

“I see how this is. You’re trying to use scare tactics on me. Well, it’s not going to work. You want a test done, fine. But until you get the results, I want money to keep my mouth shut.”

“No, that’s not how this works,” Charlie said before I could even answer.

“Ms. Monroe, I don’t think you hear what I’m saying. I will walk out of your office toward the first news station I can find, and I will drop a very juicy story in their laps. One that will have your public relations people scrambling to fix. I can’t imagine you want that squeaky-clean image of yourself or your company to be ruined.”

I took a step back as I watched a look I’d never seen move over Charlie’s face. She stood and walked around her desk until she was in front of Lindsey. She leaned against the desk and smiled.

“I don’t think you understand what I’m doing, Ms. Cooke, so let me break it down into words you can comprehend. I’m going to sue the living fuck out of you for extortion. I’m going to have that DNA test done so that it proves Tucker Middleton is not the father of your little girl and you can never come back and claim it again. I’m going to release the tapes where I have you demanding I give you money to the same media outlets you go to and I will … destroy you. Your daughter will be taken away from you, your life as you know it now will never be the same, and I have no idea how long your ass will sit in jail. So, now that I spelled it out, do you understand how this thing will work from here on out?”

The door to Charlie’s office opened and a man in a suit walked in. He was on the phone with someone as he walked over to Charlie’s desk and set down a legal pad.

“Yes, send them over to Ms. Middleton right away.” He glanced up and looked at Charlie. “Start an hour ago?”

She nodded.

“Yes, an hour ago up to five minutes ago and that should be sufficient.”

Lindsey wrung her hands in her lap.

“Ms. Monroe, I’ve been brought up to date by Marge. The lab is on their way up right now and will be here in less than five minutes.”

“Wait. What?” Lindsey said with panic in her voice.

“A recording of the last hour should be hitting your mailbox …”