Billionaire's Single Mom

I tried to push out the anger coursing through my body with a few deep breaths. Anger wasn’t helpful. It wouldn’t help Emily.

“What can I do, then?” I said. “There has to be something. I can’t sit there and let her fight this herself.”

“I don’t think there is anything you can do, dear,” Sally said. She gestured to me and then to my mother. “We don’t have anything we can use to stop Lionel, but Emily does.”

“I have a lot of important contacts around the city,” I said, my voice full of venom. “I could make sure he never works in Nashville again.”

“Well, you can’t take his livelihood away,” Sally said. “That wouldn’t be very Christian. He’s also going to be a father to a new baby. We just need him to stay away from Emily.”

“So, you expect me to sit around and do nothing? After everything he’s d

one to your daughter?”

A smile appeared on her face. “I think she has what she needs to win, and this is a fight I think she needs to finish herself. Lionel still has power over her. She’s let him have that hold over her, despite everything I’ve told her. Divorcing him wasn’t enough. She needs to let him know he’s done.” She picked up her tea and took a small sip before continuing. “And even if I don’t want to destroy the man, I would like to see my granddaughter less around that man. Visitation is one thing. Joint custody another.”

My mother nodded, her eyes narrowing. “I hope she kicks that man so hard he ends up in Florida.”

“I’d like him to go a lot farther than that.” I clenched my hand into a fist on the table.

“Sometimes you men need to realize women don’t always need you to fight their battles for them.” Sally reached across the table and put her hand over mine. “Logan, you don’t need to do more because you’ve already done so much. You’ve shown Emily that she’s desirable as a woman. I think she wouldn’t have been able to fight back against Lionel without that.” She squeezed my hand, tears in her eyes. “I don’t think I could have asked for anything more.” She pulled her hand away after a moment.

My mother and Sally exchanged nods.

I took a deep breath and slowly let it out, some of my fire starting to fade. “The only thing I don’t understand about all of this is why him getting another woman pregnant or being investigated for insider trading and fraud would make him want to get back together with Emily. What does he get out of it?”

My mother cleared her throat, and Sally and I both looked over at her.

“I heard the other day that as part of this investigation, a lot of his accounts have been frozen by the government.”

“Oh, my,” Sally said, a hand over her mouth. “Back to how he started, then.”

I stared at her. “I don’t understand.”

She gave me a soft smile. “You need to understand the situation, Logan. You’re probably making some incorrect assumptions because you come from old money, even if you’ve improved your situation.”

I stared at Emily’s mother for a few seconds before shaking my head. “Now I definitely don’t understand what you’re getting at.”

Sally delicately cleared her throat. “You need to understand it wasn’t an equal marriage. Lionel was the one who married into money, not the other way around. Now, not saying he was a pauper, as he was on his way to his first million before getting engaged to Emily, but she brought a fortune with her. Our fortune, really.” She shook her head lightly. “She only works because she wants to, not because she has to. I’d prefer if she joined one of my organizations, but I understand why she does what she does. Just because she works, though, doesn’t mean she’s given up her money or her inheritance once I join my husband in Heaven.”

“I knew she didn’t need to work already.” I nodded slowly, understanding finally starting to creep into my head. “The bastard needs her money.”

The two mothers exchanged glances and then looked back at me.

“I suspect so,” Sally said. “That’s the only thing that makes sense. Even when she filed for divorce, he didn’t try and convince her to stay with him. He practically said good riddance. And now he’s going on and on about getting back together with her?” She snorted. “I don’t believe it for a second.”

I let out a rueful chuckle. “It always comes down to money in the end. I should have known.”

I sighed and had to resist getting up and heading over to Lionel’s place to punch him right then and there. Everything was starting to make a lot more sense, but there wasn’t a lot I could do about it. I didn’t have any evidence to use against Lionel, certainly no more than Emily might have, and they didn’t want me to run him completely into the ground with my resources and contacts.

From what they’d said, the whole situation had turned into a complete farce. Unfortunately, the only thing I could actually offer Emily was emotional support, but she’d pushed me away.

I finished my coffee and stood. “I think I better get going. Please let me know if you hear anything else.”

“Things aren’t over with her, Logan,” Sally said. “It’s just bad timing. Don’t hold it against her. Please.”

“I don’t, but you both have to realize that when all of this is over and done, things might not be the same, no matter how much we want them to be.”

Both of the women looked down, and I turned to leave.