“Well, you did give me a gentle warning about Gary before I married him.” Heather grimaced. “Maybe I should have listened to you.”
“You did what you thought was right under the circumstances,” her mother said. “I never liked him, but you were trying to protect your son the best way you knew how. What mother doesn’t want to protect her children?”
Heather gave her a small smile. “And you were trying to protect me when you warned me about Gary.”
Her mother returned her smile. “I know you’re worried about this trip but, whatever you decide, I’ll support you.”
“So, you don’t think I’m a fool to still feel something for Simon? Even after all those things he said?”
“Of course not.” Her mother patted her cheek gently. “You’ve spent most of your life being practical, but for some reason, when it comes to that man your heart takes over your brain. He brings that out in you.”
“He also drives me crazy.” Heather laughed, her heart fluttering now that the topic had veered to Simon. “There’s never a dull moment with him.”
“Good. I’m sure this trip will probably be very exciting.” Her mother waggled her eyebrows, making Heather gasp.
“Mom.”
“What?” Her mother’s face softened into the picture of innocence. “I didn’t say anything.”
“You’re implying things you shouldn’t be implying,” Heather chided. “He’s my boss. This is a business trip. There isn’t going to be any funny business.”
“Then you have nothing to worry about. People might speculate, but if nothing is going on then it will all be idle speculation.”
Idle speculation could still ruin a career. Not to mention that photo of them in a lip-lock at their reunion was still floating around out there. Dover’s lawyers were working overtime to keep it under wraps, but knowing it was out there was like waiting for another shoe to drop. Another scandal that her ex-husband could use against her in court.
“What if Gary uses this trip in court to take Finn away from me?” Heather asked.
Her mother frowned. “Well, do you want to back out of the trip? Should Gary really have so much control over you that he ruins this chance to change your career?”
This trip to California really was the next level. She might have only gotten the chance because she was the only person Linda could spare during the new magazine launch, but Linda was still trusting her with a huge project. Heather had already done a ton of research, so she knew how important Blue Naught was. Dover’s board might not see its importance, but their rivals at VLA were probably fuming that Simon had managed to poach the startup out from under them. “I want to protect Finn. If Gary uses this trip against us in court, I don’t know what I’ll do.”
“What does your lawyer think?”
“He thinks I should go. He says people will already speculate, and if I do well on this trip it will look like I’m a professional who can put the past behind me and move forward,” Heather said with a sigh. “I mean, I trust him, but he isn’t exactly like the fancy lawyer Simon paid for to get Finn back. My lawyer works at a small law firm and I’ve got, at most, two people working on my case. With a lawyer like the one Simon paid for, I’d have dozens of people in my corner.”
Her lawyer might not be working for some hot-shot law firm, but she had given him the client list that Linda had shared with her. He was helping her with the investigation, and it was good to have a professional on her side while she worked to figure out who had betrayed Simon. Not to mention, Dover’s IT guys were looking into the hacking. Maybe there was a chance she could clear her name.
“I recall you told me that Simon offered to pay for a lawyer,” her mother pointed out.
She shook her head. “No, I can’t go down that road. I can’t take that kind of money from my boss. The last time Simon helped me financially, it got into the papers and everyone found out about our affair. It’s way too risky, and I don’t think it’s appropriate to take that kind of money. That lawyer was expensive enough after one day’s work. Imagine the fee after an entire court case. Besides, it would be awkward to ask for that kind of help after I’ve told him I don’t want his help.”