“I’ll give you a call later,” he said dismissively.
I shot him a look that said I was hurt and angry by his attitude, but I breezed out, not wanting to say anything in front of Sadie. My shift was busy, which mostly kept my mind off of Max. I looked at the schedule to see where I could pick up some extra hours during the rest of the week, but I couldn’t decide whether to change it or not. I needed to talk to him. After I finished up and got in my car, I checked my phone. I had a missed call and a voicemail, both from Max.
I sat in the parking lot and played the voicemail.
A woman’s angry voice, muffled.
“…you seduced me when I was young and poor and then used your money and power to take away my baby. Then I’ll take you to court. It’ll be messy. The kid will have to be questioned. Is that what you want?”
Max’s voice, harder, colder than I’d ever heard it.
“None of this from the moment you knocked on my door has been what I want. Give me a couple days and I’ll get back to you. Be good, stay quiet, stay the hell away from us.”
I played the message three times start to finish, not knowing what to think. It must’ve been a pocket dial, a conversation I wasn’t meant to hear. I checked the time and it had been this afternoon when he was supposed to be at work. When he was with some woman, arguing, instead. My stomach lurched. I felt miserable over this, over him hiding something from me, and a creeping sense of betrayal. I thought I might throw up from it.
26
Max
For a country girl used to running around barefoot all summer, Sadie sure liked city life. We were back in New York City for the first time since she was an infant, and as far as she was concerned, room service was mankind’s greatest invention. We’d been to the Museum of Natural History and I’d taken her to the top of the Empire State Building. The first one impressed her because of the big animals, but the viewing deck up high was boring to her. “Everything looks little,” she had said like I was wasting her time. I had laughed so hard at that. I’d even snapped a photo of her not-having-any-of-this-crap expression, thinking I’d send it to Rachel, but I’d stopped myself.
I hated how I’d left things with her, but I had a strong instinct to get Sadie out of town and away from Jenna. I needed to consult my attorneys in person about this matter, so a quick trip was my best answer. It was almost two days since I’d seen Rachel though, and despite how much fun my daughter was having on this impromptu vacation, I was miserable. Every time I was about to call her, I couldn’t think of anything to say. Just to call and say I missed her would be disrespectful, pointing out that I didn’t trust her with my secrets, but I wished she was here for my comfort. It sounded shitty, and I didn’t want to be like that. But I wasn’t ready to disclose anything going on with Jenna until the situation was over and done with.
Because I didn’t have childcare here, I insisted my attorneys meet with me in the living room of our hotel suite. I set Sadie up with a fruit plate and some cookies from room service and a movie to watch. Then I let the attorneys in the living room and explained the situation more fully than I had on the phone.
“I reviewed the existing paperwork this morning, and it was iron-clad. When she signed away her parental rights, she effectively tied her own hands with regard to seeking visitation or financial maintenance. The agreement even specified that she wouldn’t seek to contact the minor child until she had reached her legal majority. She can be held in breach of contract if you want to go that far.”
“Robert, I’d prefer to keep this out of court, obviously,” I said, my voice low as I glanced at the bedroom door where Sadie was watching Dumbo.
“I see. Margaret and I have drawn up a possible solution but I’m not certain you’ll like it.”
“Okay, what’s the possible solution?” I asked. “I came here for your advice.”
Margaret held out a folder. “Since she doesn’t have legal recourse the only thing she can do is slander you, compromise your reputation, and make things uncomfortable for you. If needed we can prepare and request an order of protection against her, but right now she only qualifies as a nuisance. She has no legal claim to the child, but she can make your life difficult by talking to the media if she can get them to pay attention, that sort of thing. So, our advice is to give her a small lump-sum payment on the condition that she signs a contract stating that she will be given no additional monies or assets by yourself or your agents. If she attempts to extort you or slander you, we will bring a civil lawsuit against her. It will cost her any net worth she has plus legal fees.”