I sat at my desk, looking at the letter Eric gave me—the letter that informed him of Jess’s intentions to have him stripped of his fatherly rights. I shook my head in disgust as I read the phone number of the law office that was representing her, wondering how she could go through with this.
I held the phone to my ear as it rang, remembering from the picture how adorable my niece was. I knew losing her would just about kill Eric.
“Hello,” I said, after someone on the other end answered the phone. “May I speak to . . .” I looked down at the letter again. “. . . Kenneth Holden.”
The woman on the other end told me that he was out for the afternoon.
I told her who I was, what I was calling about, and that it was imperative that Mr. Holden call me back as soon as possible.
I hung up the phone, feeling helpless, wishing there was something more that I could do. Then I realized there was. I told Eric I was going to get him a job at Winslow, and that’s exactly what I planned to do.
It would have to be without Sissy knowing, but I thought I could pull it off.
Paul Jennings immediately came to mind. He managed the records office and was a good guy. I had known him for three years, happily said hello to him whenever I saw him in the halls. Most important, he worked five floors below Sissy, and I trusted him to keep a secret.
I reached for the phone, preparing to call him, when it rang.
I picked it up. “Yes, Nancy?” I said to my assistant.
“Your sister is on line one, Mr. Winslow.”
“Fine. Put her through.”
“Morning, Cobi,” Sissy said, her voice cheery.
“Sis,” I said, not feeling anything close to how good she sounded.
“Just calling to see how things went the first night with your future wife?”
“That needs to be the second topic of conversation. There’s something more important that needs to be addressed, Sissy.”
“Okay, what is it?” Sissy asked, somewhat reluctant.
“You had a conversation with Eric yesterday. What did you say to him?”
“What needed to be said.”
“Sissy, don’t play with me. I’m not in the mood. Just answer the question, please.”
“He has to know that we’re not just going to sit around here and watch as he takes advantage of you. You’re spending money on him, giving him a place to live, and he’s walking around thinking he’s entitled.”
“Sissy.”
“I don’t care what kind of thug he fancies himself to be.”
“Sissy,” I said again.
“He needs to know I’m watching him, and the first wrong moves he makes, I’m putting his ass—”
“Sissy!” I yelled into the phone. “First, how dare you. You’re nothing but a hypocrite. How much money are you planning on spending on Austen? She’s going to need a car, the dress you’re going to buy, the ring, not to mention the wedding. What happens if she annuls the marriage the day after? Who would’ve been taken advantage of then?”
“She won’t do that.”
“You know that for sure?”
“I know women, and I know what position she’s in. That’s why I chose her. She won’t do that. Now you were saying—”
“Second,” I said, “Eric is my brother, and that’s my house. I don’t need you laying down the law there. Do you understand me?”
“Do you understand, Sissy?”
“Yup. Fine.”
“Good. Now we can move on to topic number two. And the answer is, that woman being in my house doesn’t feel right.”
“Really,” Sissy said. “Exactly how are you expecting it to feel? It’s going to be awkward at first. Unfortunately, we’re going to have to make even more serious moves fast. The public needs to know about you. You have to be seen as a couple. So I need the two of you in my office within the next couple of days so we can go over plans on how to proceed from now until the wedding.”
I didn’t say anything.
“Cobi, did you hear me?”
“Yeah, Sissy. We’ll be there.”
I hung up the phone, truly feeling this was out of my hands.
I felt my cell phone vibrate in my jacket pocket. I fished it out to see that I had a text message.
It was from Eric’s friend, Blac. Against my will, I felt a smile appear as I read the text.
He thought about me in his dreams, huh? That was a line, mad cheesy game if I ever saw it, but it was still nice to know. Considering Tyler’s neglect, this was much appreciated.
I moved to respond, thinking that maybe a harmless drink would be nice, then stopped myself. I needed to give that move some thought before I did anything. So instead, I picked up my office phone and made the call to Paul Jennings about getting Eric that job.