Harper waited on pins and needles for Eric Bold to turn up something, anything, to prove Paige was the lying, manipulative woman Parker made her out to be. But she also had Bold Security investigate him. Her lust-filled thoughts didn’t change anything, and she wasn’t stupid. She’d rather be safe than sorry she hadn’t looked at all the angles because she was emotionally invested.
How could she not feel involved?
Being objective was far harder than she thought it would be. It was only supposed to be a one-night stand, but she couldn’t deny her intense attraction to Parker. She wanted to help him for reasons that went beyond the deal she’d made with her brother.
If she was being honest with herself, which she definitely wasn’t, she wanted to clear Parker’s name because she desired him on a bone-deep level she’d never experienced with anyone else. The night they spent together unlocked something in her that she’d pushed down because it was easier than opening up. Desiring him so much made her feel completely out of control, and yet his easy-going nature and tenderness melted her. He was genuine, real, and what you saw was what you get. The part of herself that she’d closed off had been awakened and it was hard to think about going back. It was more than a little scary.
Sexy hook-ups were safe…predictable. This was anything but safe, and a sure-fire way to get hurt.
Eric had reassured her they would use every resource and go to bat for Parker. O’Malley and Associates frequently outsourced security and investigative work to Bold Security. After all, they were the best in the business. But she imagined they were going the extra mile to save Jason Bold and the Miami Lightning embarrassment. The last thing the team needed before the Pro Bowl was bad press if this became public.
She’d looked over Parker’s stats, and he was one of their best players. They’d be losing an asset if she couldn’t get his suspension lifted. Parker already received a hefty fine for Paige’s allegations, despite the law firm delving into his side of the story. Of course, it was a formality they frequently followed. Better to act first and ask questions later, in case the situation reflected badly on them.
It was Tuesday, and Parker had already called the office twice. She didn’t have any information for him.
Despite flirting with her both times he’d called, he hadn’t mentioned the date they’d planned for Friday, before he’d marched into her office and handed her a case she couldn’t walk away from. At least not without sacrificing her partnership, disappointing her brother, and entrusting a less-qualified associate with the case. She was half-relieved she wouldn’t have to brush him off.
She couldn’t stop thinking about him, but that didn’t mean she could act on the urges consuming her body and mind. Her stomach twisted every time she remembered his mouth trailing down her body. She could get lost in his touch, in the scent of his cologne.
Logic and reason told her she should leave it alone and forget him. It was time for her to get her hormones in check. He was a client, for fuck sake! She needed to be professional and do her job, regardless of the memory of his breath brushing against her thighs. She was squirming in the chair behind her desk when her phone rang.
Harper sighed when she saw the caller ID: Monica O'Malley.
“Hi, Mom.”
“Hi, baby girl. Are we still going shopping tomorrow?”
Harper winced. Her relationship with her mother was complicated by a lack of boundaries and the kind of oversharing you’d expect from a girlfriend, not your mom.
“Yeah, it’ll have to be later in the day. I’m working on a really important case, and it’s critical that I fit in the rest of Brian’s while he’s away. Why don’t we do dinner first?”
“Sounds good, sweetie.” She paused. “But I have a favor to ask.”
Harper didn’t say it, but she couldn’t help thinking, Oh no, what now. Before her mother even said a word, she knew that whatever it was would involve her father.
“What?”
“I need to borrow some money for a new dress. It’s for a charity function this weekend.”
Harper cringed. Her father was a real bastard when it came to money. And it wasn’t about being cheap. The man was an investment banker, so he could certainly afford it. But he’d always used money as a way to control his wife and children. It hadn’t worked with her or her brother because they’d both headed off to college and forged their own way.
Her sister had caught the short end of the stick until she got married. Both her siblings naïvely thought their father was just a strict hard-ass, and didn’t realize the full extent of what their mother endured. She confided in Harper because she didn’t have anyone else, aside from the gossipy women she did charity work with. They had a voracious appetite for drama and would probably love to make her mother feel even worse than she already did.
Harper could never stomach cliquish bitches, and that was probably why she only hung out with her sister, Brian’s new wife, and her friend Maddie. That was pretty much the extent of her relationships with other women. She’d always wanted a career and had little time for anything else, let alone petty gossip-mongering. But she’d do anything for her mom, and her charity work was all she had in life.
“Of course, Mom.”
“I’m so sorry to ask you for money.”
“It’s no problem, but Mom…”
“Yeah.”
I stayed silent for a moment. “Why do you do it? Why do you stay with him?”
“I stayed for all of you,” her mom said quietly.
Monica could never be accused of being anything less than a devoted mother, and her heart was the size of Florida. Her mom always had a knack for helping other people through her charity work, but she couldn’t seem to apply it in her own life.
Harper hadn’t figured out how bad she had it until after she’d graduated college and come home, and their relationship changed when her mother started leaning on her for emotional support. “You don’t have to do this anymore. We’re all grown up now. You don’t have to put up with being treated that way.”
She sighed. “Don’t you think I know that? I’ve tried to leave, but I don’t have the money to make it on my own. He took me off all the credit cards.”
They’d had similar conversations in the past. Unfortunately, he’d made her sign a prenup that pretty much screwed her out of everything. Her mom had married young, and signed it without thinking about the future. Who goes into marriage thinking about the fallout?
“What he’s doing is financial abuse, and it’s wrong. It’s messed up, Mom.”
“I’ve been thinking about getting a job and not telling him.” She paused, a long stretch of silence that made me almost think we got disconnected. “I think I want a divorce.”
She wasn’t surprised to hear her mom finally admit it. This had been in the making for a long time. It would be good for her mother’s self-esteem to make her own money. Actually, Harper wished she’d come to that conclusion years ago.
“I really think you should, and you know I’m here for you if you need it.”
“Baby girl, you’ve done enough. Don’t say anything to your brother or sister. They’ve never been as strong as you, and I’m not ready to share this with them. They won’t understand…”
Harper swallowed hard. “Okay, Mom. I won’t, but they’re going to find out sooner or later if you leave. But we can talk about this tomorrow. I have to get back to work.”
“I can stop at the office. We can go to that Mexican place you and your brother keep talking about.”
“Sure.”
“What time do you want me to come by?”
“Is 5:30 PM okay?”
“Sure, sweetie. See you, then.”
“Bye, Mom. See you later.”
As usual, she’d agreed to keep it a secret from both her controlling father and naïve siblings, because now wasn’t the time to reestablish boundaries with her mother. Leaving an emotionally and financially abusive situation would be hard enough on her mom without Harper drawing a line.
As an attorney, she’d seen it all, and swore she’d never let herself be vulnerable. Even if it was lonely not letting anyone in, it was a lot better than going through an expensive and messy divorce, or worse…getting sucked in a relationship like the one her mother had lived through in order to make sure her kids didn’t have to go without.
At least her mother’s situation wasn’t like some of the cases she’d litigated. A good chunk of them were domestic violence cases or involved alcoholics or drug addiction or all of the above. She’d seen it too many times, and that would never be her. Then again, that’s what most of the women sitting across from her desk probably thought as she handled them a box of tissues.
Harper winced, knowing what her mom would deal with once she signed the divorce petition.
* * *
The next day passed quickly. She was finishing up a few things and waiting for her mom to drop by the office when her phone rang. Harper’s eyes lit up when Bold Security flashed across the caller ID.
“O’Malley and Associates,” Harper said as she picked up the phone.
“It took me a few days to do some digging, but I uncovered information on Paige Cross that could help your case,” Eric said.
Harper could barely contain her excitement. “What did you find out?”
“Paige Cross isn’t even her real name. She’s a money-grubbing con artist, and she’s done this more than once.”
“Really? Well, this is good. I can use that to help lift Parker’s suspension.”
“Her real name is Rebecca De Luca, and she pulled a ‘this is your baby’ act with a doctor cheating on his wife. To keep ‘Paige’ quiet, the doctor paid her $250,000, but the birth certificate for her older son clearly lists a mechanic who lives in Panama City, Florida. Not the doctor.”
Harper’s jaw dropped. “Unbelievable. I’ve had some cases that make my skin crawl, but she’s one conniving woman.”
“And apparently a quarter of a million dollars wasn’t enough,” Eric scoffed. “We found a bank trail, and the doctor has been sending her money for the past thirteen years.”
“Oh, my god. Have you called Parker yet? And what about the doctor? Are you going to tell him?”
“Dr. Steinman isn’t our client, but the man deserves to know the truth. If it were me, I’d want to know. But I called you first. I haven’t had a chance to talk to Parker.”
Harper couldn’t agree more. She sympathized with the doctor, but Eric could deal with that. “Okay, I’ll tell Parker.”
“I want you to be careful. This woman could be dangerous, and she’s probably facing jail time once I share this with the last man she conned.”
Harper sighed. “That’s not the only issue. She showed up on Parker’s doorstep with a baby. Her son’s father is a mechanic, but that doesn’t account for the baby she’s trying to claim Parker fathered now. Did you find another birth certificate?”
“We’re still working on that, but so far we can’t even find a record of Rebecca giving birth to another child.”
“Hmmmm, that’s really strange.”
“That’s what we thought, too.”
Harper tapped her pen against the yellow legal pad on her desk. “Okay, keep me posted, and let me know the minute you find anything.”
“Will do, and remember what I said. Be safe. There’s no telling what this woman is capable of.”
“I’ll be careful. Talk to you later.”
The moment they hung up, she dialed Parker. He picked up on the second ring, and Harper relayed everything Eric had told her.
“That’s great, but it’s too late,” he said.
“What do you mean?”
Parker laughed harshly. “Have you seen TMZ’s blog today?”
“No, I haven’t.”
“My agent called twenty minutes ago. Paige, Rebecca, or whatever the fuck she calls herself, must have leaked photos to them. Her busted face is front-page news on their website. Supposedly, I beat her up after finding out I was a father.”
Harper tightened her jaw. “I’m not going to let her get away with this.”
“It doesn’t matter. Those bruises are pretty damn convincing,” he said.
She couldn’t stand the defeat in his voice. “But you didn’t do it. I think I can get your suspension lifted. And I may have an idea to save your reputation.”
Parker released a heavy sigh. “Whether I did it or not doesn’t matter when public opinion is against you. I can kiss my football career fucking good-bye.”
“So we change the public’s opinion about you. We change their minds. This is what I do, and I’m damn good at it.”
“You really think that’s possible?”
She’d never heard someone go from sounding crushed to hopeful to somewhat relieved, all in one breath. “I really do. I’ve got an idea, and maybe it’s a little outside the box or underhanded, but it’ll get the story out about Rebecca.” Harper grinned. “Besides, turnabout is fair play. The only difference is we’re telling the truth.”
Parker laughed. “I love the way you think outside the box, and I definitely want to show you my appreciation…in more ways than one.”
Harper flushed. His words oozed blatant sexuality. Had it come from anyone else, it would have been nothing more than a cheesy pick-up line. She was sure Parker could make anything sound sexy and sweet at the same time.
“I bet you would,” she muttered.
“I made reservations for Friday. Don’t forget I’m picking you up at seven.”
Shit. She hadn’t forgotten, but it wasn’t a good idea to go out with him. While he wasn’t the abusive bastard this woman claimed him to be, he was still a client. It actually sickened her that Rebecca claimed he’d hit her.
There were so many women out there who she’d helped, like the woman in her office last spring. Her husband managed to hide his meth addiction until he stopped coming home, let their mortgage fall into default, and abandoned his wife of fourteen years and two young kids for a woman who’d spent over a year in jail because of a felony conviction and who had a history of heroin use. He’d left his wife with a few parting gifts: black eyes, a concussion, crippling PTSD, and trust issues that were far worse than Harper’s hang-ups.
No, Harper didn’t want to get involved with Parker until this was over. It wasn’t smart to start dating him until she fixed the damage from this con artist. That didn’t mean she couldn’t share a meal with him, though, right? It was only dinner. She wouldn’t sleep with him, but she’d certainly tease the fuck out of him with what she could do once the case was closed.
“Fine, pick me up at seven.”
“You’ve got it, gorgeous.”
Heat rushed to her core. She clenched at his husky voice and the sexy nickname.
Shopping with her mother didn’t seem like such a chore when she had a reason to buy something that clung to her curves. She wanted him with every bone in her body. Keeping her hands off him on their date was going to be a challenge, but Harper was never one to back down…Even if she had to rewrite the rules in her playbook.