Chapter Thirty

Jake

I was not in the mood for Janice’s shit today or any day. When I answered the door, I was not expecting to find Janice standing there with that fucking yellow pad. I wanted to burn the damn thing.

“What can I do for you, Janice?”

I was only happy I had gotten dressed today. I had skipped the tie, but I did have on a long-sleeve button-up with slacks. I had a video call in an hour and had to look like the businessman I was.

“I’m here for an unannounced visit.”

“Avery’s at work, as I’m sure you know.”

She nodded. “Yes. I figured as much. I’m here to visit with you.”

“I’m working, Janice. I do still have a job.”

“That’s fine. I’d like to observe the way you work. You did say you would be working from home, right? I think it will tell me a lot more.”

I heaved a sigh. I couldn’t win this. If I told her no, she would mark me down as noncompliant. My attorney had told me I needed to comply with their demands. Although the state favored kinship adoptions, there was still a risk I could be declared unfit. It pissed me off, and I hated having to bend to the woman’s whims, but I had to swallow my pride. It was all for Iris.

“Well, I guess you can make yourself comfortable in the den. That’s where I’m working out of for now. I do have a video conference, and the information is not for public consumption.”

She shrugged. “I’m not the public.”

“Regardless, I need you to respect my privacy. My business is my business, and the state has no business listening in on privileged conversations.”

She wasn’t going to budge. “Do you have something to hide, Mr. Colter?”

I smirked. “Not a thing. Do you have something to gain by eavesdropping on conversations that have nothing to do with you?”

I knew I was pressing my luck. I didn’t care. The woman was pushing the boundaries.

“I’ll leave when you need to do your conference,” she finally agreed.

I led the way to the den and gestured for her to take a seat on the couch. I sat back down and pulled up the work I had been trying to get finished before she interrupted me. I had coders who worked for me, but this particular program was my baby. I trusted no one else to get it done right. It was too important.

I could feel her eyes on me. That was not going to work.

“Did you need to ask me something?” I said, turning my chair to face her.

She was scribbling on that stupid yellow pad. “No. Not really. Do you always close the door when you’re working?”

“Sometimes. Why?”

“How will you hear Iris?”

“I would have a nanny. I’m not going to try to juggle my work and taking care of a child. I know she requires my full attention.”

She smirked. “A nanny.”

“Yes, a nanny who can make sure Iris is cared for while I handle business. I expect it will be on a part-time basis, possibly more depending on my schedule. I will work out of here when possible. That way I can see Iris throughout the day and have lunch with her. I want to spend as much time with her as I can, but I also have to keep a roof over our heads.”

Another smirk. “I thought you had enough money to keep a roof over your heads even if you don’t work another day in your life. Sounds to me you are more concerned with making money than taking care of that little girl.”

I smiled. “Maybe, but you can never get too comfortable, and you don’t have any idea what my concerns are.”

She rolled her eyes and began to write on the yellow pad.

“Janice, give it to me straight. I am confident in my ability to read people. I can see you don’t like my wife or me. Why?” I asked, tired of beating around the bush.

She folded her hands over the yellow pad and looked directly at me. “I don’t like people who game the system. We have a job to do, and I hate when people throw money around and think they can use their name and wealth to cut corners. You are used to getting your way without ever lifting a finger. I know you have a lawyer. His office has called mine several times.”

I raised an eyebrow. “I’ve done no such thing. I have a lawyer because it is in my best interest to protect my rights. I’m looking out for Iris.”

She smirked. “Yet. You haven’t tried to use your money to get your way yet. You will. I can read people too. I think this whole marriage is a scam meant to defraud the state.”

“You act like Iris is your property, as if you are the only person who knows what’s best for that little girl. She’s a child, not some piece of property you get to hand out to whoever you like best. You don’t know her. Have you even spent five minutes with her?” I shot back.

“I don’t think she’s ready to answer my questions,” she said sarcastically.

“I’m her uncle, her blood relative. I deserve the chance to raise my sister’s child. I have a feeling a judge will see it my way as well.”

She moved her hands off the yellow pad and flipped it to the front page. “I think you’re wrong. I have pages of reasons why you should be nowhere near that child. I think the judge will be very interested to hear what I have to say.”

“Excuse me?” I said, my blood beginning to boil.

“You are a notorious playboy. I have stacks of tabloid pictures and articles from all around the country outlining your antics. You are with a new woman every weekend and are photographed in various clubs drinking and acting irresponsibly. Do you truly think I believe you changed overnight? I don’t. I don’t believe it for a minute.”

“Actually, I do expect you to believe it because it’s the truth.”

“The weekend trips to Vegas with girls of ill repute. How do you explain that?”

I laughed. “Ill repute. Who says that?”

She shrugged. “I do when it fits.”

I shook my head and stretched my hands out. I did not like the woman, and it was evident she was going to recommend we not get custody.

“Listen, I’m not going to defend my past behavior or what you may have read in the tabloids. Those stories are blown out of proportion. I have changed. I had to change. I don’t know if you have a family, Janice, but let me tell you, when they all die before you, it’s rough. It was an eye-opener for me.”

She was scowling at me, and I could see she still didn’t believe me. “I didn’t come to Arizona with the intention of getting custody of Iris. That all changed when I saw her and then went to my sister’s apartment and saw how much she loved that baby. I can’t let her down. I know Tracy wanted Avery to raise her daughter. But despite our differences over the past year, Tracy and I used to be close. We were all we had after our parents died. I’m not going to let you interfere with my family, Janice.”

She stood up, and I knew the visit was over. I stood up as well, ready to walk her to the door.

“Why did you marry Avery?” she asked.

“I think I’ve answered that question numerous times. The answer isn’t going to change.”

She rolled her eyes. “You and she together are gaming the system. You think this sham marriage you two have tried to pull off to fool me and the judge is going to work. It isn’t. I hope you were smart enough to sign a prenup.”

If she had been a man, I would have hit her for talking about Avery with such disrespect. “Are you jealous?”

She scoffed. “Oh, please. I would never marry a man for money.”

I laughed. “You think Avery married me for my money? You obviously haven’t done much digging into her character. She isn’t like that. She doesn’t even have student loans. You would know that if you were doing the investigation like you said you were. Avery works her ass off and pays her own way. She doesn’t take anything from anybody.”

Janice shook her head and walked out of the den. I followed her, happy to have her leave. I was going to be filing an official complaint and hiring every lawyer in the damn state if I had to. Janice would be sorry she ever fucked with me, my wife, and my niece.

I followed behind her as she stomped to the door. She paused before she opened it and turned to look at me. “That little girl is better off with a real family that will love her and raise her right. Nannies are the not the same as a parent’s' love. Let her go to a family that deserves her. When you grow up and decide to have children of your own, do just that. Have your own children.”

I looked at her, not letting her see how mad she was making me. I wouldn’t give her that kind of power. Janice was a bitter woman with misplaced anger and prejudices she had no business pushing onto Avery or me.

I stepped around her and pulled open the door. “Have a nice day, Janice. I’m sure we’ll be seeing each other soon enough.”

She scowled. “We will.”

I slammed the door behind her, not giving a shit if she thought it was a sign of a bad temper. I stomped back into the den and realized I had that damn conference. I called Drew, demanding his assistant interrupt the meeting he was in.

“Drew,” I said when he picked up the phone.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, all business.

“I need you to take my eleven o’clock conference call.”

“Okay. Is everything okay?”

“No. I need to blow off some steam. I’m not in the right frame of my mind to try to sell shit. Can you do it?”

“Yeah, yeah. Let me wrap up the meeting I’m in and I’ll jump on. I’ll tell the client you got called away on an emergency.”

“Thanks. I really appreciate it. I owe you one.”

“It’s okay. I’ll call you later. Take care of yourself, man.”

I hung up the phone and paced around the den a few minutes. I needed to go for a run. Normally, I would jump on the treadmill I had in my office or head to the personal gym in my condo.

“Fuck it.”

I jogged upstairs, dug around in the luggage I had brought with me, and found a pair of basketball shorts. I quickly changed into my running shoes, strapped my iPod on my arm, and grabbed my headphones. I wasn’t sure where I was going to go running, but I was going to run.

I walked out front and did a few stretches before I started off at an easy jog down the driveway. It felt good to exercise. I had been a bit of a lazy bum since I had been in Phoenix. I smiled as I ran, thinking about the workout Avery had put me through the other night. That had burned a few calories for sure.

If I was going to stick around here, I had to get a gym put into the house. There was plenty of space for it. I wondered if the owners were okay with me doing a little renovating. The more I ran, the clearer my mind got. I could see a future I had never envisioned before. Janice had said a lot and gotten me thinking. I didn’t miss the clubs or the weekend trips to Vegas where I would blow hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Tracy’s death had shaken up my world in the best way possible. I hated that she died, but in many ways, she had saved me. Her death had given me a new life. I had a chance to have real happiness. An idea bloomed in my mind as I made a wide circle and began to jog back up the hill to the house. My house. I was going to buy the damn house, and I would put in a gym. Everything was for sale.

I walked through the door feeling better than I had in a long time. I had purpose and a new goal. Janice’s threat didn’t bother me a bit. I would throw so much money at the problem, Janice would never know what hit her.

I headed upstairs to shower. I wanted to make a kickass dinner for Avery. She was not going to be happy to hear how my visit with Janice went. I needed to ease into it with some good wine and fabulous food. Hell, maybe she’d even want after-dinner sex.