“Can you guys handle everything in here?” I asked the cooks, who nodded without speaking, working quickly to keep up with the high demand at the restaurant. I felt a sense of pride as I watched them, knowing I had hired the right guys for the job. I went out to the front to see that there was a line of people waiting to be sat. I helped the hostess, keeping busy for most of the night by running food to and from tables when the wait staff was too busy. I was on my way to one of the tables when I froze. Rebecca was standing near the front door, waiting politely to be seated. I narrowed my eyes at her, approaching her before the host could.
“What are you doing here?” I hissed at her. “I told you not to come here. I told you not to come to my house, either.”
“I need to talk to you,” she said, her nose in the air, voice haughty. “And I thought I’d come down and see your little dive here.”
As she said it, she wrinkled up her nose in distaste and looked around at the small, cozy restaurant. Rebecca had been the first one to criticize me when I’d decided that I wanted to sell my share of the business that I’d started and move to a smaller town. She was afraid that we would lose money, as if somehow the billions that I’d made would go down the drain if I stopped working. I knew that’s what Rebecca had wanted me for, anyway. My money was always the first thing on her mind.
“I can’t talk to you right now. If you call me tomorrow—”
“You won’t call me back,” she said, raising her voice. I felt eyes all around the room shift their attention to us. “You keep ignoring my calls, Jack.”
“Come to the office,” I said, and I was relieved when she followed me through the restaurant without a fuss, making our way to the office in the back of the kitchen. We sat down and I glared at her.
“What do you want?”
“I want money,” she said in a short, crisp voice. “Fifty-million dollars.”
I snorted, bursting into laughter. “Right.”
“I’ll give up Ivy,” she said. “I won’t fight for her. You can keep the little brat.”
A rage rose up within me, sudden and almost violently overpowering.
“Fuck you, Rebecca,” I said to her. “You don’t deserve Ivy, anyway. You never did.”
“She doesn’t need me. She has her pathetic little daddy and his whore nanny to take care of her,” she said. I gritted my teeth in anger. I was having trouble keeping myself still. My body was shaking with rage at her words, helpless and unable to do anything about them.
“I know you have money. Trust me. I want my chunk of it.”
“You already get alimony,” I said. “How can you be so goddamned greedy?”
“The alimony isn’t enough,” she shrugged. “I want the money you owe me. And then I’ll leave you and the brat alone.”
“Rebecca,” I said, but cut myself off. I was about to throw her out of my office, sick at just the sight of her face, the coldness there with which she talked about our sweet, perfect daughter. But then I realized that she was never going to go away, that she would just keep coming back until I gave her what she wanted. She might even still be willing to try to take Ivy away from me, something that I couldn’t even stomach the thought of.
“Fine,” I said to her, making up my mind. It was better for everybody if I just paid her off to make her go away. She would leave Ivy and I alone, and I wouldn’t have to worry about her coming back into our lives. Maybe I could even get Lauren back, convince her that I deserved her and there would be no more drama if she agreed to be with me. I wanted to be a family with Lauren and Ivy, and if I had to pay Rebecca off in order for that to happen, I was willing to do so.
“I’ll give you the money,” I told her, grimacing a pleased smile spread over her face. “I’ll need to call Travis Winn to liquidize some of my assets. But I swear to god, Rebecca—if you ever get in contact with me again, whether it’s for money or anything else, I will make you fucking regret it.”
The smile dropped from her face and I was glad that I had said the words with as much ferocity as I had felt. I wanted her to know that I was serious, and would do anything to protect and keep Ivy from her if it was the last thing I did.
Rebecca stood up to go, and I felt some of the tension leaving my body. Still, I had to ask her something.
“You do realize you’ll never see your daughter again, right?” I asked her. “And you’re okay with that?”
She shrugged. “As long as you pay me,” she said, her words cruel and flippant. I watched as she left then, a sadness settling over me, replacing my anger. I felt sad for Ivy, who would grow up without a mother, someone to show her how to be powerful as a woman. I could do my best, but I knew that there would always be a hole in Ivy’s life that I would never be able to fill on my own. I thought again of Lauren and the small hope that I had for our future.