Holden’s father. She didn’t even know how to contact him, not that she wanted to. Anyway,” I mutter. “Susan has found him.”
“Shit,” Julie hisses, knowing just how vindictive Susan can be.
“I’m guessing she either figured it out on her own, or one of the kids told her about me and Tennessee over the weekend. She’s got him suing for a paternity test and visitation and parental rights,” I grunt.
Julie presses her lips together, leaning back in her seat, I watch as she crosses one leg over the other, then switches. She has something she wants to say, something that she thinks I won’t like. I’m pretty sure I know what it is, but I decide to wait to hear it straight from her.
“Would it be a bad thing if the baby knew his father?”
I snort. “Yeah, since he drug-raped his mother at a college party, I think it probably would.”
“Landry,” she breathes.
Shaking my head, I let out a sigh. “I don’t want this to go to court. Tennessee and Holden do not need to go through all of this. Hell, I don’t need to either. This is just a play that Susan has made. This guy doesn’t give a fuck, I’m sure she’s paying him.”
There is no way he’s going to just come up from nowhere without Susan paying him in some way. He’s risking far too much to do this. Especially the reputation that he is willing to expose about himself and his abuse of young women, of her.
“Or whatever,” Julie grumbles. “That woman is vile. You should have filed years ago, Landry. She never deserved you, not ever.”
“Julie?”
She shakes her head. “I have my own life, but Landry, you’ve always been lonely and sad, since I’ve known you. With Tennessee, you smile. I like that and although I think you’re probably going to go through a lot of heartache being with someone so young, I can’t help but be happy for you, because she makes you so happy.”
“She does,” I rasp. “I need help with this situation though. I won’t be able to hide it from Tennessee. I am going to tell her tonight. I need you to set something up with my attorney. A dinner meeting in a couple of days, private. Maybe just up at the penthouse, have it catered for ten people.”
“Ten?”
Nodding my head, I look at the computer then back to her. “My kids need to know. Call them, tell them I want them here as well, non-negotiable. My PI is on his way in for a pre-meeting. I’m hoping he can gather some intel and fast.”
“You’re just going to tell everyone about this man, about the circumstance without talking to her first?”
I shake my head, lifting my hand I run my fingers through my hair. “I’m going to talk with her tonight, after I get the PI to work on everything. I can’t sit on this though and I didn’t want to tell her before her meeting with Lydia.”
“Lydia?” Julie asks, arching a brow.
“That was a long time ago.”
Julie snorts. “Women never forget and they always use an opportunity to talk, Landry.”
“Lydia can tell her. I don’t mind.”
Without another word, Julie stands and leaves. I lean back in my chair, my head falling back and my eyes closing. What feels like just a few moments later, I hear my PI walk through the door.
“Hansen,” I grunt, lifting my head and looking at him from across my desk as he sits down in the chair that Julie vacated not long ago.
“This must be huge if you don’t want to shoot me an email, what’s going on?”
Clearing my throat, I wonder how many more people I can just tell Tennessee’s private shit to before it makes me a bigger goddamn asshole? At least Hansen suspects it all, it doesn’t feel like as much as an invasion.
“You were right, about Tennessee. It was a party gone bad. Her drink was drugged and whoever this man is, he took liberties,” I explain.
“He raped her.”
Nodding my head once, I lift my hand and wrap my fingers around the back of my neck, squeezing to relieve tension. “He did and now I have a problem and I’d like you to gather as much information as you possibly can for me.”
“Whatever you need. I don’t want to see this piece of shit harass or upset Tennessee. She seems like a sweet kid.”
My lips twitch and I jerk my chin at him. “She’s the sweetest woman I’ve ever been with and