19. Flint
At first, I could barely believe what I was staring at, the deplorable number and name attached not making any sense to me.
“Are you sure about this?” I asked Julian when he plonked the page on my desk, a little too gleefully for my liking. That had been fifteen minutes ago, the attorney arriving at the house unannounced.
“Unless this has to do with the adoption going through, Julian, I really don’t have time,” I barked when Zoe led him into my office.
But I see now why the matter couldn’t wait, and my insides are a fusion of anger and sadness as Caden and Aspen enter my office. Pike has already made himself as comfortable as he can make himself at the corner of the settee.
“You’ve been a naughty girl, Ms. Palco,” Julian announces, wagging his finger condescendingly at Aspen. “A very naughty girl indeed.”
“Don’t talk to her like that,” Caden snaps at him, echoing my own thoughts, but I wouldn’t say them even if my housemate had not. I’m too furious with Aspen, too confused to defend her.
“What did I do?” Aspen squeaks, but even as she asks, I can read the naked guilt in her eyes.
She knows! She knows, and she hid it from us!
A smidgen of shame crosses through me, but I dismiss it, reminding myself that our secrets and hers are very different. Her secret has the potential to foil the adoption if what I’m reading is true.
“Close the door,” I order Caden, who scowls at my brusque tone. My phone is going crazy, but I’ve put it on silent. I’m only able to handle one catastrophe at a time.
“Sit down,” I instruct them.
Aspen perches next to Pike, who glances at her comfortingly. He still doesn’t know why I’ve asked him to come, either, but Caden remains standing, his arms folded defiantly.
“Contrary to what you believe, you’re not the boss here, Flint. What do you want?”
Without a word, I slide the credit report across the table for Caden to take as Julian’s smirk grows wider. I can do without the attorney’s smugness, particularly when he’s looking at Aspen like she’s a piece of meat. He warned me about Aspen, right from the start, and now Julian has the most “I told you so” look about him.
“You sit down, too,” I bark at him. Julian’s smile fades slightly, and he ambles toward one of the overstuffed office chairs, his back to the rest of the household.
Caden scans the paper, his expression disinterested at first.
“What is that?” Aspen breathes, straining to look.
“Your credit report,” I tell her flatly. “You have the lowest possible rating anyone can have. But that shouldn’t come as a shock to you, should it?” Her expression confirms my suspicions, and I feel like I’ve been punched in the stomach. “Are you a con artist or something?”
Aspen recoils. Pike sits forward like he’s been electrocuted. “What?” he growls.
“I’ve never seen a rating so low,” Julian pipes in, the jocularity in his tone irking me more. “And I’ve seen some crazy stuff in my days.”
“Julian, you’re not needed here. Wait in the hall until we’re done.”
His face falls entirely now, and he shakes his head. “No. I should be here to witness?—”
“You work for me,” I remind him coldly. “Go wait in the hall.”
Reluctantly, he rises, shaking his head, but he makes his way out of the study without incident.
“Is this true, Aspen?” Caden asks slowly, blinking as the page falls away from his face. “Is this really your credit report?”
Humiliation paints her cheeks scarlet, and she hangs her head. “I was going to tell you,” she whispers. “But there was never a good time…”
“You were going to tell us?!” I scoff. “This is unbelievable! You knew we’re trying to secure Lily’s future, and you didn’t think that this would affect it? We’ve listed you as someone we trust—someone who will be in her life consistently. You didn’t think it was important to tell us about your credit history? This might affect the adoption. How could you?”
“I… I know…” she mumbles. “I just?—”
“Let me see that!” Pike jumps to his feet and snatches the credit report out of Caden’s hands.
Tears fill Aspen’s eyes, and a twinge of pity twists my gut. She seems genuinely defeated, but a good grifter might be a talented actor, too. Oh, why hadn’t I thought to check her credit when we hired her? Why wasn’t a credit report in her background check?
No. I can’t feel sorry for her. She’s been withholding vital information. This will ruin everything.
“How?!” Pike demands dubiously, looking from the report to Aspen and back again. “These aren’t a few unpaid cell phone bills! This is deliberate fraud! There are seven maxed out credit cards here that weren’t paid for a year!”
“I’ve been trying to take care of it—” Aspen tries to say, but I’ve heard enough.
“Take care of it?” Pike echoes. “How? You’ll have to claim bankruptcy!”
Aspen stands unsteadily, tears sliding down her cheeks. “I don’t expect you to understand,” she whispers before fleeing the room.
I watch her go, my lips parting to call out for her.
“Okay, that was a little harsh, don’t you think?” Caden snaps at us.
We gape at him dubiously.
“Did you not hear what I just said?” Pike demands. “She didn’t make a mistake. She purposely defrauded companies.”
“You didn’t really give her a chance to say anything,” Caden insists as the door opens again.
I turn my head as Julian re-enters the room, my mind still spinning in the aftermath.
“The little manipulator left,” he muses. “I thought it was safe to come back in.”
“Don’t call her that!” Pike and Caden chorus in unison. Julian is nonplussed by their response and shrugs, leaning up against a bookshelf to fold his arms over his chest.
“What else do you want me to call her? I told you, Flint. Something about her rubbed me the wrong way, but you wouldn’t listen.”
I want to punch him in the face, if only to shut him up for half a second.
“I assume she’s not going to be your nanny anymore.”
“Why wouldn’t she be?” Caden retorts, whipping around to look at me, then at Pike.
I lower my gaze to the desk and shake my head. “Look, we have to deal with the bigger issue first, which is the paperwork on the adoption application. They’re going to do a thorough background check on her and anyone else who is actively involved in Lily’s life. This is going to be a huge red flag. It’s basically criminal.”
Caden starts toward the door.
“Where are you going?” I call out.
“I’m going to talk to Aspen,” he answers sharply. “Something we should have done when she was here. Isn’t that why you called her here in the first place? Or was it just to embarrass her?”
Contrition sparks inside me, and I purse my lips together, glancing at Pike.
“You would have been better off hiring a hooker,” Julian laughs. “At least they’re more honest.”
He doesn’t see Caden’s fist until it’s flying at his face, knuckles landing squarely on his left cheek.
“Oof!” Julian sputters, spit spraying from his mouth as he doubles back.
“Caden!” I yell, jumping to my feet, but he’s already out the door, leaving me to deal with the obnoxious attorney on my own.
“That son of a bitch!” Julian whines, grabbing his face. “I’ll sue him! I’m pressing charges!”
“Julian, go home and put some ice on that,” I sigh. “Your time costs more than it’s worth for the advice you give. Figure out how to fix this mess instead of standing around gloating like an idiot.”
He gawks at me, blood pooling lightly from his split lip.
“I’ll see you out,” Pike suggests, rising to his full height and towering over the dumbfounded attorney.
“That’s what I get for trying to help!” Julian sputters defiantly.
“Come on,” Pike growls, taking him by the arm to see him out.
Grateful for the silence, I drop my head in my hands, trying to make sense of what to do next. It’s too late to do anything about the application. If we withdraw it, we’ll make Lily vulnerable.
“Papa Flint?”
I raise my head to see Lily standing in the doorway. “Hi, lovey.”
She runs to throw herself in my lap. “Where’s Aspen? I can’t find her anywhere.”
“She’s taking a brief break,” I sigh, brushing her dark hair off her forehead. “You need to stay with Zoe for a little while, okay?”
“But I love Aspen,” Lily pouts. “She’s my mom!”
A dozen knives stick in my heart at her innocent phrasing.
“I’m glad you love Aspen, lovey.”
“Do you love Aspen, too, Papa Flint?”
Her question catches me off guard, and I study her face intently, swallowing the lump forming in my throat.
I thought I did, but do I really know her?
Pike returns then, saving me from answering. “Go to Zoe, darling. Papa Pike and I have to talk about grown-up things now.”
She climbs off my lap and runs to hug Pike quickly before leaving us alone in the room.
We stare at one another for a long moment, unspeaking.
“Okay.” Pike clears his throat, flopping onto the chair in front of me. “Now what do we do?”