Chapter 31
“Have a seat, Phoebe.” Helen ushered me to the small couch in her large office with its imposing desk with chairs opposite.
“What’s going on?” I’d never known Helen to be so full of subterfuge. She was a “straight for the jugular” kind of person.
“I’ll explain in a minute.” She sat down beside me. “First, I want to point out that you’re in my office. I called you on my business line, and right now, although I am your friend, I’ve asked you here as your lawyer.”
“You’re also starting to freak me out.” I was only half-joking.
Helen gave me a tight smile. “I just need to be clear that whatever is said here falls under attorney-client privilege.”
“All right.”
“Good.” Helen poured me a glass of water from the carafe on the table. “There are a couple of things we need to go over, but first I wanted to discuss the contract Amber-Rae gave you.”
The contract felt like a snake ready to bite me.
Earlier in the week, Amber-Rae had stopped by the house to tell me about her plans.
She was opening a restaurant and wanted me to do the desserts for it.
She’d come prepared with a contract and all.
I’d told her I wasn’t really interested, but she was insistent.
When I’d looked at what she’d been offering, which was an exorbitant amount, I knew something was up.
My lawyer was in court on another case this week in Atlanta, so I’d brought it to Helen, figuring she knew Amber-Rae well enough to figure out what her endgame was.
“You were right about the language. The fifth clause states that, if you were to agree, she would expect you to bake at your house, and while you did, you would acknowledge the house would therefore be considered a part of her business, which would give her unfettered access to your home.”
“That’s ridiculous,” I sputtered.
“It is. I’m betting she didn’t think you’d have someone look this over with the tight deadline she’d given you.”
She’d come by on Tuesday and demanded my decision by Monday. Helen was supposed to be out of town for a client, which everyone knew. I was betting Amber-Rae had timed it thinking I wouldn’t have a lawyer to go over it in time.
“She’s insane.” I picked up the water glass and took a drink.
“She’s desperate to get her hands on your house in any way she can.”
“But why?” It made no sense. “What is so special about the murder manor that she’ll go to these lengths?”
“I’m honestly not sure. This is out there even for her. The complaints, zoning challenges, all of that is classic Amber-Rae. This…” She waved to the contract I’d placed back on the table. “…is a whole different animal.”
That didn’t make me feel any better.
“Which brings me to the other reason I wanted to talk to you.” She turned serious. “As your friend, I would hope you know I’d never judge you.” My ears started to ring. “But as your lawyer, which I am right now, I’d hope you trust my professionalism enough to be open.”
My stomach cramped. I didn’t like this.
“I would have left this alone, except Amber-Rae is making you a target, and she’s not above using whatever she can to win. I’ll also preface this by saying that closets aren’t precisely soundproof…”
The ringing in my ears turning into a full-on horn blaring. I was paralyzed, unable to think. Oh, God…
“Phoebe!”
I swallowed, feeling like I was going to vomit.
“It’s okay,” she assured me, pouring me more water. I took it with numb fingers. “I’m not going to say anything.”
That wasn’t my worry. Well, it was. Sort of.
“If it helps, I’ve known for a while.” That got my attention.
“You have?”
She chuckled. “I might have been at a certain bistro a couple of weeks ago after meeting with a client…”
I closed my eyes, my stomach twisted. The bistro…
Ty had taken me on a surprise date. We’d driven an hour away from Maplehurst and were seated in the most exclusive corner. Ty had helped build the bistro and knew the owner. He’d made sure that Cady-Jo wasn’t planning to leave Maplehurst. We just hadn’t thought about where Helen might be.
“You’re not angry?” I felt compelled to ask. I didn’t think I’d be pissed in her shoes, but people never reacted the way you thought they would.
“Angry? No. Disappointed? A little. On the other hand, I do understand why you might be hesitant with the way Cady-Jo’s been at you.
” Cady-Jo had been rather vocal with Louise and Helen about wanting to make sure the rumors about Ty and me were false, and that his attention was otherwise engaged. Ahem, Olivia. Ahem.
“She’s going to hate me.” I’d started to come to terms with that. My only concern was for Lock. I couldn’t let Cady-Jo mess with my son’s life here.
“Will she be angry? Yes. I don’t even know why she’s acting like this. But I think if she sees you and Ty are happy together, she’ll eventually be okay with it.” Helen sounded much more confident than I felt.
The secrets I’d wrapped my life in were starting to come undone. Someone knew about my identity. Now, Helen and Jesse knew about me and Ty. And a part of me wanted the world to know, too. Jesse’s courage was forefront of my mind, making me feel like a coward.
“With Amber-Rae gunning for you, I think it might be better if you and Ty tell Cady-Jo before she finds out. We’re all entitled to our secrets, but this one comes with a guillotine....”
It wasn’t the only one. Taking a deep breath, I decided to take a small step out of the shadows.
“There’s more,” I told her. Everything. My real identity, my work, the threats.
Once it started to come out of me, it rushed out like the dam that had held back the water finally broke.
I was aware it was slightly cowardly to expose myself to someone who was legally bound to keep my secret, but a start was a start.
I fell back, my body no longer strong enough to keep me sitting upright when I finished.
Helen sat there, her jaw opening and closing. She swallowed a few times, blinking hard. “You’re—” Her mouth worked, nothing coming out. Clearing her throat, she tried again. “You’re the A.J. Lane? And P.J. Alexander?”
Biting my lip, I nodded.
“I’m a huge fan!” she burst out, bouncing in her seat. “I can’t believe this! I love your books. They’re incredible! I’ve had the preorder of Cursed Bonds: The Witch Rises from the day it went live.”
That made me happy. I always loved hearing my books had an impact.
Blinking, she smiled sheepishly, a blush staining her cheeks. “Sorry! I shouldn’t have responded like that. I’m supposed to be a professional.”
“Yeah, but you’re my friend, too.” I thought that distinction mattered more here than the lawyer bit.
We talked for a bit about the whys of why I hid my identity. The threats. She didn’t think Cady-Jo was behind them, and I honestly didn’t think so either. It seemed right up Amber-Rae’s alley, but we couldn’t figure out how she’d even know.
The longer we talked, the more I felt…light. Like a terrible weight I hadn’t even known was pressing on my heart had been lifted.
“Do you really think Cady-Jo will accept me and Ty?”
Helen gave me her all-seeing, I’m wise in an otherworldly way, face.
“If you and Ty have found something real between you, then I don’t think it really matters, do you?
Yes, she’s my friend, and you’re now a part of our friend group permanently.
Will things be messy at first? Probably.
But darlin, I live for messy.” She gave me a cheeky grin, patting my hand.
“I think I’m more interested in why you and Ty are still keeping this a secret.
Sure, the threats and Wade’s assessment are one thing.
I agree you shouldn’t make a huge public announcement.
I still don’t see why you can’t quietly tell the people you care about. The people who care about you.”
Because I’m afraid, or I was, that they wouldn’t care about me if they found out. I was still afraid, at least where Cady-Jo was concerned.
“Secrets, my dear, have a way of coming out. It won’t take long for people to see what I’ve already seen.”
“What’s that?”
“The way you two look at each other.”
“How do we look at each other?” My heart clenched in hope, wanting to hear something good.
“Like you two are each other’s whole world.
” She got to her feet, letting me know she had another client.
I had to get home to Jesse and Lock anyway.
“I’ve known Ty Brockmann his whole life, Phoebe.
I’ve loved him as my godson and even a friend.
I’ve never, not once, seen him look at anyone the way he looks at you.
You can trust him, no matter how hard that may be with your past.”
We walked to the door where she hugged me so tightly my eyes burned.
I hadn’t lost her. I hadn’t lost my friend.
By the time I drove home, I had a new perspective on so many things.
Keeping my career a secret was one thing.
It had been necessary. All around me there were people living their truth, living out in the open.
Every time my truth nudged into the sunlight, I’d been embraced, the judgment and rejection I feared nowhere to be found.
At least not to the real people who mattered.
Pulling up to my house, I knew I needed to talk to Ty.