Old Dream Die Hard (Wild Hearts, Contemporary Romance Book 4)
Page 16
James was silent for several seconds, but then he nodded. “I remember,” he said. “You really were a great actor. You could make people believe in you, just by spewing words out of your mouth, and that's exactly what makes a great lawyer and a great politician. It takes that same ability to project yourself into the words that you say. You say you really wanted to be an actor? I thought being an actor was what would make you one of the greatest attorneys this country has ever known.”
Darren shrugged. “Well, it just goes to show you how wrong we can be about each other, right? Now, let's get back to how you knew I was in Ozark. Have you got people watching me?”
It was James's turn to shrug. “You quit a gold-plated job with a prestigious law firm just days after you started, packed up and came back home and asked me to put you back to work in my office. You don't think that sounded a little crazy? Of course I had people watching, I was afraid you were going to self-destruct. And don't think I didn't know that it was about that girl; that was pretty obvious.”
“Her name is Katie Lou, Dad,” Darren said. “Let's not refer to her as 'that girl,' okay?”
“I darn well will,” James shot back. “That girl cost me three hundred and fifty thousand dollars, remember? I'm the one who had to foot the bill for that settlement, or have you forgotten that?”
“No, I haven't forgotten, but you're wrong. She didn't cost you a dime. If you want to put some blame on that, then you need to point the fingers at yourself and Matthews, because if I had just stuck by her like a man should do, there wouldn't have been a settlement to pay out. It was you and Matthews who convinced me that the accident made her unsuitable as my wife, remember? I walked away from the woman I loved, over political ambitions; do you think I'm ever going to forgive myself, or you, for that?” Darren made a visible effort to get himself under control. “Look, I didn't come in here to fight with you. Mom said you wanted to talk, so I came to talk, but if you think you're going to convince me to go back to St. Louis, then you're going to be disappointed. I'm sure your spies told you that Katie Lou and I had a very nice dinner together last night, right? Well, we haven't made any commitments, but we're definitely exploring the possibility of picking up where we left off. And so help me, if you do anything to derail that, I will walk away from you forever.”
James put a derisive smile on his face. “Don't make threats, Darren,” he said. “They don't become you.”
Darren got to his feet and leaned across the desk to look his father in the eye. “I'm not making any threats, Dad,” he said. “I'm just predicting the future.” He turned and walked out of the study, leaving his father to sit there staring after him.
After a moment, James reached over and picked up the telephone on his desk. He dialed a number from memory, and smiled when it was answered.
“Andrews agency,” he heard through the line.
“I might speak with Walter Andrews, please,” he said. “This is James Allsip.”
“Just one moment, sir,” the receptionist said. James was a regular customer of the Andrews Investigation Agency, and his calls were always put through as soon as possible.
“James,” came the voice of Walter Andrews. “What can I do for you today?”
“You can grab your shovel,” James said. “I need you to dig up some dirt, and the more, the better. That son of mine has got his head on sideways, and I guess it's going to be up to me to get it turned around to face forward again.”
Walter laughed. “Let me guess, he's mooning around that girl again?”
“You got it. I think it's time we give him a dose of reality,” James said. “I've heard rumors about her and her doctor, let's see what you can dig up on that. If you can get something that shows him she can't be trusted, I think he'll wake up and smell the roses.”
“Leave it to us,” Walter said. “I'll put a couple of my best people on it, right now. If there's anything to get, I'll find it, and if there isn't, then maybe we'll make it up.”
“Which is why I'm always willing to pay your bill,” James said with a laugh. “Just make it convincing, would you?”
“Don't I always? I'll be in touch.”
James hung up the phone and sat back in his chair. He was fully confident that Walter's people would give him the ammunition he needed to shoot down this crazy idea Darren had of getting back with Katie Lou. James had never liked the girl, which probably went back to the fact that he had always detested her father, even when they were kids in school. Allen was always the goody two shoes, the guy who helped everybody else out and never asked anything in return. As a result, he always got the girl James liked, got the class assignments that James wanted—yeah, that was probably why he disliked the girl so much.
When the accident had happened, and she’d been in a coma, James had thought the problem was solved. At first, no one thought she was ever going to wake up, but then she did. Matthews had sat Darren down and explained the facts of life to him, and it looked like the boy was going to be sensible. He took the job in St. Louis, told the girl goodbye, and it appeared he was on his way to great things.
Apparently he cared more for the girl than James had thought, if he was willing to throw away his entire career for her. The boy needed to learn that life didn't always give you what you wanted; sometimes you had to make sacrifices, in order to accomplish the great things that were in you.
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NANCY ADAMS is an Amazon bestselling author of contemporary romance. She's currently single and dreams of one day meeting her prince charming and starting a family. She loves people and loves life. A real "people-person" who sometimes can't stand the noise. During those times, she curls up, shuts the door, and drifts into beautiful fantasy and welcomes all along for the ride. She expresses how she feels and what she wants to feel through her writing, and she doesn't know what she'd do without it. The mere fact that she is able to share her gift with the rest of the world is simply a bonus, and one that brings her nothing but pure joy!
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