of my asking for money now?”
She was right. And with her staring back at him the way she was right now, her eyes unblinking, her expression resolute, he was reminded once again that she wasn’t like some women he’d known, who would sel their own souls to have access to his bank account.
“If not money,” he said, “then what do you want?” When she turned to the sofa, reached into a manila folder she’d brought with her, and pul ed out a stack of legal-sized papers, Jeremy’s mouth went dry. Papers like those meant she’d retained an attorney, and that was always a red flag, tel ing him he’d damned wel better stay on his toes.
She rose from the sofa and tossed the papers on his desk. “I want ful custody.”
Jeremy blinked with surprise. “What?”
“You heard me. Sign these papers, and you never have to see me or this child ever again.” Jeremy was stunned. “I never took you for a fool.”
“What are you talking about?”
“If you real y are pregnant and you believe I’m the father, why aren’t you demanding child support?”
“Because it’s better for a kid to have no father than a lousy one, no matter how much money that lousy father is forced to give him.”
Jeremy was surprised at how much that stung.
“What makes you think I’d be a lousy father?”
“Are you tel ing me you’d be a good one?” The question caught him off guard, and it was a moment before he answered. “Quite frankly, I’ve never even thought about it, since I never planned to be one.”
“In other words, if you ever got a woman pregnant, you figured you’d just pay her off and that would be that?”
“Do you real y think so little of me?” She paused, looking away. “Sometimes I don’t know what to think of you.”
“Most of my enemies don’t.”
She whipped back around. “Damn it, I’m not your enemy!”
“Then stop acting like one. Do we real y have to drag lawyers into this?”
“I’m just trying to handle this situation in a way that’s best for both of us.”
“By shutting me out completely?”
“Come on, Bridges. I’m doing you a favor. You’ve said time and time again that you’l never marry, much less have a family, and you like it that way. Do you real y want to be a father?”
No. He didn’t. Or at least he hadn’t up to now. But he’d also never been faced with a situation like this.
“If you’re so sure I want nothing to do with this child you say I’ve fathered,” Jeremy said, “then why al the legalities?”
“You’re a businessman. If there’s something you want, do you rely on a handshake, or do you get it in writing?”
“If I sign these papers, what do you plan to tel this child about his father?”
“That I don’t know who he is. And not only wil my child not know, nobody else wil , either. I’l leave it blank on the birth certificate, and I won’t tel a solitary soul. The truth wil go with me to the grave.” The baby will never even know who you are.
For a moment, Jeremy felt a stab of anguish. A child growing up in this world without a father was a very specific kind of hel no kid should ever have to experience.
But was this child real y his?
If she thought he was the father, she should at least be demanding some kind of shared custody. But she wasn’t asking him to sign papers to ensure he did something. She was asking him to sign papers to ensure he did nothing.
Which meant she was tel ing the truth.
He picked up the papers. Looked at them but didn’t see them. Page after page of legalese that could have been written in Chinese for al he comprehended it right now. He flipped to the last page. Saw the signature line. His name typed beneath it. Even those words seemed to blur until he was having a hard time reading them clearly.
He needed time. Time to think about this. Time to come to terms with the situation.
“I’l give you my decision tomorrow.” Bernie blinked. “What? Why not now?”
“That’s none of your
She was right. And with her staring back at him the way she was right now, her eyes unblinking, her expression resolute, he was reminded once again that she wasn’t like some women he’d known, who would sel their own souls to have access to his bank account.
“If not money,” he said, “then what do you want?” When she turned to the sofa, reached into a manila folder she’d brought with her, and pul ed out a stack of legal-sized papers, Jeremy’s mouth went dry. Papers like those meant she’d retained an attorney, and that was always a red flag, tel ing him he’d damned wel better stay on his toes.
She rose from the sofa and tossed the papers on his desk. “I want ful custody.”
Jeremy blinked with surprise. “What?”
“You heard me. Sign these papers, and you never have to see me or this child ever again.” Jeremy was stunned. “I never took you for a fool.”
“What are you talking about?”
“If you real y are pregnant and you believe I’m the father, why aren’t you demanding child support?”
“Because it’s better for a kid to have no father than a lousy one, no matter how much money that lousy father is forced to give him.”
Jeremy was surprised at how much that stung.
“What makes you think I’d be a lousy father?”
“Are you tel ing me you’d be a good one?” The question caught him off guard, and it was a moment before he answered. “Quite frankly, I’ve never even thought about it, since I never planned to be one.”
“In other words, if you ever got a woman pregnant, you figured you’d just pay her off and that would be that?”
“Do you real y think so little of me?” She paused, looking away. “Sometimes I don’t know what to think of you.”
“Most of my enemies don’t.”
She whipped back around. “Damn it, I’m not your enemy!”
“Then stop acting like one. Do we real y have to drag lawyers into this?”
“I’m just trying to handle this situation in a way that’s best for both of us.”
“By shutting me out completely?”
“Come on, Bridges. I’m doing you a favor. You’ve said time and time again that you’l never marry, much less have a family, and you like it that way. Do you real y want to be a father?”
No. He didn’t. Or at least he hadn’t up to now. But he’d also never been faced with a situation like this.
“If you’re so sure I want nothing to do with this child you say I’ve fathered,” Jeremy said, “then why al the legalities?”
“You’re a businessman. If there’s something you want, do you rely on a handshake, or do you get it in writing?”
“If I sign these papers, what do you plan to tel this child about his father?”
“That I don’t know who he is. And not only wil my child not know, nobody else wil , either. I’l leave it blank on the birth certificate, and I won’t tel a solitary soul. The truth wil go with me to the grave.” The baby will never even know who you are.
For a moment, Jeremy felt a stab of anguish. A child growing up in this world without a father was a very specific kind of hel no kid should ever have to experience.
But was this child real y his?
If she thought he was the father, she should at least be demanding some kind of shared custody. But she wasn’t asking him to sign papers to ensure he did something. She was asking him to sign papers to ensure he did nothing.
Which meant she was tel ing the truth.
He picked up the papers. Looked at them but didn’t see them. Page after page of legalese that could have been written in Chinese for al he comprehended it right now. He flipped to the last page. Saw the signature line. His name typed beneath it. Even those words seemed to blur until he was having a hard time reading them clearly.
He needed time. Time to think about this. Time to come to terms with the situation.
“I’l give you my decision tomorrow.” Bernie blinked. “What? Why not now?”
“That’s none of your
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