Finding Joy (The Joy Series) (Volume 2) (7 page)

CARLY: Hey?

ALEXIS: Get off my phone. Working …

CARLY: You’re a cow.

ALEXIS: You’re a wench.

I hadn’t even put my phone down before it was ringing again. This time it was the generic default ring tone that didn’t provide any clue as to who the caller was.

“Alexis Harper,” I answered.

“Hi, Alexis. It’s Marlene.” That was all the introduction I needed. Marlene was the director of the East Manhattan Big Brothers/Big Sisters Program.

“Hi, Marlene. What’s up?” I asked, tapping my pen on my desk.

“Well, something’s been brought to my attention that needs a bit of delicate handling.”

“Okay. I assume this has to do with Lizzie.” I leaned back in my chair, getting comfortable.

“Yes,” she replied. “One of her neighbors called me. She’s got a granddaughter in the program, too … though she’s much more hands-on than Amber.”

Amber was Lizzie’s ne’er do well mom. She was an addict though I couldn’t be sure what all of her vices were. From the evidence I’d seen, at the very least, they included beer, liquor, and pot. But I suspected there was much more at play here.

“Yeah?”

“She thinks Lizzie’s mom disappeared some time last week, and Lizzie is alone.”

“Shit,” I said without thinking.

I should’ve known. The apartment had been too clean. That hadn’t been her mom’s doing. It had been Lizzie’s. Who knew how long it had been since Amber had darkened their door.

“Alexis …,” she admonished.

“I’m sorry. It’s just that I should have figured it out. I was there yesterday. It was strangely clean. Amber doesn’t keep a clean house. I should’ve known.”

“All right. Well, now that I’ve been informed of the problem, I have to do something about it. I’ve been talking to Lizzie’s grandma. She’s in Boston. She’s willing to take her in, but I have to figure out how to get her there. She’s basically an invalid and can’t come get her. It’s going to take me a few days to figure all this out.”

“I can take Friday off and take her. It’s no problem.” As I said it, the gravity of the situation hit me. If Lizzie was in Boston, I wouldn’t be able to see her. Maybe I was deluding myself, but she needed me. Or maybe I needed her. She had been a constant in my life for more than four years.

And what about the baby? What would happen if she had the baby in Boston? I didn’t know anything about Massachusetts state law. Specifically, I didn’t know anything about Massachusetts adoption laws.

“Really? You’d be willing to do that?”

“Of course. I don’t mind at all,” I said even though I was already filled with dread over Lizzie being out of the state.

“Here’s the thing. Normally, I would need to involve CPS, but since I’ve already spoken with her grandmother I really don’t want to call them. Involving CPS will just create a whole lot of red tape, and they’ll take custody of Lizzie. Even if it’s temporary, I don’t want to do that. I think we can make this a lot simpler by handling it internally.”

“I agree,” I said even though what we were contemplating was probably unethical if not illegal. Regardless, the last thing I wanted was for Lizzie to end up a ward of the state. Could something be morally right but unethical in the eyes of the New York state bar. Probably, but I wouldn’t know. I’d never fallen on the wrong side of any law.

“This totally goes against protocol, but can she stay with you for a few days?”

That snapped me back to attention. “Ohhhh,” I said. “Sure. I mean, of course, she can stay with me.”

“It will just be for a few days … just until we can get her to Boston.”

“Yeah, that’s no problem.”

“But, Allie,” she said conspiratorially. “We have to keep this on the down low. If this gets out, it could jeopardize the whole program.”

“I totally understand.”

“All right,” she said. Her tone had changed and was now all business again. “Has anything changed with your living situation? According to my notes, we screened you four years ago.”

“Yeah,” I said slowly. “I’ve actually been meaning to call you. My boyfriend moved in a month ago. Lizzie doesn’t come over much, but he’s gone out with us a few times. I was thinking that you might need to screen him or something. I promise, I really
was
going to call you.”

Marlene let out a long exhale. “This isn’t going to work, Alexis. Under normal circumstances, we would need to interview him and run a background check. I’m sure he’s fine, but that’ll take weeks. I need to put Lizzie somewhere today. I’m sure she’s used to staying by herself, but I can’t knowingly leave her there in her condition.” She was getting more and more frantic with every syllable. “I guess I have no choice. I have to call Child Protective Services.”

“Don’t do that!” I blurted. “Adam still has his own place. He can move out for a few days.”

“Really? Are you sure he won’t mind?”

“Positive.” I wasn’t entirely positive, but Adam loved Lizzie. He wouldn’t want her in CPS any more than I did. It would just be for a few days anyway.

“Okay, that would be great. I’m going to go over there this evening and help her pack some things. I will bring her to your house tonight. Will eight o’clock work?”

“Yes. I’ll be there.”

“Oh, Alexis, one more thing! How many bedrooms do you have?” she asked.

“Just one, but she can stay on the couch. It pulls out.”

“Oh dear. I know in foster situations, the child has to have his or her own room.” She paused. I imagined she was trying to find a way out of this. “Oh, hell, this isn’t a foster situation. And it’s just for a couple of nights. It will be fine.”

“I’ll sleep on the couch. She can have my room.”

“That’ll work. I’m sorry for putting you out like this.”

“You aren’t. Lizzie is like family to me.”

“I know she is. I knew I could count on you. Okay, we’ll see you tonight at eight,” she said.

I had no more than hung up when my phone rang for the third time. It was the damn trumpets again. “For the love of God and all that is holy,” I said looking at it. I knew he was in the building somewhere, but, after last night, I wasn’t anxious to speak with him.

I looked up and found Ethan sitting in the chair opposite my desk. He smirked at me. “Big mistake not to answer that call.”

I sighed. “I can’t talk to him right now.”

“You can’t avoid him forever, A-lister. He’s going to come after you.”

“He did,” I said. “Last night, in fact. He showed up at the apartment. It was awful.”

Ethan shook his head and whistled under his breath. “I bet it was. Did they get into it?”

“Yes. It got pretty ugly. Hey, can we talk about something else?” I was worried about my dad, but it wasn’t my first concern at the moment. I had to figure out how to kick a man out of his home right after he said he would never leave.

“Sure,” Ethan said, eyeing me warily. “Are you hungry? Let’s go grab some lunch.”

My secretary breezed in before I could answer him. “I believe your lunch just arrived, Ms. Harper.” In her arms, Constance cradled a huge wooden serving tray shaped like a boat. The wood glistened … not unlike the deck of an actual boat. What was more impressive, however, was what covered its surface. There was enough sushi, rolls, and sashimi to feed a party of eight. I glanced at the tray as she placed it on the corner of my desk. All of my favorites were present.

“What the hell?” I asked. “Where did that come from?”

“Who cares,” Ethan said. He was already salivating.

“I’m not entirely sure, Ms. Harper. A courier delivered it a few minutes ago. There’s a card. It’s in the bag. There are also utensils and plates in here.” She placed the bag on my desk next to the Titanic of sushi.

“Thanks, Constance. And please call me Alexis.”

“Yes, ma’am, Ms. Harper,” she said, turning to leave.

“Wait. Constance, do you have lunch plans? Please take some of this.” There was absolutely no way that Ethan and I could eat this much food.

“No, thank you, Ms. Harper,” she said. If I wasn’t mistaken, she might have wrinkled her nose in disgust. But, if she had expressed an actual emotion, it passed as quickly as it had come.

I stared at the assortment of raw fish before me and waited long enough for Constance to get back to her desk. “Why is she so stiff?” I muttered under my breath.

“I don’t know but I’d like to show her something stiff.”

“Gross Ethan! She’s at least 15 years older than you.”

“Simmer down, A-lister. Constance is a … what’s it called? A cougar. And I bet she can sharpen a pencil like no other.”

I looked at him like he had just spoken in Portuguese. “I wouldn’t know. I don’t ask her to sharpen a lot of pencils. And what does that even mean?”

He shrugged ambivalently. “I’m saying that I’d like to help her file something, and I’m not the only one around here who would.”

I shuddered. What a horny idiot. “What about Jillian?”

“What about her?” he asked. He winked at me and gave me his most charming smile. “We have an understanding.”

“Hmmm,” I said, picking up a spicy tuna roll. “I had an understanding once, and you can see where that got me.”

Ethan looked at me like I was stupid. “Whatever. You’re as happy as a pig in shit. Can we eat already?”

He was right. I was as happy as a pig in shit. Or at least I had been until my dad had interrupted our little piece of heaven.

He grabbed for the plastic bag and dug through it until he pulled out a sealed envelope. Handing it to me, he said on an eye roll, “Gee, I wonder who it’s from.”

I had a pretty good idea, too. Opening the note confirmed our suspicions.

Alexis,

Don’t let him scare you. You are mine, and I am yours. This boat is unsinkable.

Love,

Adam

P.S. – You can share with Ethan. I know how he likes smelly tuna.

Ahhh. I was still a pig in shit.

“Adam?” Ethan said through a mouth full of raw fish.

“Yeah,” I said a little too dreamily. Adam’s gifts always made me swoon.

“You guys are sick. Seriously. I don’t ever want to be like that.”

“Yeah, you do.” I said, putting the note back in the envelope and reaching for a plate. Why would he not? In moments like this one, it didn’t get any better.

“Yeah, okay,” Ethan said thoughtfully. “Maybe some day. But not today.”

“Speaking of today. I have to kick Adam out tonight.”

Ethan stopped chewing and stared at me like
I
had
just spoken Portuguese. Yep. That was pretty much the reaction I could expect later, too.

_________________________

I flew through the lobby, my heels making a ruckus as I went. Tony was slumped behind his desk, reading a magazine. It was probably one of Adam’s. “Hey, Alexis,” he said as I passed.

“Hey, Tony. I’m late,” I hollered behind me. It was 7:35. I’d gotten tied up at work, and now I only had 25 minutes before Marlene and Lizzie would be here. I had even less time to explain the situation to Adam and show him the door.

“He’s already up there,” Tony said, as if he could read my mind. I wasn’t surprised that Tony knew his whereabouts. It seemed that Adam had made his first friend in the building. Unfortunately, his only friend was the guy who was paid to know everyone’s business.

“Okay, thanks,” I said. I spun back around to face him before I crossed the threshold of the elevator. “Hey, Tony, I’m expecting two visitors in a few minutes. Lizzie …whom you’ve met … and an older woman. Will you send them up?”

“Absolutely,” he said.

“Oh, and Tony, my dad showed up last night. If he comes back, don’t let him up, okay? Or at least give me a head’s up?”

“Yes, ma’am,” he said, with a salute.

“Thanks,” I hollered as the elevator door closed between us.

I twisted the knob even before I inserted the key. When it turned and opened, I made a mental note to give Adam another tongue lashing about leaving the door unlocked. It wasn’t a good idea even in this building. It was an especially bad idea with my dad on a rampage. Of course, maybe this wasn’t the night to turn into a nag. I would table that conversation for later.

I threw my bag under the table by the door and made a quick sweep of the living room and kitchen. No Adam. Tony was right, though. He was here somewhere. Eminem’s “The Real Slim Shady” was booming through the living room and was a dead giveaway that the man of the house was home.

I swooped into the bedroom and found Adam sitting on our bed. His head was bent forward as he studied a paper in his hands. “Hey,” he said, looking up and sending me his killer lazy smile. “Did you have a good day?”