Page 24 of The Sweet Life

She blamed it on the terrifying thought that she was seconds away from possibly putting the job she loved at risk. It didn’t matter that Jake was right. If Robert was behind Max’s catnapping, the last thing she should want was to work for him, but Jake didn’t understand how important her job was to her. It wasn’t just about the money either.

Brenda bit her lip, no doubt trying not to laugh at Sage’s inane remark, before she asked, “But what if what Chad wanted was Max?”

Renata nodded. “Brenda’s right. Everyone in this building has been talking about Max. His reputation is spreading far and wide. It’s not out of the realm of possibilities that Chad has heard about him and wants some of Max’s nonjudgmental love for himself while getting back at you for taking his son from him. And the way the guy acted after the judge ruled against him, he needs all the comfort and support he can get.” She held up her hands. “I’m not defending him. He deserved what he got. I’m just stating a fact.”

“I know, and you’re right. It’s just that there’s no way Chad would have heard about…” Sage trailed off and then argued against her own argument. “Unless Robert shared how he felt about Max at the charity event Chad’s father hosted last weekend. They were both there.”

She knew this because there had been a photo of them together in the society pages of the newspaper she’d used to line Max’s litter box.

“Okay, so the three of you are right. It looks like Robertmight be behind this—and I stressmight bebecause until we get proof that he set up the catnapping for himself or on Chad’s behalf, we can’t rule out that Emilia took it upon herself to get rid of Max for Robert, and that she approached Chad.”

“Actually, we can. In the past week, there has been no communication between Chad and Robert’s PA.”

“And you know this how?” Sage asked, hoping Jake hadn’t taken a walk on the criminal side. Because accessing information on Chad’s or Emilia’s phone was illegal.

“Plausible deniability is a thing.”

She groaned. “Jake!”

“On that note, I’m off to rescue Max.”

“You didn’t let me finish! What I was going to say before you told me you leaped over that fine line is that Chad isn’t simply going to hand over Max when you knock on his door and ask for him back.”

“I didn’t plan on knocking on his door or asking for him back.” He winked, then gave Brenda and Renata one of his heart-stopping smiles and sauntered out the door.

They stared after him, Renata releasing a lovelorn sigh, Brenda patting her chest while saying, “That man. He’s so—”

“Annoyingly obnoxious with a superhero complex? Yeah, I know,” she said, grabbing her purse.

“Where are you going?” they called after her.

“To make sure he doesn’t end up in jail.”

At least that had been the plan, but now there was a good chance Brenda would have to bail them both out. “You don’tknow him like I do, Jake. If I knock on his door, he’s just as likely to punch me in the face as he is talk to me, and then I’ll have to punch him back,” Sage said from behind the wheel of her BMW, eyeing Chad’s McMansion through the rearview mirror while arguing with Jake. “I have a better idea. Why don’t you go knock on his door and distract him, and I’ll rescue Max?”

He turned his phone, showing her the layout of Chad’s house that he’d been studying on the way over. “Right, because somehow in the past decade you’ve become an expert at breaking and entering.” He pointed at the screen. “My gut says he’ll be keeping Max close by. Either here, here, or here,” he said, indicating the family room, den, and kitchen. “It’ll be a quick in and out. But if you’re not comfortable distracting Winthrop, don’t worry about it. Drive to the rendezvous point, and I’ll meet you there with Max.”

“No, you can’t do this on your own. You need me to distract him. I’ll just stay an arm’s length away and pretend I’m there to help him earn back his visitation rights with his son or something.”

“You don’t feel guilty about him losing his custodial rights, do you?”

“No. Chad hasn’t had any involvement in his son’s day-to-day care, and he’s just a baby. He needs his mom, who is a wonderful hands-on mother. But as unprepared as Chad is to parent, and as horrible a husband as he is, it was obvious he loves his little boy, and he’s only allowed supervised visitation twice a month.”

“It’s not your fault. You did your job and protected your client and the baby. Chad’s a big boy with plenty of resources.Just because he provided the sperm doesn’t make him a father.” He glanced at her. “Don’t worry, you don’t have to do anything. I’ve got a plan to distract him.”

“In case you forgot, we have joint custody.” She sighed. “And Max got catnapped on my watch.”

“It could have just as easily happened on mine, Sage.”

“It wouldn’t have, and you know it.” She twisted her hands on the steering wheel. “I should have left him with you, Jake. I’m sorry. I wasn’t being fair to either of you, especially Max.No wonder he hates me. I took him from the people and places he knows and loves and dumped him in my office while I work.”

“I don’t know. It looked to me like he has a pretty sweet setup, and your colleagues love him. The change of scenery has probably been good for him.”

“You really think so?”

“I do.” He smiled. “Now, am I doing this on my own or are we doing this together?”

“Together,” she said, thinking for the first time it felt like she and Jake were a team instead of adversaries. She couldn’t help but wonder if that was good or bad, because now that she sat with it for a moment, it felt dangerous. Or maybe the nervous flutter in her stomach had more to do with the situation they were walking into than her evolving relationship with Jake.

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