Page 7 of Boss with Benefits

Again, she nodded without making a verbal comment.

“Is his name on the birth certificate?”

She sighed. “Yes. Even though Randy didn’t want to be a father, I listed his name in case my son wanted to see it someday. I didn’t want Axl to feel like he never had a father.”

“That was a mistake.” Haverdash glared at her. “And you let him have visitation without seeing an attorney first? Is that correct?”

“I didn’t see the harm.”

The statement seemed to make Haverdash grumpier than before. Shaking his head, he mumbled under his breath. “Didn’t see the harm.” Then he full-on glared at her. “Kindness may be your downfall. You set a precedence by letting him have a visit. Two weeks, was it?”

“That’s right. This last time was two weeks, but he saw Axl every other weekend here in Seattle for a few months.”

“Be honest with me.” His eyes narrowed. “Will they find anything your ex can use against you in court? Anything scandalous in your past?”

She skimmed over the events of her life and came up nearly empty. As a teenager, she had worked as a model at her mother’s insistence. She’d been a wild teen, but they couldn’t possibly hold that against her. The only thing she came up with that might hurt her case was her lack of family. A judge might see it as a failure on her part and a lack of stability for her child.

“My mother isn’t in my life anymore,” she said. “And I never knew my father.”

“So what you’re saying is you got your penchant for bed-hopping from your mother.”

“Hey!” She shot to her feet.

The lawyer held up a hand. “No offense intended. Simply playing the devil’s advocate here. If you think his lawyer isn’t going to seek out every little fact of your past, think again. My guess is, he already knows everything there is to know about it, and he’s digging into your present now.”

Scary thought.

Her hands curled into fists. “I can’t help who my parents were. Nobody can.”

“Indeed. However, parentage affects us long into adulthood, and the judge may fixate on that point. Most people become their parents in later years.”

She shook her head. “My mother spent my childhood jumping from man to man, and I was left to raise myself. Yes, I was a problem child. But when Axl was born, everything changed. I changed. I made sure my son always came first, and he willalwayscome first with me. Randy didn’t want anything to do with him until this summer. No judge can possibly look at the two of us and think Randy would be a better parent for Axl.”

The lawyer set his large chin on his folded hands. “Your ex claims he couldn’t see his son because you wouldn’t let him.”

“WHAT?!” The lying bastard. She shook her head hard. “Randy never wanted to see Axl. When I found out I was pregnant, I told him right away. He wasn’t interested... until a couple months ago.”

The lawyer stared at her with dark, unforgiving eyes. “From this moment on, you need to live the life of a nun. Don’t let them catch you doing anything untoward, not even jaywalking. Be a saint.”

“Done,” she said.

It wouldn’t be hard considering she focused all her energy on her son. She worked and took care of Axl. That was her normal day to day routine. With the exception of the last two weeks, she hadn’t had sex since getting pregnant nearly six years ago. It was too bad the detective hadn’t been following her then.

Mr. Haverdash went on. “To be honest with you, the ideal situation would be you married to a stable young man and living in a nice house in a good neighborhood. If your son already had an acting-father, it would make things easier on us.”

“Well, I’m not married, and I live in a condo. It’s going to have to be good enough for the court.”

He glowered at her. “Do you want to keep custody of your son?”

“That’s why I’m here.”

“Then listen to me, and heed my advice.” Mr. Haverdash leaned over his desk to stare her in the eyes. “You may not be able to get married in the next few days, but you need to find a better home with a big fenced in yard. Just do it.”

Jessica gripped her purse tighter and went over her options. Sinking back down in the recently vacated chair, she considered her finances. She had a fair amount saved up in the bank. Maybe she could move into something nicer. Although, it might take time to find the right place and put in an acceptable offer. Wouldn’t the judge see right through that sort of obvious manipulation?

“Do you have any other questions?” Mr. Haverdash asked.

“Be straight with me. What are my chances of keeping sole custody of my son?”

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