“I’ll call Garrett in a couple of days. Maybe you could convince him to hear me out long enough to get that apology?”
Imani nodded. “I can’t make any promises.”
“I’ll accept that for now.”
Imani watched Raymond walk out of the door, all the while her mind was racing. Garrett married her primarily to get custody of his son. If that was no longer a threat, she could only hope that he would want to continue with the marriage. Suddenly, she felt nauseous.
Raymond left Imani’s offices feeling confident he’d succeeded in step one of plan B. Reggie played along perfectly. At first, when he’d been informed that the judge in the case had a history of ruling in favor of the adoptive parents, he was still ready to leverage this situation against Garrett.
That was until he’d found out that Garrett’s private investigators had uncovered his gambling debts and the two assault convictions that were supposed to have been sealed. Even though they happened several years ago, it wasn’t that long ago to it chalk up to actions taken during his youth.
Currently, Raymond didn’t have any income, significant gambling debts, and two assault convictions on his record. There was no way the judge would rule in his favor.
He had no choice but to move on to plan B. Imani would be a big help in moving that along.
Chapter 22
Shannon sat in Garrett’s office, dabbing at the corners of her eyes, wiping away phantom tears. “I’m just so sorry. I never meant for any of this to happen.”
Garrett wasn’t moved at all. He sat across from her quietly, watching with a hawk’s eye only to see how far she would go.
“Raymond was a mistake. A very bad mistake. He was someone I knew immediately was wrong for me. But, he was persistent.” She stuttered. “A-and I was afraid. You couldn’t possibly understand what it was like living in fear. Worried every minute that he would hurt me.”
Garrett knew then that Shannon was aware of what he’d uncovered in his investigation of both Raymond—and her. An uncomfortable silence spanned out before them as her lingering words filled the air. Were they supposed to invoke sympathy? If so, Shannon had failed miserably. Finally, after several quiet moments, Garrett spoke. “None of that matters to me. What do you want, Shannon?”
Her eyes widened, and she looked panicked. “At one time, you loved me and would do anything for me.” It was a declaration more to herself than to Garrett.
He flicked off an imaginary ball of lint from his arm. “That time was so long ago. I don’t even remember it.” Garrett checked his watch. “I have a meeting in fifteen minutes. You need to get to the point of why you came.”
The forced saddened look on her face vanished. Her voice hardened. “I’m here because I want all of this to go away. In all honesty, our son is better off with you than he is with Raymond and me.”
Garrett folded his arms. “If I understand you correctly, you don’t want your own son?” While his voice was even the fury within him was bubbling close to the surface.
“If we’re cutting pretenses. We both know I’m not the motherly type. And, Raymond, his jealousy of you is all consuming. If he could be you, he would. Since he can’t, he’s decided to blame you for everything that’s gone wrong in his life. He never understood how things seemed to come easily for you and not him, which is funny since you’ve taken care of him financially his entire life. Anyway, his hatred would spill over into Garrett Jr. No child deserves that.”
Her words hurt, not for him but for his son. “What are you proposing? How do we make all of this go away?”
“Fifteen million.”
He lifted a brow. “Fifteen million? You must be out of your mind.”
“No. I’m not. I promise what I can deliver would make it worth your while.”
Garrett leaned back in his chair. “I’m listening.”
“I know that you’ve uncovered Raymond’s alleged gambling debts. He knows it too.”
Garrett interrupted. “It’s not alleged, and there are also two sealed assault convictions.”
“Those convictions are bullshit, and you know it. It was BDSM gone wrong.”
“Defending the man you were so afraid of? Interesting. I don’t really care about the particulars. I doubt the judge will either.”
Shannon sat up on the edge of her seat. “What if I can guarantee you get full custody of Garrett Jr.?”
“I said, I’m listening.”
“You and I both know that there is still a chance of Raymond winning custody. If I gave you the names and account numbers for all his debts, you'd have proof of his illegal activities.”
“You can provide me proof—for a fifteen-million-dollar fee is that it?”
“Yes. Not only that, I could testify on your behalf. I would make sure that Judge Stone saw an unstable man attempting to use his son as a meal ticket.”
Garrett thought her words were rich. Shannon was doing the exact same thing.
“Then, I would disappear forever,” Shannon said. “I’ve already signed my rights over to you. I think if I can pull all of that off, it would be worth fifteen million.”
*****
After meeting with Raymond, Imani’s creative energy was tapped. She called it a night and decided to pay Garrett a visit at his office. It wasn’t too far away from hers.
They’d grown so much closer after their honeymoon in Dubai. She didn’t want the taint of Raymond to ruin it.
Imani stepped off the elevator and started walking towards his desk. She waved to his assistant,
