Page 65 of Fierce-Matt

Damn it all.

They were fishing.

The question was, why? Or how?

Or was it a coincidence?

He wasn’t opposed to letting them know he was dating Anya, but it was not something the two of them had talked about either.

“She was,” Grace said. “You two are getting along fine?”

He frowned. “Of course. I’m keeping it professional. I thought you had confidence in me not to be that person again?”

When his mother’s shoulder slumped, he knew she was feeling guilty. “We do. But you tried to talk to her at the wedding and she walked off the floor on you.”

“I wasn’t aware you saw that,” he said.

“We hadn’t. Someone else did and mentioned it. They thought it was funny.”

He snorted. “I’m sure they did. She wasn’t mad enough that she couldn’t call me for help. I know I was her second choice. She would have rather had Phoebe.”

“That stands to reason,” his father said. “They were best friends and her parents know Phoebe.”

“They know me too, but not as well. Everything is good. You get our reports weekly. I was just finishing mine, but since you’re here, I’ll tell you. I talked with the ADA on Shelly’s case. It’s exactly as I thought. Her attorney is pushing for a plea deal with no jail time, just probation if she pays back everything she stole.”

“That’s great,” his mother said. “For them. And what a relief it would be.”

“I’m waiting for Shelly’s attorney to reach out to me. It will happen.”

“We all know it will go a long way if Elliot and Amber drop their lawsuit for Shelly to get that deal. Is that what you want?”

“It’s not about what I want,” he said. “It’s what is best for them. I want to negotiate and we should. Shelly should pay backmore than she stole. She earned money on their money, they should get that as well. Do I think they will or want to go for the whole two million Shelly is being sued for? No. But they deserve more compensation for the damage. The trust that was broken.”

“The pain of that has to be hard,” Grace said. “I think to myself how I’d feel if Alyssa did that to us.”

Alyssa had been his mother’s assistant since he was a kid.

“That’s right,” he said. “This is about more than money, but those things may never get resolved.”

“And it’s not our job to do that,” his father said.

“No. If there isn’t anything else, I’ll finish my report and get it to you before I take off for a night of beer and baseball.”

“Baseball over movies?” his mother asked.

“Movies aren’t any fun alone. Baseball is better.”

His father lifted an eyebrow at his mother and the two of them left.

They were on to him, he knew it, and he’d have to let Anya know.

18

TO BE HIS LOVER

“What are you cooking for me tonight?” Anya asked when she stepped into Matt’s condo. He’d had to come down and get her because the guy working the front desk couldn’t find a release for her to go up on her own.

She found that silly when she’d been here before, but it was a nice security feature, and something she’d boast about to potential buyers if they were her client.