Page 28 of Reluctant to Love

14

Roderick

The moment the first shadowy rays of sun enter my room, I’m awake. Today, I finally get to meet my daughter. I rush to get dressed and hurry out to the cold spring morning. Breakfast and balloons.

I send Eleanor a text as I head down to the hotel lobby.

Me: How’s Izzy doing?

Eleanor: Fever is gone.

Me: Great news. Still want breakfast?

Eleanor: Maybe you can come by the house later? We’re hoping to be discharged this afternoon.

Me: Ellie…

Eleanor: It’ll be less awkward at the hospital, less that I have to explain.

Me: Fine. Send me your address and I’ll find a new place to stay.

This is not what I had planned but I feel like I don’t have any other choice. Izzy might be my daughter, but she doesn’t know me. Eleanor is the one calling the shots and I have to follow her lead.

I turn around and head back to my room to grab my laptop. There’s no use in wasting the morning. Leaving World of Books abruptly threw my schedule off; not only am I behind on delivering my fifth book and final book in the series but I canceled meetings at the last minute.

I stop at the front desk and ask them to point me in the direction of the nearest coffee shop with Wi-Fi.

“There’s a Starbucks just down the road,” the front desk clerk tells me without much enthusiasm.

I roll my eyes. “Thanks,” I mutter before heading out to the parking lot.

Through the magic of the Internet and GPS, I manage to find a café serving strong cups of coffee alongside decent Wi-Fi.

Every so often, my eyes flick to my phone, hoping for a call or a text from Eleanor. While I wait impatiently, I work my way through emails. Most are easy replies but one from my lawyer makes me nervous. It simply tells me to call him at my earliest convenience.

“You know the phone works both ways, Larry,” I tease him when he answers the phone. “You didn’t need to send an email.”

“Well…” Larry’s voice trails off, which worries me instantly. “I was delaying having to tell you this news.”

“What news?”

“Famke is claiming she co-wrote your Tristan series and threatening to sue.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I groan. “She’s lying. You know all about the identity of my ghostwriter.” Larry drafted the NDA Eleanor signed when she agreed to help me so many years ago. “Why didn’t you tell her that?”

“I did but she’s persistent.”

Famke and I haven’t spoken to each other since I signed on the dotted line, sealing our divorce and ending our marriage. She’s a devious woman which could only mean one thing…

“Daddy’s money has run out,” I state flatly. “Now she’s coming after me because I have money now.”

I’ve heard rumblings in the writing community that her position as senior editor at Dreammedia in hanging on by a thread. She’s been mentioned once or twice in the gossip columns, but I’ve ignored any mention of her. Now it might be prudent to pay attention.

“Just tell me how you want me to handle it and I’ll take care of her.”

“Just push back on her with the original NDA Eleanor signed. She doesn’t have a leg to stand on.”

“I’ll try her again.”