Page 19 of Joey

We go back in, meet the lawyers in the conference room, and one of them—Jack, his name is—says, “Have a seat, Joey. They’ve made an offer.”

“Better be a good one,” Huck says, already pulling out a chair to sit down.

Wald doesn’t sit. I take the same chair I had.

“So here’s the deal,” Jack says. “The Kane family doesn’t like you.”

“No shit,” I say. “But they don’t need to like me.”

“They kinda do, Joey,” my other lawyer, Steven, says. “Maisy has been living in the Kane family estate her whole life. They have been present. She knows them. You have never met your daughter.”

“I wasn’t given the chance.”

“I understand, Joey,” Jack says. “But on paper it looks really bad. You’ve been living in Asia for the past… what? Ten years?”

“You technically still live in Japan, correct?” Steven asks.

“I don’t have to live there,” I say. “I can live anywhere I want.”

“Understood,” Jack says. “But the Kane family isn’t going to let you take Maisy out of the country. So they are rightfully worried that there might be no point in you seeing her.”

“How do you fucking figure?” Huck asks.

And I gotta hand it to Huck. Dude is always on my side.

“If he goes back to Tokyo,” Jack says, talking to Huck now, “that could have negative mental health consequences for Maisy.”

“He won’t go back,” Huck says. Then he looks at me. “Right, Joe? Fuck it. We’ll stay here.”

“I can’t stay here,” Wald says. “Corporate offices are in Tokyo.”

I don’t want to glare at Wald, but I kinda do. Because first of all, I’m not asking him to stay. And second of all, we can do whatever the fuck we want. We own the goddamned place and this is modern day, OK? It’s called ‘choose your favorite teleconference app.’

“This is their point,” Jack says, drawing my attention back to him. “I get it, Joey. You want to see Maisy. And the Kane lawyers conceded that if you’re truly serious about being a part of Maisy’s life, if you’re a stable and positive influence, if you have a residence here she could spend time at, they’d be willing to give you a chance.”

“A chance?” Huck roars. “It’s his fucking kid!”

Jack glares at Huck and says, “I’m not talking to you, Mr. Newtown. I’m talking to Mr. Boston.”

Huck opens his mouth to say something but I put up a hand. “It’s fine, Huck. I got this.” Then I look at Jack. “What do they want me to do?”

“Prove to them that you are all those things.”

“And how do I do that?” I ask. “Hm? How?”

“They’ve invited you up to the family estate this weekend. So… you go. You behave. You meet your daughter. And you show them you’re just a normal thirty-four-year-old billionaire.” Then he smiles at me.

“And do not,” Steven says, “under any circumstances, use Johnny’s name in these negotiations again.”

“Yes,” Jack agrees. “They were not happy about that… threat.”

I ponder this deal for a moment. “So I just… go up there. Alone?”

“If you have a steady girlfriend, that would help,” Jack says.

I say nothing. There is no girl. There has never been a girl like that. Charlotte wasn’t even that kind of girl.

“Bring her along,” Steven adds. “Let them see how normal you are. That you have a steady personal life and are… settling down.”