AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Wolfgang looked lit up from within. "Really? I can, too. Well, only to J, but I'm working on the rest."
I laughed then. "I bet Adam would be happy to help you with the rest."
"What else can he do?" he asked hopefully.
"I once saw him shove three jellybeans up his nose, then snort them back out, but I would strongly advise against that, kid. Don't get any ideas," I warned him.
Before Wolfgang could respond, the driver announced, "Hate to interrupt, your highness," he said with a bite, "but we have arrived."
Wolfgang looked suddenly nervous again. "Oh, hey. Don't get nervous, Adam is a really good guy, and he can be really funny, though don't tell him I said that. I don't want him to get the big head," I whispered conspiratorially.
Wolfgang gave me a slight smile, and I paid the driver with a generous tip.
"Good luck, kid," the driver called after we exited the car. I gathered up Wolfgang's luggage, and he followed me inside the office, where I took them directly to my personal office where Cheri was waiting.
She welcomed Wolfgang with a big smile. "Now, Wolfgang, I have to go take care of a very quick meeting with Adam, and then, you two can meet and you'll get to see where you'll be staying. In the meantime, do you want to stay here and maybe play some games with Cheri?"
Wolfgang looked a little uncertain, but Cherie, who had two children of her own, was able to effectively comfort him. "I'll tell what, why don't you sit in the big fancy chair that usually only Reagan is allowed to sit in?" she asked, dropping her voice and wiggling her eyebrows at him.
Wolfgang was happy enough to sit in my swivel chair. I checked my watch, knowing I should really be getting to the boardroom, but I hated leaving him. I knew he would be fine, but there was something about that child that made me want to stay and comfort him. "Hey, Wolfgang, why don't you look in that big drawer on the left? I think there's something you’ll like in there."
He looked at me a little warily, then opened my bottom drawer on the left. I knew I had hit the jackpot when I saw his eyes widen and a grin covered his mouth. "You have Pokémon cards?" he asked in astonishment.
"No, sir, you now have Pokémon cards," I told him, sending up a silent thank you to Amy for her spot-on suggestion. I watched as he opened up the package, and he proceeded to inform me which ones were his favorites. There was no way I was going to rush this little guy. He was so delighted with such a simple pleasure, and he wanted to share it.
I spent the next fifteen minutes listening as Wolfgang gave me a tutorial about all the characters and what they could do. I would've stayed longer, too, if Cheri hadn't broken in and said, "Okay, Miss Miles, you really need to get to the meeting, but Wolfgang, I'll be glad to learn about these characters. My kids are always talking about them, and I still can't keep them straight."
Cheri took the seat I'd been sitting in. I looked back at Wolfgang one last time before I walked out the door. I could hear him as I made my way down the hallway going over the characters again with Cheri.
There was something about him that seemed so familiar, and when I walked into the room and Adam's eyes jerked up and met mine, I connected the dots. There really was a family resemblance.
I pasted on a bright smile and hurried over to Adam, and he looked like he was about to vomit all over the table. It looked like there would be two guys I would be trying to comfort today.
Sitting down next to Adam, I had the strongest urge to reach over and grab his hand. I needed to remain professional here. It didn't matter that I knew the client involved…knew him intimately, as a matter of fact. I was still the Townsends' lawyer, and we needed to get everything settled. Adam was the only one who showed up for the reading, so it went fairly quickly. I could tell he was only half listening, his knee jiggling beneath the table as my colleagues went through all the dry points of the will. When they were finally done, Mr. Tate looked up, "All fairly standard. Any questions, Dr. Rollins?"
Adam stared off into space, his knee still jiggling beneath the table. I brushed my hand across his. "Adam?"
"Reagan, here…I mean, Miss Miles said that she might be able to track down a relative who might be better suited to take the kid—it's not that I don't like him. I mean, I don't know him. Ronnie was a really good kid, though, so I'm assuming she was raising one. It's just that I didn't exactly have the best example growing up, and I don't really know what to do with children," Adam babbled on.
Mr. Tate smiled kindly at Adam. "Well, Ms. Miles certainly can continue to look for another suitable guardian. But judging from this will, if I may say so, Dr. Rollins, your family comes from a significant amount of money. You could always just hire somebody to take care of the child." Mr. Tate offered.
I saw a cold expression go over Adams's face, and he stiffened next to me. Mr. Tate went on with the rest of the reading of the will while Adam's attention wandered off to God knows where in the meantime. Mr. Tate finally finished with his reading of the will.
Adam was silent until I cleared my throat, and he snapped back to attention. "What? I'm sorry. When do I get to meet Wolfgang?"
Mr. Tate's eyes met mine, and he smiled graciously at Adam. "I believe he is in Miss Miles's office. She can take you there now if you're ready."
"I'm ready," he said anxiously, rising from his chair. He started to exit, then stopped nervously, wiping his hands down the thighs of the slacks and, remembering himself, he said, "Thank you, gentlemen, for everything."
Mr. Tate and Mr. Foster nodded their heads at him as I followed him out of the conference room and down the hall to my office.
He stopped short about halfway to the hallway and whirled around to look at me. "What am I doing, Reagan? I don't even know where the hell your office is," he said, his brow furrowed, and I had to resist the urge to smooth my hand over it.
I could see the anxiety clawing at him. "Adam," I tried to say in my most consoling voice. "You need to calm down. If you go in there looking like you do now, you're just going to freak out that boy more," I warned him.
He looked away, running a frustrated hand through his hair. "I know that, I know that, it's just…Reagan, I don't know how I do this. I mean, what do I even say to the kid?"
I looked around us, and luckily, the hall was empty, as was the bench that was two doors down from my office. "Here, come on," I said, grabbing him by the elbow and gently leading him to the bench.
