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‘Honestly?’ Henry glances at Kayla. ‘I didn’t think she’d sign it.’
Kayla flushes. ‘I’m going to check on my tables. Flag me down when you’re ready.’
Lady Liberty chimes two more times before we leave, Mary’s safety secured in Henry’s briefcase.
‘Now all we need is Ms Truman’s signature and everything will be legal.’ Henry begins his legal rambling as soon as we leave the restaurant.
Mason wisely takes a cab to the ferry.
My body thrums with restless energy, like I missed my morning workout when in fact, I spent an extra fifteen minutes this morning with heavier weights than usual.
As the ferry gets closer to Whitehall terminal with real Lady Liberty on my left, I begin rehearsing all the reasons Alice should sign the guardianship papers so we can settle this before the lack of marriage license becomes an issue.
* * *
Alice
Thomas strides into the office, a man with bad hair plugs trailing behind him. He does a double take when he notices me sitting on the couch. ‘Alice.’ The small lift at the corner of his mouth, for once, doesn’t make my heart pound.
‘Thomas.’ I'm quite proud of how calm I sound.
Thomas’s lips flattened.
‘I’m Henry Farrier.’ Bad Hair Plugs offers me his hand. ‘From Fielding & Church law firm.’
I take it. ‘The same name on nearly every page of these documents.’ I slide my hand out from his to pick up the stack of papers on the coffee table in front of me.
Thomas stills.
We stare into each other’s eyes for a beat.
‘Henry.’ Thomas talks to his lawyer while looking at me.
The lawyer looks from the contract to Thomas. ‘Yes, Mr Moore?’
‘Leave.’
‘Yes, Mr Moore.’ With a nod he retreats the way he came.
Thomas waits for the door to close before speaking. ‘I was going to shred those.’
‘But you didn’t.’ I stand, holding the stack of papers upright and facing him, the copy of my birth certificate on top. ‘Did you have these drawn up before or after you found out about my childhood?’
He frowns at it. ‘What does that have to do with anything?’
My voice threatens to crack, but I clench my fingers around the edge of the papers to keep me focused. ‘What other possible reason did you have to think I was so lacking, so out of place at my job that you wanted to get rid of me?’ I feel my lip curl as I glare at him. ‘Wanted it badly enough to use my worry about Mary against me?’
He runs a hand through his hair, the gesture so out of place it’s jarring. With a yank, he drops it. ‘I couldn’t stop thinking about you.’ The last word echoes in the office. He blinks, as if he startled himself. Taking a beat, all emotion clears from his expression as he exhales. ‘And it was interfering with my work.’
I stare at him wondering if he knows how asinine that excuse sounds. ‘If that were true you simply would’ve asked me out on a date.’
‘You’re an employee.’
I point at the papers with my free hand. ‘Was.’
He moves to grab them, but I pull back.
‘Oh no. I’m keeping this. And I’ve sent a copy to my lawyer.’
