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I reviewed it one more time, then sent it to Marshall for a second pair of eyes. It was relatively straight forward, but I wanted to make sure there wasn’t a single loophole that Jason could worm through.
I walked down to Marshall’s office after he sent it. He was in the corner down the hall with the panoramic view of the city. I stood at the floor to ceiling windows and stared out at it while he finished up a phone call.
When I heard him wind it up, I came over to sit on one of the armchairs across from his desk.
Marshall disconnected the call and set his phone down on the desk, face up. He looked placid as always, as though whatever multimillion dollar deal he was helping to finalize was no more complicated than placing his dinner order. And maybe for him it wasn’t.
“Ah, Callum,” he said before I could speak. “You’re here about that contract.”
“That’s right. I was hoping to get your thoughts.” I wasn’t surprised he’d seen it come in during the phone call. He’d probably already read over it once.
“I’ll look again, but my initial thoughts are, you sealed this one up tight.”
“I appreciate it.”
Marshall watched me carefully. “Noah tells me she’s living with you.”
“It seemed like the safest thing.” I got up and walked to the window again. I was having a hard time sitting still lately. Maybe Quinn’s pacing was addictive. I could hear her doing it at all times of the day and night. Humming, strumming, and pacing. She never sat still. “Maybe it wasn’t the smartest thing though,” I found myself saying.
Marshall didn’t say anything, but when I turned around, his eyebrows were raised. He rolled his hand in ago ongesture.
“It’s getting… complicated. Having her around, I mean.” I hated that I was laying this on my former father-in-law of all people, but hell. Somehow, somewhere along the line, he’d become my closest friend, and I needed to talk to someone.
“She’s a beautiful young woman,” Marshall said with complete neutrality. “Very talented. Noah adores her. I can see how having her around would complicate things.”
I studied the older man carefully, but there wasn’t a hint of judgment or reprobation on his face. “But?”
He smiled enigmatically. “But I wonder–is a complication such a bad thing?”
“Well, yeah, Marshall. By definition, a complication is bad.”
He made ahmmsound. I could tell he was debating whether to say what was really on his mind. I walked back to his desk and put my hands on the edge. “Just say it, old man.”
“Fromsirto old man,” he huffed, but I knew he wasn’t offended. He was just delaying. Then, as he looked up at me, he made up his mind. “Fine. Have a seat, kid.”
I sat, ready for it. I didn’t know what was coming. I half expected a lecture on fidelity. Loyalty to Emma. How I shouldn’t move on too fast–what message did that send to Noah?
But then Marshall shocked the hell out of me by saying, “I had sex last night.”
If I’d been drinking something, I’d have spat it out. If I’d been eating, I’d have choked. As I wasn’t doing either, I just stared at him, jaw dropped low.
“With a nice woman named Candy,” he went on, as if I’d asked. “We met on a dating website for seniors. She got divorced five years ago.”
With effort, I managed to close my mouth and formulate a response. “Well that… that is… that’s great, Marshall.”
He stared at me, flint eyed. “Do you think I’m cheating on my wife?”
I shook my head mutely, then I made the mistake of looking right at his wedding ring.
He looked at it, too. “I’ll never marry again because I’m too damn old. But that doesn’t mean I’m dead.”
“No. No, sir, it doesn’t.”
Marshall stared me down. “Do you think you’d be cheating on Emma if something did getcomplicatedbetween you and Quinn Collins?”
I hesitated. “No.”
“Then what’s holding you back?”
