Total pages in book: 109
Estimated words: 109608 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 548(@200wpm)___ 438(@250wpm)___ 365(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 109608 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 548(@200wpm)___ 438(@250wpm)___ 365(@300wpm)
It lit up with a call.
From Elsa.
He loved Elsa, but he didn’t want to answer because he didn’t have the time.
She was family, so he took the call.
“Hey there, darlin’,” he greeted.
“Hi, Jamie,” she replied.
He got down to it. “I’m sure you’ve heard, and Nora’s okay. Shaken up, but fine.”
“I know. I spoke with her earlier this morning. But, well, I just talked with a friend, and what they told me I couldn’t delay in telling you.”
Marvelous.
This didn’t sound like good news.
Jamie sat back in his office chair. “What’s that?”
“My friend works for a nighttime news magazine, and she told me they’re in talks with Chester Lynch to do some kind of exposé on you. Something about how you used your money and influence to keep Dru from him.”
Jamie let out a controlled breath.
At least they knew why Chet was in town, even if they didn’t know why he was accosting and threatening Nora.
Jamie should have thought of this. It was an AJ Oakley play right down to its DNA.
And Elsa being involved in that industry was another indication it was good to have a big family.
“It’s a reputable news magazine,” Elsa continued. “If they took it on, they’d get in touch with you for your side of the story.”
“I have seventeen audio files of Chet Lynch using threats to sue for custody of his daughter and offers to end his harassment of his ex-wife, who he called, texted, repeatedly showed at her place of work and often times turned up where she got her coffee or when she was out with her friends. He did this in order to verbally abuse her. It goes without saying, I also have witnesses who will attest to all of this and will do so gladly. In these audio files, you’ll hear that he did all of that in order to extort over three quarters of a million dollars from me, which he received, before I cut him off.”
“Whoa,” Elsa replied.
“Two of those audio files record his attempts to extort five million dollars to allow me the privilege of adopting Dru, who, at that time, he hadn’t laid eyes on in six years.”
“Damn,” Elsa murmured.
“Further, I’m still in possession of all Lindy’s account statements and day planners, and they will show that Chet never paid child support and never showed for his visitations with Dru. Even if he said he would, and we had Dru ready to go with him, regardless we didn’t want her to. The media doesn’t need to know that Dru also didn’t want to go with him. But a little girl waiting for her father to give some sign he gives a shit about her, bag packed and ready to go, and he never shows will not play well for Chet.”
Elsa sounded gleeful when she agreed, “No, it won’t.”
“I’ll drop a few of those files in a shared folder and send the address to you. I have no issue with you passing them on to your friend. If they require more to kill that fucking story, I’ll see they get that too. But the stipulation is that there will be no story. They do not have my permission to use what I gave them. They will not have my cooperation if they go ahead and air whatever Chet is claiming. If they do, I’ll give the rest to someone else, and I’ll sit in front of a fucking camera myself and share that I asked for this to remain private, but your friend’s magazine dragged my daughter and my deceased wife into a spotlight they did not ask to have shined on them. And Elsa, I won’t mince words.”
“Not a lot of productions want to be used as some asshole’s personal tool to continue abusing his daughter, Jamie,” Elsa replied. “At least none of that caliber. If you can send those files, my guess, when they hear them, they’ll retreat from Lynch. But I’ll tell them you’re not super thrilled this guy is pulling this shit after he did all the rest.”
“That would be appreciated, Elsa.”
“There are other, less ethical news outlets that won’t blink at sharing what he has to say, though,” she warned.
He knew that. “Then I hope their libel insurance is up to scratch.”
“Sorry you have to deal with this guy,” she said.
“I had Lindy in my life for seventeen years, and Dru will be in it for the rest of it. He’s a piece of shit, but with what I got, dealing with him is worth it.”
“Yes,” she agreed quietly.
His phone told him he had another call, and when he checked, he saw it was Nico.
He didn’t want to take that one either, but if Nico had heard about what happened to Nora, Jamie had to.
“I have another call coming in,” he told Elsa. “You have my thanks for the heads up, but sorry, I have to let you go.”