Patricia rubbed her temples, fighting off a headache.
Oliver was coming home tonight. He’d be back by eight, and if she wasn’t there when he walked in, he’d definitely lose his cool. The last thing she wanted was for the Newton family and all their drama to mess things up between her and Oliver.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Jackson standing outside the station, a coffee in one hand and a lollipop in his mouth, looking at her like he was watching a show unfold. He looked way too amused for her liking.
Patricia frowned hard, but Jackson just strolled over, as laid–back as ever.
“Here’s your coffee, ma’am.”
Then she turned to the officer. “Here’s the security footage from across the street. It catches the whole café.”
The video made it clear: the old lady was the one who started it. Patricia had just tried to pull her arm
away.
When Howard saw the footage, his face went blotchy with anger.
Patricia took a sip of her coffee and said, “Since Mr. Newton has had his say, I guess he’ll just have to wait for my lawyer’s letter. Officer, does this count as defamation?”
The cop glanced from Patricia to Howard and replied, all business, “Yeah, it counts, but with someone her age, the judge will probably try to mediate before court. But Ms. Martin, if you want to spend your time on it, I won’t stop you.”
Patricia smiled and gave Wendy a nod. “No worries. I’ve got nothing but time.”
She stood up, looking down at Howard, her smile never fading. “Being old doesn’t give you the right to act like a bully. If you want respect, start by respecting others.”
As she walked out of the precinct, Howard squeezed his eyes shut, frustration written all over his face. His hand tightened into a fist on his knee.
For months now, his company had been hit with one problem after another. Deals he thought were locked in suddenly fell through, important executives got poached–the headaches just kept coming. And every single one traced back to Patricia.
Sitting in his car outside, Howard scrolled through his contacts without really looking, stopping when he reached Emerson’s name.
The van sped through the city, heading toward Cloud Peak.
Patricia held the coffee Jackson had brought her, her fingers absently rubbing the cup while her mind spun with plans. She’d once thought about pitting the Newtons and Martins against each other to deal with her. But after today, she figured Howard would reach out to Emerson soon enough.
Exactly what she wanted.
“Get in touch with Greg,” she said. “Tell him to hurry up and make sure Kelly doesn’t keep the baby.”
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Chapter 271
Aiden gripped the steering wheel, catching Patricia’s eye in the rearview mirror. He looked impressed. She says have the baby, she has the baby. She says get rid of it, it’s gone. Ruthless.
“Understood,” Jackson replied. “Greg’s got a mean streak himself. Honestly, I think he’s been wanting to get rid of Kelly for a while. When he went to see her today, man, that car…”
Jackson shook his head, remembering the shaking old Volkswagen.
Patricia let out a low laugh. “Can you blame him? He dragged himself out of a nowhere town, made it into a top school, should’ve had a bright future. If it weren’t for Kelly and Theo, he wouldn’t be stuck like this.”
The darker he turns, the better. Otherwise, where’s the fun in any of this?
They rounded a corner when suddenly, Aiden hit the brakes hard.
Tires screeched.
Patricia was jerked forward, and her coffee spilled all over her white pants.
“Can you drive like a normal person?” she snapped.
“Did you get your license out of a cereal box?” Jackson grumbled, rubbing his shoulder from where the seatbelt had dug in. “You got Parkinson’s or something?”
He turned to check on Patricia in the backseat, frowning even more when he saw the mess on her
pants.
Jackson shot Aiden a glare, just about to start chewing him out, when he saw a man step out of a black Bentley across the street.
The guy looked pissed, heading straight for them with a storm brewing in his eyes.
Chapter 272
