Page 9 (1/2)
Dean stared at the open folder on his desk, his eyes blurring the words together until they forer spun a pen on the desk&039;s slick surface, his thoughts leaving the office in a hot air balloon and sailing off with the wind He wondered if there was an old farandpa hadher into cursing his children and their children and so on until the end of tiain and watched it blur like a rotating helicopter blade
"Dean?"
His eyes snapped to the black phone on his desk He hesitated before reaching out and pressing a button "Yes, Gina?"
"There is a Clayton Crawford here to see you"
His eyebrows dipped together as he scanned his mental rolodex He flipped to the calendar on his iPad and caan Crawford&039;s father"
Dean tried to s the lue He whispered a sord and pressed the button again "Send hi an open package of peanut butter M&Ms into a desk drawer He ran a hand through his hair and took a deep breath, trying to cals couldn&039;t possibly get any worse
The door clicked open and Gina greeted hi just behind her The tall man in a tailored suit s Dean&039;s office with a confident stride "Hello Dean," he sers splayed "Clayton Crawford"
Dean got up on rubbery legs and rounded the desk, accepting thethe way his ice blue eyes set off his distinguished head of gray hair "Dean Jacobs Have a seat" He gestured to the two chairs in front of the desk and smiled at Gina "Thank you, Gina"
She stared blankly at hi the door and leaving theh back chair behind the desk The leather creaked as Dean sat down and quietly exhaled a pent-up breath Clayton crossed his legs like a girl and folded his hands on one knee, s at Dean from across the desk A wall clock ticked off audible seconds that seemed louder with each successive click They held each others&039; gaze, no one willing to colooh the pit of Dean&039;s sto across his upper lip and hoped Clayton didn&039;t notice Dean shifted in his chair Another loud groan pierced the aard silence between thene washed over Dean like a swar into every orifice they could find
"I apologize for the pop-in; I hope I didn&039;t catch you at a bad ti to rin tugged at the corner of Clayton&039;s eneric paintings, fra talls "Marquette huh?"
Dean pressed his lips together and nodded
"Great school What kind of law do you practice, Dean?"
"Corporate"
Clay tipped his head back and nodded "Your parents must be very proud"
Dean rested his elbows on the desk and interlocked his fingers together "What can I do for you, Mr Crawford?"
"Please, callthe lavender necktie thatover a breast pocket "Mr Crawford was my father," he said with a poster boy smile
Dean didn&039;t respond
Clay took a deep breath "After Megan&039;s little bombshell, I just wanted to stop by and introduce myself I know this isn&039;t easy for any of us"
The word us ed to remain unreadable
"She can certainly be a handful at times, no one knows that better than I, but I just wanted to tell you how ht It was especially coine, is just beside herself right now" His cold gaze tightened "The sky is always falling with her," he said, a tight-lipped s across his tanned face
Dean sed dryly, trying to figure out which part of last night&039;s horrific conversation Megan&039;s esture on your part offering to stand by her throughout thissordid affair"
Dean aled to s it He spread his pallad to do whatever I can"
Clay nodded, weighing Dean&039;s words with patient care He glanced at a picture of Dean and Evy on a bookshelf and jerked his strong chin to it "Is that the girlfriend Megan was telling us about?"
Dean&039;s breath hitched The clock ticked louder, launching the onset of a sharp headache near his brainste Evy any further into this aze to the fra faces inside Miller Park, where the Breere adding to a three run lead against the Chicago Cubs in the background He turned back to Clay and replied with a faint nod
"Pretty girl"
"Thank you"
"So how does she feel about all of this?" Clay asked with a sinister grin that ine it must be very difficult"
"It sounds like you&039;ve already got enough to worry about"
Clay raised his brow "I suppose you&039;re right I&039;ll have soan isn&039;t the biggest fan of baseball in the world but she does enjoy going to the ga the second at a time
"Listen, Dean, I want you to know it takes a real man to make certain sacrifices in order to live up to his responsibilities, and I adnawing feeling eating away at his nerves He resisted the urge to wipe the sweat frorinned at him
Clay flicked his wrist out and checked a Rolex crafted froun metal He exhaled a tired breath and slapped a hand on the desk,Dean flinch "Well, I just wanted to introduceabout this wholesituation" A forced sh it"
Dean got up froer as hell for this ars to leave his office
Clay extended a hand and that million dollar s Dean&039;s hand with a sturdy grip The clock ticked and Clay turned for the door, not ripped the doorknob and turned back to Dean, pinching his cold eyes together "Oh, before I forget, would you be able to take Megan to an ultrasound check up to? Her mother and I will be at a rally up north all day and Nancy would feel a lot better knowing you ith her" He s your child&039;s heartbeat for the first time really is the most precious moment of your life"
A band ofhis breath He had been seconds away fro out of this horror show and noas seconds away fro sucked in even deeper "Sure," he said dully, the color leaving his face
Clay san to call you with the specifics"
Dean stared at hi for a way out as Clay finally pulled the door open and headed back the way he came
Deanto believe any of this was actually happening He hated Megan for bringing this angry cloud over his world, a world that had been shining like an angel&039;s halo on a bright spring
Gina appeared in the doorway and Dean barely noticed the way her nipples were poking through her satiny black top The frown gripping her face was another story
"Who the hell is Megan?"
His shoulders slu his cell phone and keys from the desk
"Before you leave, Mr Whith hissed from his lips He stared at the folder on his desk, Clay&039;s words assaulting his every turn "Why?"
Gina shrugged "Don&039;t kill theback to her post up front
He stared at the plaques on the wall, blurring the was hollo, filled with no significance, tainted from a new reality he still dared to believe He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to iine what his boss could possibly want Whatever it was, Dean was sure he would have a hard tihtened his coat and practiced his s his office
The parking lot was nearly deserted and that was a good sign Dean needed a plan of action and needed it fast A bell rang when he pushed the glass door open and stepped inside, the ss The e the barren lot outside
"Well, hello, Dean!"
A courteous sh his unshaven face "Hi, Marie"
"I thought your cleaning was next week"
"It is," he said, leaning against the moon-shaped front desk "Is Shaun free?"
She stared blankly at hi for him to elaborate When he didn&039;t she picked up a black phone "Letthe phone to her ear "He should be finishing up a root canal"