tension in the car was palpable, and when Ollie pulled us through the gate at the edge of his estate, he said, “When we get inside, I’d like to discuss things with Jaz.”
I figured he was talking to both my mom and me, and I kept quiet, knowing I wouldn’t be able to keep everything to myself for much longer. Ollie, my mom…they were about to hear the truth from me, everything that had been going on these last few weeks.
Crazy how much life changed, huh? So fast, it was almost unbelievable.
We got out of the car. Ollie had pulled into the garage, the lights automatic above us. His other vehicles sat nearby, hardly ever seeing use. My mom’s van sat in the corner of the garage, all by its lonesome.
“You certainly do have a lot of explaining to do,” Mom told me. I filed into the house behind her, Ollie right behind me.
Ollie reached for his tie, adjusting it. His suit was a sleek dark blue, his undershirt a clean white. His tie matched the color of his suit jacket perfectly. “I’m afraid I meant with Jaz,” he said.
My mom blinked, her back suddenly rod straight. We were in the kitchen now, and she set her hands on the granite countertop, spreading her fingers apart. “What? No, I need answers. I’m her mother—”
“Yes,” Ollie spoke, his voice that of a placating, soothing man. “But I am a lawyer. Dealing with situations like this is what I do. Let me handle this. Take the rest of the day off, Piper.” As my mom scoffed at what he’d said, he headed to the stairwell.
I guess I should follow him? He was the guy saving my ass, after all—though it wasn’t like Mom and I could afford to hire him.
That was probably something we should talk about. Money. Money was the root of everything in Midpark, and I doubted Ollie would do this out of the kindness of his own heart. No one had hearts in Midpark, apparently.
Mom trailed after us, not one to just give up.
Ollie stopped before his office—the very same office I’d overheard him and Vaughn’s older brother talking in—and he turned to face my mom and me. He lifted an arm, gesturing for me to go inside. To my mom, he said, “Please, Piper. I will handle this.”
“But—” Mom’s green eyes flicked to me, but I could tell her expression was softening. Ollie had a way about him, it was hard to describe. Something about the middle-aged lawyer that made you relax and want to trust him.
Maybe that was why no one ever talked about Celeste Chambers anymore, or his past two wives, or his twin sons that just disappeared off the face of the earth.
I decided to speak up, “She’s probably worried that we don’t have enough money to pay you for this.” My words caused my mom to glare at me, but I succeeded in shutting her up, at least.
Ollie drew his azure stare between my mom and me, saying, “Let’s not worry about any of that right now, okay?” The silence after his question was his answer, and he corralled me into the office, lightly touching my mom’s shoulder before shutting her out. He walked around the room, heading to sit in the high-back leather chair behind the desk.
Unease rose within me, my stomach curdling and knotting as I made my way to the same chair Vaughn’s older brother had sat in.
I watched Ollie loosen his tie, waited as he rubbed the side of his face, said nothing as he bent over and opened the bottom drawer to his desk. The sounds of glass clinking rose in the air, and he brought out two small glasses, which he set before him. A moment later he brought out a half-drank bottle of something…whiskey? I couldn’t really tell, but the liquid in the glass was a light amber color, and when he unscrewed the cap, I did get a whiff. It was strong stuff.
He poured a small amount in both glasses, and it was as he set the bottle down on his desk that I realized how tired Ollie looked. Haunted. Sad. He looked like a man who’d lost everything, a man who had nothing left to live for, and yet life kept throwing more shit at him. Namely, me and the trouble I found myself in.
Ollie said nothing as he brought one of the glasses to his lips, taking a small sip and then wincing, as