I find a pen and start poking around, appalled to discover my mother had—has—owned—several vibrators.

“What’s next?” Emme scares the crap out of me when she appears in the doorway.

I slam the drawer shut, smashing my thumb in the process. “Shit!” I shake it out, then put pressure on the nail, hoping it doesn’t go black. It’s hurts like hell, though.

“Are you okay? I didn’t mean to sneak up on you.”

“It’s fine. We’re good.” I inspect my thumb and see ice might be necessary. “I think we can be done for today.”

“Don’t you want to move your bed and stuff in here?”

“There’s no rush. Why don’t we grab some lunch?”

She shrugs. “Sure.”

I push off the dresser, exhaling a relieved breath as I follow my sister down the hall. She’s already talking about what she wants to eat and where she wants to go.

Crisis averted. For now.

There are enough shitty things I’m going to have to discuss with her over the next several years; our mother’s collection of fake and vibrating dicks is not one of them.

Lunch with Emme is actually pleasant. She talks about what color she wants to paint my old bedroom and making it her “friend hangout room.” Mentally I cross all boys off the list of friends allowed up there.

My phone rings in the middle of our meal. I fully intend to ignore the call until the name Spear and Associates flashes across the screen. It’s the firm that Beverly at Whitman and Flood recommended. She mentioned it being a potential conflict of interest for her firm to work on the custody case when they were handling Emme’s trust. Family law seems significantly more complicated than entertainment law. I spoke to a woman named Trish immediately following my meeting with Kailyn over the trust. She already has a copy of my parents’ will, outlining the custody arrangement, and tomorrow morning we’re meeting to review everything.

“Sorry, kiddo, give me a second. I need to get this.” I give Emme an apologetic smile and bring my phone to my ear. “Hello, Daxton here.”

“Daxton, it’s Trish. I’m so sorry to call you on a Sunday, but I have bad news.”

A cold feeling trickles down my spine. “What kind of bad news?”

“Linda’s officially suing for custody.”

chapter six

FLIP-FLOP

Kailyn

In light of recent events, I’m appointing you as Emme Hughes’s conservator.”

I almost fall out of my chair. As it is, I drop the pen I was flipping between my fingers and it rolls under her desk. Dammit. I really liked that one. It had a funky swirl pattern on it. I wait for Beverly to crack a smile. She does not. “You’re kidding, right?”

Her foot bobs once. “Have I ever been a kidder, Kailyn?”

I search for some kind of facial tic, anything to indicate she will soon start laughing. But that does not happen. “You’re serious.”

My morning started out fine. Well, fine-ish. I arrived in the office at seven with the intention of briefing Beverly on the Hughes files—which came home with me this weekend. Instead, I’m being told his aunt is suing for custody. And she has an excellent lawyer. Hopefully Daxton has a better one.

“Who’s representing Daxton?”

“Trish Monroe.”

I almost heave a sigh of relief. She has an outstanding reputation for winning cases.

“What’s the purpose of appointing me as conservator?” I already know the answer to this question, so I’m not sure what the point of asking it is, other than I want to hear Beverly say it.

This time Beverly almost smiles, but manages to keep it to a semi-smirk. “While the custody case is being handled, Emme needs a neutral third party to look after her. Be her voice. You wrote up the trust. It’s logical for you to remain involved since your priority is to protect Emme and her finances. And once the court rules on who has custody, the legal guardian will take over control of the trust.”

She makes sense, which is frustrating. “Isn’t there another family member who can take on this role?”

“No one local. Besides, it will give you a chance to find out exactly what’s going on between Daxton and his aunt, and you’ll have contact with Emme. Plus, you’ll have an opportunity to warm Daxton up to the idea of coming on board here. It’s a win all the way around, Kailyn. You must see that.”

“I’m legally responsible for the welfare and finances of a girl I don’t even know.”

“Who has recently lost both her parents, so you understand what she’s going through.”

It’s my turn to be stone-faced. This is unfair leverage she’s using against me.

Beverly steeples her hands, meeting my unrelenting glare. “You are the best person to take on this role for a multitude of reasons. Beyond the ones I’ve already provided, Daxton has a connection with you and he seems to trust you.”

“You said I could take on a pro bono case if I brought Daxton to the firm. That isn’t going to be enough anymore. This whole thing could get messy, and if it does I’m right in the middle of it. We have no idea what this aunt’s angle is. Maybe she’s just after the money, or maybe Daxton is. All I’ve heard so far is his side of the story. He looked like hell last week and I have no idea if it’s because he’s grieving or because he’s been making bad choices recently.”

“He works for one of the top firms in the state, so his choices can’t be that bad.”

“Professionally, who knows about personally?” She has a point, but then, so do I. We have no idea if he wants guardianship of Emme for the right reasons or not. “I need more than one pro bono case and the glory of taking on a challenge.”

Beverly considers that for a few seconds before her smile turns into a full-on grin. “What if I make you partner?”

I laugh and then stop immediately when she doesn’t join in. “Are you serious?”

“Again, joking is not really my thing.”

“You’ll make me partner if I agree to be the conservator?”

“If you take on that role and manage to do what I haven’t been able to for the past five years in bringing him over, I’ll most definitely make you partner, Kailyn. I already have the best trust lawyer in the state. Now I’d like the best entertainment lawyer, as well, and this is the perfect opportunity to make it happen. I’ll even waive the buy-in.”

“The entire buy-in?”

Beverly nods. “The whole thing.”

That she’s willing to waive the buy-in tells me exactly how much she wants Daxton on our team, which burns my ass a little. But the partnership buy-in can be in excess of a quarter of a million dollars. That’s a lot of money I won’t have to worry about parting with. Money I’d have to borrow since I’m still paying off my school loans. While I inherited everything when my dad passed, there really wasn’t much left after the hospital bills, apart from the house, which I still live in.

Partner before thirty with no buy-in is amazing. It’d be nice to make partner on my own merit, but maybe in some ways this counts. Especially since I’ll be working with a man I can’t stand on a daily basis, that has to mean something. And I’ll be making good on my promise to my dad, another reason to agree.

I should feel bad that I’m considering ways to draw him in, particularly in his vulnerable state. But logistically this is the best time to persuade someone to make a change. Catch a person in a weak moment and offer them something helpful. That actually sounds awful in my head.

“I’ll need flexibility with my hours and the cases I’m taking on while I’m acting as conservator.”

“Of course, we’ll adjust as necessary.”

If we’re bargaining, I’m putting all my cards on the table. “And if I make partner, I want to be able to pick up a few pro bono cases a year of my choosing.”

Beverly gives me a look saying I just stepped over a line, but this is my chance and I’m going to at least ask.

“We’ll have to discuss it further.”

It’s not a no, which coming from Beverly is almost as good as a yes. “It reflects well on the firm.”

She taps on the arm of her chair. “You bring Daxton over and we’ll negotiate.”

I don’t know what kind of person it makes me that I’m actually looking forward to the challenge on all levels now. “And if Daxton agrees to come on board, he’ll need flexible hours and a reduced caseload, without taking a pay cut.” Now that I have my ultimate goal within reach, I’m determined to make it a reality, even if it means giving someone I dislike a whole lot of perks. In this case, I need to remind myself that Emme is the priority, and her needs are paramount.

Beverly smiles. “Look at you, already negotiating his contract.”

“Can I get this all in writing?”

She flips her perfect hair over her shoulder. “You have my word. That should suffice.”

“I’d prefer your signature in blood, but I guess that’ll have to do.”