“I have to talk to Max,” she told Destiny. “I have to get back to the office.”
“Do you want to go home first?”
Amber shook her head. “I’ll call Isabel. Roth will go straight to Coast Eagle, and who knows what move he’ll try to make next.” She realized in a rush that despite everything, she feared Roth more than she feared Cole.
* * *
Back at the office, Roth had fought with Max. Julius had argued with Sidney. Each of the board members had called to express their concern. Though, thankfully, all had agreed that Max should stay in place for now as interim president.
Destiny had reviewed Samuel’s will and was now on her way to the penthouse to meet Amber. It was nearly ten by the time Amber finally made it through the door, exhausted and starving.
She kicked off her shoes, shrugged out of her steel-gray blazer and dumped her purse on a table in the living room. Destiny had promised to bring a large pepperoni and mushroom, while Amber was in charge of margaritas.
She called out to Isabel, then, without stopping, she went directly to the kitchen and dumped a tray of ice cubes, lime juice, tequila and orange liqueur into the blender and set it on high.
The doorbell rang, and she padded through the living room to greet Destiny.
“Extra cheese?” she asked hopefully as she eyed the large cardboard carton.
“You bet.”
“Come on in.”
While Destiny settled the pizza on the kitchen island and retrieved the plates, Amber poured the margaritas into two large glasses.
“I’ve been seriously thinking about strapping Zachary into his car seat and heading for the border,” said Amber.
“Which border?”
“Does it matter? I can’t help but think we’d be better off if nobody could find us.”
“You might be better off, but I’d have a legal nightmare to unravel.”
“I suppose.”
The fight suddenly went out of Amber, and exhaustion set in. She climbed onto one of the stools and helped herself to a slice of the gooey pizza.
“You could try to make a deal with Cole,” Destiny suggested. She started with a sip of the slushy drink. “It’s pretty clear he’s after Coast Eagle.”
“Do you think Samuel knew about him?” In her few spare moments this evening, Amber couldn’t help but wonder if Samuel had shunned Cole and kept him a secret or had been oblivious to his existence.
“Interesting wording in the will,” said Destiny. “Either Samuel knew, or at least suspected he had a child with his first wife, or he was planning more children with Coco.”
“He definitely wanted more children,” said Amber.
There was more silence.
“An abortion?” asked Destiny.
“I almost couldn’t talk her out of it.”
“For future reference, that’s the kind of thing you want to share with your lawyer.”