–WFI–Chapter 25 Monday, August 30
The household was quiet Monday morning. Logan left for work before anyone was up. He had already gone for a run, showered, and was headed out the door when Evelyn emerged from the kitchen wanting to know if he wanted breakfast. He declined "I will get a muffin and coffee at the office." he told her.
Rory was awake, but she was still in the bed. She has been bothered by what happened Saturday night. The situation with Christopher and Greg. Then there was the matter of Karson's father. She was worried about the effect this new family was going to have on Karson. Was she jealous? She hoped this was not the case.
When Logan got to the office, he had a good 20 minutes before the office was buzzing. He made a cup of coffee and grabbed a bottle of water. He went back to his office in hopes of some quiet time to get his thoughts together. Running usually clears his head, but today, too many things are running through his head. The situation with Tristian has him concerned. He says that he was checking on Karson for Mrs. Goodyear, but what about the deck chair in the pool. This was not sitting with him very well. He was brought out of his thoughts with the noise from John turning on the lights and the equipment in the outer office.
"Logan," John said, sticking his head in Logan's office. "If you will give me a few minutes, I'll be there with your schedule."
"No problem John. Take your time." Logan told him.
When John returned, he had Logan's schedule. When they finished, John left Logan to his work.
When Rory got dressed and went downstairs, she grabbed a muffin and a cup of coffee. "Evelyn, I got to run some errands. I'll be back later. Make sure Bailey is up before the kids. Thanks for all you do Evelyn" Rory said.
Rory went to see her dad. When she got to his house, his car was not in the drive. She knocked on the door. Beverly answers, with Leslie right behind her. "Hey Rory, come on in," Leslie said.
"Hey Aunt Ory, you come to play. Where M?" Beverly asked,
"She is at home. Maybe you can come to play with her today. School starts this week. She will be busy then." Rory told her. She smiled at her, then turned to Leslie,"I was looking for my Dad," Rory said.
"He's already left for work," Leslie said.
"Okay, I guess I should have called. That's what I am going to do right now. Beverly." Rory said, bending down to her height. "Later today, when I get home, if it is okay with your mom, you can come to play," Rory said. Beverly nodded excitedly.
When Rory got to Christopher's office, she stopped at his secretary's desk. She was told that Christopher asked not to be disturbed. Rory asked if he was with anyone. She was told no. "Call him and tell him I am on my way to his office," Rory said and turned around to go down the hall toward Christopher's office.
Rory opened the door as Christopher was putting the phone down from talking with his secretary Tina. "Was it necessary to scare Tina? The famous Mrs. Rory Huntzburger storms into my office and scares my secretary. What will the Hartford elite have to say about that?" Christopher said.
"If I am all they have to talk about, the Hartford elite have bigger problems than I thought," Rory said with a giggle.
"What can I do for you today?" Christopher asked.
"Well, several things, so let's start with you. Greg. Is this going to be a problem? I don't want to see a repeat of the other night." Rory said.
"I am working on solving that problem," Christopher said.
"How? Getting rid of Leslie and Beverly? Because I don't think that is a good solution." Rory said.
"No, not going to get rid of them. I am going to talk to his father. I am going to pay for rehab." Christopher said.
"That's going to fix the problem? I mean I have always heard that rehab would not work unless the person wanted it to." Rory said.
"Yeah, I know." Christopher said.
"What do you think I should do about Mrs. Goodyear? Karson said she would let us know when she decided she wanted to meet her. She wants us to be with her when she meets her. Something is not right. I am uneasy about this. Katie will not confirm. I really think I need her to confirm that Austin is Karson's dad. What should I do?" Rory asked.
"What about a DNA test?" Christopher asked.
"How do I go about that?" Rory asked.
"See if Tristian can get you something from Mrs. Goodyear?" Christopher said.
"Well, you see, I am not sure I trust Tristian. I'm pretty sure he has an alternative motive. I know that he and Austin were good friends. I would ever say best friends, but something is off. Can put my finger on it. I trust my gut, I just don't know how to go about proving it." Rory said.
"Have you talked with Logan? He can get Dillon or Ryan involved." Christopher said.
Rory nodded her head. "That's my next stop." Rory got up and kissed Christopher on the cheek. Christopher walked Rory to the front office. "Tina, I'm sorry if I was rude to you. I apologize." Rory said with a smile. "I told Beverly that she could come to play with Em this afternoon when I get home. How about you and Leslie join up for supper. I see if Logan can grill. One last hoorah before school starts. If Logan or Ricky can't grill, I will order pizza." Rory said.
Christopher nodded. "I'll check with Leslie, but it shouldn't be a problem."
Rory was on her way to Logan's office. "Call Karson," Rory told her car.
"Calling Karson Greene." The car repeated.
"Hello?" Karson said.
"Hey, Hope I am not interrupting?" Rory asked.
"No, just getting ready for the open house," Karson said.
"That's tomorrow night?" Rory asked.
"Yeah, but I am just getting the list of students," Karson said.
"I was calling to tell you that Dad, Leslie, and Beverly are coming for supper. I am on the way to Logan's office. If he, nor Ricky can't man the grill, I will order pizza. One last Hoorah before school starts." Rory said.
"Sounds good," Karson told her.
When Rory arrived, she entered through the employee parking garage. She bypassed Renea. When she gets on the elevator, she presses the executive floor. The elevator stopped on the 10th floor. When the doors opened, Ricky got on. "Rory, Hey, Headed to see Logan?" Ricky asked.
Rory nodded. "I just got off the phone with Karson. Do you think you will be home early enough to man the grill tonight? Dad and his crew will be coming over for one last hoorah before school starts back." Rory asked.
"As long as nothing comes up between now and 5:00, it shouldn't be a problem," Ricky told her.
They both got off on the executive floor. They walked together until they got to John's desk. They both stopped. "Rory, good to see you," John said, handing Ricky his messages. "Logan is on the phone, but I am sure it will be okay for you to interrupt," John said.
"See you tonight," Ricky said, walking down the hall toward his office.
"Ricky, wait a minute, please. John, do you know if Dillon is in the office today?" Rory asked. John nodded. "If you don't mind, will you ask him to step into Logan's office? Ricky, I need you too." Rory said. Ricky looked at her confused but nodded his head.
"I'll get Dillon," Ricky said.
Rory entered Logan's office. He was just hanging up the phone. "Hey, Ace. Good to see you," He said standing up to kiss her. "Hey, Dad and his crew are coming to supper tonight. Do you think you will be able to get off early enough to man the grill?" She asked.
Before he could answer, Ricky entered with Dillon. "I thought you just asked me the same question?" Ricky said.
Rory laughed. "Just making sure," Rory said. "Hey Dillon, glad you are here," Rory said.
Logan looked at her confused. "Did you call a meeting in my office without telling me?" Logan asked.
Rory put her head down. "Yeah, sorry," She said.
"Okay," Logan said. "Your show." He said taking a seat and motioning for the others to have a seat.
"Well, to start with," She said, walking to the door to close it. "I want to discuss Ms. Goodyear and Tristian." Both Logan and Ricky sat up straight. "Dillon, how much do you know about the situation?" She asked.
He looked at Logan. Logan nodded. "Logan has me looking into Tristian as well as Ms. Sheila Goodyear and her daughter Kimberly Mansfield," Dillon said.
"Can you tell me what you have found out?" Rory asked.
Dillon again looked at Logan. "I have several leads. I want to work through them before I report back." Dillon said.
Logan got up from his seat. Walked over to where Rory was pacing. "Ace," he said, putting his arm around her. "Can you tell us what is going on?" Logan asked.
Ricky stood up. "Rory, do you know something that we should know?" Ricky asked.
Rory was biting on her lower lip. She turned to Logan, then to Ricky. "I just have a gut feeling that something is not right. I know that is crazy. I may even be jealous of Sheila. Karson has never had the best family. Not biological. I'm just worried my gut feeling is caused by me being jealous." She said buried her face in Logan's chest.
He was rubbing her back. "Ace, I trust your gut. Ricky and I met with Dillon this morning. We both think there is more to this than what we know." Logan said.
Ricky walked over to Rory. "Karson thinks of you as family. She is my family too. Now she is really family. Thank you for what you do for both of us, you too Logan. You know I think of you both as my parents, so does Karson. Rory, you don't have anything to worry about. There is nothing that Ms. Goodyear can do or say to make Karson think of you as anything other than her mother." Ricky said, hugging Rory.
Rory left the office, heading home. She called Evelyn, told her that she ordered steaks to be delivered today. She asked her to start the marinate. She then called Leslie, told her that she would be home in a few minutes. When she got home, it was quiet. She went to the kitchen. Evelyn wasn't there. She started up to her studio apartment and knocked on the door. Evelyn came to the door. "Rory, hey, come on it, or do you need my downstairs?" Evelyn asked.
"No, it's fine. I just couldn't find anyone." Rory said.
"Bailey had them in the pool earlier, she took them for ice cream. I was just finishing up here." Evelyn said.
"No, Just take your time," Rory said as she turned around and left the apartment.
Rory went to change into something more comfortable. She then went to work in the office until she heard the doorbell. She got up to answer it. She was expecting Leslie. She was not expecting who was at the door. Before she could say or do anything, the person was standing in the foyer.