Chapter 56
"And Finn, not a word about this to anyone, okay?" Logan said, quietly, sitting downstairs on Rory's living room couch while Rory had still stayed in bed. He was used to waking early, having continued even to do his morning swims well into the fall to enhance his tolerance to cold and as people claimed - also his immune system.
"Hey," came a sudden, hesitant whisper from the stairs. It was almost like this had happened before; the difference was that Logan had this time had a very lengthy conversation on a rather sensitive topic he wasn't sure of how much this person had heard.
"Okay, just let me know, okay?" Logan reflected on the phone, eager to hang up to his friend considering he might have more urgent matters to deal with locally.
"Hey," Logan said to Corinne, who'd wandered down the stairs without him noticing, wearing her fluffy robe.
"I didn't realize anyone was up just yet," Corinne said, not giving Logan any hints about how much she had possibly heard.
"Just wanted to make an early call, so I wouldn't have interruptions later," Logan explained, excusing himself a little.
"Did you ever get to read her book?" Corinne inquired, surprising Logan a little. It had been weeks since they'd last talked like this, just the two of them, and Logan had already felt a little like he was doing something he wasn't supposed to. But on second thought, he kind of liked the angle on this because if Tucker knew Logan got along with his daughter so well, without even trying that hard, the guy was bound to be a little pissed. It was a small consolation prize, all things considered.
"I did," Logan replied.
"So, was it great? It's got to be, right?" Corinne inquired, excitedly.
"It was. Very unique," Logan replied, trying to maintain some neutrality, and not go into too much detail. There were bits in that book he was certain Corinne would find gross or embarrassing to read about. And revealing those was certainly between mother and daughter.
"So, is she going to? To get that published I mean?" Corinne asked, tucking her brown hair behind her ears.
"I wish," Logan replied with a light chuckle.
There was a genuine look of disappointment on Corinne's face. Her face looked a lot like her mother's really, just more child-like.
"I think it takes a bit more than my compliments to convince your mother to take such a big step," he added, humbly. Besides, he knew that taking upon such a journey as becoming an author wasn't just about getting constructive criticism from the field's experts, it was also about putting herself out there. For the media, for traveling, for people to read her inner most thoughts which were also on the naughtier side on many occasions. Logan knew the latter to be a sensitive subject for Rory.
"Yeah, she's stubborn," Corinne agreed, which made Logan chuckle internally. From what he knew, Corinne was that too. It seemed to run in the female line in Rory's family, in fact.
"Yeah, she is," Logan reflected.
"So, you weren't on the phone with some editor now? I was almost hoping you'd sent the book to some friend of yours to get a second opinion. I don't know… maybe try to surprise her for her birthday," Corinne said, revealing how she had at the very least heard something.
"Oh, no…," Logan shook his head. "Wait! When's her birthday?" he suddenly found himself asking, having completely forgotten that he didn't even know that beyond that it was sometime in the fall.
"October 8th, silly," Corinne said, clearly finding it unbelievable he didn't already know that.
"Oh, good…," Logan exhaled, feeling relieved that he hadn't missed it. "She's just one day off from Eléa," he added.
"So, that wasn't what you were talking about?" Corinne inquired, clearly the secrecy surrounding his early morning phone call having not been lost on her.
But it did give Logan food for thought - maybe he really was in the position to get Rory a neutral opinion from someone he trusted. Maybe this way he could give her the push he genuinely felt she craved.
"No, it was something else," Logan replied, hoping it would suffice for the girl.
"Can I ask, what?" Corinne inquired curiously. "I mean... I'm just curious. Nothing interesting ever happens in our house usually and that sounded almost like something that goes on in movies or something," she added.
"I like your drive," Logan chuckled, approvingly. But he wasn't sure if this was something he could actually discuss with Corinne. It was a very fine line, certainly.
Essentially, he could've just lied it was about business or his family. But he realized that if he dealt with this carefully, he could actually take advantage of Corinne for what she knew. He knew it sounded bad, using Rory's daughter like that, but that was not his meaning to do any harm.
"It's complicated," Logan exhaled. "And I by no means want to stir up trouble between you and your parents, so I hope this stays between us," he added. "But there's something in your dad's apartment that belongs to your mom and she's been too afraid to retrieve it, thinking he might get mad if she would, and I've honestly been trying to think up ways to help her get it," Logan explained as calmly and neutrally as he could.
His phone call to Finn, who'd been dead asleep when he'd called but pulled himself together for his old friend, had been about trying to hack into Tucker's accounts and try to get these files remotely. Finn wasn't a computer wizard, despite having majored in computer and information sciences, believe it or not, but he was an expert networker, which meant he most certainly knew people who knew people who could help.
But Logan also knew that Tucker was an old school guy, and even Rory had hinted something about external hard drives a while back. Therefore, he sensed just hacking him might not be enough, and he wasn't certain he trusted just anyone to do the job, like he would trust Finn. But was he really going to burgle an apartment by himself?
What Logan didn't know was that Corinne actually knew what he meant by her mother being afraid to confront her father. She might've been a few years younger, but she hadn't been oblivious to their fighting - children rarely were.
"What do you need me to do?" Corinne asked, almost too eagerly.
Logan spent a good chunk of time explaining to Corinne how he wasn't entirely sure about involving her, going even so far as to talk of the ethics of this type of thing. He was surprisingly good at that, almost making himself think that his lecturing skills were actually surprisingly linked to his management skills. But he genuinely hoped he hadn't come out as manipulative in all of this and that Rory wouldn't hate him for doing this. More importantly, he knew Rory would never want her daughter to know what the object was that they were after.
