"I love him." My voice cracks. "Warren, I mean. And Beckett adores him."
"That's good. It means you can build something healthy." Nicole's expression softens. "But love doesn't replace legal protection."
My throat is tight.
"Can he take him from me? I don't think he would, but could he if he wanted to?"
The fear of that nearly splits me open.
"That won't happen on my watch." Nicole slides a tissue box toward me. "Right now, Warren's hurt and angry. He's acting from emotion. We're acting from strategy."
I take a deep breath, telling myself to stay strong. She's wrong. I'm totally hurt and angry, reacting on pure emotion.
"So what happens now?" I ask.
"You'll be served with Warren's petition officially. He's filed, and now it's just a matter of when," Nicole taps the legal pad with her pen. "But that doesn't mean we're heading straight to court."
I nod, feeling hollow yet somehow steadier than before. "I understand."
"Go to work. Try to maintain normalcy. We'll regroup once we see his full filing."
I take her advice, though it seems impossible. By the time I reach CHG, I’m clinging to my third coffee like it might keep me upright.
My eyes are like sandpaper, and my thoughts are tangled up in custody papers rather than budget projections. Just make it through today. That's all you have to do.
"Janie!" Caleb appears from nowhere, his purple polka-dot bowtie bobbing as he walks. "I've been waiting for you. Did you get my voicemail?"
"I'm sorry I'm late. No, I didn't. What was it about?"
"Never mind that." He guides me by the elbow toward his office. "Come with me."
My stomach drops. Another crisis. Another problem to solve when I can't even solve my own crisis.
Inside his office, Caleb practically vibrates with energy, a stark contrast to my exhaustion. I sit down in front of his desk and take a much-needed sip of my lukewarm coffee.
"Pope called this morning."
I brace myself for the inevitable ax to fall on my program. "Just tell me how bad it is. And tell me you're not relegating me to the mail room."
"Bad?" Caleb's eyebrows shoot up. "This is probably the best news you'll hear all month."
There is no such thing as good news right now. Just less bad. "What are you talking about?"
"We have a donor." His eyes sparkle. "And this isn't a pledge. Already wired twenty million dollars for a permanent endowment, specifically for your outreach program."
My coffee slips in my grip. "What? How? Who? No." I pinch myself. This is surreal.
"Yes. It's done. The money's already here, Janie. The dividends alone will fund your entire operation for the foreseeable future, with room to grow. Pope is already talking about expanding it."
I stare at him, waiting for the punchline. "The Bransons changed their minds?"
"Not the Bransons. Someone new."
"Who?"
"Anonymous." Caleb leans back. "Very anonymous. The funds came through something called MJ Strong, LLC. Pope tried to get more information, but whoever it is, they're serious about privacy."
"Twenty million dollars." The number is too big to comprehend. "Just... given to CHG?"