Just Friends by Moran AE

Author:Moran, AE
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781961689046
Publisher: Untreed Reads Publishing
Published: 2024-01-16T00:00:00+00:00

FIFTEEN

JAYDEN

I have to fight down nerves when Quinn and her lawyer step into the negotiation room at the county courthouse Family Court Arbitration Unit. This is the last stop before we take this motion to vacate before a judge.

If that happens, it’s all she wrote for Quinn as Kai’s mother. My lawyer, Tim Hartley, has been over this and over this with his legal team. Tim is iron-clad certain our case is in the bag, but I’m starting to have serious doubts about whether I can go through with this.

Tim shakes hands with Jenny Warren and then with Quinn. “Thank you for meeting us, Ms. Brown,” he tells Quinn. “Take a seat and let’s talk this thing out.”

“Does your client still intend to push this motion through?” Jenny asks.

“My client doesn’t intend to push anything through anything,” Tim replies. “My client simply wishes to have his legal rights asserted. This adoption is totally invalid as I’m sure both you and your client can understand. My client’s pregnant wife fled the state, gave birth on the opposite coast without his knowledge, and then abandoned his son in state custody before she died in an alley. My client has every right to want his son back. We apologize for the inconvenience to your client, but…”

“Inconvenience!” Quinn snarls. “You call raising a child for eight years, working around the clock seven days a week and giving this child the best years of my life an inconvenience? How would your client like to compensate me for eight years of lost wages, lost sleep, and emotional distress just as an added bonus?”

Tim doesn’t bat an eyelash. “I’m sure my client would inform you that he had nothing to do with any of that and the person you should be seeking compensation from is his deceased wife. She was the one who caused this, not my client.”

Quinn winds up for another assault, but at that moment, the door opens and another man walks in. He strolls over to Tim and Tim stands up to shake his hand. “Thank you for coming over. I appreciate it.”

“What is the meaning of this?” Jenny demands. “This is a closed negotiation.”

“This is Charles Keating,” Tim replies. “I asked him to come. Mr. Keating, this is the respondent, Quinn Brown, and her attorney, Jenny Warren.”

Keating extends his hand across the table, but neither Quinn nor Jenny gets up to greet him. “What are you doing here?” Jenny snaps. “Unless you have something to add to this negotiation.…”

“There is no negotiation,” Keating replies. “I’m a social worker with Child Protective Services for the State of Washington. We’ve been in contact with our counterparties in Oregon and we’ve vacated the adoption from our end.”

“YOU WHAT??!!” Quinn roars.

Keating puts a zippered nylon folder on the desk, opens it, and starts pulling out papers. “The adoption has been declared null and void. I’m here to supervise immediate transfer of custody of the boy to his father.”

“No!!” Quinn yells and then breaks down in hysterics. “No,

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