“If you say so,” I murmur, getting another smile from him before he lets me go and heads back to the eggs he’s frying.
Having a couple of hours before I have to leave for work, and his place being closer to my job than mine, I eat with him, enjoying the moment before I have to get ready to leave. When the time finally closes down on us and the bubble we’ve created, I go get ready for work, and afterward he walks me to my car, waiting until I’m inside and pulling away to head back into his townhouse.
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“Hadley.” The sigh in Reggie’s tone lets me know what I already suspect. He’s done. He doesn’t want to listen to me anymore, and he sure as heck doesn’t want to believe what I have been telling him for the last ten minutes.
“Reggie, I’ll look into things, but my records show that Marcus received the funds issued to him for his new football uniform. The money was deposited. I don’t know what happened afterward, since the money is untraceable on my end after that.”
“He never got the money, Hadley. I don’t give a fuck what your system says. He never received the money, and now me and Shawna are paying for his uniform out of pocket. I don’t mind doing that, because he’s my kid, but still, that money is his. He should have had it, and now he doesn’t.”
Marcus, who is now fifteen, has been with the Shill family for three years. His biological mother has been in and out of rehab and court so many times I’ve lost count. She is in a constant battle to get herself together, but has yet to succeed in her endeavors.
“I promise you I’ll look into things,” I say, and Reggie sighs once more. “I’ll call you as soon as I learn anything new.”
“Thanks, Hadley. I know this isn’t your fuck up, but shit like this can’t go on. It’s not fair to Marcus. If this were another kid and they didn’t have people like Shawna and me to help pay for the extra stuff, they’d be fucked.”
“I know,” I agree softly. “We’ll talk soon.” I hang up after saying goodbye, feeling guilty. I look at my computer monitor once more. The reason for the money being dealt out is right there in black and white, along with the check being received and cashed.
Thinking about what Marian said, about funds going missing, I get up and head for her office after turning off my computer. The door is closed, so I knock, and like normal, Marian doesn’t immediately say to come in. After what feels like five minutes, she finally calls out to me and I push inside. She’s sitting at her desk, her dark hair pulled away from her face in a harsh bun, her makeup perfectly in place and her suit unwrinkled. If she weren’t pretty, I’d say she looked like the evil principal from Matilda, but unfortunately, she’s pretty. I take a seat across from her and she raises an annoyed brow, barely glancing away from her computer.
“How can I assist you, Miss Emmerson?”
Instead of saying, “You can help me and everyone else who works here by not being such an evil cow,” I launch into what happened with Marcus. When I’m finished, she gives me nothing, nothing helpful anyway.
She tells me that Marcus must be lying and that he probably lied to his family about getting the money and spending it. I might have believed her with one of the other kids, but Marcus has been happy since he’s been with the Shill family. He’s taken on his role as big brother to two other foster kids with pride, has been present at school, and is getting better grades. I know from talking to him and his foster family that he loves to play football, something that without the money he would not be able to do, since it’s an extra expense that most foster families aren’t willing to cover.
Before I leave her office, she tells me to let things go and that she will look into it. Not feeling good about her response, I send an email to the company who overlooks the funds allotted to the kids. I hope they will be able to help me sort this mess out, that someone will actually care enough to really look into things.
Chapter 10
Hadley
I WATCH COBI GIVE me a smile as he backs out of his garage, and I give him an awkward smile in return. When his turns into a grin, I roll my eyes, which makes him laugh. When the garage door finally closes, cutting off my view of him, I look down at Maxim, who’s leaning into my side, and scratch him behind his ears.
“I guess it’s just us for the night, big guy. Come on.” I head back upstairs into the main living area of Cobi’s townhouse and go right to the kitchen. I pour myself a glass of wine and then lean back against the counter, watching the news Cobi left playing on the excessively large TV across the room.