“You’re never an interruption, Auggie. I’m here for you… I don’t think I have to even say that.”
I shook my head, knowing what he meant. Finally, I was composed enough to speak. “I need a favor,” I said softly.
“Name it,” he responded without hesitation, patting my leg and putting his arm around my shoulders.
“What I tell you stays between us, right?” I asked tentatively.
“Got a penny?” he asked.
“What?” I was puzzled.
“A penny. Have you got a penny?” he repeated.
I opened my bag and found one lying in the bottom of its satin lining. I handed it to him.
“There, now we can use attorney/client privilege. You’ve just hired me. Now, what in the hell has you so upset?”
I dabbed at my eyes, blew my nose and began to tell him the story, beginning with Mrs. Jessup’s gossipy warning and ending with the collaborating proof of the pictures in Mother’s album and her weak explanation.
Brandon listened quietly, his brows raising from time to time as he realized the cause behind the turmoil I was feeling internally. I began to cry again as the possibilities ran rampant.
Patting my hand, he got up and brought back a notepad and pen. “Here, let’s see if we can’t make some sense of this mess,” he said. “I’m going to guess and you correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe I understand what you’d like me to do for you.”
I nodded and lay my head on his shoulder for the comfort it brought.
“I’m guessing the most horrible question is whether your mother and Worth’s father continued to have a relationship and whether you might actually be their daughter, am I right?” he asked gently.
This brought a renewed onslaught of crying as I nodded miserably.
“There, there… let’s deal with this one first. Now, all we need to do is get DNA samples and that will tell you definitively. I’m going to send you to a discrete doctor I know and they’ll swab the inside of your cheek and that’s all there is to it. They send it off for analysis and it’s considered legally accurate. Now, the question comes whether you want to collect DNA from Worth to determine whether there is a match, or from your dad to rule him in or out. Naturally, if your dad isn’t a match, that still doesn’t rule Worth in or out. How do you want to do this?” His voice was tender and understanding, but I could hear the authoritative underlying attorney tone. “I should mention, though, that in order to test Worth’s DNA, legally, we need his acknowledged approval by signature.”
My eyes grew large at that. “Can’t I just get some hair from his hairbrush or something?” I pleaded.
“As an attorney, I cannot advise you to do something that’s against the law, Auggie. You can send in a hair sample, but the lab will require signed permission in order to process it.”
“I can’t do that, Brandon. That would start all sorts of trouble. I can’t even ask that of my own dad — I wouldn’t want to hurt him that way.”
“Let me repeat, Auggie. As your attorney, I cannot advise you to do something illegal. I can only inform you of the law. Now, let me also say that the doctor I’m sending you to has been known, shall we say, to have more relaxed standards for certain people. Look, Auggie, I can’t say any more than that.”
I nodded. “I understand. I don’t want you to do anything illegal, Brandon. I just didn’t know where to go.”
“No, no, that’s fine that you came here. In fact, I like it very much that you know you can do that. My hands are tied on the DNA account. Let’s move on, however. You are wondering whether you have an older sibling out there somewhere, right?”
Again, I nodded.
“Well, let’s begin with getting your DNA back and I’ll start a background check to see what we can uncover. I would like to have a chat with Mrs. Jessup, but I think the less attention we call to it, the better off you’ll be. This may be one of the few times that it’s a good thing she’s not out in public any longer. Although, that doesn’t rule out other people knowing about it. It’s been a long time since that would have happened, but that sort of thing isn’t forgotten… at least not until someone wants to remember. The more attention we bring to you and Worth being a couple, the more likely someone is going to begin remembering. After all, Mrs. Jessup is an old lady, but there were others far younger.”
I felt the panic returning and he must have read it in my eyes. I began to hyperventilate. Brandon put his arms around me again, his hand patting the back of my head. Then he did the most unexpected thing. He pulled my head backward, brushed away the tears on my cheeks and kissed me fully on the mouth. It wasn’t a long kiss, but it wasn’t exactly fatherly, either. “There now,” he said. “I’m going to help you sort this all out and everything will be fine. I promise. Can you hold up?” he asked, as normally as if he were kissing his sister.
If anything, my insides were now in a greater turmoil. Not only was his kiss more romantic than brotherly, I hadn’t minded it. The horror of my predicament launched a fresh onslaught of sobbing.
Brandon patted me then he went to his door again and spoke to his secretary. He came back, grabbing his coat from a closet in a small anteroom. “Come on, I’m getting you out of here.”
“But you have clients…” I objected.
“Yes, and you are it. You’ve just hired me for the remainder of the afternoon. First, I want you to take another swig from this flask. It will help to settle your nerves. Next, we’re going to run by that doctor’s office and get you swabbed.” He was efficient and yet sympathetic.
“Should I have alcohol in my mouth if they’re going to swab it? I mean, isn’t it like having to fast before you have a blood test?” I asked innocently.
“No, sweetie, your DNA goes all the way through you. The alcohol will evaporate, probably already has. Let’s just get you settled. I know you well enough to understand that you’ll obsess and fume over this until we get some resolution. Getting started on the path to discovery is the fastest route to get it settled.”
I nodded. Brandon did seem to understand me better than I realized. “Brandon, I don’t want to cost you fees from lost clients.”
He laughed. “If it makes you feel better, we’ll call this our hundred-thousand-dollar date. How’s that?”
I laughed at the irony.
“Good! We’ll start with that smile and work our way out from there.” He grabbed my hand and pulled me through his lobby and into the snow. “Here, you’ve had something to drink, so you’re riding with me. I’ll drop you back here later. Okay?”