Page 32 of The Seal's Promise
“Incoming,” Nora said, right before Tyler slammed his hand down on the counter with a piece of paper.
“What do you think you’re doing?” he demanded.
So, he’d officially been served by the court order to pay child support. Her lawyer had said the first step was to file the requisite request for child support, then, depending on how Tyler responded, they could take further action.
“Good morning, Mr. Banks. If you can just have a seat in the waiting room while you fill out this form then one of our doctors can see you shortly,” Nora said, setting a clipboard down with the in-take paperwork in front of Tyler.
“I’m not here for medical treatment, thankfully,” Tyler scoffed. “Brooke, what stunt are you trying to pull, coming after me for money? You got your settlement in the divorce. Which you didn’t even earn.”
She forced a smile. “What settlement? You mean when you changed the locks, had strangers box up my things, and delivered them to my parents’ house?” she said through gritted teeth.
“They could have been sent to the trash,” he said.
“Look, I’m at work, so this is an inappropriate place to have this conversation. If you want to talk about it later, my shift is over at five.”
“News flash—I’m not paying child support until you prove he’s mine,” he spat.
But before she could respond, Dalton walked up. “Is there a problem here?”
“Yes, Dr. Hart, this man says he doesn’t require medical attention and he’s harassing our administrator,” Nora said as she shot daggers with her stare at Tyler.
“He was just leaving,” Brooke said, turning toward the exit and hoping Tyler would follow so he could insult her more.
“Oh wow,” Tyler said. “You’re really desperate to get as close to my ex-wife as possible, aren’t you, Hart? So interested in my castoffs. Well, good luck. It turns out she’s just interested in money, and last I checked, you Hart boys are running close to bankruptcy.”
“Maybe if you paid for your responsibilities, you wouldn’t need a court order to make you,” Dalton said in a quiet tone that made him sound so intimidating.
“Alright, enough. Tyler, you have to leave. Dalton, butt out,” Brooke said before storming off and leaving them both behind as she made her way back to her office. She only got through the first set of doors before Dr. Jones spotted her.
“Ah, Brooke, I’d like to talk to you about potentially increasing Dr. Hart’s salary in a few weeks. Sweeten the deal so he’ll stay, but I’m off to go fishing,” Dr. Jones said, not even noticing Brooke clenching her fists.
“Okay, fine, great, have a nice day,” she said before closing her office door and leaning against it. She knew this was going to be hard, she knew Tyler would get mad. So why was she so upset? She grabbed her phone out of her pocket and called the one person she could always talk to.
“So the big Banks man-child was served a bill for not paying child support for the last seven years and his first reaction was to make a scene with witnesses at your place of employment?” May said on speakerphone.
“Yes, and then Dalton tried to defend me, but obviously that didn’t go over well.” Brooke slid her back down the door and sat on the floor in her office.
“Wait, why was Dalton at the hospital again?”
“Ugh, he accepted a temporary position to help out at the hospital for the summer. Dr. Jones thinks he can convince him to stay permanently.”
“Well, well, that man does seem to be trying to stick around town and you.”
“He’s just helping out Wes with their grandmother and then he’ll be gone again.”
“Maybe, but until then I say enjoy his company as much as possible. He’s smoking hot, and it might just be the motivation Tyler needs to stop being a deadbeat. Competition.”
“That’s not a good idea, you should have seen how mad he got. He said he wasn’t going to pay child support until I prove he’s the father.” Her voice hitched.
“That no good piece of… I’m sorry, Brooke, I know that must have hurt.”
She sniffled. “He cheated on me, in our home, in our bed—while I was pregnant—and he has the nerve to accuse me of being promiscuous? He’s the only man I’ve ever slept with, not to mention Max has most of Tyler’s features!”
“He’s the lowest of the low. But you know what, this is how con men act, they pretend to be something they aren’t to lure you in, then ramp up their dirtball behavior. But he will lose in court, Brooke, and he knows it.”
“I just hate putting Max through that test. He’ll ask me why, and what am I supposed to say?”
“Can you just say it’s to confirm his family tree? A cool heritage test.”
