I inhaled, running my hands down the sides of my face, willing myself to shake off the memories of those nightmares. I stepped into the shower and stood under the warm spray of the water, closing my eyes and going over everything that had happened in the last few weeks. The images of that awful morning came floating back to me. I remembered how Xavier had shoved his phone at me with a picture of my battered face plastered on some gossip rag for the world to see. The article painted me as some vindictive abused woman who used my status as a divorce attorney to turn the great Jacob Wyatt—all-star quarterback for the Houston Saints—into a monster. The manuscripts from Jacob and Michele’s divorce proceedings were released, and the public had been turning on Jacob after it was revealed that he had no problem getting physical with his wife now and then.
The gossip article was a smear campaign against me. For two weeks, my office had been fielding phone calls from the general public calling for my resignation or just trying to harass me. I even had a couple of clients say they wanted a different attorney handling their divorces. I knew much of the hoopla would die down. Jacob Wyatt was revered around this city, so the pushback from fans was normal. Luckily, my bosses at work understood as well and knew I’d done my job as any attorney would. I’d gotten what my client asked for, fair and square.
The issue of who or why someone would personally attackmeinorderto defend Jacob remained a mystery. I mean, I got it, I was his ex-wife’s attorney, but putting my history out there for the world to see was an especially personal attack. At first, I’d been too heartbroken even to wonder who’d done it. Then the nightmares started, and it was all I could do just to make it through each day. I ignored phone calls or kept conversation to a minimum with most of my friends and family. No one except my best friend, Gabrielle, knew what I’d endured with Ethan, and now everyone knew. She helped keep me sane through this entire ordeal, even fielding phone calls from my father and brother.
“They wouldn’t,” I mumbled out loud, my eyes popping open under the spray of the shower. Who would have the incentive to paint me as the vindictive, man-hating attorney out to make their client look bad? The answer I came up with made sense to my sleep-deprived mind. I dressed quickly before dialing my office and informing my secretary that I would be in late. I needed to make a stop.
****
An hour later, I strolled through the glass doors ofThe Law Offices of Combs & Combs.
“Good morning, may I h—?” The receptionist’s greeting was short when I held up my hand, waving her off and striding past her. I didn’t even bother to turn and look behind me to see if she followed. I was on a mission, and the man I needed to speak with was at the other end of this hallway. As I approached his door, I could see it was wide open.
“Did you do it?” I questioned through gritted teeth, not bothering to give my father so much as a “hello.” His mahogany head popped up from his desk, and he turned stunned eyes on me. The perplexed look on his face made my anger grow even more.
“Chanel—”
“I’m sorry, Mr. Combs, she just…” the receptionist, now at my back, tried to explain. I peered over my shoulder at her, and her mouth immediately clamped shut. She wasn’t the one I was angry at, but she needed to be quiet.
“Thanks, Barbara,” my father began, rising from his chair. “Chanel, please come in. I’ve been trying to get in touch with—”
“Did you do this?!” I asked again, my voice growing louder.
“Do what?”
“You know what,” I seethed, stepping fully into his office. I heard the door shut behind me. I assumed the receptionist closed it but didn’t bother checking. “Did you leak the information for that slanderous article about me?”
The whites of his eyes doubled in size at my accusation. I could almost believe he was shocked at my accusation, but I pressed on.
“Chanel, I would never do anything like that. The fact that you think…” He trailed off.
I almost got the impression he didn’t have anything to do with this, but I was in rare form. The last three weeks had been extremely difficult. The looks and stares from people who thought they knew me. The sympathy in their eyes like I was some victim made me question myself more than I cared to admit. I hated that feeling. Even worse, I had a broken heart to deal with on top of that. Just thinking about the look on Xavier’s face right before he turned his back on me and left made my chest ache.
“I don’t believe you,” I retorted, despite the look of sadness that passed over my father’s face.
He tilted his head in disbelief. “Chanel…”
“Aren’t you always saying ‘take no prisoners’ or ‘show no mercy’ when it comes to winning? Those were your mottos, right? At least, that’s what I’d overhear you telling Jason as you taught him the business. You never actually taughtmeanything!”
Damn.I wished I could’ve kept the bitterness in my tone to a minimum, but I was unable to control the emotions that bubbled up.
“Chanel, I wouldnever.Not to you,” he insisted.
“I don’t believe you!” I said more vehemently.
“Hey, hey, what the hell is going on?”
I turned to see a worried look on Jason’s face as he entered the room. I rolled my eyes.
“Did you know about this? Were you in on it too?” I shouted at my brother.
“Chanel, what the hell are you talking about? Why are you in here yelling?”
I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply in an attempt to calm my erratic nerves. I hadn’t meant to get this irate. I began pacing the length of my father’s office because standing still with both my father and brother looking at me like I’d lost my damn mind was too much to take.
“I came here to ask our father if he had anything to do with that article. And now that you’re standing here, I’m asking you too. Did you know about it? Did you have a hand in it as well?”
“As well?” My father repeated my words. “Chanel, I’ve told you I would never do something like that to you.”
