What he says can’t be true. I had no interaction with her lawyer, and I didn’t instruct Nicolet to employ any undue pressure, only to make sure the prenup was handled without delay. They delivered. They always do. That’s why I employ them.
I was actually unexpectedly angry when Cora signed without any pushback. I almost called off the wedding. What kind of woman agrees to give her children away?
But I told myself that she was young, and she’d had a hard life. She had stars in her eyes. She was probably telling herself things would never come to that, and they wouldn’t. I’d make sure of it.
Knowing her as I do now, it makes a hell of a lot more sense that she didn’t read the prenup than that she’d agree to give up custody of her children.
“She didn’t know?” I ask, forgetting that I was making him squirm, waiting for him to fill the silence.
Chambers slowly shakes his head. “We haven’t gone through the agreement clause by clause, but I doubt she has any idea what’s in most of it. She definitely didn’t know about the custody arrangement or the payouts for the children.”
“She can read.”
“Of course.” He sits there patiently.
My thoughts are too thick. I’m operating on two or three hours of bad sleep a night, and the cracks are showing. My eyelids feel weighted, and the heartburn never goes away, no matter how much antacid I chug.
If I could just get a good night’s sleep, I could fix this. At the end of the day, all people have the same handful of pressure points, and getting the outcome you want is a simple matter of figuring out which to press and how.
“She’s angry. And hurt.” I don’t mean to say it out loud, but what does it matter? This man might be the ops, but he’s no threat. He’s the kind of man who has a scorpion in a paper weight. He probably mounted his katana sword collection above his headboard.
He doesn’t reply, and his expression doesn’t change. I guess it’s not exactly news.
“She thought she loved me.”
“Most women do love the men they marry,” Chambers observes, leaning back in his chair and steepling his fingers. He thinks the confidence shifts our dynamic.
“I suppose.” Not in the circles in which I travel, but it feels mean-spirited to say so.
He pastes his best wise counselor expression on his brotoxed face. “You know, you might be surrounded by assholes, but that doesn’t mean everyone’s an asshole.”
“So says the lawyer?”
Chambers chuckles. “I guess I know whereof I speak. Listen, I’ll talk to her. Tell her you’re desperate enough that you came to beg me to intercede on your behalf.”
“You will?” I raise an eyebrow. This guy really is high on his own supply.
“I will. And how about, in exchange, you and your brothers leave my clients alone, and no one breaks my legs or burns my office down.”
I guess he does know my brothers. “Fair enough.” I stand. He does as well. “Don’t push her. And don’t upset her. Just tell her that she agreed to go to business functions.”
“I don’t work for you, Mr. Maddox,” he says amiably, as if we’ve established some kind of equal footing. That’s his fourth-tier law school education showing.
A genuine smile curves my mouth, my misery lifting. “No, but your father does.”
He’s good enough that his surprise doesn’t immediatelyshow. Or maybe that’s the brotox. “Oh?”
“Nicolet and Burgess acquired Chambers, Hanover, and Devon—” I check my watch. “A little over twenty-four hours ago. If you’re quick, you might break the news to your father before Hanover and Devon get the chance.”
Chambers maintains his cool bro expression, but he can’t control the color draining from his face. I do love taking the kill shot. Not as much as Lucian, but in my own way—I have the same dark streak.
I straighten my cuffs and adopt my own wise counselor tone of voice. “I advise you to take it as a lesson. If you want to keep what you’ve spent your life building, don’t go into an equal equity partnership. At the end of the day, loyalty doesn’t exist. Hanover and Devon sold likethat—” I snap. “I’m sure you’re a good son, though. Convince my wife to comply with the prenup, and I see no reason for a shakeup in leadership at C, H, and D.”
I watch the cascade of realizations wash across his face. His father is fucked because of his own hubris, thinking he could make it to the big time by getting between me andmywife. He’s an unprincipled opportunist, but he does love his daddy. Even baby snakes love their parents, I suppose.
He must be regretting this entire conversation, but we all have our own problems.
As I head for the door, I can’t resist one last parting shot. “Everyonemight not be an asshole, but I am. Watch yourself with my wife.” I turn one last time before I leave. “Don’tupset her.”
