“Uh, yeah. Oh, I forgot. The opposing attorney can’t—shit, I gotta go.” Hacking and gurgling noises on his end made my stomach turn. “I’m gonna be sick.” The call ended, and I was left with the image of Seth tossing his cookies. My sausage-and-egg breakfast sandwich suddenly didn’t seem as appetizing as it had only moments ago, and I dumped it into the trash.
I checked my watch. I had just enough time to open the file he’d emailed me and try to familiarize myself with the case. Two young people whose parents hated their choice in spouses. That never boded well. I checked the firm and saw the name of the attorney handling the case had been crossed out, with a note from Seth:New opposing counsel.
“Who the fuck is it?” That must’ve been what he’d been about to tell me when he’d lost the contents of his stomach. I scanned the file, but there was only a phone number with no name. Obviously, Seth’s brain had been on the bachelor party rather than his case. My intercom buzzed.
“Yes, Tanya?”
“Seth’s nine a.m. is here, but he’s not in yet.”
“I’ll be taking it this morning. Please put them in the conference room.”
“Okay.”
Roman and White was a boutique firm I’d joined after I graduated law school. They handled all aspects of family law, and I’d been thrilled to receive an offer to work for them. I’d turned down the rat race of the huge, white-shoe law firms, wanting a less hectic, less competitive environment. Roman and White were well known in the family-law field, and they boasted some high-profile clients. Making partner was the culmination of all my hard work and the dream of being a lawyer—one I’d had since I was a kid. In the intervening years, I’d paid no mind to the petty infighting of the senior partners, and though the shine had somewhat worn off, I remained grateful every day. I was living a life I’d only dreamed of as a child and took nothing for granted. Headhunters kept trying to recruit me, and while I wasn’t averse to leaving, I did have a sense of loyalty to the firm.
I picked up my legal pad and pen and stopped by Seth’s office to get the printed file. While everything was online, I preferred to have paper in front of me.
“Old-fashioned,”Seth always joked.
I opened the conference room door and saw our client, Rodney Fuller, seated with his father, whom I knew from the intake meeting. The soon-to-be ex, Jill Swanson-Fuller, sat opposite them with an older version of herself, ostensibly her mother. A tall man stood with his back to me, studying the legal treatises in the bookcase. Rude of a colleague not to even bother to acknowledge that I’d entered the room. That put him one rung up on my shithead ladder.
“Hello. I’m Brenner Fleming. Seth Roman couldn’t make it this morning, so rather than postpone the meeting, I’m filling in.”
The man snapped to attention, and finally turned, greeting me with a wicked grin and predatory green-gold eyes reminiscent of a big cat on the hunt. “Weston Lively.”
I swore my heart sank to my feet. It couldn’t be.Fuck. Not that guy.
I remained mute, damning my traitorous body. Sweat popped up and ran down my spine, my nerve endings firing. It was all I could do to keep from trembling. Uncomfortable silence grew between us until I blinked and got my shit together.
“Hello. Nice to meet you.”
A slash of brow rose high as if to say,So we’re going to play that game, are we?
“Same. I’m also new to the case. The Swansons called me in last-minute.”
My nod was curt. “Shall we start?” I sat by Rodney. “This seems like it should be—”
“It’s not. If you were going to say simple,” Weston interrupted. “My client has uncovered assets Mr. Fuller was attempting to hide.”
“That’s a lie,” Rodney burst out. “You just want to take everything from me and leave me penniless so you can be with your boyfriend.”
“There is no boyfriend. I never cheated on you. But I know about that Swiss bank account. And the other one in Aruba.”
Holy shit, this was spinning out of control. Obviously Weston had anticipated this, because the bastard sat there with a smirk on his arrogant face. Seth was going to owe me more than a damned iced coffee for stepping into this snake pit.
“Please, both of you. This hostility is getting us nowhere. Why don’t I talk for a moment with my client?” I tipped my head to the door and led Rodney and his father outside. “Is this true?” I asked when they were seated in my office. “Do you have offshore accounts you haven’t disclosed?”
A guilty Rodney darted a glance to his father. Rodney might be twenty-seven, but I knew who called the shots.
“Please tell me the truth.”
Jonathan Fuller glared at me. “We hired your firm to represent our interests, not that greedy whore’s.”
“Whoa. Okay, Mr. Fuller. Be angry, but I don’t allow language like that. I understand divorce is contentious, but this is why people who don’t really know each other and don’t have prenups get into trouble. How much is in those accounts in total assets?”
Rodney bowed his head. “About three million dollars.”
Jesus. This twerp was going to learn a lesson. “And how much was acquired during the marriage? That makes all the difference.”
