“I don’t deserve you.”
“Yes, but regardless, I’m still here.”
He chuckled. “I do love you.”
“I know. Let’s swing.”
We spent the next hour swinging, laughing, and talking. It was there I divulged our new plans for the weekend. He seemed genuinely pleased with the idea.
We only needed to make it there.
GLENWOOD SPRINGS WAS THE WORD of the week. Whenever Ian was tense, I would whisper the beloved place and remind him what was waiting for us in a few short days. Tuesday morning we spent going over our presentation for Norwest Bank. We spent the afternoon meeting with their big wigs in downtown Denver in their oddly shaped skyscraper that I swore looked like a cash register on the top. The meeting went mostly well, but they were super stringent about security issues. They wanted us to change our contract and terms and conditions for them. Ian took it all in stride and didn’t promise them a thing.
“I never thought I would meet anyone more anal than you,” I remarked to him on our way out through their lobby.
He laughed, and for a moment, he forgot I was Ms. Bryant. He reached down and took my hand.
“Mr. Greyson, I’m not sure how to take that,” I teased.
He dropped my hand, but at least he smiled. I really did miss being just Kelli.
That night I was left alone as Ian met with his attorney again. They were going to court the next afternoon. He didn’t know it, but I was too. I was also working on this ridiculous case. Ms. Manselle was about to be very sorry.
I dressed in my finest business suit the next morning before I met Ian for breakfast. He hadn’t gotten in until almost midnight the nightbefore. He had come up and lightly rapped on my door when he got back. “I needed to see your face,” he’d said before he kissed me.
I happily obliged. He had looked so worn, and this morning he still did. It made me more determined to go with him. He had been so adamant about me staying out of it that he didn’t even discuss what was going on with me, but like he said, he had never known anyone more stubborn than me.
As soon as our breakfast was cleared away, I reached into my satchel and pulled out a large manila envelope. I slid it across the table to him.
His brow quirked. “What’s this?”
“Your insurance policy.”
He still looked confused.
I pushed it more toward him. “Open it.”
He picked it up, carefully opened it, and pulled out the contents. I watched him as he read through the small stack of papers. I could see his chocolate eyes brighten as he read the lawsuit Chandler was filing against Ms. Manselle for breach of contract, corporate espionage, and violating her NDA. He looked up from the papers with the biggest grin I had ever seen on his face.
I took that as my opportunity to hand him a DVD. “This video shows Ms. Manselle taking pictures with her phone of your laptop screen showing the framework of our software. It also shows her talking to who I assume is your ex-wife, discussing their ‘plan.’ I’ve asked Ms. Ayers, Chandler’s attorney, to subpoena Ms. Manselle’s and Marissa’s cell phone records. I also have Delfia’s handwritten statement that she overheard the conversation and her plans to ‘take you down,’ for lack of a better term.”
He shook his head at me in amazement. He was positively speechless.
“So, can I go with you to the courthouse now?”
He leaned over and planted a kiss on my cheek. “I love you.”
“I’ll take that as a yes.”
Ian called his attorney and insisted on meeting immediately, if not sooner. His attorney agreed, and we were on our way. I watched him aswe drove over. I could visibly see that his stress level had diminished. He looked so relieved. I even teased him that I would be willing to get up and swear, under oath, that I was still a virgin to put to bed any talk about his nefarious relationships with women in the office.
He laughed and briefly looked my way when we stopped at a red light. “You say the most absurd things sometimes.” He took the opportunity to peruse me from head to toe with his hungry eyes. “Unfortunately, no one would believe you.”
I raised my brows.
“Except for me, of course,” he added. “Besides, I had no intention of letting anyone come near you. I would have given it all up to protect you if needed.”
I reached up and touched his cleanly shaven face. “Ian, you don’t have to protect me, but thank you.”
