“Maybe I don’t have to, but I want to, for the rest of my life.”
My eyes began to water. I flipped down the visor mirror and tried to keep my makeup in place. It wasn’t that I was embarrassed to cry in front of him, especially not a happy cry, but I wanted to make sure I gave my best impression today.
“You’re beautiful,” Ian said as I dabbed at my eyes.
“Stop being so sweet, you’re going to make me cry some more.”
He laughed at me. I was happy to hear him really laugh.
The attorney’s office wasn’t far from our hotel, so it didn’t take us long to get there, even with Denver’s insane traffic. On our walk in, he held my hand.
“So, I get to be Kelli today?”
He gave me a wry smile and applied gentle pressure to my hand. I squeezed back. I hoped someday he would get over all of this separation nonsense. I mean, I get why he did it, but this was me. I wasn’t Marissa or Alexa. I fell in love with Ian long before he was ever wealthy or successful, at least in the worldly way. He could trust me, and it wasn’t like I wanted to make-out in the office or anything. I just wanted to be us. Okay, if he felt the urge and it was behind closed doors, I wouldn’t mind at all if he kissed me in the office.
Ian’s attorney, Mr. Nathaniel Clark, ushered us in right away. Bythe looks of his opulent office, he did very well for himself. I expected no less, considering who had solicited his services. He was probably around Ian’s age, maybe a tad older. He had a commanding presence to him. I could see instantly why Ian had chosen him.
Ian introduced me and then took no time getting down to business. He handed over the packet to Mr. Clark and explained the contents.
Mr. Clark grinned at me. “Are you sure you’re in the right profession, Ms. Bryant? I could use someone like you.”
“She’s taken,” Ian replied for me.
Mr. Clark smiled at the two of us before he continued to look through the documents. “This is amazing leverage,” he commented. “And why we didn’t think of it, Ian, I don’t know.”
Ian beamed at me.
Mr. Clark made a couple of phone calls to the opposing lawyers, and then the fun began. After an hour, we all headed over to the courthouse that was conveniently across the street from Mr. Clark’s firm. Ian surprised me and held my hand as we made our way over. I couldn’t wait to see the looks on the faces of his ex and that snake Alexa.
As this wasn’t a jury trial, we met in a conference-style room. Apparently, the opposing side wanted to meet without the judge first. Shocker. They knew they were in trouble.
We got there first and took seats on the hard wooden chairs at one end of the table. Ian looked more relaxed than I had seen him in days. That was until the Bobbsey Twins, more like the boob twins made their appearance. His demeanor changed in a split second. I wasn’t sure if I had ever seen such a look of disdain on anyone’s face.
The twins didn’t look happy either, especially when they saw me. I couldn’t help but wickedly grin at them. Oh, yes . . . they were going to be very sorry. They turned away from me, and I smiled lovingly at the man by my side. He grabbed my hand under the table and held it firmly. I so badly wanted to get out my phone and take a picture of the painted ladies for my sister. They both overdid their hair and makeup today, and for some odd reason, it looked like they color coordinated.They were each wearing navy blue and red and were showing a lot of cleavage. I didn’t think that was going to help them today.
Besides their lawyer, there was an older gentleman with them. I think he was Marissa’s father. I take back my previous comment, he was the winner for the look of disdain. I couldn’t tell who he was unhappier with, Ian or his daughter. It was a toss-up as he looked between the two. Ian didn’t flinch though.
I leaned over to Ian. “You are so sexy when you’re trying to play it cool,” I whispered low enough for his ears only.
His lips twitched but then he was back to business and staring down the opposing side. I found it interesting how Alexa refused to make eye contact with Ian. In a way, I couldn’t blame her. I knew what it felt like to be rejected by him, and it was devastating.
The opposing side kept chatting and arguing amongst themselves as we stayed cool and collected on our end. They were scrambling. I took way too much pleasure in it. They had obviously been very confident about a different outcome. Finally, after about twenty minutes, their lawyer asked for a meeting between the two parties, meaning Alexa and I were asked to leave. I was honestly looking forward to a little time alone with Ms. Manselle. She, on the other hand, looked a little worried, as she should be.
Ian stood up with me, and I couldn’t help it, I kissed him once on those sensuous lips of his. “Make sure you ditch the baggage, okay?” I gave him a playful nudge.
He smirked before I turned around to find all eyes on us, even Ms. Manselle’s. I plastered a huge smile on my face, held my head up high, and walked out like a boss. Ms. Manselle joined me in the hall that was lined with large paintings of judges of the past. We both took a seat on the bench outside the room. She on one end and me on the other. She kept nervously glancing between me and her phone. For a moment, I took pleasure in watching her squirm. I wasn’t sure how long my window of opportunity would be, so I slid closer to her on the long bench. She tried to ignore me by turning away from me, but I wasn’t having it. “Ms. Manselle.”
She refused to turn and look my way.
“Cat got your tongue? Well, no matter. I don’t need you to say anything, but you will listen to me.”
She turned and glared at me.
My eyes bore into her. “I’m sure they’re in there cutting a deal right now to keep Chandler’s lawsuit against you from going forward but know that if you even think about causing harm to Ian again, you won’t know what hit you. And if I see a hint of my software design anywhere, I’ll make sure you see prison time.”
Her mouth fell and she swallowed hard. She looked like she wanted to scream at me, but she knew better.
I smirked. “That’s right, I think orange would suit you well.”
