“She doesn’t have to know.”
“Womenalwaysknow.” I gesture to the office and the building at large. “This firmrunson women who know. Speaking of which, why is the floor so quiet?” I frown as I look around to locate the reason I had to come in. “Where’s Bebe? I should’ve heard her scream from miles away.”
“Jeremiah kicked her out. Threatened to sue her if she wouldn’t shut up. Then told her to make an appointment.”
“She did? Huh… She’s rarely that nasty.”
“She’s in a mood.” He lowers his voice. “Apparently one of her clients misrepresented some pertinent facts, and it really fucked things up for the case.”
I shudder. My aunt hates losing, and if the misrepresentation costs her the case, she’ll murder the client. My phone pings, and I check the message.
–Dad: My office. NOW.
“Gotta go. Partner calls.” I wave at Barry and head to Dad’s office on the next floor.
As a senior partner at Huxley & Webber, my dad has one of the nicest corner offices, with a fantastic view of the city. In a few years I’ll get one, too, but I’ll keep my old furniture because it’s comfortable and functional.
Dad’s seated at his massive mahogany desk with a sleek laptop and some papers on top. Expensively cropped dark hair frames his confident face. A bespoke black three-piece suit—a gift from Akiko last Christmas—and a muted blue tie completes his legal shark look.
His dark eyebrows are pulled together. Under them, his wide-set, pale gray eyes gleam with calculation as he gazes at me over steepled fingers.
“Have a seat.” He tilts his head at one of the cushy armchairs. His voice is, as usual, modulated. He has a booming voice that would make any stage actor envious, but he rarely uses it at full volume, because he thinks that raising your voice equals admitting defeat.
I take the seat and prop an ankle over the opposite knee, then wait for him to start.
“You aren’t where Ares was. There won’t be a promotion to partnership,” he says flatly.
“I know.” I shrug.
His frown grows darker. “So why did you suddenly elope? You didn’t tell me. You didn’t tell anybody. I had to hear it from Eric.”
So Judge Mansfield made a call. I expected Paola to gossip with lawyers at the firm,but not him.
It doesn’t matter. My goal was to get people here talking about my revised marital status. Mom undoubtedly has spies at the firm. Although Huxley & Webber thoroughly screens everyone’s background, including janitorial staff, nothing’s foolproof.
“Do you know how it made me feel to realize you’d gotten married without telling anybody?” Dad continues. “Not to mention Akiko! She’s hurt.”
“Mom was going to hurt my wife, Fiona,” I say somberly. “I had no choice.”
At the mention of Mom, Dad stiffens. “That bitch.”
“Mom’s after me. Vincent is apparently much sicker than we thought—at least sick enough to put family first.”
“Really? Too bad he isn’t dead yet,” Dad says.
“Agreed.” I fill him in briefly on what Harvey told me. Dad’s face turns red, green, then back to red. “Anyway, marrying Fiona gives us some protection against Mom’s machinations.”
Dad heaves a sigh, his shoulders slouching. “I’m sorry, son. If I hadn’t been so blinded by love back then…” He rubs his forehead. “I feel like an idiot.”
“Don’t, Dad. If you hadn’t met her, you wouldn’t have created us. Do you regret that too?”
He snaps his head up. “No. Never. You and your brothers are the greatest accomplishments of my life.”
I smile with affection and understanding. “Look, you’ve always done the best you could. None of us blame you for what happened. That’s all on Mom.”
“Thanks.” He tries to smile, but lets out another heavy sigh instead.
I clench and unclench my hands. How I loathe Mom for dragging the family down after twenty-two years.
