“Thank you for your input, Mr.Remington,” the judge said sarcastically.“This matter is adjourned.”The judge got up to leave the room.
“I don’t get to say anything?You’re just taking my kids awayfor two fucking years, and there’snothing I can do about it?”
Driscoll took hold of Bryan’s arm to lead him from the courtroom.Julian could hear him screaming in the hallway outside the room.
Julian turned to Rachel.“What can I do for you?”
She shook her head and reached for another tissue from the box on the table.“I don’t know what to say.I got what I wanted, but at what price?I’ll have to keep one eye over my shoulder and worry every second my kids aren’t with me.”
“As much as I hate to say this, it might be a good idea to relocate somewhere new.We can help you legally change your name and the kids’ names.”
She nodded, but exhaustion clung to her like a wet blanket after years of dealing with Bryan and his rage while trying to keep herself and her young sons safe.
Julian offered her a hand to help her up.“Let’s go back to my office and figure out your next steps.”
“Thank you for everything you’ve done to help me,” she said, looking devastated despite her “victory.”
“Of course.That’s my job.”
“You do it very well.”
“We try.”
As he escorted her from the courtroom, Julian was on full alert for trouble.He had a bad feeling that they hadn’t seen the last of Bryan McDavid.
ChapterTwo
Julian returned with Rachel to his office on Wilshire Boulevard, in the same building his grandfather had purchased to house his fledgling law practice in 1966.Today, Remington Family Law occupied all six floors and employed more than two hundred people working as family law and estate attorneys, paralegals, accountants, investigators and other support staff.As Julian stepped off the elevator on the fourth floor with Rachel, he encountered chaos within the normally orderly area that housed the partners’ offices.What the hell?
“I demand to see him right now!”
“Ma’am, this is a place of business, and your tone—and volume—is not appropriate.”The calm, reasoned voice of their intrepid receptionist and office manager, Hector Cordeiro, the heartbeat of the entire practice, had little effect on the screamer.
Julian walked around the corner and stopped short at the sight of Stacey yelling at Hector to “Get Julian Remington before things get ugly.”
Too late.Already there.
“What’re you doing here?”Julian asked from behind her.
When she whirled around, he was shocked by her ravaged appearance.“I need to talk to you!This… Thismantold me I had to leave.”
Julian wondered how she’d managed to get past security in the lobby and would be looking into that after he got rid of her.
He glanced at Hector and then at Rachel.
“Mrs.McDavid,” Hector said, “let me get you some refreshments while you wait for Mr.Remington.”
“Thank you,” Rachel said as she gave Julian a questioning look.
He rolled his eyes and was pleased by her hint of a smile.If the scene with Stacey brought some much-needed levity to Rachel, he supposed that was one positive in an otherwise outrageous situation.As he gently took hold of Stacey’s arm to steer her toward his office, he felt his colleagues watching him, including two of his brothers, knowing he’d be dealing with the fallout of this shit show for days to come.
If Stacey had truly known what mattered most to him, the last thing on earth she would’ve done was make a scene here, of all places.
Julian avoided the gaze of his faithful assistant, Matilda “Mattie” Jones, as he went into his office and closed the door, releasing Stacey the second she cleared the threshold.
She whirled around confront him.“I don’t know who you think you are, dismissing me like I’m a piece of garbage on the street when you’re done with me.”
“That’s not what happened, and you know it.”He went around the desk to check the messages and mail Mattie had left for him.“But if you choose to rewrite the story to fit your narrative, there’s nothing I can say that’ll satisfy you.”
