“Partner meeting starting in your dad’s office.”
“I’m on my way.”
“Are you okay, honey?”
“I’m fine.Sorry about the scene.”
“You didn’t make the scene, bebe.”
As a grown man and a partner in a law firm, it should’ve annoyed him to be called childlike nicknames by his assistant.But since he’d known Mattie all his life, it didn’t bother him in the least, especially since she never called him any of her many nicknames for him in front of anyone else.He’d inherited the formidable Matilda Jones from his grandfather when he retired shortly after Julian attained junior partnership.
“Tell my dad I’ll be there in five.”
“Will do.Reminder that you have lunch with Cresley Dane at the Ivy at two.Not that I think you’d forget lunch with a supermodel or anything.”
Julian chuckled.“Yep, it’s on the radar.”
“I’m sure it is.”
They were both laughing when she ended the call.
He loved working with her and dreaded the day when sixty-year-old Mattie would announce her retirement.Not that he expected that to happen for a while, since Mattie, who’d never married, would tell you that her job was her life and the Remingtons were her family.She spent every Thanksgiving and Christmas with them and visited Julian’s grandfather at his senior care facility every Wednesday evening without fail.
They all loved her, and Julian’s brothers envied him for having her on his team, where he hoped she’d stay forever.
After the amusing conversation with Mattie, he felt better and ready to shed the lingering disquiet from the encounter with Stacey.It went against everything he believed in to allow a woman to cause drama in his life, let alone at his workplace.The second that happened, he was gone.A few, like Stacey, felt they could change his mind.Little did they know that his life philosophy came from the kind of experience that should’ve broken him and his siblings.
Instead, it’d made them stronger and resolved to avoid the kind of nightmare they’d endured as kids.They’d had no control over anything then.Now they were in charge and setting their own rules.Anyone who didn’t like those rules wasn’t welcome in their lives.
He gathered his notes for the partner meeting and left his office, winking at Mattie as he went past her command post.People said she resembled Phylicia Rashad, a comparison she encouraged.True to form, she was stylishly turned out in a dark purple suit that was probably Chanel or Dior, sky-high heels and nails that matched her suit.That her nails always matched her suits was a source of constant amazement to him.
She was an icon in every possible way, as well as the most loyal friend and assistant anyone could ever hope to have.
As he walked down the long corridor toward his father’s office, he sensed people watching him through the glass walls of their offices.They’d love to know the details of what’d led to the public showdown with Stacey.But they wouldn’t hear any more about it from him.
Julian almost groaned out loud when he saw Nova Morales, one of the younger paralegals, coming toward him.That she had a massive crush on him was one of the worst-kept secrets in the place.
“How’re you doing, Julian?”
He kept moving as he went by her.“Just fine, Nova.Hope you’re having a great day.”
“You, too!”
Nova was exactly what he should’ve wanted in a woman.She was young, ambitious, ruthlessly intelligent and sexy as all hell, with extravagant curves, gorgeous dark hair and eyes and lips made for sin.In another life in which they didn’t work together, she wasn’t more than a decade younger than him, and he hadn’t vowed to remain single, he might’ve returned her interest.In this lifetime, he kept walking as she probably turned to watch him go with her heart in her eyes.That’s how Mattie described the way Nova gazed at him when she thought no one was looking.
He had no time for such foolishness.
Julian greeted his dad’s assistant, a serious young man named Luka Woodruff.
“Go on in,” Luka said without looking up from what he was doing.He wore his light brown hair combed straight back and sported a Rolex that’d been a Christmas gift from Corbin the year before.
In Corbin Remington’s office, the senior partner held court at the head of the huge conference table, where the partners had gathered, including Julian’s brothers Carson and Griffin.They had several other partners who specialized in forensic accounting, estate planning, real estate and taxation, all of whom had worked for the firm almost as long as Corbin had.
Julian’s brother Ethan was a senior associate, specializing in real estate and community property.Having their own people managing some of the more intricate aspects of high-income divorces set Remington apart from many other family law firms.
“Nice of you to join us,” Corbin said with a grin for Julian.As always, every silver hair on his head had been combed into submission and held in place by artfully applied pomade.Regular golf outings kept him tanned and trim, and his custom-tailored suits made him look like the California Super Lawyer he was, even as he glanced at the chunky watch on his wrist.
His father valued punctuality as much as he did loyalty, and while his tone was teasing, his message was anything but.
