Page 112 of Masters of Control

“Yes.” This time he didn’t need to hesitate or stop to think. There was a connection between them. She felt it, too. They’d fit together on New Year’s Eve, and before this afternoon, she’d been haunting his thoughts.

Well, even after this afternoon. She’d just been haunting them in a different way, but it hadn’t stopped him from wanting to see her. He just hadn’t felt very good about that desire until after talking to Morgan.

“Oh. Good.” She made a relieved noise. “I want to see you, too, but I would understand if you didn’t want to after today or if it was too much of a conflict of interest…”

“We should probably keep things friendly until the Alexanders are no longer our clients, and we’re not working against each other, but yes, I would like to see you more in the future.”

She chuckled.

“Well, that’s one way to motivate a quick divorce.”

Freddy had to laugh. She wasn’t wrong. He wanted to get it over with quickly for Brittany’s sake, but having a personal stake in when it ended definitely added another sense of urgency.

“It should be quick, anyway,” he pointed out. “Mr. Alexander is the one dragging his heels.” He managed to keep his voice neutral, though he was sure that didn’t entirely hide his feelings on the matter.

“Yes, well.” Camille paused. “Between you and me, I think he knows he’s not going to get what he wants. He just wants to see Mrs. Alexander and make her as miserable as possible throughout the process. He can’t stand the fact that she’s leaving him. Not because he loves her or cares about her, but because he sees it as a personal insult that she wouldn’t want to be with him.” She snorted.

“I’m sure we can figure something out,” Freddy said, his mind turning over. The fact that she was cooperative instead of hostile would help. “Maybe I can get Brittany to insist that all communications be handled through me, no more mediation. She’s feeling guilty about leaving him, which is why she agreed to meet today in the first place, but I’m working on that.”

“Good, because she shouldn’t feel guilty at all. I don’t know how she stayed with him for as long as she did. I can barely manage to spend a few hours with him. More than that and I’d probably need a lawyer myself.”

Laughing, Freddy’s mood lifted even further.

“I have to get back upstairs, but I’m glad we got a chance to talk tonight.”

“Me too. Thank you for calling.”

“Of course. Have a good night, Mistress Camille.” Even though he didn’t need to say it, he enjoyed doing so and enjoyed hearing her quick intake of breath even more.

“Good night, Freddy.”

Chapter Ten

Freddy

An email pinged in Freddy’s inbox at the same time as a text message from Camille.

He opened the text message first.

Camille: I’m so sorry. I’ve explained to him multiple times that the pictures you provided are the nail in the coffin as far as he’s concerned, but he’s insisting on fighting anything we can, and there are still a few sections left that are unclear and are unaffected by the fact that he cheated.

Freddy sighed. He knew that, too. Of course, she was a thorough enough lawyer to have caught those weaknesses in the prenup. The asshole didn’t deserve her.

The email she had sent was a purely professional request for another mediation session. Truthfully, Freddy was relieved to see it. He knew Mr. Alexander had been calling Brittany, and he’d been worried the man would show up at her sister’s house soon. No telling where that would end up. Brittany’s sister, Ashley, was not at all happy with him and extremely protective of her sister. Ashley’s husband was all too happy to be the one to ‘take out the trash,’ as he’d put it.

It might be why Mr. Alexander had decided to go through the lawyers rather than trying to handle things on his own. Maybe he realized he’d be risking his own skin to approach her by himself. At least the man had some survival instincts, if nothing else.

Freddy quickly shot back an email to make an appointment. He also emailed Brittany and told her Mr. Alexander had requested another session and encouraged her to let him handle it on his own. The sooner Mr. Alexander realized he wouldn’t have access, the faster they may be able to get this over with. Freddy would have a much easier time playing hardball without her present.

When she was there, he had to walk a delicate line between what he wanted to say and upsetting her. The second to last thing he wanted to do was cause her more distress, though he would to get her everything she deserved from her ex.

Picking up his phone, he texted Camille to give her a heads up.

Freddy: We’ll meet again, but I’m going to try to convince Brittany to stay home. Don’t suppose you could do the same?

Camille: I wish, but if she’s not there, it might keep him from insisting on another attempt. I wish I could have talked him out of this one, but one of the partners came in to argue for it as well.

Wincing, Freddy shook his head. He and Camille had been texting back and forth for close to a week now. She didn’t talk much about her job, but the impression he got was it was slowly crushing her soul. Or maybe not so slowly at this point. Julie had paused to talk to him over the weekend and hinted as much. She’d seemed thrilled when he told her he and Camille were still talking.