The corners of her mouth tipped up slightly, but he knew that look. She was preparing to go in for the kill.
She pulled a stack of papers from a folder and spread them across the table in front of him. “Mr. Norfolk, these are your tax returns for the last four years. Yes?”
He leaned over and scanned the papers. “Yeah, that’s right.”
She slid them to the side and pulled another stack of papers from her folder. “These other papers list your assets, investments, and monthly expenses. These were filled out by you, were they not?”
He shrugged. “Yeah.”
“So are you very familiar with what’s on these sheets, or do you need a moment to look them over?” she asked in a patronizing tone.
His body stilled, and he sat up straighter, turning to look at Garrett. Garrett nodded for him to answer, and he turned back to Blair. “No, I know what’s on there.”
She tilted her head at him and proceeded to go through the entries in detail, pointing out all the discrepancies. “Maybe you’re right and numbers aren’t my thing. So how about you save us all some time and tell me where I can find the three million dollars that seem to be unaccounted for? I know you live quite the wild life now, but surely even you couldn’t have frivolously wasted three million dollars.”
He stared at the sheets. “Well, what can I say? I’m in California now. The cost of living is a hell of a lot higher there.” He gave her an ugly smile. “But a simple girl like you wouldn’t know anything about living on the coast, would you?”
Blair examined him like he was a cockroach she was about to crush with her sexy shoe, then pulled another paper from her folder. “I realize I’m a simple girl, so why don’t you explain these bank deposits?” She smiled.
He sat up straighter, his body tense.
She slid the paper slowly in front of him, her fingertips still on the sheet as she leaned over, her eyes boring into his. “Multiple large cash deposits were made to a bank account you set up in your father’s name. Your dead father, I might add.” She stood up and lifted a perfectly teased eyebrow. “Why does your deceased father need one million dollars, Mr. Norfolk? Last I heard, the deceased only need a single coin to travel down the River Styx.”
His eyes widened, and his mouth moved several times, forming and discarding words, before he finally said, “How did you find that?”
She gave him a withering smile. “I know. A simple girl like me, stumbling upon your hidden treasure. Maybe I’m not as simple as you think. There’s another two million unaccounted for. Where are those funds?”
Norfolk’s shoulders slumped, and he looked like a balloon that had been pricked with a pin.
She shrugged. “My client is a fair woman. We could bring this matter to the authorities—who would undoubtedly be very interested to know that you’re committing identity theft as well as tax evasion—since this statement—” she tapped on the paper in front of him, “—clearly shows that you are not only depositing money, but withdrawing it as well.” She paused and smiled. “But we’ll let this go as long as you agree to a new deposition and come clean about everything, and I do mean everything, Mr. Norfolk, down to the hangnail you clipped yesterday morning.” She leaned closer. “Have I made myself clear?”
“But I’m heading to the airport in an hour,” he sputtered.
“Then I guess you’d better reschedule your flight.” Blair turned her pointed gaze on Garrett. “Can we adjourn this until tomorrow morning? We obviously won’t be able to wrap this up in the next hour, but I will expect those bank account locations, account numbers, and balances by the time you show up tomorrow.”
Garrett was so turned on by her right now, and it was becoming increasingly impossible to hide it. Totally professional, Lowry. He glanced at his client. “Mr. Norfolk? Can you have the information ready in time?”
The man looked like he was about to jump across the table and throttle Blair. If he tried, it would be the last thing he ever did. But he gave a quick nod instead.
Garrett nodded. “You’ll have them.”
Blair gathered up her papers and tapped them on the table. “Thank you for your cooperation, Mr. Norfolk. I look forward to seeing you again tomorrow morning.” She stood and turned her back as she headed toward the door.
“You bitch,” he muttered under his breath.
Garrett’s hands fisted, and he gritted his teeth.
Blair stopped and turned around to face him. “Whatever helps you fall asleep at night, Mr. Norfolk.” Then she left the room, shutting the door behind her.
The court reporter was packing up her belongings when Norfolk turned his attention on Garrett. “What the hell was that? I thought you were my lawyer, not her assistant.”
“Mr. Norfolk.” Garrett’s shoulders tensed as he forced himself to refrain from letting loose on the man. “If you ever speak to the opposing counsel so disrespectfully again, we will toss your case, along with your ass, out onto the street. Have I made myself clear?”
The man’s eyes bulged. “But now I’m going to have to pay the bitch even more money!”
Garrett had had enough of this man. “This is your fault. You were required by law to provide all of your income and investments, and now that your wife’s legal team has realized there were missing funds, you’re about to pay out the nose. You would have been better off if you hadn’t tried to hide it.” The real question was how Lopez had missed it. Garrett had glossed over all the financial paperwork, focusing on the totals, because he’d presumed the fool would have done his homework. He intended to call Lopez as soon as he got rid of the asshole next to him.
Norfolk stood and pointed his finger at Garrett. “You’re going to pay for this! I’m talking to your bosses.”
“Go ahead. They’ll tell you the same thing. That’s if they don’t fire you for committing illegal activities. We don’t represent criminals.”
The man’s face turned red. “Do they know you want to screw that bitch who just eviscerated me? I saw you salivating after her. What will they say when they find out you let her get away with it because you want to get into her pants?”
Garrett’s chest constricted as he stood, but he refused to show a reaction to his douchebag client. “I can assure you that I want to sleep with a long list of women, but I’ve never let that affect my counsel.” He saw movement out of the corner of his eye and saw Blair’s assistant in the now-open doorway. Fuck.
Her assistant shot him a glare, then moved toward the court reporter and said something in a hushed tone about coming back in the morning.
Norfolk stomped out of the room, and Garrett closed his laptop and stowed it in his bag, taking a deep breath to help himself calm down. He kept the assistant in the corner of his eye. Based on the protective way she’d kept him from Blair’s office, he suspected she would run to Blair and tell her everything. Should he try to explain himself? His head told him to let it go, but a little voice inside him said that there was still a chance Blair wasn’t happy with Neil. Maybe her assistant could give him some insight. He didn’t expect her to spill her guts about her boss, but he was hoping he could read her body language when she answered him.
The court reporter headed out the door, followed by Blair’s assistant. He caught up to her just outside the room.
“Melissa, isn’t it?”
The woman turned to him in surprise, then her face lost all expression as she waited for him to continue. She reminded him of a slightly younger Blair.
“I feel like we got off on the wrong foot yesterday.”
Her eyebrows rose, and her mouth tipped into a hint of a smirk. “No, I think everything happened as it should have.”
“I don’t know what Blair told you, but—”
“Ms. Hansen didn’t tell me anything. You are a nonissue, so please don’t give yourself any more importance than you deserve.”
Ouch. She was good. “Okay, fair enough. But I’m sure she told you that I’m her fiancé’s cousin.”
She remained icy. “Really? What a coincidence.”
“I just don’t want things to be awkward this weekend.” Damn, he was royally screwing this up. He sounded lame even to himself.
A patronizing smile lit up her eyes. “Don’t you worry, Mr. Lowry. You don’t have the power to affect anything in regard to Blair’s wedding.” Then she turned and walked down the hall.
“You got burned by the Ice Princess, huh?” a man behind him said.
Garrett spun around to face him. “What?”
“Melissa.” He nodded his head in the direction she’d disappeared. “Her nickname around here is the Ice Princess. She’s just as frosty as the attorney she works for—the Ice Queen.”
Garrett couldn’t believe the arrogance rolling off this guy. “Let me guess, you and half the guys in this office have asked one or both of them out and were turned down.”
The guy’s confidence wavered. “Well . . . yeah.”
“So maybe instead of assigning them sexually degrading names, you should consider the possibility that they actually have good taste.”
He stormed out of the office, leaving the stunned man behind. He was furious by the time he reached his car in the parking garage. First Norfolk, then the asshole in the hallway.
Brian Norfolk was sure to call his boss, but no one there would take his claim seriously. Garrett’s reputation was too widely known for anyone to believe he’d alter his professional behavior to sleep with a woman. And even though he despised the man, he’d treated this case as he did all the ones he worked on—as if it were the most important one on earth. If anything, once Garrett let his boss know what had really happened, he might not have to worry about Norfolk at all. He hadn’t exaggerated about their stance on illegal activity. It was bad timing that Melissa had heard his comment, which would only cement Blair’s certainty that he was still a man-whore. But it was what that man had said about Melissa and Blair that burned him the most. Mostly because he’d been guilty of the very same thing in the past.
He put his hands on the top of his car, taking in deep breaths as he tried to calm down. It sucked looking into a mirror and seeing who he really was. And while he’d been sneaking judgmental glances for about a year now, it felt as if he’d just stepped in front of a full-length mirror.
Garrett Lowry was a dick.
Yet, dick or not, he still wanted Blair. He knew that with even more certainty now than he had six years ago, when he first asked her out for pizza on a cold February night in Columbia, Missouri. Maybe he didn’t deserve her, but he wanted her nonetheless. He still had no idea what, if anything, to do about it. And then he did.
He pulled his phone out of his pocket and called his sister as he drove to his hotel, which was only a few blocks away.
“Garrett! Why are you calling me at this time of day?”
“Hey, Kelsey. Got time to talk?”
“Yeah, the baby’s down for a nap.”
“I’m stuck in Kansas City at Mealy Neily’s wedding.”
“I heard Nana Ruby suckered you into being a groomsman. I’m still not coming down until the rehearsal, so you’re on your own.” She laughed. “And I forgot about that nickname. I haven’t seen him in years. I take it that it still fits?”
“More than ever.”
“Well, I suspect you didn’t call to gossip about Neil, so what’s up?”
“You remember that woman I dated in law school?”
“Blair.” Her tone turned serious. “You haven’t mentioned her since you were a freaking idiot and broke up with her. What about her?”
“She’s here.”
“She’s in the wedding party?”
“She’s the bride.”
She was silent for several seconds. “Oh, Garrett. I’m so sorry.”
“I’m not sure I can do this, Kels.”
“Why?”
“Why?” he repeated. “Because she’s my ex.”
“Cut the bullshit, Garrett. You and I both know the reason you called me instead of one of your douchebag friends is because you want the truth. Just say it.”
Fear coursed through his blood. “Say what?”
“Bye.”
“Wait! Okay.” He took a breath. “I still love her. I’ve never stopped loving her. I was a fucking idiot to break up with her. I was an even bigger fucking idiot when I didn’t go to her on hands and knees years ago and apologize for being a fucking idiot.”
“Now we’re getting somewhere.” He heard the smile in her voice.
“Look, I’ve already had enough humiliation in one day without my sister adding to it.”
“What else has happened to my wittle baby bwother today?” she said in a baby voice. She had never been one to cut him slack.
“If I’m going to seek advice from you, then that last question will have to be stricken from the record. Otherwise I’ll never be able to take you seriously.”
She laughed.
“When I told my firm I had to come to K.C. for the wedding, they asked me to handle the depositions for one of our associates’ cases.”
“Oh, God. She’s the opposing counsel.”
He’d always known she was smart, which was one of the reasons he’d called her for advice. “And she’s fried my ass for two days now.”
“I bet she’s loving every minute of that.” She sounded pleased.
“Whose side are you on?” he asked.
“Yours, but you have to admit she’s completely entitled to hand you a slice or two of humble pie.”
He pulled into his hotel parking lot and put the car into park. “What should I do, Kels?”
“Take it like a man. Don’t be like Mealy Neily.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
She was quiet again. “Is she happy, Garrett? I know it’s difficult for either one of us to imagine someone being happy with him, but what if she is? Do you really want to take that from her too?”
“No, and I’ve already considered that. I have to go to this pre-wedding party they’re having for family and friends tomorrow night, so I was hoping to talk to her before then. Looks like we have another deposition in the morning. Maybe I can catch her after that.”
“You really want to wait that long?”
“I don’t know when to talk to her, Kels. I finally got her alone for a few minutes yesterday, and I completely froze up.”
“Mr. Smooth froze up? You’ve got it bad.”
“Look, I know I do,” he said, getting frustrated. “I’m asking for your advice on how to get her back.”
“Okay, okay.” Her tone was soft and soothing. “I’ll help you.”
“Thank you.”
“First you have to accept that just because you want her back doesn’t mean she feels the same. And since we are no longer ruled by caveman philosophy, you’ll have to deal with that.”
“I know, but I think she still cares about me.”
“What makes you say that?”
“I ran into her in a hotel bar in Phoenix on Monday night. We were both stranded there because of the weather. She was drunk . . . and she rarely got drunk when we were together. Only when she was really upset. In any case, they didn’t have a room for her, so I let her sleep in mine.”
“Oh, Garrett. You didn’t.” Disappointment was heavy in her voice.
“No. I did not. Do people really have that low of an opinion of me?”
“Let’s just say it’s a reputation earned.”
That was sobering. Especially coming from his big sister. He shook his head. “She fell asleep on the bed, and I told her I was going to spend the night at the airport. But she told me to stay. We slept fully clothed, but she pulled me close and said she missed me.”
“Oh, my God. Please tell me that you did not sleep on top of the covers.”
“Kelsey.”
“Haven’t you seen those news shows, Garrett? They’re covered in all kinds of gross germs and bacteria.”
“I’m pretty sure those are the same thing. And I
need you to focus.”
“Okay.” She took a deep breath. “This is important. What were the exact words she used? For all you know she was drunk enough to have mistaken you for her dog.”
“That is more disgusting than your hotel comforter story.”
“You wouldn’t say that if you’d seen them use the black light.”
“Kelsey. I need you to focus. She said my name. She said, ‘I miss you, Garrett.’”
“Wow.” She was silent for several seconds. “I guess that means you can move to step two.”
“Which is?”
“Proving that you’re actually not lower than pond scum. The question is how do you pull off that deception?”
“Kelsey.”
“Okay, I’m kidding. Kind of. You have to know you’ve been a slut, Garrett. And honestly, it’s pretty gross.”
He sighed. “Yeah. I know.”
“Hey, admitting you have a problem is the first step, right?”
“Yeah. I guess.”
“Are you sure you still love this woman? That was five years ago, Gar-Bear. She’s changed. You’ve changed. And let’s not discount that she’s with Neil, whom you hate with a passion.”
“I don’t hate him. I just despise him.”
“Hate. Despise. Whatever. But you can’t ignore that Neil is marrying your old girlfriend. That is bound to prick your ego, jealousy—whatever you choose to call it. Don’t let that blind you.”
“I will admit that the thought of her with Neil . . .” His voice trailed off, and he sucked in a breath, not letting his mind go there. “You do have a valid point, but I’ve been thinking about her for a while now . . . long before I saw her in Phoenix, found out she was Neil’s fiancée, and was completely turned on by the way she eviscerated my client today.”
“I really hope that was a metaphor, or I’ll be forced to call the authorities, brother or not.”
The Wedding Pact Box Set Page 43
