“Everything you need to know is in the file.” He gave me an assessing look. “Also, I would appreciate if we can wrap this up outside of court. I don’t want any bad publicity.”
From all that I read I couldn’t see the settlement meeting working. It would actually be better to take the case to court where a judge could make a sound decision.
“If you want this out of court, you’ll have to give something more than what you’re offering.” I advised.
“I’m willing to give her, her money back. She should be lucky I’m going to do that. It’s not fair for her to blame us because things didn’t go as she hoped.” He argued with stubbornness.
I knew how these things went. Sure giving her the money back was good but I doubted that it would cover all her newfound expenses. “It’s up to you, but I suggest you offer more if it’s that important to keep the case out of court.
“More like how much? I’m not giving her seventy grand.”
“Then we go to court. It’s the best place to be, and you won’t have to give anything back if we win, which is likely.”
“I don’t want the case to get that far, Alex.” He eyed me sharply and that spiked my nerves again, making me suspicious.
Okay… I was going to go back to my former stance and assume there was something else at work here.
Some level of guilt.
But in terms of what?
Everything did look legit to me, but something told me it was more than just bad publicity he was worried about. If he did everything right he would be fine.
Unless if he didn’t and what I was seeing was what he wanted me to see.
“Let’s just see how the settlement meeting goes.”
He looked antsy when I said that. “The goal needs to be to settle out of court. You do your job and make it happen. Talk them into accepting a refund and not a cent more. I know this case is of great value to you. I wouldn’t want to see you work so hard only to have Johnson get the senior partnership and not you.”
I didn’t think that my father would have told him about that, and knowing they’d discussed me in that way made me feel unnerved.
What was more unnerving was the air of threat in Devon’s tone. I didn’t like it.
“Thank you for your concern. I can assure you, I will do my job.”
The asshole had the audacity to smile at me.
“Good boy.” He stood up.
I watched him go and stayed where I was for a few minutes thinking about what just happened.
The paperwork looked legit, what didn’t feel legit was Devon himself.
I could do my best to settle out of court, but there was only so much I could do. I couldn’t control what happened and he hadn’t exactly given me much to work with.
I sighed with frustration not wanting to think about this anymore.
I stood up and went to find Summer.
She was in my office standing by the window. She gazed ahead at the surrounding skyscrapers, admiring it all.
I looked her over, doing my own admiring of the way the clothes looked on her perfect body. They were simple, but the woman herself enhanced it.
Her silk top was powder pink with a lace high collar that graced her elegant neck. She had it tucked into a black flair skirt that stopped at the top of her thighs. She carried off the elegance by pulling that gorgeous mass of blonde hair into a pony tail.
Hearing me come in she turned to me and smiled.
“Are you okay?” I moved over to her, concerned that she might be upset by Devon.
“Yeah. I’m fine.” Summer nodded seeming as okay as I could tell. She didn’t have the flush in her cheeks she previously had in the meeting room. Her smile actually brightened. “You should have let me stay.”
“He was being an asshole.” I furrowed my brows and frowned.
“I’m used to assholes.” She shrugged lifting her delicate shoulders.
“Not on my watch, and I hope you don’t mean me. I can be sometimes.”
She laughed at that. I relished the sound as it filled the space between us and soothed my troubled mind. I used to hear my father talk about my mother’s laugh all the time but I didn’t get it. A laugh was just a laugh to me until I heard Summer laugh the other day.
I kind of understood what he meant then. It wasn’t only the sound of the laugh, it was how it left you feeling after.
“Of course I don’t mean you.” She shook her head at me and the ends of her ponytail bobbled and the little curl at the end flicked over her shoulder. “What did you say to him?”
I looked out to the scene she’d previously been staring at of the surrounding city. “Nothing good, angel.” I turned back to her. “Did you read through the full file?” I was interested to know what she thought.
There was a twinkle in her eyes as she nodded. “I did. Interesting case.”
“What did you think about it?”
“Me? You seriously want my take on this?”
“I do.” She seemed to have formed an opinion.
“It all looks like they did things properly, but what gets me is the amount of money Mrs. Denman invested. It was a risky transaction, plus it was the first time she worked with them. I’d be more inclined to side with the prosecution argument that she needed more guidance.”
“What about the disclaimer?” Well hell. Since she was on a roll I thought why not let’s bounce opinions off each other.
“The documents they gave her had a lot of information, and looked like everything she needed to know so the disclaimer could hold, but I think we’d have trouble with the other things that happened and how their meetings were conducted.”
“Tell me more.” I looked at her giving more attention to her words.
“I think that even though she signed a disclaimer to excuse their liability, when dealing with that amount of money a company like them would have been required to do a little more than what they did.”
I simply looked at her, mesmerized by her intelligence and her beauty.
“You make smart look sexy, how do you do that?”
My comment threw her and she pressed her lips together.
“I’m not doing anything.”
“That’s the best kind of sexy, imagine what would happen to me if you made an effort.” I liked watching her struggle to not like me.
As far as coincidences had ever gone in my life this was the best one. I was having a hard time though being around her.
I still wanted her back in my bed.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” She blushed.
“You’re the smart one, you just picked up on something I didn’t consider in the case. How about you tell me why?” I challenged.
“No.” She tried to get past me but I stopped her and took her hand, holding it.
“Let’s get out of here, call it a day.”
“Alex it’s eleven o’clock. I have to go type up the minutes and organize the appointments for the rest of clients.”
“Do they need to see me today?”
“No. But I promised to call and make the arrangements for next week.”
“Great, you can do that tomorrow. Let’s go out.” I kept my gazed fixed on hers.
“Out, where?”
Bringing her hand up to my lips I kissed her knuckles and kept her hand at my cheek.
“Out.” I felt her pulse quicken.
“And do what?”
“What do you want to do with me, angel?” I teased.
“I have work to do.” She smiled coyly.
“I mean it we’re done for the day.”
I released her hand and backed off my jacket. I took off my tie too, undid the top buttons on my shirt and ruffled my hair so I looked more casual.
“But…”
“Baby, there’s no but’s come on let’s get out of here. Enough’s enough.”
“Where are we going?”
“You need to see Chicago and I need to gather my thoughts.” I had an idea.
I wanted to
get her out of the place but in all seriousness, I didn’t sit in my office contemplating for hours like my father or Preston when something was bugging me. I got outside and did things.
There was something off about everything, and I felt that the person I needed to speak to was my father.
But not yet. Time for some fun.
Summer had been in my house for more than a week and I’d only kissed her once. I’d been good.
Time to take things up a notch.
Chapter 12
Summer
I shook my head firmly, deciding there was no way on earth that I’d be going in that plane with him.
No way.
It sat in the car beaming at us off in a distance in the hangar. Sure it was a beauty with its glossy white finish and old WW2 style that caught my attention the minute we had arrived but no. I wasn’t going up in that thing.
Alex had gotten out to speak to a guy that looked like a mechanic. When he rushed back up to the car and leaned on my window telling me excitedly that we were good to go up I nearly fainted.
“I’ll sit here and watch you.” Was my flat response.
“Babe, are you kidding? I didn’t come here for you to watch me fly.”
I wasn’t scared of flying normally, and loved travelling when I got the chance.
But that was with American Airlines, or British Airways, Virgin, or any plane of that nature with two pilots and all the correct safety things they’d put in place to enable you to fly.
The plane I looked at was a two seater Cessna which meant there was room for just Alex and me.
Both of us at the front sitting together, flying up in the sky with him at the wheel.
“No, I’m not doing it.”
“Summer, you have to see Chicago at sunset. Bosses orders.”
I widened my eyes at him and shook my head again. “You are crazy, Alex.”
“You already knew that before we came here.” He gave me that gorgeous smile that made me feel like melting.
“Alex, you didn’t tell me we were coming here.” We’d had a good day. He’d taken me around the city and showed me all the great sights.
I’d come to Chicago to visit Eilesh before, but we’d never gone around the city like I did today.
I was enjoying the break and the chance to do something spontaneous until we got here.
“Okay, I’m sorry, but trust me, angel, it’s fun.”
“We could crash.” I pointed out to which he laughed.
“We’re not going to crash, I’m an ace at this. Come on, lets end the day on a high. I promise you you’ll feel different after.” His eyes twinkled with excitement. “It’s a true escape. Imagine being up there.” He straightened up and pointed to the vast expanse of the wondrous sky above us.
It was nearly five and it had come to that pause in the day where the sun had begun to retreat inch by inch.
Alex opened the car door and held out his hand for me to take it.
I looked at him with that big smile on his face and I found myself unable to refuse.
What had this guy done to me?
God, what had he done?
I took his hand and allowed him to help me out of the car. He didn’t let go of my hand once I stood next to him. He continued to hold me and made a point of showing me that he had no intention of letting go.
“Alex if you kill me either by fright or by crashing I will haunt you for eternity.”
“That sounds like a good way to spend eternity, angel.” He chuckled.
I simply shook my head at him. “I’m being serious.”
“Me too, plus if we crash, and we won’t, I’ll be dead too. It’ll be great to have company for eternity.”
“You are something else.” I tried to take my hand back but he held on and gave me a cocky smile.
“Stuck like glue baby, can’t seem to let go.” He pulled me along up to the plane. I had major anxiety being so close and almost said no again.
He let go of my hand to help me get inside the cockpit which was small, then got in and sat next to me looking even more excited.
I was about to say no again but when I saw how happy he was to take me up in his plane I found that once again I couldn’t protest.
“It’s going to be fun.” He cajoled.
“Alex, I can’t speak right now.”
He smiled and strapped me in then himself too.
I pulled in a very deep concentrated breath as he fired up the engine and I watched the windmill come to life.
I thought of the single engine the plane had and how I was used to flying planes with four engines with massive powerful turbines. Jumbo jets with rafts attached if we landed in the sea and oxygen masks.
“Do we have oxygen masks?”
“Yup.”
I looked up to the ceiling to see if there was some compartment where the masks automatically fell down. When I didn’t see anything of the sort I looked back to him.
My mouth opened to ask where the masks were but the kiss he leaned in and gave me filled me with pure oxygen.
“Just let me know when you run low again.” He winked at me leaving me with burning lips to accompany my anxiety. All he did was laugh at my stunned reaction.
“That isn’t funny, what if I needed oxygen?” I complained.
“I got it covered angel. Just relax.” He tapped the top of my thigh.
He switched on a few more things on the control panel, took hold of the wheel and suddenly we were moving. Rolling out of the hangar and down the path that led to the runway.
I pushed my head back into the soft leather of the seat and winced as we built speed.
“I can’t believe I’m doing this with you,” I shrieked as we went faster.
“You’ll be doing many things with me, angel.”
I couldn’t respond. My voice got lost somewhere in the ether as a burst of energy gripped the plane and we started lifting, then climbing.
Up and up we went.
I clutched my hand to my heart to steady the wild beat. At the same time I stared out the window, watching the scenery change before me, before us. All around us.
My breathing calmed and so did the rapid beat of my heart as amazement took over.
Normal flying when you travelled didn’t allow you to see the sky like this. The artful patterns made in the clouds mingled with the rays of sunlight. Looking down at the picturesque landscape below stole my breath away as the scene blended into one and I could see beauty all around me. Patches of green came together, then patches of blue. Houses became specs. Colors clashed and merged.
“I knew you’d like it.” Alex’s voice cut into my thoughts.
Feeling mesmerized, I looked over at the beautiful man who sat next to me. Sunlight shone down on his hair turning it golden.
“It’s beautiful.” I smiled, smiling a smile I felt from deep within. Like when I was happy.
When was that?
I thought over the moments I’d considered happy in my life and remembered one distinct event.
It was at my high school graduation. I remembered standing next to my father, waiting to take a picture and he looked down at me, eyes filled with tears because of the pride that filled him.
That was the first time I saw how proud he truly was of me. The happiness I experienced then had this stillness and calm that reassured me that what lay ahead was all good things. Things I had to look forward to.
I felt a similar sense of that now, although the two events couldn’t have been more different to each other.
One was my graduation and the other flying with Alex. Alex who I’d known for exactly two weeks and one day.
In that short space of time I’d done many things that had taken me so far beyond the limits of my comfort zone I couldn’t see my way back.
I suppose though that, that was just it. The point of having a fresh start wasn’t to find my way back. It was to create something new with what I already had.
Alex winked at me and turned his
gaze ahead. I went back to my observance of the aerial view until it grew darker.
The sun was beginning to set.
“Wait until you see this.” Alex announced looking pleased with himself. He approached the vast beauty of Lake Michigan, climbed higher and circled the area as the sun went down. “Here, look.”
He pointed out to the horizon at the mass of red and orange mingling together where it met the surface of the water.
That was true beauty, and something that could be easily missed in the fast paced lifestyle that existed in the city where it was so busy.
From just the few days that I’d started working I’d gotten sucked into it. Just like when I worked in LA.
I looked on marveling at the sight, feeling appreciation ripple through me, but at the same time I stole a chance to look back at Alex.
He’d shown that there was more to him than what I’d seen. More that I felt compelled to know. But shouldn’t.
A fresh start brought all sorts of things with it.
It was easy to say that I should accept all of it. Doing it was another matter. Especially where the thing I should accept required me to feel.
I was scared to feel.
Alex looked at me too, the same way he did that night at the club but enhanced by the admiration he showed the sunset before us.
Those eyes of his flickered with interests, taking me in and looking straight into mine as if he could read my mind.
I looked away, wary of the thought. I didn’t want him to see what was there.
There was too much pain and hurt that left me feeling broken.
My heart was…
Warmth seeped into my skin as Alex smoothed his hand over mine. The sensation ran along my arm and made its way all over me.
I returned my gaze to him and that was when the feeling caressed my poor heart.
“Enjoy the sunset, Summer, and think of nothing else.” His silky voice came to me low and smooth, lulling me into the relaxed mood created by the surroundings.
The underlying sensuality of his tone captivated me and calmed my nerves. I remembered back at the club thinking that he was like a drug to me.
He felt like that now too with his hypnotic eyes and soothing touch.
I looked back ahead of us and got lost in the scenery before me.
The Rules Of Attraction Page 13
