Love in the City (The Complete Collection Boxed Set)

by Liv Morris

  “True,” Kelly agreed. “His attorneys are getting to see the real Joe. And it’s a pretty damn ugly show. Thanks for being here for me and the baby.”

  “I’m just a man hopelessly in love with you.” I placed my hands on her stomach. “And this little one too. You can count on me, darling.”

  We sat next to each other on the couch, pretty much ignoring the fact that Jensen was in the room with us. Kelly’s head rested on my shoulder. I felt her exhale a deep breath, and her body relaxed against mine as she did. I leaned my head against the top of hers.

  Chapter 8: Kelly’s Turn

  A little over an hour after we made the trip into the lounge, Mindy appeared and said we were wanted back in the conference room. Finally. I wanted to get this whole thing over with. Now.

  I’d drifted off a couple of times as I wedged myself into Bradley’s side as we cuddled on the couch. His warmth and protection made me feel safe enough to succumb to a quick snooze. My body was exhausted from the travel and emotions of the day, but I felt refreshed, ready to see what Joe’s attorneys thought of our offer.

  This time Bradley and I walked into the conference room together, hand in hand. There was no need to hide what we felt for each other. He was willing to adopt my baby. Only someone in love with me would be willing to do that, right? I knew when he agreed to be the father if Joe gave up his rights that it meant love on his part. He lifted and buoyed me above my fears when he declared his love for me on the plane ride here. And the love I felt for this man was overwhelming. Mere words couldn’t express what I felt. I guess I’d have to show him later. There goes my horny brain again. I needed to make it heel as my energies needed to be dedicated to the task at hand—Joe’s signature on the damn divorce offer.

  We settled into our seats again. It was clear that our opponents had something on their mind to share. It was as if they couldn’t wait for us to sit down. Byers began before I had thoroughly scooted my chair to the table.

  “After reading over your offer and discussing it thoroughly with our client, we have a few points to discuss and clarify.” Byers waited for our response.

  “I’d be surprised if you didn’t,” Jensen answered.

  “Firstly, my client will agree to the financial figure as long as he will have nothing pending in the future to pay Mrs. Jeffries. Correct?”

  “That is correct. If he agrees to the settlement, pending the court’s approval of course, he will have no further monies due to my client. There will be no recourse available for changes either.” Jensen summed up what I knew to be correct.

  “We have advised our client to agree to the financial settlement offer. However, there is a concern about the unborn child.” Byers paused and glanced sideways at Joe perhaps needing an okay to continue on. “Mr. Jeffries will give up his rights to the unborn child on one account. Mrs. Jeffries needs to make a public statement concerning the reason she left Joe.”

  “A public statement?” Jensen asked interrupting Byers.

  “Yes, Mr. Jeffries is concerned about the political fallout of his divorce and the speculation some might have about the unborn child Mrs. Jeffries is carrying.” Byers stopped and swallowed. It looked as if whatever he was about to say required effort on his part. Likewise, I prepared myself for what was coming from him too. “He has requested Mrs. Jeffries release a public statement, a press release would suffice, in which she admits to leaving him for Bradley Dawson and that Mr. Dawson is the child’s father.”

  “What?” Jensen practically yelled. “You’re asking my client to publicly humiliate herself and admit to adultery. Which, by the way, is one thing your client just might be guilty of himself.”

  “Yes, we have advised our client against this course of action, but Mr. Jeffries remains steadfast in his request, or should I say demand.” Byers couldn’t hide the disgust he felt for Joe.

  Jensen had reared back in his chair and Bradley was standing up ready to take on Joe, but I had a secret weapon that neither of them knew about, one that would turn Joe’s world upside down if I chose to use it. The time to lay down my cards had arrived.

  I stood next to Bradley and placed my hand on his shoulder. He looked surprised that I was standing next to him. But it was my turn to play hardball now.

  “Bradley and Jensen,” I spoke to them. My voice was steady. “I have something to say to Joe that will likely clear this whole mess up. Please sit down and let me talk.”

  “Kelly, are you sure?” Bradley asked with a confused look on his face.

  “Yes, I’m sure. Trust me,” I replied.

  Both Bradley and Jensen hesitantly took their seats for me. They both sat on the edge of their chairs ready to take my defense on a moment’s notice. I smiled reassuringly at them. I didn’t relish in what I was about to do, but Joe, being the pig that he was, had left me no other choice.

  “What I’m about to say to you Joe is difficult for me to utter. It’s hard to admit the man I married would behave the way you did toward your own child knowing I wanted to keep it.” I took a deep breath. Joe was now sitting on the edge of his chair too. I had his undivided attention now.

  “I have already prepared a press release related to the child.” I swear I heard a couple of gasps, but I kept on speaking, not deterred. “A dear friend in Dallas owns a PR firm and has a press release prepared for me. All I have to do is text her, ‘GO,’ and she will release it to all strategic media in Georgia and around the country for that matter.”

  Boy, did I have their attention now. No one, especially Joe, moved a muscle. It was like my words put them in a trance and kept them spellbound.

  “I’d like to read you the statement that will be released if you don’t agree to what my attorney has stipulated in my divorce offer.”

  I cleared my throat and pulled a paper out of my purse. It was folded over a couple of times, so perhaps it didn’t appear too scary and definitely not professional. But the punch from what I was about to read would flatten Joe to the floor. I’m pretty sure he didn’t think I had it in me. Well, he was about to learn otherwise.

  “Kelly Parker Jeffries, wife of Joseph Jeffries, the current Deputy District Attorney for Cook County in Atlanta, has chosen to end her fourteen-year marriage to Mr. Jeffries. Mrs. Jeffries left her husband after he found out she was carrying their child and insisted that she terminate the pregnancy. The previous statement can be substantiated by an email conversation from Joe Jeffries to Kelly Jeffries.”

  I let the paper drop from my fingers as I finished reading it. The paper landed softly but the words hit like a bomb. My head rose from watching the white paper fall to see Joe’s white face. He was a ghost or looked as if he’d seen one. Spooked.

  One of his attorney’s lips quirked into almost a smile. He nodded his head at me as if he was my ally and with Joe as a client he likely was one.

  “Well, this makes things a little different now, doesn’t it Joe?” I heard the sarcasm in Bradley’s voice. His distain for Joe sounded out strong.

  “Unfortunately for my client, I’ll have to agree.” Byers spoke and leaned into Joe, whispering in his ear. Joe remained pale, and I almost became worried about him… almost.

  “Kelly, I wish you would have disclosed this little PR move to me,” Jensen said but his smile gave away his true feelings. I think he might have been a little impressed. It definitely wasn’t what he had seen in me prior to today. Thank God Tina owned a PR firm. She’d helped me concoct this whole plan. She was the genius behind it all really. I just had to have the gumption to use it if needed.

  “Sorry, but I thought I’d keep it secret. I really hoped I wouldn’t need to bring it out into the open. It’s hard to admit I was married to such a man,” I half-whispered to Jensen not wanting the other side of the table to hear me.

  “Either way, you’ve got him by the balls, Kelly.” Bradley held my hand tight. “Look at them all over there. Joe’s getting a come to Jesus talk from his attorneys right now. Guy looks like he’s about to puke to
o.”

  “He does, doesn’t he?” I said and turned back to look at my beautiful man. “I think it’s over, Bradley. He’ll do anything he can to cover himself publicly. He has an image to uphold after all.”

  My side of the table sat silently, watching Joe implode in front of us. It didn’t take long for him to come around, though. They knew I was in my perfect right to disclose the truth behind Joe’s reaction to my pregnancy. And since he was a pro-life, family values political figure, his days were over in politics if the press release was circulated.

  “All right, Jensen. My client will sign the settlement today. As soon as it’s filed with the courts and approved, we will transfer funds into Mrs. Jeffries’, I should say Ms. Parker’s account as the agreement also restores her maiden name.”

  I watched Joe sign a paper and then his attorneys signed too. It was over. The feeling of being free was almost euphoric, heady. Bradley pulled me to my feet and wrapped his big arms around me and for some strange reason I began to cry, sob really. I think it was relief. All the feelings and fears over what I’d been through came together and were released like a break in a dam. Tears of sweet relief.

  “Oh, babe. It’s all right and it’s over.” Bradley’s words soothed my soul and helped me quit crying. My life was set on a different course now. Love and commitment. It was ours.

  “You’re right.” I was smiling up at him and my tears blurred his face a bit. He wiped them from my cheek gently. We were in our own little bubble. It was as if no one else was around us. No attorneys a few feet away. No crazy ex-husband either. Until we heard Joe from across the room.

  “Well, you got what you wanted all along didn’t you, Bradley?” The venom in Joe’s voice was undeniable. Ugliness laced his words and I had a feeling he wasn’t finished yet.

  “What are you talking about?” Bradley asked.

  Bradley had turned to face Joe and appeared to be ready to walk around the table. I was afraid of what he might do to Joe, as he was beyond upset.

  “You know what I’m talking about,” Joe hissed. “You have my sloppy seconds and a whore’s son to raise.”

  The next few seconds seemed to be in slow motion as Bradley moved around the table and drew back his fist. I knew what was going to happen as he made his way to Joe. The next thing I heard was a simultaneous sound of a smack, a thud and what might have been bones being crushed.

  Holy shit. All hell had broken loose. Joe had fallen to the floor and his attorneys gathered around him, shielding him from Bradley. I ran to Bradley’s side, trying to pull him away from the commotion that he’d caused.

  “You’re going to pay for this, Bradley,” Joe spit out. Blood poured from his nose, a nose that appeared distorted and broken. “You deserve that whore and her bastard child. Who knows? It’s probably yours anyway.”

  “You’d better shut up, Joe,” I warned as I watched Byers calling for Mindy on the desk interoffice phone. He told her to bring paper towels from the lounge and stressed the word “lots.”

  “I’m not raising a bastard child and you know it!” Bradley yelled. “You’re the only bastard in this room. What a sorry fuck up you are too.”

  I clung to Bradley and wrapped my arm through his punching arm as I felt we’d had enough violence for one day. He’d stood up for our child and me. I couldn’t believe I could say that now but it was true. Bradley would be my baby’s father.

  “Don’t even think of pressing charges either.” Bradley voice was steely. Not an ounce of emotion in them. “Press releases have a funny way of popping up when one least expects them. Really funny how that works.”

  A silent Joe lay on the ground in front of us, defeated and cowering. It was a picture in my mind that would never be forgotten.

  “Let’s go, Ms. Parker.” Bradley pulled me away from Joe and his attorneys. Jensen was watching from afar talking animatedly into his phone while giving us a thumbs-up signal as we walked to the door of the room.

  “I think we have a bit of unfinished business back at the hotel,” Bradley whispered into my ear and a shiver of anticipation ran through me. His seductive words worked as an aphrodisiac and I was thankful the hotel was just a block or two away. If I wasn’t pregnant, I would have run the distance.

  “Lead the way.” The thought of what awaited us back at the hotel made my blood race through my veins. I wasn’t sure how long this body of mine would hold out. I think I was operating on adrenaline at this point. If I could just keep it together and not give in to the exhaustion, I was pretty sure Bradley would make it worth my while. Those kisses he’d given me earlier still lingered on my lips, neck, and behind my ear. They were truly wicked and lethal to me.

  “Jensen, I think we’re finally finished here, don’t you?” Bradley crossed over to Jensen and extended his hand. “I have to say this one more time. I hope I never need your services again.”

  “Me too, Bradley,” Jensen agreed. “But this time I’m pretty sure they brought you the best thing in your life.”

  “Indeed.” Bradley and Jensen shook hands. I thanked him too. But before I could extend my hand, Bradley had me out the door and clambering down the hallway to the office’s reception area. He was a man on a mission and I was fairly certain that mission was me. Lucky, lucky me.

  Chapter 9: Bradley’s Turn

  Giggling and holding hands like a couple of silly lovesick teens; we walked back to the hotel. We didn’t say much to one another. I think the promise of what was going to happen once we got there kept us quiet with goofy smiles on our faces.

  We’d won today and it was time to celebrate. Once we arrived at the hotel, Bradley nearly had us sliding across the marble floors of the lobby. My man was ready to come unleashed. I felt the tension rising as we rode the elevator up with another couple. When we got off at our floor, he scooped me up into his arms, carrying me like a small child. Instinctively, my hands went around his neck and then his lips found mine. He kissed me with his eyes open to avoid running into the hallways’ walls.

  “Reach into my suit coat pocket. The one on my left side, darling. I think you’ll find our room key.”

  My hands searched the inside of his jacket and I felt the keycard resting there and pulled it out. My fingers ran across its outline. It was in my grasp at the ready when we arrived at our door. I turned in his arms and pushed the key into the slot. The green light appeared and somehow Bradley pushed down the door handle.

  But oddly enough, he only put his foot into the room, using it to hold the door open and keeping it from shutting before us. I couldn’t figure out why he didn’t want to enter the room. We had both been hell-bent on getting in there to mess up those sheets. His actions didn’t make sense.

  “What’s the matter?” I asked. My eyes gazing into his, as our faces and lips practically touched.

  “I need to ask you something before I carry you across this threshold.” He appeared a little nervous, maybe even timid. Not the typical Bradley that I knew.

  “What is it, Bradley?” Surely he wasn’t having second thoughts? I couldn’t bear that today. “You’re starting to worry me.”

  “Oh, please don’t worry, beautiful.” He kissed all over my face while pulling me a little tighter to his chest. I enjoyed his kisses but I worried that I was beginning to get too heavy for him.

  “I want to ask you something that I wish I could have asked you years ago.” He gazed into my eyes. They were so intense, full of fire, and mixed with a love that I couldn’t deny.

  “Will you marry me, Kelly? I want to make us, you, me and the baby, an official family.”

  “Of course, I’ll marry you.” I giggled a little. What a sweet and beautiful man. “But right now I’m dying to get into our room. I don’t think I can wait another second. These pregnancy hormones. They’re brutal and making me as horny as hell.”

  “Say no more, darling. I’m at your service tonight.”

  Bradley used his foot to push the door fully open. I heard it slam shut as he carried m
e to the bed. The room was semi-dark. The blinds half closed. It gave the room a sexy ambiance and also I wasn’t sure how much daylight I wanted streaming in on me. I doubted that Bradley had ever seen a seven-month pregnant woman without clothes on. I didn’t want to scar him for life.

  He laid me across the bed, not letting my feet touch the floor. Propping myself up on my elbows, I looked up at him. His eyes were on fire and hooded. Their heat seemed to scorch me as he slowly browsed over my body.

  “Lay back, Kelly. This is all about you. It’s my gift to you for letting me back into your life.”

  I wasn’t going to argue with that. So I lay back and closed my eyes letting the moment sink in. I was finally going to be with him. Was he ready to see me? Would my pregnant belly be a turnoff? I tried to squelch all the insecurities, but it didn’t work. They floated around in my silly brain.

  He removed my low-heeled pumps. Sensible pregnant shoes, but still rather ugly. Then I felt his fingers on my feet. Massaging them, pressing into the arches. This simple touch ignited me, set me on fire. I couldn’t close my eyes any longer. I needed to see him and let him see what he was doing to me.

  “Bradley,” I moaned. “What are you doing to me? I can barely hold myself together and you’re only touching my feet.”

  “Hush,” he whispered. “Concentrate on the pleasure, babe. Let it work through you.”

  His fingers moved up to my calves stroking lightly, but even his light touch made me squirm. I was not too proud to beg for more.

  “I need you. Please, Bradley.”

  “Relax, babe.” He moved his hands to my thighs and slipped them under my dress. My breathing stopped as I felt his finger grazing across my sex, touching me intimately, pressing into me and making me arch my back in almost a pleasurable pain.

  “You’re killing me.”

  “No, I’m going to make you come. It’s all right with the baby and all?” Sweet Bradley. We’d never really had this discussion and right now, it was the last thing I wanted to think about.