Total pages in book: 183
Estimated words: 174715 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 874(@200wpm)___ 699(@250wpm)___ 582(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 174715 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 874(@200wpm)___ 699(@250wpm)___ 582(@300wpm)
“Meanwhile the Houston location is still a problem,” I say. “We need to bring in another me over there to oversee the operation, someone we trust. Someone we make a partner. I know that’s not ideal, but there’s a lot of money to be made there.”
“Agreed. You couldn’t stay there and have us rule the world with the same vision and momentum, but with your father gone, and you shortly after, it’s a ship with holes. Anyone in Texas in mind?”
“Not on staff,” I say. “But I know someone. Alexander Montgomery. He’s on his own and kicking ass, but I think we can convince him to join forces. But he’s going to want more than we want to give.”
Reese tips back his glass. “Sounds like our man.” He sets down his glass. “Let’s talk to him.”
“I’ll make the call.”
“In the meantime, does one of us need to go to Houston?”
“Now that I’m back to work, the storm seems to have calmed,” I say. “If I have to go, I’ll go. I’d rather wrap up the details on this case I’ve been dealing with, and weed through the new offers.”
He studies me a few beats. “How are things?”
“You mean did I lose my fucking mind over Lori’s attack? Yes. Am I dealing with it? Yes.”
“Are you really? Because if Cat got attacked, I’m not sure how I’d react. It wouldn’t be good. She’d most likely be tied to the bed where I’d keep her for the rest of her life, and happily, at that.”
“I’m dealing with it, but Lori doesn’t think I am.”
“Why?” he asks.
“I turned down a case that was worth a lot of money.”
“And she thought it was because you were afraid of putting her in danger.”
“Exactly,” I say.
“So is it her or you struggling with this?”
“She’s so busy worrying about me that she can’t face the part that involves her, which is why as much as I want to take her to Houston as I suggested and get out of here, I’m not sure that’s a good idea. At some point, she’s going to need to face this.”
“She hasn’t reacted to the attack at all?”
“She’s been worried about me worrying,” I say. “It’s the damnedest thing.”
“Marriage has a way of making you see the other person before you see yourself.”
“Yes,” I say. “It does.” I narrow my eyes at him. “I just told you I turned down a case worth a shit-ton of money. You aren’t going to ask why?”
“If I have to ask, you shouldn’t be my partner, but if it was Carlson Wright, he called me next, and I turned him down, too. He’s a low-life. Not our kind of client.”
I laugh. “And that, my friend, is why I’m now in New York with my name on a wall next to yours. I need to finish wrapping up loose ends, work with the associates, and wait for a case I really want to win. That’s when I win.”
“As do I,” he says. “Lori will learn that. She’s a young attorney, but as a friend, let me say this: Maybe you should take Lori to Houston. See our new partner candidate. Get her away from the heat of it all and give her the room to melt down. Then come back and start fresh.”
“Maybe,” I say. “But Lori needs to feel in control. I’m not sure pulling her from the familiar does that for her.”
“Right here, in this place, she has to have control,” he says. “And that woman has worn a suit of armor for years. Maybe that means she really didn’t let the attack get to her. Or maybe it means the effects are going to build and build under all that armor and explode without warning.”
He’s hit a nerve I didn’t know existed, something bothering me that I couldn’t identify. Under that armor, Lori was losing her mind when I met her, stressed and worried all the time. I’m supposed to be the person she can throw it away with. I’m supposed to be her safe place. My need to protect her has done just the opposite. I’ve forced her to put that armor back on.
Reese’s phone buzzes with a text and he glances at it. “One of my associates. Let me call him and then we should go upstairs where our women await.”
“Is Lori here?”
“For about ten minutes,” he says. “Cat sent me a text when Lori was on her way up to give them about twenty minutes of girl time.” He stands up and walks toward the bar.
Lori is here and didn’t stop by and tell me. That doesn’t feel right. I stand up, grab my briefcase and motion toward upstairs to Reese. I don’t wait for him to join me. I need to see my wife. And if I have to, I’ll take Reese’s advice. I’ll tie her to a bed and keep her there while I tear away that armor, inch by inch if that’s what it takes.