Insufferable Proximity 2 (27 page)

“Good.”

“I didn’t even recognize her, she’s changed so much. She’s married now and has a beautiful baby girl. She’s married to a plastic surgeon; he’s done a lot of work for her.”

“How does it look?”

“It was a little overwhelming.” She pushed the food around on her plate before she continued, “She’s not practicing law anymore.”

“Why?”

Heaven looked distraught for a moment, “She quit.”

“You’re kidding me? Why the hell would she do that?”

“She said that she’d rather spend time with her family. I was horrified at first; I thought she was crazy. When I thought about it, it made sense—I understood. I would never quit my career, but I understand the need to balance it with life. She thought that I’d be married by now.”

“You are married.”

“I mean legally wed, with the minister, paperwork, etc.”

“You’re married, don’t forget that. There might not be signed documentation,
yet
, but you are legally bound to me until the day of my death.”

“I think we should have the wedding next summer.”

“We’re not waiting that long.”

“Yes, we are; I already told you that I needed time to plan it.”

“You don’t need that long. If it were up to me, we would elope tonight.”

“Well, it’s not up to you. This is my wedding, and I’ll do what I want. You just need to show up in the suit I pick out for you and have my ring ready,” she said, grinning at him.

“I’ll have your ring in my right pocket and the handcuffs in my left.”

“Handcuffs?”

“Yes. I’m going to cuff you and then molest you during our entire honeymoon.”

She smiled. “You’re such a pervert.”

“Hurry up and finish so I can show you how much of a pervert I really am,” he vowed with a wink.

Heaven began to eat quickly.

***

The next morning they went for an early breakfast before work. They spent time talking, eating, and enjoying each other’s company. Julian was still busy helping his father, so Heaven decided to bring lunch to them. Since he forbade her from leaving the office without him, she was reduced to the cafeteria’s lunch menu.

Once she was in the cafeteria, Heaven grabbed the food she’d ordered and drinks. She was headed out of the room, excited to see Julian, when Clive walked in.

“Oh, thank god I found you,” Clive said frantically.

“Is everything all right?” she asked, without reflecting concern in her voice or in her expression.

“Ayden just told me about the witness. He’s tried everything, but she will not budge. I really need your help on this, Ms. Deville; I can’t do this alone. She won’t even answer or return my phone calls. I don’t understand,” Clive said to Heaven as she walked back to her office.

“It’s a difficult situation,” Heaven said. She was at a loss for an explanation. She had never been put in a situation like this before. If it had been anyone other than Susan, she would have told them to go to hell.

“Difficult is an understatement. She is the key element to my client’s freedom. Is there any way that you could help me? If she doesn’t talk, we lose the most valuable evidence we’ve gotten thus far.”

“I’ll see what I can do,” Heaven replied before leaving him.

“Please, Ms. Deville, please try and reason with her. This is my first case since I started working for the firm, I don’t want to lose this. Her testimony is crucial.  I could have her subpoenaed, but it’s much easier for everyone if she cooperates. Maybe you can get added details that she thinks may be relevant. The boss said you excel in that area. If I subpoenaed her, I’d never get that information.”

Heaven headed to Ayden’s office and grinned as she walked in. “I brought lunch.”

“Let me help you with that.” Julian grabbed the bags from her.

“Thank you so much, Sevigne.” Ayden smiled as he followed her into the adjoining room.

***

“Well, hello, Ms. Juliette. It’s good to see you with a smile on your face. I hope today is a better day for you,” he said, smiling.

“Much better, thank you.” Juliette tried to be snotty, but it felt forced.

“I’m so glad to hear that. Maybe we could go get some lunch.”

“I can’t, not today.”

“I understand,” he nodded and turned to leave.

“I have a lot of work to do for Mr. King. Maybe another day,” Juliette added.

Ronnie turned to her with a huge smile.

“Great!” he said a little too enthusiastically. “Whatever day is good for you.”

***

Gloria and Ian went to the small café down the block. Since it was such a nice day, they decided to walk. On the way, they only discussed the weather and funny stories from work, but nothing serious. Once they were inside, it was a whole different story.

“So how has everything been?” Gloria asked once they were seated.

“I’m getting a divorce,” Ian blurted out.

“A divorce?” Gloria gasped in mock surprise. Adele had already told her and every other secretary on the floor, but Gloria wouldn't tell Ian that.

“Yes.”

“I’m so sorry, Ian.” Gloria had a look of sheer horror, shock and sympathy on her face. Despite her kind words, she didn’t mean them. She was glad he was getting a divorce.

“Don’t be sorry, I’m not,” he answered honestly.

“You’re not?” her brows rose with shock.

“Not at all, it was long overdue,” Ian stated.

“Well, if you need
anything
, ever, and I mean
anything
—please don’t hesitate to ask.”

“That’s very kind of you.”

“What are friends for?”

Ian looked her directly in the eyes. “Actually, I do need something.”

“Yes?” she asked with bated breath.

He shook his head nervously. “Nothing.”

“I think I know what you need,” she whispered before grabbing his face. Despite the fact that they were seated in the middle of a restaurant, Gloria decided to kiss him.

Before he had a chance to think about what he was doing, he was kissing her back. Then, just as quickly as it started, it ended.

“We can’t do this,” Ian said as he pulled back.

“Why not?”

“The ink isn’t even dry on my pre-divorce papers.”

“Is that one of the rules of your divorce? Do you have to wait until the ink dries before you can have a good time? Is that a requirement?”

“No.”

“Did your wife follow that rule?”

“No, she was too busy fucking my friend to follow any rules.”

“Then why should we stop?”

“We’re in a public restaurant; we both work at the same place.”

“So what, live a little, Ian. I want to kiss you, and I know you want to kiss me too.”

“I do, you don’t know how much I do.”

“Then let’s just say fuck it and then kiss.”

“It’s too soon.”

“It’s never too soon for happiness.”

“I can’t,” he looked at his watch, “it’s getting late, we should head back.”

“All right.” She couldn’t prevent the frown from dominating her face. She realized she was moving too fast for him, and needed to slow things down.

***

After a long, chaotic day, Julian was ready to relax with Heaven. The second he stepped into the room, he stripped and headed for the shower.

“Are you coming?” Julian asked.

“I’ll be in there in a minute,” Heaven responded.

“Hurry,” he finished before walking into the bathroom.

Heaven was thinking about Susan’s testimony. She was also thinking about the secretaries’ gossip. They were right; Clive obviously couldn’t handle a case of this magnitude. She grabbed the file to review it before she went to shower.

After a quick shower, Julian wrapped a towel around his waist and walked into their bedroom. He saw Heaven sitting on the long, leather love seat she had just ordered for their room; her glasses perched on the tip of her nose. She was still wearing most of her suit, but her blazer was discarded on the bed. Her hair was pulled back in a clip, and she had a pile of paperwork on her lap.

“I thought you were coming in the shower?” he said as he dried his hair with the other towel.

“I was on my way when I remembered this,” she said absentmindedly, obviously engrossed in her work.

“I thought you wanted to eat out tonight,” he asked as he sat next to her on the couch.

“I just want to finish reading this quickly, and then we can go.”

“What did I tell you about bringing work home with you? If I can’t fuck every other hour while we’re at work, then you can’t waste our valuable time at home with work,” he grumbled as he snatched the paperwork from her lap and tossed it on the table. He spread his long legs out on the couch and laid his head on her lap, preventing her from moving.

She grinned. “You’re going to soak my pants.”

“You shouldn’t even be wearing those pants; you should be wrapped in a towel like me. Take them off,” he said before he rubbed his wet hair against the front of her shirt, “and take off your shirt while you’re at it. I haven’t seen those tits for hours.”

“You just saw them.”

“That was too long ago.” He began to help her unbutton her shirt.

Heaven smoothed a wet lock back from his face. “You’re never going to believe who ended up being the key witness in Mr. Baker’s case.”

“Who?” He pulled the cups of her bra down to bare her breasts, “There they are.” He smiled and kissed them like a friend he hadn’t seen for years.

“Susan Lawrence.”

“Who is Susan Lawrence?”

“The woman we just talked about. My mysterious appointment turned college friend.”

“Oh yeah, I remember. How did that happen?”

“She cheated on her husband with Frank Vein, the client’s boyfriend.” She reached across to grab the paperwork off the table. He nipped at her breast as she leaned against him.

“I got it.” He snatched the letter since she was having difficulty reaching it, grabbed her hand and slid it under his towel, “You hold this—while I review this.”

“That is a thirty-page letter detailing their entire relationship. She claims that Frank is an ex-gigolo and a con-man with homicidal tendencies,” she began as she massaged his hard cock. “During their affair, he tried to convince her to leave her husband. She said she had to end it because he was becoming violent and threatening her husband.”

“Looks like Baker has this in the bag. So why do you have the letter; I thought you gave it to my father?”

“I did, and he gave it back to me. She’s a hostile witness, and she won’t talk to Mr. Baker. She won’t even talk to your father. She said that she only came forward because she knew I worked for the firm—she even signed her letter anonymously.”

“Why?”

“She told your father that if I won’t be her go-between, she will recant and deny everything. Since the letter doesn’t have her signature, it will be inadmissible in court. If they subpoena her, they will never get the full story.”

“You’re telling me that she wants you to be the go-between for her and Baker?”

“Yes.”

“Why you? It can’t be just because you knew her from college.”

“She said I have a lack of reaction and a blank expression that makes her feel better. She thinks I have this magic poker face,” she shrugged her shoulders, “whatever that means.”

“No, I don’t want you working with Baker.”

“I told her that I would help.”

“You’re not working with him.”

“She’s scared, she hasn’t even told her husband yet.”

“He’s going to find out—it’s a high-profile case.”

She shrugged. “I know, I tried to explain that to her.”

“Tell Baker to do his own work.”

“I already told him that I would help.”

“You what?” he sat up and faced her.

“He asked for my help—“

“He asked for your help?” Julian repeated the words in disbelief and disgust. He looked at her with a mixture of fury and shock. He was ready to strangle Clive Baker. He had let Clive know that Heaven was off-limits. Maybe he hadn’t been clear enough with him.

“Yes, he’s afraid to lose and make the company look bad. Your father doesn’t seem as confident as he was with Mr. Baker’s skills. I think even he’s nervous that he will mess this one up.”

“You’re not helping him,” Julian repeated.

“Be reasonable, Julian; if he loses this case, it looks bad for the firm. The King Law Firm does not lose. I am going to help her. She made a mistake, and she’s terrified to take the stand, let alone tell anyone else her secret.”

“Why can’t Baker use his skills of persuasion to get through to her?”

“I don’t think he’s as clever as we were led to believe. He’s good in some areas, but obviously lacking in others.”