There was only one solution: she needed to stay as far away from the man as possible, which meant no contact outside the conference room.
That wouldn’t be hard to achieve on her end, but would he accept her avoidance? They had no unfinished business from the past. Their break had been clean. Yet he’d been pretty intent on getting some one-on-one time with her.
Then it hit her. Maybe Garrett was only showing interest in her because Neil was her fiancé. The animosity between the two cousins and Garrett’s sudden interest in her ring made it abundantly clear that the two men were competitive.
Damn Nana Ruby for throwing her life into chaos. She might not have ever met the woman, but she wanted to snatch her bald the moment she did.
The next morning Blair felt surprisingly energized when she walked into the office. Five hours of sleep had given her a much better outlook. She’d had extra time to prepare for the depositions while the car service took her to work. She and Melissa had the wedding under control. She and Neil had a relationship that ideally suited them and their career goals. The partners would be wowed by her wedding, and she’d be offered a partnership. And Garrett…if he wanted the stupid ring so bad, he could have it. She chose to ignore the fact that the ring wasn’t his real goal, as she still couldn’t possibly fathom what he wanted—beyond annoying Neil, of course. And as for her feelings for him…they were a moot point. He’d made his decision five years ago, and if he was interested again, it wouldn’t be for anything permanent. She had neither the time nor the inclination for the type of relationship a man like Garrett Lowry had to offer. Sure, he still made her pulse race, but she’d get over it. She was a grown woman, not some hormonal teenager.
“Good morning, Melissa,” she said as she stopped at her assistant’s desk, sounding more cheerful than usual. “Did you get the text about my car?”
“Yes.” Melissa looked at her as though she’d walked in naked. “What happened to you?”
“Can’t a person be in a good mood?”
“If that person is you, no.”
Blair was taken aback. “Am I that much of a bitch?”
“No, of course not. But you’re not one of those perpetually happy people either. What’s going on?”
She smiled. “I’m feeling optimistic today.”
Melissa’s eyebrows rose. “So dinner went well last night?”
“No…dinner was a disaster, but I’ve decided to let that go. Is everything set for the party tomorrow night?”
Melissa stared at her for a few moments. “I confirmed the reservation for the tasting room at the brewery on Monday, but I’ll call again to verify. And back to your original question, yes, I received your text. I’ve called the car service, and they’ve towed your car to the shop. They’ll return it to the parking garage, but if it’s not ready in time, we’ll arrange to get you a rental.”
“Perfect,” Blair said in a happy tone as she walked into her office.
“I’m calling a doctor. You’re having some sort of breakdown.”
“Very funny.” She shut the door and sat down at her desk to go through her emails.
Several minutes later her door opened, and Melissa walked in with a cup of coffee. “The deposition of Amanda Beasley is still set up for ten, and Mr. Norfolk’s for two. And Rowena Norfolk still doesn’t want to sit in on either one.”
“Okay. Thank you.” Blair took the cup from her. “Let me know when Mr. Lowry shows up.”
Melissa continued to watch her. “I know you went to law school together.”
Blair’s gaze narrowed as anger burned to life in her chest. “You’re spying on me?”
“No. I was checking up on him.” When Blair didn’t respond, Melissa added, “I had to know his connection to you so I could protect you.”
Blair clenched her teeth. “I don’t need protecting, Melissa. You’re overstepping your bounds.”
Melissa held her ground. “No. I’m not. You wouldn’t tell me, so I had to find out myself. I’m the gatekeeper, Blair. You’re depending on me to keep him away from you, and I need to know what I’m facing. That meant finding out how he knew you.”
Blair didn’t answer.
Melissa sat in the chair in front of her desk. “I’m sorry.”
Blair sighed and lightly rubbed her temple. “No, it’s fine. I overreacted.”
“You two used to date, didn’t you?”
Blair shook her head. “It was more than casual dating.” She groaned. “We were together for a year, then he dropped me to date every other woman in law school.”
“So he’s a player,” Melissa said in disgust. “Do you think he’s trying to go for round two?”
“There’s more to it than that. He’s Neil’s cousin. The groomsman his mother called you about. And I only just found out yesterday.”
Melissa gasped. “What?”
“And there’s more.” Blair found herself spilling out the whole story about the animosity between the two men and the engagement ring, but she left out the part about him taking her home. There was only so much humiliation she could take in one day.
Melissa leaned forward to get a better look at Blair’s left hand. “He actually claimed the ring?”
“Neil and his mother just about flipped their shit, and I could tell that Garrett loved every minute of it.”
“So he’s here to stir up trouble.”
Blair nodded slowly. “Looks like it.”
“Thanks for trusting me enough to tell me.”
“I should have told you yesterday, but I was embarrassed.”
“Why?”
“Because I fell for his charm and let him dump me.” Although that wasn’t quite true. She’d never felt like he was using her or pretending to have feelings he didn’t. But that had only made it worse in the end.
“You’re not the first person to fall for a smooth-talking, good-looking man, and our very line of work depends on you not being the last. But the fool-you-once adage seems apropos here.”
“Agreed,” Blair said absently, then she shuddered and looked her assistant in the eye. “Thanks for having my back.”
Melissa stood. “What are good assistants for?”
“You’re coming tomorrow night, aren’t you?”
Melissa looked surprised. “Sure, I can come and make sure everything goes okay if you want.”
“No. Not for work. As my friend.”
“Oh.” Her eyes widened as she stared at Blair.
Blair shook her head. What had she been thinking? A few moments of sharing her emotions and she’d presumed their relationship was more than professional. What if Melissa asked for a transfer now? Especially knowing she might be out of a job next week. “I’m sorry. You don’t have to—”
A wide smile spread across Melissa’s face. “I’d love to come. Thank you for asking.”
Blair’s face started to heat up. “Well, I’d give you the details, but it turns out that you know them.”
She laughed. “Sure enough.” She walked to the door and started to open it before turning around, her hand on the knob. “Thanks, Blair.”
Blair’s eyes met hers. “Thank you.” Then she remembered something else. “Oh, can you get me a stack of dollar bills by the end of the day? At least twenty…no, better make it forty.”
Melissa’s eyebrows rose in amusement. “Planning a racy bachelorette party?”
“Hardly,” she grumbled. “A tight-ass wedding shower.”
As Melissa walked out of the office, Blair wondered if there were enough bills in circulation to help get her through this weekend.
Chapter Nine
Garrett longed to loosen his tie, but to do so would be, one, unprofessional, and two, it would give Blair the satisfaction of knowing she was getting to him. Not that she didn’t already know. The smirk on her face when she shot glances at him between questions was proof enough of that. But he felt like he was choking. He was choking all right—on embarrassment.
He kept reminding himse
lf that Brian Norfolk wasn’t really his client. That he hadn’t been the one to prep Amanda Beasley for the deposition. But even though Lopez had done a shitty job—so much so that he wished he had the authority to fly back to San Diego and demand his resignation—there was no denying that it was a crap case. If Rowena Norfolk’s attorney had been content to just go through the motions, it would have gone smoother, but Blair Myers Hansen didn’t understand the concept of going through the motions. She was smart, articulate, and ruthless. It didn’t hurt that there wasn’t an attorney alive who could make Lopez’s client look like a saint. Under the circumstances, Garrett was semi-holding his own, but Blair was a barracuda.
Back when they were together, he’d loved to get her riled up. Her eyes always lit up with a righteous fire when she was in the middle of an argument. But their arguments had mostly been over politics and current events—topics they had enjoyed debating. Afterwards, they would laugh together and then take the same passion they’d harnessed for their disagreement to their bed. He hadn’t lied to her when he said she was in the top five of the best lays he’d ever had, but he hadn’t told her the truth either. No one else had even come close.
“Mr. Norfolk,” Blair said, her voice sounding like honey off the comb, but only a fool would fall for it. Garrett was sure her beauty had helped lure Norfolk into complacency. She wore a gray dress today that clung to her curves. Her hair was up again, and she had on a pair of three-inch black patent leather heels. She flipped through the papers in front of her before glancing up at him with those wide blue eyes. “These numbers just aren’t adding up.”
Brian Norfolk gave her a shit-eating grin. “Maybe numbers just aren’t your thing, sweetheart.”
The look she gave him would make most men tuck tail and run. But Brian Norfolk was an arrogant fool. Garrett couldn’t stand the man. He was a fifty-seven-year-old screenwriter who’d experienced only moderate success until four years ago, when one of his movies suddenly became a blockbuster. The money had gone to his head, and while he’d fooled around on his wife more than once over their twenty-year marriage, he’d decided it was finally time to upgrade. But he’d tried out quite a few women before settling on the woman who was currently living in his San Diego condo, waiting to get her hands on his money. Consequently, he was trying to bilk his wife in every conceivable way. Knowing Blair, she’d sink her teeth into this man like a dog with a bone, and while Garrett would love nothing more than to see her take the prick down a few rungs, his job was to decrease the carnage as much as possible. He’d reluctantly warned Norfolk not to take Blair lightly, but the man was clearly ignoring his advice.
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.
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