They set the timer for the oven and then prepared a tray to take coffee to the study for the lawyers, Tim, and Matt. Their fancy, one-cup-at-a-time coffee maker was a pain in the ass when Mick was trying to fill the carafe, but by the time the brownies were done they had a full pot. Mickey prepared the cream and sugar while Ryan arranged the tray. They cut the brownies and placed them on a plate before they proceeded down the hallway.
Ryan knocked on the door and when it sprang open, he gave Tim a big grin. “We brought dessert and then me and Mick are gonna watch a movie. Come say goodnight before you go to bed,” he instructed his parents.
They made a quick detour back to the kitchen and grabbed themselves two cartons of chocolate milk and two brownies. Mickey swung the boy up on his back and carried him downstairs to the family game room. He put the boy down on the sectional before he placed their snacks on the coffee table before he walked to the racks of DVDs next to the large television.
“Now then, how ‘bout we watch 'Cars'? You like Mater, right?" Mickey asked. Ryan nodded, so Mickey slid the movie into the DVD player and returned to sit down next to the boy, hoping their activities he was reassuring him there was no reason to worry.
"Thanks, Mick," Ryan told him as the two of them snuggled up on the couch to watch the movie Mickey was sure he'd seen at least a dozen times since he'd moved into the ranch house. He prayed the boy became interested in some other movie because he was pretty sure if he ever met someone, the guy wouldn't be impressed with Mickey’s ability to recite all the lines in the character voices. Living at the Circle C was great in every way…except for his love life, as he was coming to learn.
Chapter Six
Among those who practiced law in Richmond, Jon Wells’ opponents would honestly admit, under oath, the man wasn’t bested in a courtroom. He went in with his facts secure and his offensive and defensive strategies firmly mapped. He was always completely prepared to represent his clients to the best of his abilities with success as the only outcome. Fortunately for him, most of his clients weren't like Matthew Collins who kept enough shit from him to fill a manure spreader.
Case in point… "What do you mean you gave Roberta Collins five-hundred-thousand dollars? Based on the information I was able to find, it was fifty-thousand dollars, and I didn't even want that money to change hands. She'll only come back for more," Jon demanded, his ire truly up for the first time in a long time, and unfortunately, the octave of his voice as well. He was used to keeping a cool head, but he was also used to his clients valuing and following his advice. He didn’t like this new territory in which he found himself, butting heads with Tim Moran and his lawyer. His lack of control over the situation was unnerving.
Ronni Turnberry, who was plucking Jon’s very last nerve with her superior attitude, smirked. "We thought it was best if you and Matthew didn't know the terms of the agreement until Roberta’s cooperation was inveterate. We secured the affidavits and documentation necessary to ensure she never tried to come back at Matt or Tim for more money, and we have an iron-clad arrangement with her going forward. I recently confirmed she's content in Toronto with a new husband and building a new life. She’s even pregnant. She won't come knocking on your door again," Ronni explained as she looked at Matt and Jon.
"Wait, she's pregnant? Dear God, Ryan can't find out," Matt whispered as he took Tim’s hand. Jon saw the blonde nod, and he wasn’t sure why they were so intent on keeping the news from the boy, but it wasn’t his call so he let it go.
"And, he won't. She has no desire to be in touch with her family in the States, and she's applied for citizenship in Canada. She and her new husband own a hunting and fishing business of some sort, thanks to your generous endowment, Tim. It's all in the past," Ronni assured.
Jon cleared his throat as he took in Matt’s countenance. "You've left me in the dark on a lot of things, Matt. Care to enlighten me now, after the fact? How can I represent you effectively if I don't know what’s going on in your life and the details associated therewith?" He felt himself on a slippery slope with regard to keeping his client, and he was extremely grateful Mickey had given him the head's up before he walked into a hornet's nest.
Luckily, Jon had remembered the client file Karen had copied before he left the office, so he had everything at his fingertips he needed for the ensuing confrontation. He was ready for the battle, and he was planning to win the war.
"Yeah, I'm sorry, Jon, but until…well, Timmy and I are gonna get married, and we want to combine our assets. That's why we called both y'all to come out. Ronni's got Tim's trust and properties, not that I want him to include me on that shit, but I want him included on the ranch and everything. We haven't started plannin' a weddin', but it's gonna be small. We wanted to get the paperwork started and well underway before we let everybody know about our plans," Matt explained.
Jon was about ready to jump out of his skin at hearing the man’s proclamation. What the fuck was the sudden rush with every gay person he knew to run down the aisle? It was fucking ridiculous and premature, in his opinion. He took a cleansing breath and turned to Matt, prepared to gently offer an alternative to the “M” word.
"Married? Are you sure you're ready for that step? Maybe the first thing to do is to just register as domestic partners and have a commitment ceremony. Marriage is a really big step, and in Virginia, it's 'equitable distribution', not equal property. If you put all of your holdings into the marriage, the State will allocate property as they see fit. Since Tim doesn't really have a job and his assets are limited, Matt, you might end up paying him spousal support even though you have a minor son.
“I'd suggest you should keep things static for now and give your situation more thought. We can do cross powers-of-attorney so you each have a voice in any medical decisions and you can even name Tim as Ryan's legal guardian for the purposes of dealing with school and such, but I ask you to really consider the ramifications of marriage, especially since you have already suffered the effects of a problematic divorce," he explained in as simple terms as he could.
Matt wasn't stupid in the least, but Jon knew it wasn't what the tall man wanted to hear, so the lawyer explained it calmly, hoping Tim had a decent bone in his body and would see how taking advantage of Matt's generosity was a mistake.
Matt started laughing. "Jon, Tim's got a job, and he's worth a helluva lot more money than me. Ronni, how much was it at last count since you moved some things around and made additional investments?"
Jon observed the woman as she passed around booklets to the three of them and smiled like the cat who got the cream. Jon knew she was sizing him up for the takedown, and he was immediately nervous. "Gentlemen, if you’ll turn to page ten where the latest accounting shows the balances as of the end of the year. It's been a good year for Tim’s investments," she smirked as she looked at Jon with a cocked eyebrow.
As Jon was about to open the booklet, Tim placed his hand on top of the clear plastic cover and when Jon looked up, he saw the blonde with a remorseful smile. "Look, Jon, we didn't set out not to tell you everything, but it's taken Matty a little while to wrap his head around things, and well, my business has started picking up more than I thought it ever would. Dean Campbell should be on my payroll, but he says it's as much for him as me that he sings praises about my services. Don't be upset with Matt, okay? You did such a great job with the situation with Ryan, we really owe you, and we want you to stay on with us."
The comments made Jon feel a little less skeptical regarding Timothy Moran, but he'd met an actor or two along the way. Blake had been a good one, and Eric Slade, his old fuck-buddy from El Paso, was another example. He'd had Jon traveling to Texas at least once a month to meet him at a hotel for a weekend of fucking, and the things Jon found out...
The premise of Jon’s last trip to El Paso was to meet Colonel Stanford and his family, but it also gave him the opportunity to meet up with his lover, Eric, for a romantic weekend. Unfortunately, Eric’s wife, about whom Jon had no knowledge
, had him followed and the Private Investigator actually busted into their hotel room, taking some very incriminating photos of the two of them 'In Flagrante Delicto'.
Sammy Williams, the head of security at Langley & Wells, had tracked the guy down and paid off the PI not to turn over the pictures to anyone except Jon in order to avoid the scandal. Jon had dumped Eric when the truth came out, and he prayed that was the end of it, and of his blind stupidity.
Of course, there was no guarantee the copies the PI had turned over to Sammy, which Jon had subsequently destroyed, were the only copies out there. If they ever got out, Jon was sure there'd be hell to pay with his father.
The lawyer nodded and turned to page ten as instructed by Ronni Turnberry, a woman about whom he was trying very hard to reserve judgment. When he looked at the long list of addresses and the list of newly acquired stocks, he was genuinely surprised. When he saw the bottom line, his eyebrows nearly shot up into his hairline. "$7,509,341.00 (rounded to the nearest dollar)." He nearly lost the delicious dinner Mickey had served earlier.
"Holy shit! I had no idea…Matt, you didn't…" Yes…Jonathon Wells was struck speechless.
"Hey, we only found out before the end of the year, and after Tim studied on it, he decided to sell a few properties and donate his old house in New Jersey to charity. He did some investing to diversify his portfolio and here we are, right?" Matt explained as he looked at Tim, who smiled and nodded.
Jon cleared his voice. "Okay, so what can we help you with? What would you like to accomplish?" He'd given up all thoughts of trying to wrestle the work away from Ronni Turnberry. She was much more astute in dealing with trusts and financial planning than he'd ever hoped to be. Family law was his specialty.
"We want the two of you to work together to ensure everything is in both of our names so all of our holdings are jointly owned. In the event anything happens to one or both of us, we want to be sure our son is covered. We don’t want anyone to believe they have any claim to anything we own except the Matt, Ryan, and myself.
“Aside from all of that, I want to set up a separate, irrevocable trust for Ryan, hopefully for his college tuition, but if anything would happen to break up Matt and me, I want to ensure Ryan would have the funds available for whatever he might want or need. We want to prepare Wills as well, so we thought you could work together toward an end goal. I'm sure it's not unusual for two lawyers of your caliber to work together on such a small matter, but we'll pay retainers and whatever additional fees are necessary so everyone feels comfortable with the outcome. We don't want to lose either of you," Tim told them.
He then turned to Jon. "I'd like to patent, copyright, or trademark my new computer inventory and ordering system, whatever offers me the most protection and is appropriate. Do you have people who can handle it at Langley & Wells, or should Clauson handle it?"
Ronni spoke up. "We actually don't have intellectual property expertise at the firm, but I'm sure Jon and I can come up with some great IP counsel in the area. We'll get together a short list, right Jon?" Ronni suggested, conciliatory tone present, just as Jon imagined.
Truth be told, Jon was quite relieved to still have a seat at the table. "A buddy of mine from law school works at our firm in Alexandria and he's great with intellectual property. I'll get together some information regarding his specialty and his client base, along with a strategic plan to protect your system. I can have him contact you next week. Thankfully, for the sake of expenses, the office is close to the Patent & Trademark Office," Jon explained.
Ronni smiled a reassuring smile of truce, and Jon returned it. She seemed to be as good at her job as he believed he was at his, and he was looking forward to working with her. With the potential net worth of the Moran-Collins family, there'd be enough to go around.
When they broke the meeting, Jon went downstairs to go to bed for the night. He was greeted with a truly beautiful sight…Ryan was asleep on the large sectional with his head resting on Mickey's lap. Mickey's head was at an awkward angle on the back of the couch, and Jon didn't have it in him to leave the poor guy in that position. The remnants of chocolate milk and brownie crumbs made Jon’s heart beat an extra pump.
Jon walked over to the couch to retrieve a throw pillow from the floor before he scooted the little boy down and rested his head upon it. He then pulled a blanket off the back of the section to cover Ryan.
After he was settled, Jon stepped closer to Mickey, the handsome cowboy, taking in his striking, rugged looks. The young man couldn't be more than twenty-five if Jon was guessing, but he was a damn fine specimen of male virility. He was lithe in build, but not skinny. He had long legs and a tight ass, as Tim Moran had pointed out to Jon earlier in the day. His skin was a bit sun-kissed, and he had a few light freckles on his nose and cheeks. He had long, brown eyelashes and his soft, pink pout which captured Jon's attention when they met for the second time. The total package was fucking unbelievable.
If Jon was looking for a guy to fuck around with, Mickey Warren was the perfect toy, even though Jon couldn’t guess his orientation. Of course, in light of the fiasco with Blake, Jon told himself he was done with dating younger guys. It was back to the club scene for him, and he certainly wasn't going to mess with the straight employee of a client.
"God, yeah…ride me," the young cowboy whispered. Jon could see an impressive bulge in his tight jeans which brought involuntary plumping in Jon’s jeans as well. The visual display the words put into his head brought forth some of the best porn Jon had ever seen on the internet. It was nearly too much to bear.
When the guy whispered again, Jon knew he had to put a stop to it. "Fuck, yes…just like that," Mickey hissed as he began flexing his hips. As much as Jon was enjoying the potential show, he wasn't really a voyeur, so he decided to wake the man before it got any more graphic…and possibly sticky.
"Mickey…wake-up, Cowboy," he stated as he roughly jostled the man's shoulder. When his eyes popped open and Jon saw the beautiful green of them, he almost regretted his decision not to see it through to orgasm.
"Oh…uh, yeah. Yeah. I'm awake. What's, uh, Jon, what's up, man?" Obviously, he was disoriented, and he had the most adorable face filled with confusion.
"I moved Ryan down and settled him on a pillow. You looked like you were about to break your neck. What movie did you watch?" Jon asked to get the man off the track of whether he'd embarrassed himself by talking out loud during his lusty dream, which Jon assumed was about Ronni Turnberry.
"We, uh, we started with 'Cars' and ended with 'WALL-E'. Some of Disney and Pixar's finest. Did y'all get things hammered out? They didn't fire ya, did they," Mickey asked as he stood from the couch and stretched, showing Jon a bit of a very toned stomach. There was a little trail of rust-colored hair headed south into those Wranglers the man was wearing, and it was pretty fucking enticing as Jon took it in before his brain engaged in cutting off his libido. 'Stop. Too young. Nothing in common,' he reminded himself.
He almost forgot he was asked a question, but when he looked into Mickey’s face, he remembered it. "No, but thanks for the heads up. We figured out a strategy to combine forces to give our clients the best representation possible. I'm glad you clued me into her intentions because I'd have gone in there like a fool and likely lost most of Matt's business. I'd like to take you for dinner as thanks if you ever get to Richmond. I'll get you one of my cards," he offered, wishing he could rewind the words as he heard them spill out of his mouth.
‘Why the hell did you just invite the kid for a dinner date in Richmond?’ he thought. Clearly, the fresh air in the country had fucked with Jon’s brain and his filter had gone on the fritz, not allowing him to think straight…which also wasn’t possible…nor act in his own best interests.
"I don't leave the ranch much, but Matt did ask me to take Tim's truck to Richmond in a few weeks to get the oil changed and pick up some supplies we can’t get around here. I could call ya and we could have lunch or supper before I head home. I'd like tha
t," Mickey told him.
Jon was in it up to his neck, so he reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet, grabbing one of his business cards to offer to the young man. "Give me a call a few days ahead of time so I can keep the evening open. I look forward to it," he stated.
Mickey took it and looked it over thoroughly as Jon watched him. "Thanks. I'll be in touch. Night, Jon," he stated as he grabbed his boots and turned off the television and the lights, leaving a light on in the bathroom with the door opened a little to guide Jon to his room.
Jon walked into the bedroom he'd been offered to see it was actually quite nice. He hadn't paid any attention earlier when he dropped off his bag, but as he looked around, he saw it was painted a nice coffee color with blue accents. It was masculine, as he'd expect from a house full of men, but it was homey, just like he'd found everything to be at the ranch. He was happy he'd agreed to accept their invitation for the weekend. It was turning out to be quite surprising.
Concentrating on other matters helped Jon put off all thoughts Mickey Warren enough so he could fall into a restful sleep. The bed was perfectly firm but not so much he’d call it hard. Jon decided he'd enquire as to the brand of the mattress because he was looking for a new one for his condo in Richmond. The old one in his bedroom had far too much mileage on it for Jon to keep it, so it was time for a change.
He vowed to himself not to bring tricks home with him any longer. Cheap motel, car, alley, club bathroom…all were acceptable for anonymous sex. His home and sanctuary? No longer acceptable.
Jon awoke some time later to the sounds of the shower in the bathroom outside his door. He looked out the half-window in the bedroom to see it was still dark, so he turned on the bedside light to see it was five-thirty in the fucking morning. ‘Jesus, what the fuck?’ he thought as he flipped off the light.
Loving the Lawyer (The Cowboys of Katydid Farm Book 2) Page 7