13
Joseph rounded the corner leading to his office at 5:15 the following evening and looked around, confusion etched on his features. “Has Lia Merrick arrived?” He approached the temp sitting behind Martha’s old desk.
“No.” A woman of about thirty-five with stylishly short brown hair and large brown eyes looked up at him. “Her mother called about an hour ago and said she couldn’t make it.”
“Did she say why?”
She dropped her eyes to a sheet of paper on the desk. “She said to tell you Taylor is sick and that they were taking her to Fairfax Hospital.”
Lia turned from the window in the small waiting room on the fourth floor of Fairfax Hospital at the same moment Ned and a very pregnant Candice came through the door.
“What’s going on?” Ned’s eyes found Lia.
“Probably her appendix,” Elaine answered when, after several seconds of silence, it became obvious Lia wasn’t going to. “The school nurse called Lia at two and said Taylor was having stomach cramping and had a low-grade fever, so she picked her up and took her to the doctor.”
Taylor had appeared fine in the morning, so Lia mistakenly thought whatever was bothering her the day before had left her system.
“So they’re operating on her?” Ned asked as he lowered himself onto a chair beside Candice.
“Yes.” Elaine answered.
Lia turned back to the window, not wanting anyone to see the tears in her eyes. This was hard enough without having to deal with Ned too. She knew her mother had called him. She didn’t have a choice, considering he was scheduled to pick Taylor up at her house at 6:00 p.m. And she’d expected him to show up, but she never considered the possibility he’d bring Candice.
Elaine touched Lia’s arm. “Do you want a cup of coffee or something?”
“No, thank you.” She covered her mother’s hand with her own. She didn’t want to be alone with Ned and Candice. She’d made the mistake of glancing back at them a moment earlier to find them huddled together, with Candice’s head resting on his shoulder. She felt sick to her stomach. “What’s taking so long?” Her eyes drifted to the doorway just in time to see someone who looked very similar to Joseph walk by. A second later, he was back and her throat constricted when she realized it was him. He’d come.
Dressed in a black suit with a smoky-blue shirt and dark gray tie, Joseph looked like he’d stepped out of an advertisement in GQ magazine, and as his six-foot-four frame entered the waiting area, the room instantly felt smaller. Not sparing a glance at Ned or Candice, who were openly watching him, he crossed the room to Lia and her mother, lightly embracing Elaine and kissing her cheek before turning to Lia.
“Joseph,” Lia whispered.
“Are you okay?”
She nodded and wanted to tell him she was fine, but she couldn’t because suddenly she was crying, and the buildup from the last two days found a release in the arms of this incredible man who seemed to be her appointed guardian angel on Earth.
“I’m sorry,” she said when she finally pulled back and looked up at him. “I didn’t mean to do that.”
“Don’t apologize to me.” He gently wiped the tears from beneath her eyes with his handkerchief. “I’m sorry I couldn’t get here sooner.”
“I’m just happy you’re here.” She gripped his hand.
He brought her hand to his mouth, kissing the inside of her wrist as his eyes met hers. “Me too.”
“Hello?” A young woman dressed in surgical scrubs walked through the door and glanced around. “Ms. Merrick?”
“That’s me.” Lia rushed forward. “I’m Taylor’s mom.”
“I’m Katie Menser, a medical student. Taylor’s going to be fine. Her appendix ruptured, but everything was caught in time. Dr. Lombardi is washing up, and then she’ll be out to talk to you.”
“Where’s Taylor?”
“She’s still in recovery. A nurse will let you know as soon as she’s assigned a room.”
“Thank you.” Lia reached out and gripped the woman’s hand. “Thank you so much.”
“You’re welcome.” She smiled. “The doctor will be right in.”
As the woman left the room, Lia turned to Elaine. “Thank God,” she said as she hugged her mother. “Thank God.”
After a moment her eyes sought out Joseph, who was still standing beside the window, his hands pushed deeply into his pockets as he watched her. She crossed the room and moved into his arms, dropping her face into his neck as he wrapped his arms around her, his hand moving up and down her back. “It’s okay.” His mouth was at her ear. “Everything’s okay.”
“Joseph?” A female voice had him lifting his head.
“Hannah?” He smiled in recognition. “You operated on Taylor?”
Lia turned in Joseph’s arms as the surgeon approached.
“Yes.” Dr. Hannah Lombardi crossed the room to where Lia and Joseph were standing. She gave him a quick hug and kissed his cheek. “You’re not the father, are you?”
“No.” Ned and Joseph answered in unison.
“I’m the father,” Ned said. He crossed to where they stood.
“I’m a friend.” Joseph slipped his arm around Lia as his eyes moved to Ned.
“Sorry.” Hannah shrugged. She addressed Lia. “She’s going to be fine. Her appendix was in the process of rupturing, so we removed it just in time.”
As she went on to describe the operation in more detail, Joseph’s eyes moved from Ned Merrick to Candice, who remained sitting.
“So how have you been, Counselor?” Hannah asked Joseph when she was done answering Lia and Ned’s questions. “I haven’t seen you in forever.”
“Too long.” He turned to Lia. “Hannah used to date Tony, but it turned out she was too smart for him.” He winked at Hannah.
“Something like that.” Hannah smiled. “How is he?”
“As arrogant as ever.” Joseph left his arm around Lia as he chatted with Hannah about mutual acquaintances, the completion of her residency and the law firm. He managed to pull Lia into the conversation, and at least fifteen minutes passed before a nurse came in to give them the room number where Taylor would be taken after recovery.
Lia felt better than she had in two days as she walked towards Taylor’s assigned room with Joseph and her mother. Suddenly, Ned and Candice were the outsiders. They had arrived at the hospital knowing Lia was alone and not giving one thought to how she would feel. And then, in a matter of moments, Joseph had shown up and Ned not only learned she wasn’t alone, but was dating one of the most successful attorneys in the area.
As they entered Taylor’s assigned hospital room, there was a moment of awkward silence as they encountered Ned and Candice. Ned came to his feet, and Lia knew she had to acknowledge him.
“Joseph, this is Taylor’s father, Ned.”
Ned crossed to Joseph, holding out his hand. “This is a bit of a surprise. I had no idea you knew Lia. Taylor mentions a Joseph, but I certainly didn’t connect it with you.”
Joseph returned the handshake. “Merrick.” He met his eyes.
“And this is my wife, Candice.” He turned as Candice approached.
“Hi.” She held out her hand. “Actually, we’ve met. We were on opposing sides during a libel suit last year.”
“Hello.” Joseph returned her handshake and then was turning back to Lia, clearly dismissing the two. “How about a cup of coffee?” His eyes moved from Lia to Elaine.
“Okay.” Lia nodded.
Joseph turned to Candice and Ned, who were still standing awkwardly beside him. “May I get either of you something?”
“A cup of ice water,” Candice said.
“Nothing for me, thanks,” Ned said.
“I’ll be right back.” Joseph kissed Lia lightly on the lips before leaving the room.
Ned turned to Lia as soon as Joseph was out of earshot. “How did you meet him?”
“How could that possibly be any of your business?”
Ned shrugged. “I’m curious.”
“I bet.” She glanced from him to Candice. “Maybe he’s my lawyer. I need one, you know.”
“He doesn’t practice family law.”
“Oh, that’s right. He isn’t my lawyer. But one of his friends is.” When Ned didn’t say anything, she continued. “Have you heard of John Bianchi?” There was no mistaking the flash of surprise in his eyes.
Ned was surprised again when Joseph returned to the room twenty minutes later, carrying a big brown teddy bear and Get Well Soon balloons. A newly awakened Taylor, who’d been wheeled into the room fifteen minutes earlier, lit up at the sight of him and his gifts. “Joseph!”
“Hi, beautiful. How are you feeling?” He leaned down to kiss her cheeks, and she surprised everyone, including Lia, by wrapping her little arms around his neck.
“I’m in a hospital!”
“I know. You’re a brave girl.” He held up the bear. “You’re not too big for teddy bears, are you?”
“No.” She gave an exaggerated shake of her head as she reached for the bear. “I’m six.”
“That’s right. I keep thinking you’re eight or nine.”
Taylor smiled. “You’re funny, Joseph.” She glanced to the other side of the bed, where Candice and Ned were standing. “That’s my daddy and Candice.”
“Yes. I’ve met them.” Joseph didn’t move his gaze from Taylor.
“Isn’t Joseph tall, Daddy?” Taylor swung her gaze to Ned. “He’s very strong too. Grandpa wanted him to help him move a desk and Joseph did it all by himself.” When Ned didn’t comment, she brought her eyes back to Joseph. “Candice is having a baby, and it’s going to be my little sister.”
Joseph nodded. “You’ll be a great big sister.”
“Daddy says my little sister will want me to be with her all the time, but I said I could only be with her sometimes because I want to be with Mommy. Daddy said that will make her sad. I don’t want to make her sad.”
“I’m sure she’ll understand that you have a different mommy, so you can only see her sometimes.” Joseph’s eyes met Ned’s.
“That’s what I thought.” Taylor turned to Ned. “See, she’ll understand, Daddy.”
“I’ll be back,” Lia said softly before leaving the room.
Elaine moved to follow, but Joseph touched her arm. “I’ll go.” He quickly left the room, catching Lia outside the elevators. “Hey. Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. He’s so awful. I couldn’t stand to be in the same room with him another minute.”
He followed her into the elevator. “How come you never mentioned the pregnancy?”
“I don’t know. It’s not something I like to think about.”
“Come here.” He leaned back against the wall as he pulled her towards him. “Don’t let them get to you.”
“It’s just been an awful couple of days.” She slipped her arms up around his neck and laid her head against his chest as he enfolded her in his arms.
“I know.” He kissed the top of her head. “But she’s going to be fine, and I promise the rest of this mess will go away too.”
“How come you never mentioned you knew Candice?”
“I didn’t know I did until I saw her.”
“Did you beat her?”
He smiled against her head. “Of course.”
They walked through the hospital lobby and then out into the cool October evening and over to a small courtyard across from the hospital entrance. “I should have brought our drinks,” Joseph said. He lowered himself down beside her on a wooden bench.
“It’s nice out here.” Lia closed her eyes and took a deep breath, taking comfort in the cool fall air.
“And a little cool.” Joseph shrugged out of his suit jacket. “Here, put this on.”
“No.” Lia shook her head, not bothering to open her eyes as she leaned back against the bench. “I’m not going to take your jacket.”
“Take it,” he insisted, pushing her gently forward so he could slip the jacket around her shoulders. “You don’t have any body fat to keep you warm.”
“Oh, and you do?” She glanced sideways at him. “You don’t have an ounce of fat on your entire body.”
“I’m sure I have at least an ounce.” He leaned sideways and playfully bumped his shoulder into hers. “And that’s probably an ounce more than you have.”
“Are you trying to tell me I’m too skinny?”
“No. I’m telling you, you need my jacket more than I do.”
“Fine, I’ll wear your jacket.”
“Thank you.”
Lia covered the hand he had resting on his thigh. “Thank you for coming out tonight. It would have been so much harder without you.”
“I wanted to be here. You’re important to me.”
“I like you too.” She leaned towards him and met his lips for a brief kiss. “A lot.”
Their eyes continued to meet, and Lia could feel her heart rate quicken at the unspoken words being so clearly communicated from his eyes. He loved her. He may not have said it, but she could feel it.
“What?” He smiled. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Because I—” She suddenly wanted to tell him she loved him, but she couldn’t. She was too afraid. Everything was so perfect between them, and she didn’t want to jinx it. “I want you.”
“You want me?”
She nodded, smiling at his surprise. “Yes.”
He opened his mouth and then closed it. “What about Taylor? Isn’t she expecting you to come back?”
Lia laughed at the obvious misunderstanding. “I didn’t mean right now. I meant in general.”
“Oh.”
“Well, don’t look so disappointed.” Lia laughed. “What kind of person would I be if I deserted my six-year-old daughter an hour after an operation to go have sex with you?”
“I wouldn’t judge you,” he teased.
“I bet. Did you reschedule our appointment with your lawyer friend?” She suddenly remembered the missed appointment.
“I cancelled and told him I’d call back to reschedule.”
“Next week will be better. Oh, I did remember my divorce papers.” She patted her purse.
“I’ll take them now. I’ll have them sent over tomorrow so he can get started.”
“Okay.” Lia removed a white envelope from her bag and held it out, pulling it back slightly when he attempted to take it. “One thing for the record. I know you’re paying for this, and I want you to know I’m going to pay you back every cent. It may take me a while, but I’m going to.” She continued to hold the envelope out of his reach. “And you have to agree to let me, okay?”
“No.” He shook his head. “I want to do this for you. It’s important to me.”
“It’s not your responsibility. I’m paying you back.”
“No.” He met her eyes. “You’re letting me do this for you.”
“Joseph?”
“Don’t be difficult.” He reached out and took the envelope.
“This isn’t over.”
“Yes, it is.”
She was overwhelmed with gratitude. “You’re amazing,” she whispered. “No one has ever done so much for me.”
“It’s nothing you wouldn’t do for me.”
“I could never repay you for everything you’ve done for me. You’re like my personal guardian angel.”
“I’d settle for boyfriend. Okay?”
She nodded and, for the first time in years, felt very lucky. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
“We better go back up. She’s going to wonder what happened to me.” She glanced towards the hospital. “Are you ready for another dose of Ned and Candice?”
“I’d like to read these papers.” He tapped the envelope on his knee. “I’ll be up in about fifteen minutes or so.”
“You know, you don’t have to hang around.” She was probably keeping him from a dozen other things he needed to do. “I’ve pulled you away from your work enough this week.”
“I’m staying. I’ll be up after I finish reading this.”
Joseph set the agreement on the bench beside him and breathed in deeply, the side of his jaw clenching and unclenching. His eyes narrowed several minutes later as Ned and Candice approached. “Did you write your divorce agreement yourself?”
“Excuse me?” Ned frowned as they slowed their steps.
“There is no way Lia had representation.” He held up the document. “No lawyer in their right mind would agree to these terms.”
“Lia agreed to them.” They came to a stop in front of him. “You’ll notice it’s signed.”
“You’re not even providing your daughter with health insurance?”
Ned shrugged. “So?”
“I’m guessing the child support is half of what it should be.” He brought his eyebrows together. “Was the judge a relative? Who came up with the child support amount?”
Ned met Joseph’s eyes. “It’s based on my salary.”
“Your annual salary?”
“That’s right.”
Joseph watched him in silence for a long moment. “I don’t believe you.”
Ned shrugged. “I don’t know what to tell you. It’s signed by a judge.”
“What kind of man shortchanges the mother of his child to the point she can barely afford rent? Your daughter lives in a fucking dump.”
“I’m trying to get her out of that dump. That’s the whole point of the motion I filed.”
“I suggest you withdraw the motion.”
“What?” Ned laughed. “Are you serious?”
“I’m always serious.”
“I’m not withdrawing anything. I want Taylor—she’ll have a better life with us.” He glanced at Candice before returning his gaze to Joseph.
Joseph shifted his gaze to Candice. “I know from experience you are a lot smarter than your husband, so I suggest you talk some sense into him. If you continue down this path it isn’t going to turn out well for either of you.”
“Obviously you’re afraid it will. Otherwise you wouldn’t be trying to stop us,” Ned said.
“No.” Joseph’s gaze returned to Ned. “I want you to stop because you’re upsetting Lia. And I don’t like to see her upset.”
“Sorry.” Ned held up his hands. “I’m not changing my mind about raising my daughter because you don’t want Lia upset. That’s ridiculous.”
“Well, you better hope you’re squeaky clean, Counselor, because if you’re not, I’m going to prove it.”
“There’s nothing to prove.”
“My billable rate is probably five times yours. And when I uncover the fraud in this document.” He slapped the envelope against his leg. “You’re going to pay me for my time.”
“Is there anything else? It’s late and I want to get my wife home.”
“No.” Joseph continued to meet his eyes.
“Have a nice evening.” Ned slipped his arm around Candice and they began to walk away.
“You’ve become my new project, Merrick,” Joseph called after him. “Welcome to the major leagues.”
At 8:00 p.m. two days later, Joseph sat across from John Bianchi at the Prime Rib on K Street in DC going over the documents Joseph had couriered to John the day before. “It looks legitimate to me, Joe.” John Bianchi looked up from the pay stubs and tax forms. “I agree his pay is low for an associate, but then again, I’ve never even heard of this law firm.”
“I have,” Joseph said. “And I don’t believe for a second he’d leave the DA’s office for eighty thousand dollars a year.” He leaned back in his chair. “He’s falsified documents at a minimum.”
“Assistant DAs don’t make a hell of a lot,” John pointed out. “There’s also the possibility he was only working part time so she wouldn’t get much money. I see it all the time. But, just to be thorough, we’ll file a motion to increase child support and I’ll subpoena his time records—past and present.”
“And the custody motion?”
“It’s standard. I’m going to need to hire a detective to do some investigating, but given the fact she’s got a steady paycheck and he left her for another woman, I don’t think it’ll be much of a challenge. I’d like to meet with her and make sure she doesn’t have any skeletons.”
“Her daughter was released from the hospital today, so sometime next week would probably be okay.”
John nodded. “It’ll have to be in the evening. I’ll be in court all week.”
“I’ll check with her.” Joseph picked up his menu and opened it up. “Do you want to eat?”
“Sure. I read something about you in the business section of the Post last month. Some kids you invested in at the University of Maryland?”
“Yes, we have our IPO next month.”
“You’re serious.” John looked up from his menu. “You’re part of an IPO? An initial public offering? What percent of the company do you own?”
“Forty.”
“Forty percent? Jesus.”
“You know this is the third IPO I’ve been part of in the past three years.”
“I never heard about the first two.”
“I don’t know what to tell you.” Joseph closed his menu and set it on the table. “I offered the opportunity to you and Prossi early on. You should have taken me up on it.”
“Jesus, Joe.” He shook his head. “How much money are we talking? Do you have forty percent share in these companies?”
“Not quite. I have partners.” He looked up as the waiter approached. “I’d like another scotch and a filet medium rare, a Caesar salad and some asparagus if you have it.”
“Do you want—”
“No, nothing else,” Joseph interrupted, holding out his menu. “Oh, and a glass of merlot with the filet. Your best sold by the glass.”
The waiter nodded, took John Bianchi’s order and then disappeared.
“So, are we talking hundreds of thousands or millions?”
“Do you mean how much I’m investing?”
“No.” John shook his head. “How much are you making?”
Joseph met his friend’s eyes. “I’ll put it to you this way: I made more in one IPO last year than I’ll make in my entire career as a partner in the firm.”
John’s eyes widened. “You’re fucking serious.”
“I’m always serious when it comes to money.”
“Then why are you still working as an attorney?”
“Because it’s what I like to do.”
“Are you still dabbling in the stock market?”
“Of course.”
“Did you take a bath last quarter?”
“No.” Joseph brought his drink to his mouth. “I take it you did.”
“Nasdaq has dropped five hundred points since the first of the year. Everyone’s taken a bath.”
“Just sit tight. It’ll come back.” Joseph took a swallow of the amber liquid in his glass before setting it back on the table. “You’ve only lost money if you sell the stock.”
“So you did take a bath.’
“No. I made more in the last quarter than all of last year.”
John frowned. “How?”
“I’ve been selling short. When the market’s on a downturn, it’s the only way you can really make money.”
“Isn’t that risky? I mean, my understanding of the process is you’re selling stocks you don’t own in the hopes the price will go down, but if the price goes up you have to pay up.”
“If? Hopefully I’m smart enough to pick a stock that’s going to go down.”
“So you sell a stock you don’t even own, and when it goes down, the brokerage house has to pay you the difference between what it’s going for and what you sold it for?”
Joseph nodded. “Say a stock’s price is ten dollars a share, and I know it’s going to take a dive. If I have enough equity in the market or liquid money in my account, I can tell my broker to sell, say, a hundred shares of the stock.”
“Right.” John nodded. “You sell a hundred shares of stock you don’t even own.”
“Correct.” Joseph took a sip of his drink before continuing. “Now if the stock goes up to, say, fifty dollars a share, I’m in trouble, because my broker can tell me I owe him forty dollars a share for each of those stocks. So I’d be out a hundred times forty, or four thousand dollars.”
“But that would never happen to you.” John leaned back in his chair.
“That’s right. Not often anyway.” Joseph paused while the waitress set a salad before him. “What happens to me is this: I sell a hundred shares at ten dollars a share, hoping the price will fall. And say it does. Say later that day, the price falls to two dollars a share. Eight dollars less than I sold it for. That’s my money now. I pick up the phone and call my broker and I make eight dollars times a hundred, or eight hundred dollars, and I never have to spend a dime.”
“I must have a block in my head,” John said, picking up his salad fork, “because that sounds counterintuitive to me. Is someone actually buying the stock you’re selling?”
“Of course.”
“How can you sell stock you don’t own?”
“They’re borrowing someone else’s stock. But they’re covered because, if it goes up and the original owner wants to sell, I owe the difference. If it goes down, the original owner is losing money, so either way, everyone gets their money.”
“Sorry I asked. I’ll leave my investing to my broker.”
Joseph laughed. “It’s really not that complicated. Think of it this way. If you know a bad earnings report is going to come out or some scandal is about to break, like this huge recall of cellphones in the news, you sell short. Takita had to recall six million cellphones because they were catching fire. Does it surprise you their stock price dropped fifty percent over the past week?”
“I never really thought about it, but it doesn’t surprise me.”
“I thought about it,” Joseph said. “And I sold the stock short the first time I heard any mention of it. I didn’t know how much further it would go down, but I didn’t have any fear it would go back up.”
“When was this?”
“I heard about it over the weekend, so I sold it first thing Monday morning.”
“How much did you make?”
“I cashed in as the market closed. It had gone down thirty-five percent since Monday morning.” He picked up his fork and speared a crouton.
“So how much did you make?” John repeated.
“Thirty-five percent,” Joseph answered.
“In dollars,” John continued, pointing at him with his fork. “How much did you make in US currency?”
“A lot.” Joseph put the crouton in his mouth and began to crunch down on it. “A whole lot.”
“That’ll be your daddy,” Lia said in response to the knock on her apartment door Friday evening just after 7:00. Taylor was recovering quickly and didn’t seem to be in any pain, but the doctor said she needed to take it easy for at least two weeks.
“Come in.” Lia stepped back from the door. She was dressed in a form-fitting black sleeveless dress, a single diamond pendant hanging from her neck.
Ned, wearing a suit and tie, stepped into the foyer. “How is she?” His eyes swept over her outfit and, for the first time in two years, she could see the male appreciation in his eyes.
“She’s better. But you’re going to have to carry her, because she’s not supposed to go up and down stairs.”
“Okay.” He continued to stare at her, making no move to get Taylor. “Do you have a date with him tonight?”
“A date with who?”
“You know who I’m talking about.” He took a couple of steps towards her. “Washington’s most eligible bachelor.”
“You mean Joseph.” She smiled. “As a matter of fact, I do.”
“Did he give you that necklace?” His eyes were on the two-carat diamond lying just above her breasts.
“That’s actually none of your business.”
“You better be careful, Lia,” Ned said as he leaned towards her, their faces just inches apart. “He’s apparently quite the stud.”
“You don’t have to tell me.” She made no move to step back from him as she met his eyes. “I’m the one dating him, remember?”
Ned’s smile didn’t reach his eyes. “You and a dozen other women, probably. He can have any woman he wants. He dated Kathy Paige. Have you looked at her lately?” He blew out a stream of air. “I’d give my left nut to spend a night with her.”
Lia could feel her heart begin to pump faster. “How nice for Candice.”
“You’re out of your league. There is no way you’re going to be able to keep Joseph Craig’s interest.”
“And you care because?”
“Because I don’t want to see you hurt again.”
“That’s a joke. You’re jealous because I’m dating someone who’s a thousand times more successful than you’ll ever be.”
“Why would I be jealous of you?” His eyes slowly traveled over her. “You’re my leftovers, remember?”
She wanted to hit him, to smack him right across the mouth, but she wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of knowing how affected she was by his words. “And now you know what a mistake that was.”
His eyes traveled over her for the third time that evening. “The truth is, you couldn’t satisfy me anymore.”
A knock at the door startled them both and before Lia had time to react, there was a second knock. She opened the door and forced herself to smile at Joseph, who was dressed in a black tuxedo, holding a single red rose in one hand and a porcelain doll in the other.
“You look stunning.” He met her lips for a lingering kiss, and then he was stepping back and holding out the rose. “This is for you.”
“Thank you. It’s beautiful.”
“And this is for Taylor.” He held up the doll.
“She’s in the family room.”
“And this is for you.” He rounded on Ned, his eyes intense and the side of his jaw clenching and unclenching. “A piece of advice.” He pointed his finger in Ned’s face. “Never. Ever. Speak to her like that again.”
“Whoa.” Ned stepped back and held up his hands. “We were having a conversation.”
“Don’t mess with me.” Joseph continued his forward movement until Ned was backed up against the metal closet door and their faces were only inches apart. “I will destroy you.”
“Are you threatening me?” Ned swallowed, clearly intimidated by Joseph, who was several inches taller and at least fifty pounds heavier.
“Oh, yes.” Joseph placed his hand flat against the door beside Ned’s head. “I’m threatening you. I’m definitely threatening you.”
“You don’t scare me.” Ned met his eyes.
Joseph’s lips turned up slightly. “I should.” He continued to meet Ned’s eyes. “The only reason you’re not on the floor right now is because there’s a lady present.”
“Fuck you.”
“You’re done,” Joseph whispered. “Done.” He stepped back, his eyes remaining on Ned for several more seconds, and then he was turning to Lia, who was watching from a position next to the door. “I’m going to give this to Taylor.” He again held up the doll.
“Okay.” She nodded.
He lowered his head and met her lips for another lingering kiss. “I’ll be right back.”
“He’s crazy,” Ned said as soon as Joseph was out of earshot. “He’s a fuckin’ nut.”
“And you’re done.” Lia smiled, taking a sick sort of pleasure in the fear she saw in his eyes.
Joseph apologized to Lia as soon as she closed the door on a departing Ned and Taylor. “I don’t usually lose my cool like that.”
“That’s alright.” She ran her hands up his chest and around his neck. “He deserved it.”
He gripped her hips, pulling her against him. “I’m not playing around with you.”
“I know.” She met his eyes and could see the sincerity in the brown ones looking back at her. “I trust you.” And she did. It had taken months, and she was still afraid she’d end up hurt, but she trusted him. He was nothing like Ned or Eric. And she’d fallen for him, hard. “How long were you outside the door?”
“Long enough. I was about to knock when I heard him start talking about me.”
She dropped her forehead into his chest. “You heard everything? Even the stud comment?”
“Even that. I thought you handled him well, but when he started getting crude I couldn’t listen anymore.”
“He was awful.”
“I’m not one to condone physical violence, but I really wanted to hit him today.”
“I’m glad you didn’t.” She touched the side of his face. “He would have sued you.”
“It might be worth it.”
“No. He isn’t worth it.”
“The jury’s still out on that one.” He kissed her lightly on the lips.
They were in his Mercedes, on I-66 east, headed downtown to a reception, when Lia decided to broach a subject she’d been wondering about from the first day of their relationship. “Why did you stop dating Kathy Paige?”
It took Joseph a moment to respond. “I told you before—I met you.”
“And that was the only reason?”
“Yes. I planned to ask her to marry me over the holidays. I had bought the ring. And then you came into my office.”
Lia was stunned. “Really?”
He glanced away from the road momentarily, his eyes meeting hers. “Yes.”
“But there must have been more. I mean—”
“I met you,” he interrupted. “I asked you to lunch—do you think that’s how I normally talk to a client?”
“I don’t know.” She tried to get her head around what he was saying.
“Well, it’s not. And after our meeting I realized I wasn’t in love with her, not enough to make her my wife, anyway. She wasn’t the one.”
“But you thought she was for a while.”
“Because I had no clue what it was going to actually feel like when I met the one.”
Her heart jumped at his words, and she turned her gaze to the side of the road, watching the blur of trees. “Joseph—”
“I’m in love with you, Lia. You have to know that.”
She swung her gaze back to his.
“I’ve loved you,” he said, “from the moment I saw you standing with Taylor in the lobby.”
She could feel tears coming to her eyes. This beautiful, warm, incredible sexy man was telling her he loved her.
“Hey.” He took her hand, linking his fingers with hers as he brought them to rest on his upper thigh. “That’s not supposed to make you cry.”
Lia smiled and wiped at a stray tear rolling down her cheek. “I love you too,” she whispered. “I’ve wanted to tell you for a while, but I was afraid to say anything that would change the relationship. You make me so happy.”
Joseph maneuvered the car to the shoulder of the busy road and put it into park. “This is dangerous as hell, but I have to kiss you.” He cupped her face in his hands and lowered his mouth over hers, kissing her until she felt almost faint with desire.