“Rachel? Send Frank in here, please.”

“Right away, Mr. Grant.” She speedily walks from her desk to the large waiting room just around the corner while I lean against my office wall.

The click of Rachel’s heels, like a tap dancer breaking in his new shoes, interrupt my thoughts as she ushers in my lawyer.

“Mr. Grant, Mr. Adams, can I get you anything? Coffee? Water?” Rachel asks as I give Frank’s hand a shake.

“No, I believe we’re both fine,” I answer for the two of us, sweeping my hand toward the seat in front of my desk.

Frank strides across my floor with his chest puffed out like he’s about to cross-examine a witness. I’d bet a thousand bucks he’s practiced that swagger for court so much it’s become his real walk.

How long does it take before we’re all just the polished, practiced versions of ourselves? How many years on the force before the police officer expects compliance from his children like he does from a perp on the street? How long before the lawyer treats every conversation with his wife like it’s being presented to a jury, or an accountant figures out the financial risk assessment of holiday cheer? How long before we become less of who we are and more of what we do for money? And where does that leave me?

I focus my attention back on the moment and brush my door shut with the tips of my fingers before making my own practiced strut to the imposing leather chair behind my desk.

“Colt! What can I do for you? Please tell me you’ve got something solid on Lisa so we can take this thing to court,” Frank Adams barks at me like we aren’t sitting five feet from each other.

“That’s what I wanted to talk to you about, Frank—”

“Good, good! Whaddya got?”

“Nothing. The private investigator hasn’t turned up anything we didn’t already know. The drinking, the men, she keeps all of that stuff away from Madison. I mean, damn it, she isn’t going to win any awards on mothering, but you already said it isn’t enough for me to get full custody on either, right?”

“No, I don’t think it is, Colt.” He tents his fingers together and furrows his brow. “These custody cases still side with the mother about seventy to eighty percent of the time. And no judge in their right mind is going to award you full guardianship of Madison just because of some boozy nights and flings. You need something rock solid.”

“Well, I don’t have time for that!” My hand squeezes around the arm of my chair until my knuckles bleach white. “In the meantime, Lisa is tumbling down a rabbit hole, and I can’t wait until she hits rock bottom before we do something about it. You need to take this to court. Even if I get partial custody, it’s gotta be better than this shit.”

“Colt, look, I understand you’re frustrated. I’ve yet to see a child custody battle that isn’t frustrating, but if you take this to court right now, I’m telling you, it will be a mistake. Patience is going to pay off in this game. It always does,” he reassures me. Not that a word out of his expensive mouth is very reassuring.

“And what am I supposed to do in the meantime? Sit here and hope she doesn’t do something drastic? Just hope that between her moods and her drinking she doesn’t kill Madison? I’m not paying you to sit around and wait, Frank. I’m paying you to build us a solid case and win it. There’s got to be something else we can do besides wait for the bottom to fall out!”

“There is.” Frank is so calm it pisses me off even more. Of course he doesn’t see how urgent this is. To him, I’m just another client paying for his Manhattan office. He gets his retainer whether I win this or not. “You need to play the long game, Colt. The courts aren’t going to like that you don’t live in the same state.”

“Well, what am I supposed to do about it? The head office is here.”

“Yes, but does it have to be? Now hear me out.” He holds his hand up, and I clamp my jaw. “I’m not saying to quit or to move outta town, but maybe you could set up a satellite office in Florida that you work out of? Maybe just half the time? Then maybe you could just come to New York for handshakes and paper signings on your meetings. It would look much better to a judge to have a residence in the same city as Madison.”

Move? I’d never really given it any thought. Although, Lord knows I spend enough time flying back and forth to put out fires with Lisa that I might as well set up camp there.

How many hours have I spent on those flights? Enough that every stewardess on the Eastern seaboard route knows me by name. More than a few of them have had some practice calling it out while I’ve slid my cock into them. I don’t spend my time prowling around the city for women or using my money to have them delivered to me like some kind of pizza. But I’m not a saint. Those short skirts and flirty smiles have been just the distraction I’ve needed from time to time. “Fine, I’ll give it some thought.”

“Great.” Frank perks up. “While you’re thinking about that you might want to give some consideration to finding yourself a stable, nice woman to spend more of your time with. I’m not saying you need to be married, yet, but it would build you a more solid case against Lisa if you had more family appeal. You know, someone to tend to the roost while you’re working.”

“I can hire a nanny or use daycare like every other working parent out there,” I argue. “A relationship is not what I need to have stability. I need you to do your job and build this case.” Who the hell does he think he is to tell me how to live my life? Move your office, find a woman. Any other hoops I can jump through for you?

The truth is, I’m sick of occasional one-night stands with women who mean so little that I can’t remember their names. It amazes me how many of them giggle or think it’s cute when I call them ‘sugar’ or ‘honey.’ Maybe they don’t care about the pretense any more than me. I doubt they think I’m taking them to a hotel to lay the foundation of our promising future together. Not that I don’t want that.

Settling down with the right woman is something I’ve been thinking about more and more these days. However, it’s difficult to get a new relationship off the ground with this sort of drama going on in the background.

My eyes are strained, and my collar feels like it’s restricting my airway. Suddenly, my office, the one that was supposed to be a symbol of all my hard work finally paying off, is swallowing me. “All right, Frank. I’ll mull it all over and get back to you on how I wish to proceed.”

“I’m just telling you how to make yourself a stronger profile in the case. You can take my advice or leave it. Just remember that when this goes to court it will be you against Madison’s mother. To take a child away from their mom, out of state, to live with a nanny isn’t a strong case. However, to take on custody in the same city, with a stable family life of your own for her to become a part of, well, I don’t need to tell you the latter will give you a fighting chance.” Frank gives me his closing arguments. He stands up and gives my hand a shake before peacocking his way out of my office.

Typical fucking lawyer.