Chapter 11

Zach

I didn’t like the look of the opposing counsel from the first time I’d laid eyes on him. Not one bit. He looked at Jessibelle as though she owed him something, and she seemed to believe it as much as he did.

She returned from their little introduction looking like someone had knocked all the air out of her. Compared to the totally in-control and take-no-shit woman I knew, it didn’t make sense to me. It was obvious to me he was playing her. I knew creeps like him, looking at her like she’d come to court half dressed, holding her hand for a fraction of a second too long, like he was trying to throw her off her game. Was there something between the two of them? I couldn’t tell just by looking, but this felt like more than a friendly rivalry.

I had all but tuned him out as he started delivering his opening statements, laying out the case in an articulate and convincing fashion for why I should have my company taken from me. I didn’t want to hear it. I already knew I was a major fuck-up, and had no intention of letting this smarmy asshole remind me of that, no matter how many disparaging hand-waves he threw in my direction over the course of his opening statements. He didn’t need to remind me of any of it. It was all burned into my memory, no matter how much I wanted to get rid of it.

His statements ended, and there were a few seconds of silence in the courtroom as everyone turned their attention to Jessibelle and me. She looked paler than normal but determined, her hands clenched at her sides as though that was where she was directing her nervous energy. I briefly wondered if I’d made a huge mistake following my heart instead of my head on this one. After all, this was the woman who seemingly had a hold over the future of my stake in the business, and I’d picked her because I wanted to see her again. But as soon as she’d opened her mouth and started to talk, I was able to relax. I’d made the right choice.

She spoke slowly and clearly at first, as though revving up for the rest of the speech, but when she got going, it was like nothing could stop her. She laid out the argument, those opposing us should have to prove their own competency before being given the right to judge mine.

She spoke intelligently and succinctly, making the man who’d gone before her look like he’d spent all his time tripping over his ten-dollar words. I leaned back in my seat, watching her go, grinning, shooting a look at the men who seemed so determined to wrest control of my family business from me. They’d probably looked at Jessibelle and wondered what the hell she was doing there. Well, without a doubt, she was up there and proving them wrong.

I wasn’t sure how long she spoke because time seemed to drift as I listened to her. She was in her element, no doubt, and looked the way I felt when I was in the boardroom pitching a great new idea to a team I knew was going to love it. Her eyes flashed with excitement, hands moving in sharp, considered motions, and her words dropped from her mouth perfectly rounded and utterly convincing.

Some lawyers I knew got into the job because it paid well or because their families expected them to or simply because it sounded like a vaguely interesting career. But it was clear, watching Jessibelle up there—this was a passion for her. I couldn’t imagine her doing anything else. How long had she dreamed of this? Of taking on her first case in front of a courtroom like this? I wondered, too, if she’d thought it would’ve been for a guy she’d had sex with after a crazy night on the town, but I pushed the thought from my head immediately. She’d made it perfectly clear where she stood with me, and for the time being, our out-of-this-world fucking would need to take a back seat so she could focus on her job.

She wrapped up, took a deep breath, nodded to the judge in thanks, and then returned to sit next to me. She caught my eye as she took her seat.

“That was amazing.” I raised my eyebrow at her, and she flushed slightly and moved to the edge of her seat.

“I should hope it was,” she replied, almost a little prim. “I spent weeks putting it together.”

“Well, I loved it.” I grinned at her, and her gaze floated down toward my lips before she quickly lifted it to meet mine once more. She opened her mouth to speak, but before she could, the judge called her back over.

“Ms. Adams.” She waved her over to the bench and did the same for the opposing counsel who, I noted, looked seriously pissed-off. Probably because he knew he’d just been beaten by a woman he had clear disdain for. The judge talked with them both for a few minutes, and I tried to read Jessibelle’s face for a reaction, but could only see her profile and came up with nothing. Straining my ears, I made out a few comments from the judge.

“Against the grain . . . not normally . . . in these circumstances.”

None of it added up to anything, and I forced myself to lean back and opt out of the conversation for the time being. I looked over at Harold McNicol, the head of PR who’d been sent over to represent the rest of the shareholders in this case, and he looked back impassively before averting his gaze. Yeah, he should be worried because my bulldog lawyer just tore his counsel a new asshole.

I glanced back at the attorneys conversing with the judge and saw Jessibelle’s face light up. Yes! That could only be a good sign. She nodded a couple of times, a smile cracking across her face, and then she turned to head back to me. She sat next to me, letting out a long, satisfied sigh, and I turned to her expectantly.

“So, how did it go?”

“We were granted the motion,” she nodded, and I sank back in my chair in relief.

“Oh, thank fuck,” I muttered, and then realized I should probably keep the effusive swearing to a minimum while I was in a room with people who had a vested interest in proving me insane.

“She said it was unorthodox, but I knew my precedents, and she would have to grant it to me based on case law.” Her eyes flashed with delight and triumph. Her gaze flicked down to my lips again, and for a second, I was dead certain she was going to lean in and kiss me, right here in the courtroom in front of everyone, not giving a damn who saw or who knew what was going on between us. But before I could lean in and take advantage of the situation, the other lawyer appeared next to us.

“Congratulations,” he offered, but there was no sense of sincerity in his voice at all. I looked up at him, getting to my feet along with Jessibelle, and the two of us briefly looked each other up and down. His suit looked expensive, but it didn’t fit him right, like it had belonged to someone else first.

“Thanks, Aston,” she replied, and stepped out from behind the table to begin gathering her things. “Better luck next time, right?”

“Don’t you think this kind of motion is a little odd?” the opposing counsel snapped at her, pacing back and forth and following her around as though he was some kind of dog with a bone he didn’t want anyone else to get a shot at. She looked at him, brow furrowed.

“It worked, didn’t it?” she replied cockily, and he rolled his eyes at her. I felt a surge of irritation. Who was this fucker, and why did he think it was all right for him to come swinging in here and shit all over my Jessi because she was better than him? He needed someone to put him in his damn place. I ran my fingers through my hair to calm myself down, ignoring the surge of anger that rose and fell in my chest.

“Yeah,” he conceded. “But it’s not going to hold out for long. It’s not going to be hard for us to prove that my clients have it together more than—”

He gestured to me vaguely, as though I wasn’t even standing there. I raised my eyebrows at him. Okay, this guy was an ass, and if I ever got the chance to put him in his place, I would do so with gusto.

“Yeah, well, that’s for you to prove,” she pointed out. “Judge has ruled, pretty boy. That’s it. It’s over. Deal with it.”

“I will,” he practically spat at her feet, and it was clear that her beating him was seriously messing with his psyche. Jesus, how fragile was this guy’s masculinity that a woman beating him had him in this state of fury?

“Catch you later,” Jessibelle eyed him coolly, dismissing him as politely as she could, and he shot one last pissed-off glance in my direction before he stalked off to join his clients. They were going to be mad at the way he’d handled this. Not only had he lost, but he’d marched up to the other side and reminded us he was a childish, petty little boy who couldn’t get his head around the fact that the judge hadn’t taken his side. But the way he looked at Jessibelle, gave me pause. I made a mental note to ask about their relationship when I got a chance, because it was clear this was far from the first time they’d met each other.

“Can I offer you a lift back to the office?” I asked, turning to Jessibelle and pulling my attention from the asshole who’d all but lifted a leg and pissed on her. I expected her to turn me down, but she shrugged, an enormous smile breaking out across her face.

“Hey, I don’t see why not,” she replied. “I deserve it, right?”

“You sure as hell do,” I replied, and guided her out of the courtroom, shooting one last look at the opposing lawyer as I did so. He was watching me as I led her out of there, his brow furrowed, his hands frozen as he went to pack up his trial case to leave. He was clearly jealous, but I couldn’t figure out exactly what it was in their past that had drawn this kind of jealousy out of him. And I was aching to find out.

We headed to the limo I had waiting outside. I’d considered a town car, but I was worried if we lost, it might seem a little gaudy and over the top. As it was, I’d gone all out. I opened the door for her and let her slip inside. She was still grinning from ear to ear, and her enthusiasm was infectious. I couldn’t keep the smile from my face as I slipped in to the other side of the car, gave the driver the address of her office, and leaned back as we pulled away.