Chapter 13

Leo

As Monday finally rolled around and I drove to a diner across town to meet with Whit, I tried to put it all into perspective.

I’d expected to hear something over the weekend from Kya’s lawyer, Susan Costanzo, who was known as a hot mess in my circles because of her recent divorce and the way she’d handled it by losing her fucking mind in the courtroom, suffering a mental breakdown at one point. Rumor had it that she had relocated her office across town and that she was trying to start over. I had no idea if Kya knew any of that, and it didn’t seem likely she’d have hired the woman if she did.

But it seemed odd that other than filing the suit, Susan hadn’t reached out or offered some kind of counter announcement. Unless she thought this was a strategy or perhaps she needed the weekend to get over the trauma of the press conference? Considering her past breakdown, it was entirely possible. I knew it had to come as a surprise, which was the point.

I hated to do Kya that way, but if I was going to please my father, I had to do things the way I’d normally do them, all feelings aside. I did wish I could warn her about Susan, but then again, I didn’t know what the hell that was all about, and if the woman was a friend of hers, I certainly didn’t want to insult her.

I pulled into the small lot of the diner and went inside. The place had been one of my favorites for years, and being close to the courthouse and my office, it was convenient.

Being early, I found a booth and slid into it. If I was lucky, Whit would show up on time for once, and I could get this meeting underway.

Aside from not hearing from Susan Costanzo, I had gotten my accountant to look at the numbers from the band for me. Despite being ripped off, the band had been making a healthy profit for a number of years, and Kya should be very proud of herself for that, but there was evidence that some of the numbers didn’t add up. He was pinching money and doing a poor job of covering it up.

I ordered a coffee and doughnut, and when the waitress came to bring it, the bells on the door sounded, and I looked up to see Whit had shown up right on time. At least that was one improvement made. Baby steps.

Whit slid into the seat across from me. “How’s it going?”

“I wish it was better.”

“That bad, huh? Sucks to be you, I guess. Always having to sort out other people’s problems.”

“Yeah, and from what I can tell, it’s not a good day to be Whit White either. I had my accountant go over the financial records, and you’re guilty of theft.”

“So what? Your job isn’t to tell me that. It’s to find a loophole to get me out of it, right?”

“Well, no, not exactly. My job is to defend you within the limits of the law. If you’re guilty, it’s going to make my argument a hell of a lot harder to convince anyone else otherwise. Not to mention, it makes a fool of me and my firm.”

“Do you think I give a shit?” He raked his hand through his hair and leaned in across the table. “As long as I look good, what the fuck do I care how you and your firm look? It’s my reputation that’s on the line, not yours, so the next time you call me down here, remember that.” Whit looked over his shoulder to see if anyone was listening. “This is your job to get me off, so do your job. I had legit reasons for doing what I did. Those bitches made this hard on themselves. They’d already told me they weren’t going to keep me around, and I needed to make sure my ass was covered. You can call it a retirement plan if you want to, but I had that coming to me.”

“You can’t just set that kind of thing up for yourself. And quite frankly, if I hear you refer to those women as bitches again, client or not, I’m going to put my foot in your ass.” I might not have always respected women like some kind of saint, and I’d fucked a few with no intent on calling them back, but I didn’t treat them like trash or call them bitches. And okay, maybe I was a little partial because I knew Kya, but still, I got pissed every time I heard it come from his mouth, and it wasn’t doing us any favors with our professional relationship.

After a moment of awkward silence, Whit White turned his chin up in the air and looked down his nose at me. “Are you threatening me?”

That didn’t sit well with him. He glanced over his shoulder again and narrowed his eyes at the only waitress who had been brave enough to stick around our section of the diner. Then, he turned his attention back to me. “You find a loophole. Do what you have to do. You work for me, remember? Not the other way around.”

As he slid out of the booth and stood, adjusting his belt and glaring down at me, I knew I had to watch my tongue. As much as I wanted to get up and walk away from this abomination of a fucking client, I knew my father was going to hate me if I did. His approval was the only thing keeping me in my seat.

Whit left without another word, and I wished I’d put him in his place, told him how I didn’t have to fucking work for him and what a laughing stock he’d be if I just up and quit on him.

I took a sip of my coffee and bit my doughnut. The entire case made me itch, knowing he was not only the asshole that I thought he was but also guilty. Forget the fact that he was going to ruin my perfect record, but he had villainized me going up against Kya, and she’d probably hate me forever.

My bite of doughnut went down in a hard lump, and not even the coffee could wash it down. I had to get out of there. I left half of it sitting on the table along with enough money to cover my bill and bring a smile to the face of the waitress who’d served me. The bells on the door chimed when I pushed it open, and after stepping out into the sunshine, I walked to my car. It was too pretty a day to be in such a pissy mood.

I had just hit the unlock button on my key when footsteps brought my head around. The call of high heels was always a head turner.

Kya stopped a few feet away. Her arms clenched tight around her handbag which she held to her middle, her sultry lips turned down in a frown, and her eyes narrowed like a predator’s.

“How could you?” Her voice was so acidic, I was surprised it didn’t burn my ears.

I held up my hand to stop her from killing me, which looked like something she might try at any moment. “I’m sorry. I can’t talk to you here. I can’t be seen in public with the person suing my client.”

“A fucking asshole who shouldn’t be your client!” She stepped closer, her hand coming away from her middle to point at me like she wished to stab me with it.

I looked around to make sure no one had seen or heard her. Luckily, there wasn’t anyone paying attention to what might have been no more than a lover’s quarrel.

“I agree, but I can’t do this right now, Kya. Walk away.” It would endanger the case if we were seen talking together, and it would also not be good if the media saw it and published something. Not to mention, Kya was a well-known musician in the area. She’d done decently for herself and had a following. If one of her fans rounded the corner, I could be in serious trouble.

Her eyes widened. “Then why? If this is some sick way to get back at me for high school when I didn’t want to date you, then you’ve already gotten your revenge when you slept with me five years ago.”

I looked around again just to make sure Whit wasn’t still around sitting in his car. “I can’t talk. Here.” I handed her my card. “Text me your number.”

She recoiled and shook her head, her eyes regarding me like I was a piece of trash that had blown across her fancy shoe. “My number? Hell no! I want to look into your eyes while I chew your ass! How could you do this to me?”

Her voice broke on the last syllable, and I tightened my jaw, not wanting to show any emotion or say anything that would have me pulling her into my arms and holding her to make it all better. No, that’s not where we were with each other. We’d one refused the other, so we were even. Square. Owing nothing.

But I still wanted to see her. I wanted a chance to explain my side of things, and like it or not, she’d listen. “I’ll call you after I arrange a private dinner for us. You can chew my ass over wine and at a low tone if you want. But not here.” I opened my car door, and she took a few steps back.

As I sat in my seat, she pointed her finger in my direction, shaking it like a mad woman. “Fine! You better show up, Leonard. This is not over!” I knew better than to think it was. Kya had never been the kind not to speak her mind or to let things go without doing so.

I slammed my door, and she shook her head and walked away, and as I watched her go, her hips swaying as her long legs taking her away from me with the speed of a runway model, I resolved that she had to be the sexiest woman on the planet. It took everything in me not to go after her, to stop her and tell her how sorry I was. But that wasn’t how it needed to be.

I had to explain how I didn’t have a choice, and as a professional, sometimes I had to make decisions that were best for the entire firm and not just myself. I’d have to speak my father’s language, and boy, how I hated that.