Chapter Two
Eudora muttered again, “You don’t need to help carry the monitors home, Den.”
“I want to make sure they arrive in good condition. When you have your own setup again, I will bring these back. When is your stuff being delivered?”
“The fourth of never. I need to start over.” She chuckled. “My divorce was calm but brutal. He had a lawyer who hated my guts, and I wasn’t able to afford one way back then.”
She realized what she had said. “Sorry.”
“Don’t be. I know a few lawyers. When we get inside, I will call one and see if they can help.” He smiled. “I would do it now, but I have my hands full.”
She chuckled. “Not much farther.”
They walked to her building, and she used the fob to unlock the door, pushed it open, and pulled it shut behind them. “There’s a working elevator, so that’s good.”
Den grinned. “I used to live in a fifth-floor walk-up.”
They got into the elevator, and he said, “You don’t have a ring mark.”
“I only wore it when I had to. It never felt right.”
When they got to the third floor, she exited and led the way to her apartment. When the door opened, she held it while carrying her new borrowed laptop.
“The apartment came with a desk. You can put those here.” She waved at the flat surface.
He grinned. “Pop out the laptop, and I will set it up. Once it’s working, we can go and grab some food before you crawl into the data and don’t come out.”
“I am on a strict financial lockdown right now. So, noodles?”
He smiled. “How about burgers? My salary extends to that. You are a coworker, after all, and this is a work evening.”
“Fine. If you hook this up, I will run out and get the burgers. I know a place.”
“It will only take a few minutes. We can go together.”
She quirked her lips. “You are willing to be seen with me?”
“I would love to be seen with you.” Den unpacked the three monitors, set up the laptop, plugged everything into a surge protector, and turned them on. After that, he set up the link to the work drives. It took him eight minutes.
“It would have taken me a lot longer.”
“Well, I do it for a living. Come on. I will wash up, and then we can find that burger.”
She smiled. “Okay.”
She waited, and when he had dried his hands, he looked around. “Minimalist. Nice.”
“Not really my thing. I am comfy cozy, but until I have a place of my own, this will do. I don’t have much stuff.”
He smiled. “Lead the way.”
She paused and scrubbed her hands quickly before joining him at the door. She double-checked that she had her fob and some cash and her sad little phone. They headed out, and she bolted the door, tapping it to make sure it locked.
“Slightly OCD?”
“Yeah. Now, tell me about this lawyer.”
Den grinned. “It’s my brother.”
She glanced at him in the elevator. “I didn’t think dark elves had brothers.”
His eyes turned to her in astonishment.
She was grinning when they got to the main floor and walked across the lobby.
He was next to her and said, “How did you know?”
“Oh, I just know things. Part of my charm.” They walked with her heels clicking as they moved down the street to a shop that spilled light onto the sidewalk.
They went in, ordered, and when they had their meals on Den’s dime, they sat and ate.
They were halfway through when he asked, “How long were you married?”
“Three years. It was a marriage of convenience so that socialites would stop crawling into his bed. Turns out, he should have been worried about his sofa.”
He stared at her. “He cheated on you.”
“He broke the contract. We never slept together, so he wasn’t cheating on me, per se.
” She chewed some fries. “That being said, he broke the contract and the fidelity clause that was loosely tacked in. There was also the agreement that I would be safe and whole, and I was forced to expend in order to provide accessories for evenings out. Purses, ungodly expensive shoes. Makeup, hair. So, I was not made whole when the divorce was written up, and I was, in fact, in deficit.”
She looked at him. “Did your brother get all of that?”
Den grinned and tapped his phone. “You are on speaker.”
“I am on my way and am just pulling up. What’s good here?”
“A double patty with double cheese, but I am biased.”
A startlingly elegant man in a very costly suit strode into the shop. The other three patrons stared. Pale, tanned skin, dark waves of hair, and a sly smile as the six and a half feet of alpha entered the space.
Den chuckled. “Different fathers.”
“Wow. That’s... wow.”
When his brother walked over with his burger a few minutes later, he sat with them and grinned at Eudora. “So, miss. You think they have broken ethical boundaries?”
“I know it, but now I don’t even have funds for a retainer for another two weeks. A friend is loaning me her apartment, and I have to be out in a month.”
“Can you send me what you have?”
“No. My phone is a piece of crap. I had to leave my good one at the house. Likon bought it, so he had to keep it. Same with my jewellery, dresses, and my good computer, which is the one thing that really kills. Den set my computer up, so I can get into my mail accounts when I get to the apartment.”
The brother ate the burger and raised his brows as he enjoyed the grilled goodness. “What do you want from the process?”
“My bank account for my work-related funds and my computer. Maybe the phone. I would switch providers, though.” She nodded.
“Right. Why did they lock your funds?”
“They said they had to get a forensic accountant to look through it, so until that happened, it was locked up.”
He looked at her. “Aw, honey, they saw you coming.”
“The weird part is that Likon isn’t like that. It’s his creepy lawyer, Nelson, who has the issue. I don’t know if he has a crush on Likon or what, but he hated me. Before you ask, I didn’t have the money for my own lawyer when I agreed to the wedding.”
He finished eating and wiped his fingers neatly. “What about presents? Did you keep any of those?”
“No. There weren’t any, and if there had been, they would have been included in unjust enrichment according to the document.”
He looked at her with black eyes in his too handsome face. “Why did you sign?”
“Because I needed a place to live. I needed food. Warmth. A door that locked. That is what that house offered. He bought me the clothing for the events, and I walked at his side and made small talk for hours.”
The attorney grinned. “You know how to do that?”
“Yes. Why?”
“I need a date for a number of events this season. I will offer you my services in exchange for an escort to six events. I will provide the dress and all accessories, and you can sell them afterward if you like. I will also spring for you to get hair and makeup done on the day.”
“Just so that you have someone with you?”
“You will be a diversion to hold the ladies back or at least slow the tide.”
She nodded. “So, the same arrangement I had with Likon.”
He smiled. “With more parity. I will pay for any expenditures, and your presence is payment enough. However, I will be in contact with you at the events, and there may be some light kissing. I come from a touchy family.”
Den laughed.
“When is the first event?”
“Sunday afternoon. It is a charity auction for afterschool programs.”
She made a face. “That’s a little short to get a dress.”
He reached into his pocket, and she knew that the card he pulled out hadn’t been there a second ago. “I will tell them to put it on my account.”
“Classy.” She smiled and took the card. “I accept your terms.”
He opened his wallet and withdrew a genuine card. “Call me anytime. I actually mean anytime. Den can tell you I don’t sleep much.”
She nodded. “I am hoping I don’t have to.” She looked at the card for the dress shop. “Oh, good. I can get a bus there.”
He stared at her. “A bus?”
“Sure. All funds are locked. I sold my car to get cash to live on for a few weeks. My car went into it with me, and it was there when it ended.” She smiled.
Den grinned. “Don’t worry, bro. I bought the burgers.”
He relaxed.
Eudora smiled and then asked, “I am sorry, but I don’t know your name.”
“Den.” He shook his head. “Sern Copperwell.”
“You have a much nicer name than I do. I am Eudora Chyris. I will be going back to Eudora Calloway as soon as this is all over.”
“You haven’t gotten any notification from the court?”
“Nope. I check it on the hour.”
“I think that little bastard didn’t file. Well, I will start on it tonight and get to work. I know how uncomfortable heels are, so it is best that I start paying my debt. I will pick you up at one on Sunday.”
“You do realize that this is the same arrangement that got me into this mess.”
He inclined his head and smiled. “This will have a much more satisfying result, Eudora.”
She fought the shiver as he spoke her name.
“Yeah, Sern, don’t do that. Just call me Dori. It will be easier on both of us.”
He grinned. “Right. I am off. Lovely meeting you, formal buddy.”
He got up, put on his outer coat, and headed outside to the vehicle he had parked perfectly.
“Growing up, you really had to hate him.”
“Yeah, until I realized what a good person he was. You can’t stay mad at him. Even other attorneys don’t hold a grudge.”
“Wow. That’s some skill.”
They cleaned the table, but Den tossed down five bucks. He walked her back to her apartment and nodded. “He really meant it. Call him if you need him. Program his number into your shitty phone. And mine. If you can’t get a hold of him, I can.”
She took out her phone and convinced it to turn on. She jabbed in the number and then Den’s number.
Den looked at her phone. “I thought they recalled those.”
“It escaped. It works as a phone but not much else. Just a few more days.”
Den looked concerned, and then he pulled her in for a hug. “Just giving the private eye something to see.”
“I thought someone else was following me.”
“Someone else?”
“Nelson was one of them until I told him off.”
“You are sure you are fine?”
“I am. I leave here to go to work and the gym.”
“So, how much do you lift?”