CHAPTER TWO #2
“Levi, you have to help me. I only helped further their careers and made most of them famous. You have to believe me.” She reaches for my hand again, but I jolt away from her like she’s trying to electrocute me. “This is going to ruin me.”
My mind is reeling as I try to think back to the very beginning of our arrangement. All my companions were of age. Not one was under twenty-five.
Wait? Did she say she had videos?
“Were there videos of me or my brother in that safe?” I asked with clinched teeth.
It takes her several moments but the pale color of her skin tells me everything I need to know.
I stand up from the chair and button up my suit jacket.
I can’t be here. She is truly the vilest person my wife has tried to warn me about.
Saylor said that she believed that Blaire was doing something other than companionship, but I argued until I was blue in the face that Blaire only ever helped her clients become famous.
I defended that bitch over my wife, and we wasted our precious moments fighting over this horrible woman, who only ever wanted to further her status.
Her little black book just might cost people more than all the fame and fortune she promised, and I foolishly thought there was nothing wrong with it until now.
“I’ll have someone from the office get in touch with you.” I throw over my shoulder as I walk to the closed door.
“Wait!” Blaire pleads as she tries to stand up, but is met with the chains keeping her in place.
“You have to help me, Levi. Someone set me up to take this fall, to make sure I was placed here. No one knew about that safe but a handful of people.” Blaire is desperate in trying to figure out who would’ve tipped them off, but what she needs to do is find out how she’s going to survive in a jail cell.
Her face is scrunched up tight as she narrows her eyes when I hear a screeching noise, which I assume is her chair scraping against the floor, and I turn towards her.
“It was her,” Blaire accuses trying to point at me.
“It was that little bitch of a wife of yours and her cunt friend.”
“You’re crazy!” I admonish her. “Saylor has nothing to do with this.”
“Are you blind? She hates me because we share something that she’ll never be able to understand. That’s why she demanded you hand off my account to an associate. She couldn’t handle the fact that I had you first.”
“ We don’t share anything!” I send a booming echo through the tiny room. “You did this to yourself. Only you are to blame here. You’ll do best if you keep the name of my wife out of your filthy mouth.”
I place my hand on the doorknob to leave, when a mocking laugh fills the room.
“She’ll get what’s coming to her, just you wait.
You can’t guard her forever. You can’t even protect yourself, how do you think you can protect a wife and baby,” she taunts and it cuts deep.
“What kind of father can you be? Do you think once everyone knows your hidden secret life that anyone would let you be alone with a child?” She continues to laugh more as I’m frozen in place.
I’ve thought the same thing and even spoke with Blaire about some of my fears in becoming a father.
It was one night after we’d had sex after an event and we were drunk.
“You’ll do something to that baby and Saylor will leave you.
She’ll pick that brat over you and walk away without even looking back. ”
Wait… how does she know about us having a baby? I turn to confront her when the door opens and the female officer walks in.
“Times up for right now as we do a shift change and roll call. Exit and follow the signs back to the front to retrieve your items,” she informs me, and I slowly step out of the room.
Behind me I hear Blaire’s tone change.
“Wait! I’m sorry Levi, please help me. You know that if I go down then so do you!” The officer tells her to shut up, then the room falls silent.
Walking down to the end of the hall, I’m met with two men that I’ve had several meetings and charity events with, not to mention sat on opposite sides of the courtroom—Burt Buttons, the District Attorney, and Colin Banks, the Chief of Police.
“Mr. Thorne, a moment of your time, please,” Colin says, but not really giving me an option. I can only imagine what this little talk will be about, and I hope my bank account can keep mine and my brother’s name out of all the shit that’s about to hit fan.
“Of course,” I say and follow down a long hallway into a conference room that has papers stacked across it. Looks like it’s going to be a long day.
Several hours later, we still haven’t heard from Saylor since the restaurant debacle, but we know that she ditched her car at the local mall.
Ryan has been in every store, but there isn’t any sign of her.
I know she’s not there. Saylor hates shopping and it’s just another hit to the gut.
Tina, the housekeeper, has said that she’ll call if Saylor shows up at the penthouse but I’m sure she’s not going there any time soon.
We’ve checked her bakery multiple times to see if she’s hiding out there but so far no luck.
She is probably at my grandparent’s house hiding out.
I swear they love her more than me. Ever since I introduced them at a barbeque, they have clung to her.
Shortly after the barbeque, my grandmother started stopping by Saylor’s bakery helping her and then switching over to Everly’s spa to have some treatments done to spend some time with her too.
I’m pretty sure Saylor told them about the baby because I’ve received several texts from grandfather wanting to meet up with my attorneys to change his will.
He wanted to include any future great grandchildren and Saylor.
Mom says that grandmother has grown attached to Saylor and Everly.
I know that my grandparents won’t be here much longer and I need to make more of an effort to be with them.
Hopefully, after this mess is cleared up and I’m not put six feet under for the stunt I pulled earlier by my wife, they will allow me to step foot in their house.
Like I said, they prefer Saylor over me.
“Sir, Carly wants me to tell you to check your emails,” Mitch tells me, as we walk down the steps of the police department.
I see a handful of messages from Carly saying the press has been having a field day with our scene at the restaurant.
Dean, our private investigator, along with my PR team have been overloaded with calls and emails about today’s earlier event.
As much as I love technology, I really hate it when I’m the prime recipient.
Another ping sounds off on my phone and I check it, hopeful that it’s someone telling me where my pregnant wife is.
THE SLAP HEARD AROUND THE WORLD
YES FOLKS, YOU HEARD IT HERE FIRST. ONLY AFTER BEING MARRIED JUST SIX MONTHS, L.A.
’S POWER COUPLE IS HEADING FOR DIVORCE COURT.
THE COUPLE WAS EATING AT A LOCAL RESTAURANT FOR LUNCH, WHEN MR. LEVI THORNE BLEW THE LID AND DEMANDED THEY END THEIR SHORT-TERM MARRIAGE.
SOURCES AT THE RESTAURANT SAY THAT THE ARGUMENT GOT PHYSICAL AND THEIR BODYGUARDS WERE NEEDED TO RESTRAIN MRS. SAYLOR THORNE…
Who the fuck writes this stuff and who even reads this? Fucking tabloids! Another ping comes through and I check the next one.
#DivorceCourt
Mega Millionaire and High-Powered Attorney, Levi Thorne, has ended his marriage in a very public manner.
The couple, who have been dubbed America’s Couple, were seen fighting at lunch.
A witness overheard Mr. Thorne say that he wasn’t happy in the marriage and wanted out. I hope he had an airtight prenup…
And another.
DIVORCES, ESCORTS, AND SIDE PIECES. OH MY!
MEGA MILLIONAIRE ATTORNEY LEVI THORNE ENDED HIS MARRIAGE IN A VERY PUBLIC WAY THIS AFTERNOON TO SAYLOR THORNE, AFTER ONLY BEING TOGETHER FOR A FEW MONTHS.
IT WAS SAID THAT DURNING THE ALTERCATION THAT MRS. THORNE ADMITTED TO THE ROOM THAT MR. THORNE ASSOCIATED WITH AN ESCORT AND HAD A SIDE PIECE NAMED JOSIE.
COULD SHE BE REFERRING TO SUPERMODEL JOSIE JAMISON?
OUR REPORTERS ARE ON THE CASE TO FIND THESE TWO AND SEE IF THERE’S ANY TRUTH BEHIND IT.
FROM RECENT PICTURES, WE’VE NOTICED A WEIGHT GAIN IN MRS. THORNE AND WONDER IF MAYBE MR. THORNE ONLY WANTS SKINNY WOMEN.
UNTIL THEN, OUR COUPLE MIGHT BE ON THE ‘SHORTEST MARRIAGE OF CELEbrITIES’ LIST.
SEE THE VIDEO BELOW OF A WITNESS WHO WAS AT THE RESTAURANT WITH HER PHONE TAPING THE END OF OUR BELOVED COUPLE.
What the fuck! I launch my phone across the car and send it flying to the front passenger seat floorboard.
This is a fucking disaster and I only have myself to blame.
My phone has been ringing off the hook from my family, but I’ve sent it to voicemail.
Reid tried coming to the firm’s building but left when I wasn’t there.
I can’t deal with their shit right now, I need to find my wife.
Mitch’s phone begins to ring and I sink down into my seat as he gets behind the wheel.
“It’s Olivia,” he says from the front seat and motions for me to take it. “She says it’s an urgent matter.”
I take the phone and bring it up to my ear.
“What Olivia? I’m in the middle of something here,” My voice sounds tired and defeated.
“Yeah, I know. I’ve read and watched the video a million times, you asshole. I thought you weren’t going to go that route?”
Olivia knows everything about the threats we’ve been getting and has kept her mouth shut about what I should do.
We met when my brother first started the firm; she is Lincoln’s second in command and partner.
She handles all the day to day business, while Lincoln handles all the big named cases and is the face of the firm.
She runs a tight ship and he wouldn’t have it any other way.
“It seemed like the only option at the time and I’m trying to fix it. What’s the urgent matter?”
“San Diego needs you down there now. The deal is going south fast. Today is the day on the expiration paperwork and it will hurt our chances of the Chambers Co. opening a base company in Singapore. This isn’t an account we want to lose if Lincoln is trying to branch out into representing international businesses.
” Fuck! We’ve been dealing with this company for over a year and if we don’t sign today, then we’ll lose the account to someone else.
We can’t have a large company like this leave us and take their business to one of our competitors.
Or show that our firm can’t handle that type of business dealing.
“I’d go but most of the planes are being grounded here in New York because of weather. I’ll never make it in time.”
“I’m on it. Tell Hall that I’m coming and that he better not have screwed this up.”
Two years ago, we opened satellite offices in New York, Florida, Dallas, and San Diego.
They’ve all worked out really well and we’re in the process of opening a firm in northern California.
Tom Hall is over the firm in San Diego, and I’m starting to wonder if we shouldn’t find another guy to run the firm there.
I’ve told Lincoln in the past that being an attorney wasn’t what I wanted to do, and after today and all of its events I think I’m going to pull out.
Saylor and I can live on my real estate and her bakery business.
After agreeing to head down there, I hang up with her and let Mitch know of our new plans while handing him his phone back.
Hopefully this will only take a few hours, then I can get back here and explain everything to my wife.
Linc usually takes a helicopter down to San Diego and back, which makes the trip not as long and boring.
“Mitch, I want to…apologize for not listening to your advice. I see now that it was a mistake to follow through with my plan.”
“Mmhmm,” I hear him grunt.
I knew this was going to be hard but damn throw a guy bone.
“Do you think she’ll be back at the apartment when we arrive home tonight?”
Small talk with my employees is not something that I’ve ever done before meeting Saylor. She’s the one who is friendly with everyone and wants to include them in everything we do.
“Not sure, sir,” Mitch finally says. “If it were me, I’d cut all the break lines on the cars and set the apartment ablaze.”
Well, fuck!
“Then I’d take you to the cleaners during the divorce. A very public divorce that exposed you for everything that you’d ever done.” He never moves his eyes from the front of the car and now I wish I hadn’t asked.
Shit! Talk about pouring salt on an already opened wound.
“You think she’ll di-divorce me?” I gasp and almost take my hands off the column. I won’t let it happen, no matter if I have to tie her to the bed until she gives birth.
Birth.
Christ, what if she was so upset that something happened with the baby and she’s at the hospital? Panic is starting to set in as we approach our office building.
“Levi!” I hear from the front seat. “Everything will work out just fine. The team and I will make sure Saylor understands what was happening. She’s going to be pissed and you’re going to have to grovel. A lot. But she’ll eventually understand.”
“Th-thank you Mitch.” I whisper as my heartbeat slows to normal. “I promise to listen and take your advice from here on out. I’ve definitely learned my lesson.”
“I hope so,” he murmurs and I think that I wasn’t meant to hear it.
“Marriage is hard and not rainbows and lollipops all the time. It’s about making decisions with another person and including them in your life.
You’re still learning and so is Saylor. It’ll take some time but you’ll find your rhythm. ”
“Thank you, Mitch.”
I feel one hundred percent better after hearing Mitch, and my gloomy mood is starting to lift. Just as we stop at the red-light in front of our building, I start to hear a ticking noise. It’s faint at first, but as the car idols the louder it seems to get.
“Do you hear that?” I ask, making sure my ears aren’t thrumming by themselves.
Mitch turns his body then leans closer to the console. “Get out of the car!” he yells, then scrambles to open his door.
I do the same and right when both feet hit the pavement I start to run away from the car, but there’s a loud boom and it shatters my eardrums and a force has me thrown on the concrete street.
My head hits something hard as screams are heard off in the distance.
Pain is overtaking me as my last thoughts flash of deep blue eyes and a giggle that could bring an entire stadium to their knees.
Saylor.
I love you, Saylor. Please watch over our baby and never forget me.