Chapter Twenty-Five
GLENWOOD SPRINGS WAS THE WORD of the week.
Whenever Ian was tense, I would whisper the beloved place and remind him what was waiting for us in a few short days.
Tuesday morning we spent going over our presentation for Norwest Bank.
We spent the afternoon meeting with their big wigs in downtown Denver in their oddly shaped skyscraper that I swore looked like a cash register on the top.
The meeting went mostly well, but they were super stringent about security issues.
They wanted us to change our contract and terms and conditions for them.
Ian took it all in stride and didn’t promise them a thing.
“I never thought I would meet anyone more anal than you,” I remarked to him on our way out through their lobby.
He laughed, and for a moment, he forgot I was Ms. Bryant. He reached down and took my hand.
“Mr. Greyson, I’m not sure how to take that,” I teased.
He dropped my hand, but at least he smiled. I really did miss being just Kelli.
That night I was left alone as Ian met with his attorney again. They were going to court the next afternoon. He didn’t know it, but I was too. I was also working on this ridiculous case. Ms. Manselle was about to be very sorry.
I dressed in my finest business suit the next morning before I met Ian for breakfast. He hadn’t gotten in until almost midnight the night before. He had come up and lightly rapped on my door when he got back. “I needed to see your face,” he’d said before he kissed me.
I happily obliged. He had looked so worn, and this morning he still did. It made me more determined to go with him. He had been so adamant about me staying out of it that he didn’t even discuss what was going on with me, but like he said, he had never known anyone more stubborn than me.
As soon as our breakfast was cleared away, I reached into my satchel and pulled out a large manila envelope. I slid it across the table to him.
His brow quirked. “What’s this?”
“Your insurance policy.”
He still looked confused.
I pushed it more toward him. “Open it.”
He picked it up, carefully opened it, and pulled out the contents.
I watched him as he read through the small stack of papers.
I could see his chocolate eyes brighten as he read the lawsuit Chandler was filing against Ms. Manselle for breach of contract, corporate espionage, and violating her NDA.
He looked up from the papers with the biggest grin I had ever seen on his face.
I took that as my opportunity to hand him a DVD.
“This video shows Ms. Manselle taking pictures with her phone of your laptop screen showing the framework of our software. It also shows her talking to who I assume is your ex-wife, discussing their ‘plan.’ I’ve asked Ms. Ayers, Chandler’s attorney, to subpoena Ms. Manselle’s and Marissa’s cell phone records.
I also have Delfia’s handwritten statement that she overheard the conversation and her plans to ‘take you down,’ for lack of a better term. ”
He shook his head at me in amazement. He was positively speechless.
“So, can I go with you to the courthouse now?”
He leaned over and planted a kiss on my cheek. “I love you.”
“I’ll take that as a yes.”
Ian called his attorney and insisted on meeting immediately, if not sooner.
His attorney agreed, and we were on our way.
I watched him as we drove over. I could visibly see that his stress level had diminished.
He looked so relieved. I even teased him that I would be willing to get up and swear, under oath, that I was still a virgin to put to bed any talk about his nefarious relationships with women in the office.
He laughed and briefly looked my way when we stopped at a red light. “You say the most absurd things sometimes.” He took the opportunity to peruse me from head to toe with his hungry eyes. “Unfortunately, no one would believe you.”
I raised my brows.
“Except for me, of course,” he added. “Besides, I had no intention of letting anyone come near you. I would have given it all up to protect you if needed.”
I reached up and touched his cleanly shaven face. “Ian, you don’t have to protect me, but thank you.”
“Maybe I don’t have to, but I want to, for the rest of my life.”
My eyes began to water. I flipped down the visor mirror and tried to keep my makeup in place. It wasn’t that I was embarrassed to cry in front of him, especially not a happy cry, but I wanted to make sure I gave my best impression today.
“You’re beautiful,” Ian said as I dabbed at my eyes.
“Stop being so sweet, you’re going to make me cry some more.”
He laughed at me. I was happy to hear him really laugh.
The attorney’s office wasn’t far from our hotel, so it didn’t take us long to get there, even with Denver’s insane traffic. On our walk in, he held my hand.
“So, I get to be Kelli today?”
He gave me a wry smile and applied gentle pressure to my hand.
I squeezed back. I hoped someday he would get over all of this separation nonsense.
I mean, I get why he did it, but this was me.
I wasn’t Marissa or Alexa. I fell in love with Ian long before he was ever wealthy or successful, at least in the worldly way.
He could trust me, and it wasn’t like I wanted to make-out in the office or anything.
I just wanted to be us. Okay, if he felt the urge and it was behind closed doors, I wouldn’t mind at all if he kissed me in the office.
Ian’s attorney, Mr. Nathaniel Clark, ushered us in right away.
By the looks of his opulent office, he did very well for himself.
I expected no less, considering who had solicited his services.
He was probably around Ian’s age, maybe a tad older.
He had a commanding presence to him. I could see instantly why Ian had chosen him.
Ian introduced me and then took no time getting down to business. He handed over the packet to Mr. Clark and explained the contents.
Mr. Clark grinned at me. “Are you sure you’re in the right profession, Ms. Bryant? I could use someone like you.”
“She’s taken,” Ian replied for me.
Mr. Clark smiled at the two of us before he continued to look through the documents. “This is amazing leverage,” he commented. “And why we didn’t think of it, Ian, I don’t know.”
Ian beamed at me.
Mr. Clark made a couple of phone calls to the opposing lawyers, and then the fun began.
After an hour, we all headed over to the courthouse that was conveniently across the street from Mr. Clark’s firm.
Ian surprised me and held my hand as we made our way over.
I couldn’t wait to see the looks on the faces of his ex and that snake Alexa.
As this wasn’t a jury trial, we met in a conference-style room. Apparently, the opposing side wanted to meet without the judge first. Shocker. They knew they were in trouble.
We got there first and took seats on the hard wooden chairs at one end of the table.
Ian looked more relaxed than I had seen him in days.
That was until the Bobbsey Twins, more like the boob twins made their appearance.
His demeanor changed in a split second. I wasn’t sure if I had ever seen such a look of disdain on anyone’s face.
The twins didn’t look happy either, especially when they saw me.
I couldn’t help but wickedly grin at them.
Oh, yes . . . they were going to be very sorry.
They turned away from me, and I smiled lovingly at the man by my side.
He grabbed my hand under the table and held it firmly.
I so badly wanted to get out my phone and take a picture of the painted ladies for my sister.
They both overdid their hair and makeup today, and for some odd reason, it looked like they color coordinated.
They were each wearing navy blue and red and were showing a lot of cleavage.
I didn’t think that was going to help them today.
Besides their lawyer, there was an older gentleman with them.
I think he was Marissa’s father. I take back my previous comment, he was the winner for the look of disdain.
I couldn’t tell who he was unhappier with, Ian or his daughter.
It was a toss-up as he looked between the two. Ian didn’t flinch though.
I leaned over to Ian. “You are so sexy when you’re trying to play it cool,” I whispered low enough for his ears only.
His lips twitched but then he was back to business and staring down the opposing side. I found it interesting how Alexa refused to make eye contact with Ian. In a way, I couldn’t blame her. I knew what it felt like to be rejected by him, and it was devastating.
The opposing side kept chatting and arguing amongst themselves as we stayed cool and collected on our end.
They were scrambling. I took way too much pleasure in it.
They had obviously been very confident about a different outcome.
Finally, after about twenty minutes, their lawyer asked for a meeting between the two parties, meaning Alexa and I were asked to leave.
I was honestly looking forward to a little time alone with Ms. Manselle.
She, on the other hand, looked a little worried, as she should be.
Ian stood up with me, and I couldn’t help it, I kissed him once on those sensuous lips of his. “Make sure you ditch the baggage, okay?” I gave him a playful nudge.
He smirked before I turned around to find all eyes on us, even Ms. Manselle’s.
I plastered a huge smile on my face, held my head up high, and walked out like a boss.
Ms. Manselle joined me in the hall that was lined with large paintings of judges of the past. We both took a seat on the bench outside the room.
She on one end and me on the other. She kept nervously glancing between me and her phone.
For a moment, I took pleasure in watching her squirm.
I wasn’t sure how long my window of opportunity would be, so I slid closer to her on the long bench.
She tried to ignore me by turning away from me, but I wasn’t having it. “Ms. Manselle.”
She refused to turn and look my way.
“Cat got your tongue? Well, no matter. I don’t need you to say anything, but you will listen to me.”
She turned and glared at me.
My eyes bore into her. “I’m sure they’re in there cutting a deal right now to keep Chandler’s lawsuit against you from going forward but know that if you even think about causing harm to Ian again, you won’t know what hit you.
And if I see a hint of my software design anywhere, I’ll make sure you see prison time. ”
Her mouth fell and she swallowed hard. She looked like she wanted to scream at me, but she knew better.
I smirked. “That’s right, I think orange would suit you well.”
Without a word, she stood up and marched away in her hooker heels and short, tight skirt. Was it evil for me to wish she would slip and fall on the gleaming tile floor?
She never returned, so I took the time and texted my sister while I waited. I didn’t even have to hear Amanda’s voice to know that she was completely amused by my report. I couldn’t wait to see her next week when we could have a face-to-face conversation.
Within a half-hour, Ian emerged looking quite pleased. I couldn’t say the same for his ex and her daddy. I wanted to yell out, “Cheaters never prosper!” and “Take that!” Once Ian put his arm around me though, I suddenly couldn’t have cared less about anyone else at that courthouse.
We didn’t say a word until we were outside.
There he let me know that the ridiculous lawsuit had been dropped.
“You’re a genius,” he kept repeating over and over.
Apparently, Ian had also warned his ex-family that if any part of Chandler’s software showed up, they would be very sorry.
I told him of my conversation with the “contractor.” By this time, we were to his car, and before he opened my door, he made me see stars.
And as always, I knew how he felt by his kiss. He loved me.