Chapter 10 #2
"She screwed two men." Jack shakes his head.
"She can't get away with that." My eyes widen at his comment. What is going on here? I’m pretty sure that the exclusive club he mentioned is a sex club, but why had Jack gone if he wasn't going to partake? For some reason, I don’t believe that he'd only gone to watch, especially not after the way he'd just been talking about me.
"Well, I can definitely try to make a deal with your wife," Max says, nodding. "Is there anything else that I should know?"
Jack shakes his head. "No. I just need this done within the next two weeks."
"The next two weeks?" Max raises an eyebrow. "Is there a particular reason why it needs to be completed so quickly?"
"We have an IPO coming up," Jack says. "It's going to be launched in two weeks, and I don't need any bad publicity coming out. This is a deal that is worth billions of dollars."
"And the firm who’s handling the IPO cannot handle the divorce?" Max asks.
"I'm looking to change firms. If you can take care of this for me, then I know you can be trusted to take care of the bigger matters, as well."
Max nods and types something into his phone. He looks over at me for a couple of seconds. "Do you have all of that information, Lila?"
I'm not sure what he's talking about or what I was meant to have written down. I assumed he would tell me if he wanted me to take notes. I nod quickly. "I have all of it, sir," I say. And because I'm an idiot, I salute him. Jack raises an eyebrow, and Max just shakes his head.
"She's new," he says, as if that explains it.
"Oh." The corners of Jack’s mouth turn up, and his tongue darts out to wet his lips as if it were doing the salsa.
"Well, if you're ever looking for a job, Lila…
" He leans toward me. "I think I know someone who’s hiring.
" He smiles like a wolf sizing up its prey.
"As long as you don't mind being on your back for… "
"I think I have enough information," Max says, cutting him off with a frown. "Lila, we do have some more meetings this afternoon. Are you ready to go?"
"Sure, but…"
"Okay," he says, pulling his phone out without another thought. "I will tell Henry that we're ready." Max holds out his hand. "It was nice to meet you, Mr. Whittington."
"You're done already?" Jack asks. He looks as confused as I feel.
We literally just arrived. I'd hoped to get to explore the penthouse. It’s not often I get to hobnob with the rich and famous.
I was hoping to excuse myself and check out one of the restrooms and see if he had real gold faucets.
I mean, I don't think he would, but I know really rich people buy really ostentatious home décor. "But—"
"But nothing." Max's tone is polite but firm.
I feel a certain thrill at how he's taking charge of the situation.
"I have the paperwork now, and I will read it over. I understand the urgency of the deal you wish to make with your wife. I’ll see if I can get it done.
You're a busy man, and so am I," Max says as he nods.
"Nice to meet you. Come on, Lila." He gestures toward me and heads back to the front door.
He holds it open for me, and we walk out toward the elevator, which we ride down in silence.
My heart is racing as I glance at him. Max looks furious, and I'm not even sure why.
"Did you have to flirt with the man?" Max asks, shaking his head, and my jaw drops.
"What?" I stare at him in disbelief. "What are you talking about? I didn't flirt with him. I couldn't stand the jerk."
Max looks up at me. "You need to wear more appropriate attire tomorrow."
"Oh, so it's my fault that pig basically asked me to sleep with him? Because I'm a woman and ooze sex, and men can't be held accountable for being dickheads, right?"
"It's not your fault," Max says, shaking his head and holding up his hands.
There's a chagrined look on his face as if he's embarrassed by what he just said.
I'm glad to see he's not doubling down on blaming me because I'd never be able to look past that disrespect, no matter how handsome he is.
"He was totally inappropriate, and I did not appreciate the way he spoke to you.
I apologize if any of my own words or actions came off that way earlier today.
Now that I see it from the perspective of a bystander, I realize how inappropriate such comments are.
" I stare at him in surprise. That was not what I'd expected him to say. At all. Is he a nice guy, after all?
"It's fine," I say, offering him a sincere smile. "You and I had banter; this guy was just a dick."
Max's lips twitch. "He was a dick, wasn't he?"
"And if I'm being honest, I don't trust him," I say.
"What do you mean?" he asks as we step off the elevator and walk toward the lobby to wait for Henry to pick us up.
"I just don't think someone like Jack Whittington is going to a sex club with his wife so they can both watch. It just doesn't ring true to me. The type of man who flirted with me the first time he met me is not going to a sex club just to watch people experiment."
Max tilts his head to the side. "You may have a point there."
"So, what are you going to do about it?" I ask, crossing my arms.
He stares at me blankly. "What do you mean, what am I going to do about it?"
"I mean, if there's more to the story than what he's saying, then we should find out, because it's not fair to Mrs. Whittington."
"Life is not about what's fair. The law is not about what's fair." He signals to Henry, and we step forward. "The firm represents Jack Whittington, and we will try to get him what he wants."
"But that just doesn't seem right," I say, frowning.
"But nothing," he says, opening the back door for me.
I slide into the back of the car and offer Henry a small wave.
"I'll go through the paperwork and present an offer to Mrs. Whittington in the next few days.
She either takes it or she doesn't." He opens the file that Jack gave him, and I watch him going through papers and photos. His eyes widen before he closes it.
"What? What’s in there?" I ask him. "Can I see?"
"There are photos," he says as he glances at me and shakes his head. "Compromising photos."
"Of Mrs. Whittington?" I raise my eyebrows.
"I assume so," he says, nodding. "She's definitely naked on a bed with two men, neither of whom is Jack." He shrugs. "I think this will be a fairly open and shut case."
"But that's awful." I stare at him and shift closer to him. "It just seems so wrong."
He shrugs. "She obviously knew the man she was marrying. Maybe she shouldn't have cheated?"
I watch him for a couple of seconds. "I think there's more to the story, Max."
"What more could there be?" he says, holding up the folder. “The proof is in the pudding."
"I guess. But who took the photos?" I shrug. "I'm not an attorney, and this is my first day as a paralegal—”
“Assistant,” he interrupts, but I ignore him.
“So, obviously, I'm not an expert, but it just doesn't ring true.
Where did the photos come from? He just happened to decide to take photos of her banging two other men?
I just don't think it's fair that Mrs. Whittington is only going to get a hundred grand when her husband is worth hundreds of millions. Maybe there is more to the story."
"Like what?" he asks.
"I don't know. He's a pig and a slimeball. I just don't feel that a slimeball like that should get away with paying next to nothing."
"You don't know that she's not one, as well.”
“True,” I say. “But…” I pause.
“What is it?” he asks.
“Can I at least meet her, have a conversation with her, see what her side is?”
He sighs deeply. “Why do you want to do that?”
“I’m not going to say that I’m with the law firm. I’m not going to say that I’m your assistant. I just want to see if there’s more to the story.”
“But it doesn’t matter if…”
“Please, Max.”
He sighs again. “We’re not therapists. We’re not here to make things equal. We are here to get our client what he wants.”