Chapter 2 #2
After his parents’ hellacious divorce was finally settled with them sharing joint custody of their minor children, he’d vowed to never get into a situation like the one his parents had dragged him and his siblings through.
As they came of age, each of them had joined him in disdaining relationships that might lead to marriage.
They figured if they avoided commitment and everything that went with it, they could also avoid that kind of nonsense for themselves.
They’d gone so far as to take an alcohol-fueled vow one evening to never give in to the temptation and had agreed to a full-family intervention if they strayed off course. Each of them took that vow seriously and had remained true to it for years.
At twenty-one, however, he’d been so in love with Aimee that he couldn’t imagine a day without her, let alone the rest of his life.
Back then, Carson had zeroed right in on Julian’s dilemma the way he always did.
“How in the world can you be thinking about forever with anyone at age twenty-one? Especially since you know all too well what ‘forever’ looks like.” Their parents’ divorce had been ongoing at the time, souring most of them on relationships.
Julian had been the exception, having gone all in with Aimee from the second they first met.
His brother had been right, though. Julian had been far too young to make serious commitments to anyone, especially since he hadn’t even finished college yet and had three years of law school to get through before he’d be worthy of someone like Aimee.
Even though she’d grown up as the daughter of Max Godfrey and Stella Flynn, who were Hollywood royalty, she was a go-getter.
She’d started her dance studio by then, as she was five years older and light-years ahead of him in more ways than one.
During the three years they were together, he’d felt so lucky that a woman of such stunning beauty, intelligence and accomplishment had loved him.
Ending their relationship had been excruciatingly painful and messy, especially since their parents were longtime friends. But when he’d tried to explain that it was too much too soon, she’d told him to grow the hell up and act like a man rather than a little boy pretending to be a man.
That’d hurt. A lot.
Mostly because she’d been right, as usual.
He hated that he’d broken her heart when she’d taken such a big chance on him to begin with.
When everyone in her life had told her she was crazy to date a much younger guy, she’d told them to mind their own business.
She’d truly loved him, and he’d thanked her for that by walking away when shit got real.
He’d instantly regretted it, but she’d refused to ever speak to him again.
Aimee had moved on quickly with Trent, so quickly, in fact, that Julian had wondered if she’d loved him as much as she’d said she did.
Aimee and Trent had married within eighteen months of her breakup with Julian, and their son was born a year after that.
Her life had gone on as if he’d never happened, but judging by the stricken look on her gorgeous face at the anniversary party, she hadn’t forgotten him either.
His desk phone buzzed with a call from his assistant, Mattie. “Yes, ma’am?”
“Partner meeting starting in your dad’s office.”
“I’m on my way.”
“Are you okay, honey?”
“I’m fine. Sorry about the scene.”
“You didn’t make the scene, bebe.”
As a grown man and a partner in a law firm, it should’ve annoyed him to be called childlike nicknames by his assistant.
But since he’d known Mattie all his life, it didn’t bother him in the least, especially since she never called him any of her many nicknames for him in front of anyone else.
He’d inherited the formidable Matilda Jones from his grandfather when he retired shortly after Julian attained junior partnership.
“Tell my dad I’ll be there in five.”
“Will do. Reminder that you have lunch with Cresley Dane at the Ivy at two. Not that I think you’d forget lunch with a supermodel or anything.”
Julian chuckled. “Yep, it’s on the radar.”
“I’m sure it is.”
They were both laughing when she ended the call.
He loved working with her and dreaded the day when sixty-year-old Mattie would announce her retirement.
Not that he expected that to happen for a while, since Mattie, who’d never married, would tell you that her job was her life and the Remingtons were her family.
She spent every Thanksgiving and Christmas with them and visited Julian’s grandfather at his senior care facility every Wednesday evening without fail.
They all loved her, and Julian’s brothers envied him for having her on his team, where he hoped she’d stay forever.
After the amusing conversation with Mattie, he felt better and ready to shed the lingering disquiet from the encounter with Stacey.
It went against everything he believed in to allow a woman to cause drama in his life, let alone at his workplace.
The second that happened, he was gone. A few, like Stacey, felt they could change his mind.
Little did they know that his life philosophy came from the kind of experience that should’ve broken him and his siblings.
Instead, it’d made them stronger and resolved to avoid the kind of nightmare they’d endured as kids. They’d had no control over anything then. Now they were in charge and setting their own rules. Anyone who didn’t like those rules wasn’t welcome in their lives.
He gathered his notes for the partner meeting and left his office, winking at Mattie as he went past her command post. People said she resembled Phylicia Rashad, a comparison she encouraged.
True to form, she was stylishly turned out in a dark purple suit that was probably Chanel or Dior, sky-high heels and nails that matched her suit.
That her nails always matched her suits was a source of constant amazement to him.
She was an icon in every possible way, as well as the most loyal friend and assistant anyone could ever hope to have.
As he walked down the long corridor toward his father’s office, he sensed people watching him through the glass walls of their offices. They’d love to know the details of what’d led to the public showdown with Stacey. But they wouldn’t hear any more about it from him.
Julian almost groaned out loud when he saw Nova Morales, one of the younger paralegals, coming toward him. That she had a massive crush on him was one of the worst-kept secrets in the place.
“How’re you doing, Julian?”
He kept moving as he went by her. “Just fine, Nova. Hope you’re having a great day.”
“You, too!”
Nova was exactly what he should’ve wanted in a woman.
She was young, ambitious, ruthlessly intelligent and sexy as all hell, with extravagant curves, gorgeous dark hair and eyes and lips made for sin.
In another life in which they didn’t work together, she wasn’t more than a decade younger than him, and he hadn’t vowed to remain single, he might’ve returned her interest. In this lifetime, he kept walking as she probably turned to watch him go with her heart in her eyes.
That’s how Mattie described the way Nova gazed at him when she thought no one was looking.
He had no time for such foolishness.
Julian greeted his dad’s assistant, a serious young man named Luka Woodruff.
“Go on in,” Luka said without looking up from what he was doing. He wore his light brown hair combed straight back and sported a Rolex that’d been a Christmas gift from Corbin the year before.
In Corbin Remington’s office, the senior partner held court at the head of the huge conference table, where the partners had gathered, including Julian’s brothers Carson and Griffin.
They had several other partners who specialized in forensic accounting, estate planning, real estate and taxation, all of whom had worked for the firm almost as long as Corbin had.
Julian’s brother Ethan was a senior associate, specializing in real estate and community property. Having their own people managing some of the more intricate aspects of high-income divorces set Remington apart from many other family law firms.
“Nice of you to join us,” Corbin said with a grin for Julian.
As always, every silver hair on his head had been combed into submission and held in place by artfully applied pomade.
Regular golf outings kept him tanned and trim, and his custom-tailored suits made him look like the California Super Lawyer he was, even as he glanced at the chunky watch on his wrist.
His father valued punctuality as much as he did loyalty, and while his tone was teasing, his message was anything but.
“Sorry I’m late,” Julian said as he took a seat next to Carson.
“We’re just getting started.” Corbin zeroed in on Julian. “Everything all right, son?”
“Yep. We finally settled the McDavid case this morning, with Rachel getting sole custody, thanks to Carson’s excellent work.”
“That guy made it easy,” Carson said in the gruff, no-nonsense tone that was his hallmark. He prided himself on being the only Remington sibling not to waste three years of his life in law school.
Julian wondered if his father had asked Carson when he was getting a haircut yet, as he did at the start of every partner meeting.
Carson ignored him every time and went on living life on his own terms, regardless of their father’s opinion.
Even though Carson wasn’t an attorney, he was still a partner in the business.
“Good job on finishing McDavid,” Corbin said. “How’d the father take the sole custody news?”
“Not well at all,” Julian said. “We were granted a DVRO, but I’m not sure that’ll keep him away from the wife and kids. She may be looking at relocating.”
“And the situation with your friend…”
The question was laced with subtext that included the not-so-subtle message to keep his romantic nonsense out of Corbin’s office. “Handled. Won’t happen again.”
“See that it doesn’t.”