Chapter 20
Chapter Twenty
Julian’s first meeting of the day was with Liam Rossi, a top Hollywood producer.
Since this was an initial consultation, Julian met with him in his office rather than the conference room, sitting in upholstered chairs with coffee in hand.
He preferred the more informal approach to these get-to-know-you sessions, during which he tried to determine if he and the potential client were a good fit.
Liam had graying dark hair, brown eyes and a tense demeanor. He wore a charcoal-colored suit with a burgundy tie that he fiddled with as they got settled.
“I’d ask what brings you in today, but the answer is almost always the same,” Julian said, using a line that usually got a chuckle from the client of the moment and served to break the ice in an often-emotional situation.
“I need a divorce,” Liam said without an ounce of humor to lighten the mood. “I’ve spent twenty-three years trying to fill the shoes of a dead man, and I just can’t do it any longer.”
He was on the verge of tears, which wasn’t unusual in these first meetings as people came to terms with the fact that their marriage was over and they needed a divorce lawyer.
“Is your wife aware of your intentions?”
“Not yet. I want to have my ducks in a row before I tell her.”
“Will it come as a surprise to her?”
“I’m sure it will, and I’m sorry about that. But our entire marriage has been stalked by the ghost of a man I’ve never met and will never know. I can’t live in that shadow anymore. I just can’t.”
“Who’s the man you’re referring to?”
“Her fiancé was killed in a rock-climbing accident three weeks before their wedding, which was four years before I met her. In my opinion, she’s mourned him and the wedding she had to cancel ever since.”
“That’s an incredibly traumatic event. I hope she had good support afterward.”
“She did—and does. Her family is amazing, and she’s had a great therapist helping her, and then us, to cope with the fallout. I love her. I truly do. But I’ve never felt that she loved me as much as she loved him. He lives on a pedestal in her heart in a way I could only dream of achieving.”
“Do you have children?”
“Two teenage sons.”
“I assume you intend to seek joint custody?”
“Yes, I do, although they’ll probably be so furious with me for leaving their mother that they won’t want anything to do with me.”
“You’re willing to risk that to proceed with a divorce?”
He leaned forward, elbows on his knees, expression earnest. “You have to understand that I simply can’t bear to live this way any longer.
We’ve been in therapy throughout our entire relationship.
She’s spoken more of him than she ever has of me.
” After a pause, he added, “Of course, I knew about her heartbreaking loss going in, but nothing can prepare you to live your whole life in the shadow of a man who died tragically. It’s become unbearable. ”
“I can start the process as soon as you give me the green light. I urge you to notify your wife and sons of your intentions so they aren’t blindsided when she’s served with divorce papers, which would make a difficult situation a thousand times worse.”
“I’ll talk to them.”
“I have to ask this because it may turn out to be relevant… Is there someone else?”
He hesitated, only for a second, but long enough to answer Julian’s question. “Nothing has happened.”
If he had a dollar for every time he’d heard those exact words…
“I swear. Nothing has happened. But I want to be with her. I want to experience what it might be like to be truly loved and not merely tolerated as an unsatisfactory replacement for a man who died.”
“I understand.” Julian went over the fee structure that included various costs for mediation versus a trial, which was much more expensive for everyone involved.
“We charge on a fee-for-service basis, rather than hourly, but there’re additional costs based on your needs, such as accounting, investigation and other add-ons should the case go to trial. ”
“I’m hoping it’ll be fairly straightforward,” Liam said.
That was another thing almost every client said and thought. It was almost never fairly straightforward.
“We’ll do what we can to facilitate that for you.”
He guided Liam through the signing of the retention agreement and directed him to Mattie, who’d collect the initial retainer.
They stood and shook hands.
“Thank you for your help.”
“Of course. I’ll wait to hear from you on next steps.”
The second the door closed behind Liam, Julian went to his desk to check his phone, hoping for a text from Isla.
He was disappointed that she hadn’t reached out and furious with himself for caring so much.
What the hell was wrong with him since he’d met her?
Why was he so interested in her sick children and whether Isla had gotten any sleep?
Mattie knocked and came into the office, catching him staring off into space, contemplating his next move with her.
“Everything all right?”
“Yep. What’s up?”
“I wanted to remind you that today’s the deadline to RSVP to the premiere of Valiant.
” She laid the embossed invitation from Quantum Productions on his desk.
In light of his history with Flynn Godfrey’s sister, he’d been surprised to be invited to the film about Flynn’s wife, Natalie, and her brave journey to bring a rapist governor to justice.
But the entire Remington family had been invited in deference to the longtime friendship between his parents and the Godfrey parents.
As he gazed at the invite, an idea came to him. “I’m allowed a plus-one, right?”
“Yes.”
“Go ahead and accept for two.”
“They’ll want the name of your date for security purposes.”
“Isla Santana.”
She gave him a curious look but wrote down Isla’s name. “I’ll take care of it.”
“Thanks.” The thought of taking Isla to a movie premiere filled him with the kind of excitement he rarely experienced. He endeavored daily to keep his emotions even, omitting things like excitement, joy and anger. It was easier to function when he wasn’t all over the place.
But regulation had become a huge challenge since Isla had strolled into his office and turned things upside down. After their encounter at his house, all he wanted was more of her and the fully alive, electrified way she made him feel.
He was aware enough to recognize he was standing on a slippery slope where she was concerned. He’d never once wavered on the vow to remain single or even been tempted to waver.
Until now.
He’d seen her a handful of times and already knew he’d do whatever it took to keep her in his life.
Why her? Why now? Had seeing Aimee made him vulnerable, creating an opening to his heart that Isla had walked straight through?
If so, how did he get her out? He didn’t want to be vulnerable to anyone.
The whole reason they’d made the vow in the first place was to protect themselves from the very situation he was now in with Isla.
Even as he tried to figure out how to undo what’d already been done, he wondered how she was, how the kids were feeling and if she was thinking of him as much as he was of her.
And ugh… He was a grown-ass man with a shit ton of work to do and was wasting time wondering if a woman was thinking about him.
Ridiculous.
A knock sounded on his door.
“Enter.”
Jackson came in, shutting the door behind him.
Without looking up from the file he’d only just flipped open, he said, “What’s up?”
“Jules…”
Julian looked up and noticed the stricken expression on Jackson’s face. “What’s wrong?”
“Isla’s husband died early this morning. His attorney called to notify me. I thought you’d want to know.”
For a second, Julian was certain he’d heard him wrong. “He died?”
Jackson nodded.
Julian was on his feet and reaching for his suit coat before he’d made the decision to stand.
“What’re you doing?”
“I’m going to her.”
“Um, is that a good idea?”
“Yeah, it is.”
“Jules… Her husband just died. You might want to give her a minute before you go flying over there.”
Jackson was right. Of course he was. But every instinct Julian had was propelling him toward her, and his instincts rarely did him wrong.
“I need you to cover my day.”
“What? I’m not prepared for that.”
“Yes, you are. You’re up to speed on all my cases. I need this, Jack. Please.”
“What’s your plan when you get there?”
“That’ll depend on what she needs.”
“And you’re fully aware that you’re marching into something with this woman that could change your life forever when you said you’d never let that happen?”
Jackson’s words stopped him cold.
Was he prepared for his life to change forever? Only if it was changing to make room for her. Yeah, he was okay with that. “I know what I’m doing.”
“Do you?”
Julian put a hand on Jackson’s shoulder.
“Thank you for caring, but I’ve got this.
I need you to cover for me today. All right?
” Julian, Carson and Griffin, all of whom were full partners, tried very hard never to pull rank on the younger brothers who worked for them, but Julian wouldn’t hesitate to play that card if it meant getting to Isla that much sooner.
“Yeah, boss, whatever you need.”
“Thank you. I appreciate it.”
“I hope you’re being careful here, Jules. I’ve never seen you act this way about a woman.”
Because there’d never been one like Isla. “I’m okay. I promise. I’ll check in later.” Without waiting for his brother to reply, he rushed out the door, stopping for a second to speak to Mattie. “I have something I have to do. Jackson is covering my day.”
Maddie raised her left brow, which was the only indication she gave that he was behaving wildly out of character. “Is everything all right?”
“Yes. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Okay.”
He felt her watching him as he moved toward the elevator, hoping no one would stop him before he could make his escape. All he could think about was Isla and what she must be dealing with. He wanted to help if he could and hoped he’d be welcome.