Chapter 17
OLIVER
After wishing Theo a good night, I had to hang up and go straight back into court. I was late getting to Theo because of that prick of a judge, who would rather listen to the guilty asshole who showed zero remorse for putting his hands on his soon-to-be ex-wife than let me say goodnight to my kid.
He made me turn my phone off and only allowed a ten-minute recess, which rendered pointless as soon as I went back into court; the judge deemed the case would continue tomorrow…what an ass. He may be good at his job, but he was a grumpy old sod.
You’d think after working around each other for many years and the fact he had children of his own, he’d understand my need to take five minutes to talk to my son, that he’d be considerate, but no.
Maybe that’s why none of his children talks to him.
I always do my best to separate work from my personal life and do what’s best for my client, but as things dragged on, I couldn’t help but worry about Theo and how upset he probably was, waiting for my call.
I’ve been on the receiving end of Theo’s bedtime tantrums, and they are no easy task.
I also wanted time to try and find out what he and Luna got up to today, but there was no time.
By the time we wrapped things up, it was too late to call back, and I’m doing everything in my power to remain professional when it comes to Luna.
It doesn’t look good as her boss if I call paranoid her in the middle of the night.
Instead, I drove Ms Henderson home, reassuring her not to get disheartened just yet, then drove back to my hotel and lived with the torture of wondering what Luna did with my boy all day.
I then buried myself in finding a way to nudge the jury back onto our side like I promised Mrs Henderson I would, that I’d help her get back every penny her worthless excuse of an ex-husband stole from under her nose, and as I’ve told Theo, I have no intention of breaking my promises.
It took hours and a very long phone call with Nigel, who gathered the evidence I’d been after, but finally I had it.
I hadn’t gotten more than two hours of sleep before I had to get up, change, pick up Ms Henderson and get back to court.
I made sure to get us both a fresh cup of coffee before court started, as we both needed it.
I made sure to check my phone once more, and to my surprise, I saw Luna sent me a photo of Theo painting a picture of Mario.
It was just what I needed to get me through the rest of this case.
****
And that’s how it’s done.
Not only do we win the case, but the grumpy sod unleashes his wrath on the waste of flesh now known as Ms Henderson’s ex-husband.
We get out of court just in time for me to wish Theo a good night.
Once we hang up, I realise how much I miss him and aim to get straight to LAX, but I’m stopped.
Ms Henderson invites me to celebrate with her and her family, and I didn’t have the heart to say no.
I agreed to stay for an hour or two, have a drink and accept the gratitude that her family expressed towards me before I headed to the airport. I needed to be on the next flight so I could be on time to take Theo to school. He was so happy when he saw me this morning.
We spent the drive to his school talking about my case because he wanted to know if I was able to help the lady like I always do. When I dropped him off and watched him go inside his classroom, it occurred to me that that sentence sounded a bit weird to certain ears, but who was ever going to know?
I’ve always kept my pro bono cases private and plan to keep it that way.
I choose to ignore the look Theo’s fugly teacher gives me as if he’s disappointed in seeing me instead of someone else. Something raises the tension in my shoulders, but I choose to ignore it as well as the horny looks the mothers of Theo’s friends are giving me and head back to my car.
I drive straight into work, allowing Nigel to catch me up on things I missed while I was away. Before I knew it, lunch came around, and I made no apologies for the two-hour nap I took in my office. Did I fall behind on some of my work and sleep through lunch and my workout time?
Yes, but I don’t give a crap - I’m exhausted.
****
Running on barely any sleep and having to deal with the incompetent is far too exhausting.
It was as if, once lunch was over, everyone just stopped doing their job.
One of the interns broke the photocopier, another spilt coffee all over a client’s case file, and one of them dared to yawn during one of our meetings, as if they had a right to be tired.
Try being in my bloody shoes for once. I don’t care that I made him cry when I growled that his lack of interest must be his letter of resignation and told him to get out. I’ve had to yell at people left and right all day because it’s the only way they stop being so incompetent.
After completely tiring myself out thanks to some of the idiots working here, I take another half an hour nap in my office before Nigel wakes me, saying it’s time to go home. I happily drag my feet towards the lift leading to the car park.
All I want is to get home to my little man, and that’s what I did: drove home without a drop of traffic. The sound of little feet slapping the wooden floors is music to my ears. My aching exhaustion fades when I scoop Theo into my arms.
I nod towards Luna, who, for some reason, is fighting back a frown towards me. I inform her that once her chores are done, she can retire from her duties for the night. Then I take Theo upstairs and get him ready for bed as he bursts into excitement, filling me in on what he did over the weekend.
Theo goes on about how Luna took him on this thing called the Tube.
Something I haven’t experienced yet, but he seems like he had a blast. I admit I was worried about it at first and planned on arranging for him and Luna to have a driver for the weekend, as public transport seemed pointless, but it slipped my mind, and it seems like it worked out quite well.
Theo has only ever been in the car, but he looks like he had a lot of fun travelling with Luna, on the tube, on a big red bus and getting into a black cab to bring them home at the end of the day.
As I’m tucking him into bed, not paying as much attention as I should, Theo mentions all the friends he made in the house full of children and some guy called Randall, before he skips telling me about the dinner he had with Luna’s family, but I stop him.
“Who is Randall?” I ask him when he tells me off for not listening. Then he shifts his body towards me.
“Randall is the man who lives in the house with all my new friends,” Theo explains when something starts churning in my stomach.
What Min-Joon said a while back replays in my head: “Maybe she went to see her boyfriend.” Was he right?
Does Luna have a boyfriend? A thought that made me feel sick to my stomach.
I do my best to focus whilst reading Theo his bedtime story and not think about another man bending Luna over and having his way with her.
The thought of Luna being deflowered by someone who isn’t me sends liquid fire through my veins.
It was bad enough that I could only keep my thoughts of her locked inside, but this new information enraged me further.
I hadn’t noticed I stopped reading; thankfully, Theo had fallen asleep against my arm.
I carefully tuck him into bed and make my way out of his room.
Once I’m on the other side, a pain ripples through my chest and heartburn sears in my chest as Luna comes upstairs, heading for her room.
I don’t bother fighting back the irritable glare on my face as I stalk past her as fast as I can, down the stairs and into my office.
I can’t look at her.
Let alone talk to her about how angry I am right now, and besides, if I did it now, I’d be breaching more than one term in our contract.
I hear her come down the stairs after me, no doubt wanting to ask me why I looked at her like she killed my dog, but I reach my office and slam the door shut before she reaches the living room.
Clenching my fists tightly, my chest heaved up and down.
My airway feels restricted as I pace back and forth, fighting to get my tie off. Something is pent up inside me, and it wants out. I don’t know what it was; all I know is that it’s directed towards the only females living in the house.
Even after five minutes of pacing back and forth and constant deep breaths, my anger still wouldn’t subside.
I want to march up those stairs and scream at her, but instead I fetch my phone from my suit pocket and call my best friend.
Now it seems the best option to help calm me down, but once he answers, I realise what a mistake that was.
“This better be good,” he grumbles, irritated that I woke him up; it’s 4 am there. I forgot he had a day off, so he’s probably intended to sleep in. Feeling like a complete bastard, I hang up the phone, but it’s no use; he’s already awake and calls straight back.
“Okay, I’m giving you one chance to tell me why you called, but if you hang up again, I’m going back to bed,” he warns. Min-Joon is as nice as they come, but one thing he hates is having his sleep interrupted. I did find myself climbing down from my anger after hearing how grumpy he is.
Oddly, the suffering of others always soothed me.
“…The stupid nanny,” I mumbled, glaring at my office door. I knew she wasn’t anywhere near it, but I needed something to direct my anger towards.
“I’m listening.” Min-Joon sprouts, moving to sit up in bed, wide awake and ready for gossip.
Why did I call him again?
“I hate to say this…” I hesitate, knowing that once I’ve said it, I can’t take it back.
“Go on,” he prompts, making me close my eyes.
“I think you were right,” I admit, rubbing my forehead and making my way over to my chair. Min-Joon didn’t say anything, but I can practically feel his smug smile through the phone.
“She took Theo to some bastard’s house. According to him, it was full of children-” I start, but Min-Joon interrupts, letting his voice boom around the room.
“Ch-children? Wouldn’t that mean he has a wife?? And if she only goes there on the weekends…” he blurts as if he’s having a conversation with himself while he’s trying to piece something together.
“She’s a mistress. She has to be; why else would she be going to see this guy and his offspring every weekend, leaving early hours in the morning and coming back in the late hours of the evening?”
My whole body freezes; it didn’t like a single word that just came out of Min-Joon’s mouth and ignited the rage now pooling in my stomach,
“A mistress? What the fuck? Dude, that’s not the point; she took Theo to some random bastard’s house where he played with his children all day.
” I declare and continue. “How dare she take him to some stranger’s house after the talk we had on Friday?
I’m fucking fuming. I told you something was off about her when you and Nigel bullied me into hiring her.
” I add, pausing so the information could sink in.
“Are you mad she took Theo to this guy’s house, or are you mad that you know she’s been going to this guy’s place the whole time?” Min-Joon asks curiously, laced with mischief.
“The first one, of course. Why the fuck would it be the second one!?” I growl, clenching my fists.
I take it back; he isn’t helping me after all.
“It’s the second one because you’re hot for the nanny, have been from the start, and that ‘angry heartburn’ you keep feeling is how much you wanna fuck h-” he doesn’t get to finish the word because I hang up on him and throw my phone on the desk.
Fuck.
Things are worse than I thought. My private thoughts are one thing, but if Min-Joon can see how badly I can’t get Luna out of my head, it was only a matter of time before things got out of control.
This has to stop.
I spring to my feet, grabbing my phone as I bolt out of my office. Locking it on my way out, and instead of heading upstairs, I walk straight out the front door. Pulling my car keys out and climbing into my car.
If sexual frustration was what I was feeling, I had a fix for that. It’s been a while, and I’ve not had the chance to see Diamond, what with the promotion and everything. April was practically over, so it’s time to move on to the next.
I dial Crystal’s number, May’s calendar girl. She’s always up for a quickie, not to mention she’s one of the few girls who didn’t need to be wined and dined to get down to business. I ignore all incoming calls from Min-Joon.
Crystal should be home from work by now, and she only lives twenty minutes away; that bloody feeling inside me keeps getting stronger to the point that I’m shaking at the knees like a horny teenager, when thankfully she picks up after the third ring.
A stupid technique she enjoyed called making me wait.
“Come right over,” she flirts, sounding prepped and ready for me to fuck her brains out. I hang up, waiting for my car to roar to life, then I drive towards my destination.