Chapter Nine
AS SOON AS Sylvie opened the door of conference room three the following morning, Edwina jumped out of her seat, face flushed and her bobbed hair in disarray.
‘I’m so sorry to ask for this last-minute appointment, but you won’t believe the lengths Hugo is going to this time to ruin my chances of custody. ’
‘I’m sorry to hear that,’ Sylvie said. ‘Sit down and tell me what’s been going on.’
Edwina sat down, her hands twisted together in her lap, her agitation distressing to witness.
‘He’s spreading rumours that I’m drinking again.
I swear I gave it up when I got pregnant.
I’ve been sober for years. I know I had a problem once but I don’t drink now.
But he came to see the kids the other night and I had a migraine and had taken one of my painkillers that makes me sleepy.
He accused me of being hungover and called me some horrible names and then…
’ she pulled out a tissue and dabbed at her streaming eyes ‘…after he left, I found Mimi cutting herself in her bedroom.’
She burst into tears as she stumbled on.
‘She only made little cuts on her arms, not big enough to take her to hospital, but still… I have to get out of this marriage, but how do I do it without damaging the kids any further? I can’t bear the thought of Hugo looking after them.
He never did much for them while we were together, so how likely is it he’s going to do everything for them once he has them? ’
‘Oh, Edwina, I’m so sorry for what you and the kids are going through,’ Sylvie said, pushing a box of tissues across the table so her client could reach them.
Edwina rummaged in her purse and showed Sylvie a prescription medication. ‘These are the pills I take when I have a migraine. They can make me very groggy and out of it for a while.’
Sylvie glanced at the label and noted the listed side effects. ‘I’m glad you came in and told me.’
‘So…you believe me?’ The watery hope in Edwina’s eyes was heart-wrenching to see.
‘Of course I do. Now, take yourself home and try and support the kids, especially Mimi, through this difficult time.’ She opened the folder she’d brought with her and took out a sheet with a list of recommended psychologists she always kept nearby and handed it to her client.
‘I know you already have a lot on your plate but here are the contact details of some supportive psychologists who can help you with Mimi.’
Edwina took the sheet and folded it into a square and slipped it into her purse. ‘I don’t know how to thank you. You’ve been so kind and supportive to me.’
Sylvie rose from her chair. ‘Take care of yourself, Edwina.’
‘I’m trying to.’ Edwina gave a strained smile and stood. ‘Thanks again.’
Once Edwina left, Sylvie sank back into her chair and let out a gusty sigh. She only hoped her client never found out she was sleeping with her husband’s lawyer. ‘Oh God.’ She put her head in her hands and gave a mental scream of frustration. ‘What have I got myself into?’
Jack got home that evening and went outside to see if Sylvie’s cat had been for a visit.
The food he had put out was gone, so either it was the cat or the rat that was feasting on the best cat food money could buy.
He looked across at Sylvie’s house but there was no sign she was home yet.
The dip in his mood surprised him. He wasn’t the sort of guy to catch feelings for women he dated, but he genuinely had been looking forward to seeing Sylvie after work.
He turned to go back inside his house when he saw Sylvie enter her kitchen-living space that was so like his own. She tossed her bag on the sofa and then turned and saw him looking at her. Her expression soured and she stomped out her back door and over to the fence that divided their properties.
‘I want a word with you,’ she said through tight lips.
‘I want much more than that with you,’ Jack said with a grin. ‘Has anyone told you how cute you look when you’re pretending to be angry?’
‘Pretending?’ She drew herself up to her full height. ‘I’m not angry—I’m furious.’
‘What about?’
‘Your client.’
‘Which one?’
‘You know damn well which one.’ Her eyes were spitting sparks of fire.
Jack hopped over the fence and came and stood in front of her. ‘Look, I get that he’s not a great guy but if his wife is an alcoholic then—’
‘It’s all lies,’ Sylvie said. ‘Edwina was taking painkillers for a migraine when he turned up unannounced. What your client witnessed was the side effects of pain meds, not a hangover.’
Jack hadn’t taken a painkiller in his life, but his younger brother Jonas had suffered from severe headaches a few months before he went on his mission abroad.
Jack had witnessed the powerful effect of the meds on his brother and could see how easily—or conveniently in Hugo Winters’s case—the side effects could be mistaken for being drunk.
Jack thought Sylvie had been hoodwinked by her client but now he realised with an unsettled feeling in his gut that he had been the one to be fooled by Hugo Winters.
Was he so distracted by Sylvie he wasn’t on top of his game?
He didn’t have to like his clients but he had to give them his all.
It gave him an uneasy feeling to be so consumed by his fling with Sylvie that he was missing clues he normally wouldn’t miss.
It more or less confirmed his stance on the wisdom of not mixing business with pleasure, but he didn’t want their fling to end just yet.
He craved her company and touch too much.
Jack scraped a hand through his hair. ‘Okay, so I’ll have another chat with my client. There are always three sides to the story you know—his side, her side and the truth.’
Sylvie blew out a breath of frustration. ‘It’s their daughter I’m worried about. After Hugo left, Edwina found Mimi cutting herself in her bedroom.’
Jack frowned. ‘How badly?’
‘Just light scratches but these things can escalate. I’ve given my client a list of psychologists to see but it may be weeks or even months before she gets an appointment.’
Jack reached out and brushed a stray strand of hair back from Sylvie’s face and gently tucked it behind her ear. She didn’t flinch or back away but stood and seemed to relax under his touch. ‘You really go all in for your clients.’
‘Don’t you?’
He gave a rueful grimace. ‘Yes, but not with the sensitivity and care you do. I just take their money and fight like hell for them.’
Sylvie’s eyes glittered. ‘You can’t win this one, Jack. It will destroy those kids, not to mention my client.’
Jack rolled a shutter down on his emotions. ‘Let’s not talk about work. Have you seen Shadow today?’
‘No, but the food is gone and I’m luring her closer to the house each time I feed her.’
‘Clever tactic. I might try that.’
Sylvie put her head to one side. ‘Are you trying to steal my cat?’
Jack put his arms around her and drew her close. ‘No, but right now I’d like to steal a kiss if that’s okay with you.’
A sparkling light came into her eyes. ‘Steal away.’ And so, he did.
Natasha and Mariah’s baby shower was held at their townhouse in Croydon.
Sylvie handed around food and drinks to help out as there were a lot of guests—both sets of very excited grandparents-to-be, sisters, cousins, friends, associates and neighbours.
It was a gender reveal party as well and it was hard not to get caught up in the excitement, especially as Natasha and Mariah were not only her close friends but also partners in her law firm.
‘It’s a boy!’ Natasha’s mother cried out for joy.
There were whoops and cheers all round and while Sylvie joined in, a part of her began to question her stance against settling down and having children.
It was as if the foundation on which she had built her life was feeling a little unsteady.
Was her relationship with Jack to blame?
Was the exquisite sex they had together making her question everything she had thought she wanted?
Of course it was crazy to think Jack might fall in love with her and want to marry her and have children.
It was even crazier to think she was falling in love with him…
and yet…his touch evoked such sensations in her body.
And not just in her body but in her mind.
She enjoyed his easy-going company. He didn’t take life as seriously as her, which counterbalanced her tendency to be pessimistic.
‘Here,’ Natasha said, handing her a glass of champagne. ‘You’ve been so busy serving everyone else I haven’t seen you relax for a minute.’
‘Thanks.’ Sylvie took the champagne and took a tiny sip. ‘Mmm, lovely. It’s a great baby shower.’
‘I thought you might find it boring since you’re not interested in babies.’
‘I love babies and kids,’ Sylvie said. ‘I just haven’t thought I’d ever want them.’ Natasha perched on the edge of the sofa next to Sylvie, absently stroking the huge mound of her abdomen. ‘Are you saying you’ve changed your mind?’
Sylvie gave a small smile. ‘I’m not sure what I want. I used to be so black and white about everything but lately I’ve been extending my horizons a bit.’
‘Has it got anything to do with Jack Wilde?’
Sylvie frowned. ‘Why would it have anything to do with him?’
‘Clare from Accounts saw you two dancing at the fundraiser. She said he took you out on the balcony and you stayed out there for ages.’
‘We were discussing the Winterses’ divorce.’
Natasha gave her a you-can’t-fool-me look.
Sylvie let out a breath. ‘He’s hard to avoid and besides, he’s my neighbour.’
Natasha’s eyes threatened to pop out of their sockets. ‘Oh really? How convenient.’
Sylvie mock-glowered at her. ‘It’s damn inconvenient. Once our fling is over, I’ll have a ringside seat to watch him work his way through hundreds of women, who, like me, couldn’t resist him.’
‘Oh, babe, you have got yourself into a mess, haven’t you?’