7. Chapter Seven | Theo
Chapter seven
Fuck me. I knew Shane Williams had a beautiful wife, but I wasn’t expecting her to be absolutely exquisite.
It’s not possible to live in Forrest Falls and not know who the Callahans are, but Shane never allowed any social interaction to occur if we happened to be at the same gathering, which is almost impressive, except I’m never impressed by that asshole. I refuse to be impressed by trash.
But this woman? She is extremely impressive.
When I arrived at the office after dropping Gigi off at school, Susan grinned like the cat that got the canary.
I knew whoever Pippa was meeting with was going to be good, but I was not at all expecting it to be the most gorgeous woman I’ve ever seen.
She also happens to have an incredibly sexy voice; it’s velvety smooth and just a slightly deeper tone than one would expect.
Savannah Callahan-Williams is definitely in a class of her own.
Savannah has her long blonde hair loosely pulled back, with a few pieces framing her face.
Her dark navy dress with a deep scoop neckline showcases her ample cleavage and wraps around her body, hugging her curves—lucky dress.
As she stands to shake my hand, I’m forced to draw on every ounce of self-control to not physically react to her.
She has an hourglass figure that would give Jessica Rabbit a run for her money, and what boy didn’t think that cartoon was a wet dream?
But the difference between Savannah and Jessica, is that each and every curve of her body is the real deal.
I imagine having her children only helped contribute to make her body the beautiful curvy work of art that it is today .
Her dainty oval face has delicate features, but my attention is immediately drawn to the prettiest pair of pale cornflower-blue eyes I have ever seen in my life.
As I step closer to shake her hand, I notice small flecks of gold sparkle amidst the sea of blue in her eyes and the darker shade the pale blue fades to.
At six-foot-two, I peer down at her as she glances up at me, never breaking eye contact.
Even in her high heels, she’s still five or six inches shorter than me.
Her moves are graceful, and her long neck holds her head high.
Huh, I don’t think I’ve ever been attracted to a neck before, but I wouldn’t mind licking hers.
She is breathtaking, what fool would ever let this woman go? My sister wasn’t lying when she said her appointment would be good; if anything, she undersold how happy I am to see this gorgeous goddess in one of our conference rooms.
The fact she is divorcing the biggest asshole I love to hate? Even better.
“Ah, Theo! I see you invited yourself to this meeting, just as I suspected you would.” My sister startles me and snaps me back to reality.
“Savannah, this is my brother and another attorney with Smith and Harrington, although Theo, you don’t usually get involved with family law cases.
” Pippa is grinning, and her mischievous eyes dance with delight.
She is obviously highly amused by my dumbstruck reaction to Savannah’s beauty.
I’m a bit surprised by how strong of a reaction I’m having to her as well, but I school my features to keep things professional.
“Well, you know me, Pippa, I like to keep things interesting, and due to the nature of the parties involved, I thought it could be fun to see if I can help in any way.” I turn to address Savannah directly.
“But of course, only if you’re comfortable with my involvement.
It could be fun though, I’m sure you know Shane’s feelings toward me.
” I raise an eyebrow because she must know that Shane hates me—a mutual feeling at this point in our lives.
If I weren’t observing her so intently, I may have missed the way she stiffened slightly at the mention of her soon-to-be ex-husband’s name. She subtly rolls her shoulders back, as though preparing for battle .
“I have to be honest, I’m well-versed in his feelings about you and this firm, Mr. Smith-Harrington.
I would be lying if I said it wasn’t a deciding factor in reaching out to your firm first. I have other options for representation, of course, but when Shane decided to make this personal, I wanted to go for the nuclear option of making this as personal, painful, and expensive as possible for him.
” Pippa’s giggle startles me. Why do I keep forgetting my own sister is in the room with us?
“Oh, Savannah, I am going to really enjoy working with you. Please, pretty please cancel any other meetings you may have scheduled with other firms. We will do whatever you need us to do in order for you to feel confident that we are the right team to have your back.” Pippa sets some folders down on the conference room table and clasps her hands together in a pleading gesture as Savannah smiles at both of us.
“And I promise we will do whatever we can to provide you with the very best representation possible.”
I clear my throat before chiming in, “If you don’t mind, may I ask how you two connected? Pippa’s schedule is usually set months in advance, and I didn’t know anything about this meeting until this morning.”
“When Jack Callahan personally reaches out, you take the call. I also received a call from Daphne, who happens to represent Jack’s company with their European legal issues out of their New York offices.
” Daphne Cromwell was Pippa’s roommate throughout college and they have been best friends ever since their freshman year.
The British expat has been a good friend to Pippa, and our similar upbringings and family history allow them the somewhat rare opportunity to just be real with one another.
People assume that if you grow up in a family with significant wealth that you shouldn’t have any problems, but money does not buy happiness.
The number of tales of people manipulating and lying to get close to someone with money I have heard from family members and experienced in my own life would be impossible to count.
It’s hard to know when someone wants to be in your life because of who you are, or just because of what you have and what you can do for them. See case in point: Gigi’s birth mother.
“How is ol’ Daphne?”
“She’s wonderful, and I’m telling her you called her old.
” The most beautiful melodic sound tap dances into the room as Savannah laughs at Pippa’s comment.
My head snaps to see her entire face light up and I’m completely spellbound.
Holy shit, I thought she was beautiful before, but her laughter has now become one of my favorite sounds in the entire world.
Is she a witch? A goddess? What the hell is going on?
What was I saying?
What’s my name again?
“Theo? Are you alright?” Pippa sounds concerned, but telling by her shit-eating grin, she knows what’s going on and is loving every second of it.
“Yes, of course. And please don’t tell Daphne that. She’s a bit terrifying,” I admit to Savannah, who laughs again in response. The warmth expanding in my chest at the realization that I made her laugh? This woman could be dangerous, but what a way to go.
“Yes, my bestie can absolutely be terrifying, but she’s also a tigress in court, so when she called in a favor to take this meeting, who was I to say no?
I was honestly incredibly intrigued, I must admit.
Although…” My sister steeples her hands and taps her fingers together.
“It would be fun for her to come to Tennessee for the case, so if we need to convince her, just say the word Savannah and we can have an entire army of lawyers at your disposal.”
Savannah smiles, but it’s not the big genuine smile she had on her face when she was laughing. This smile is smaller and lacking the sparkle from just moments ago. “I would probably need to clear that with Jack, since he is footing the bill currently.”
What?
Alarm bells sound in my head as my head tilts in confusion.
Why would Savannah need her brother to pay her legal fees?
Shane is a well-respected, and I also assumed, wealthy-enough attorney.
I know the neighborhood they live in and their girls go to the same private school as Gigi.
They have money; he may not be Smith-Harrington rich, but to be fair, few people have that level of wealth.
I mentally search through any tidbits about him that could justify her statement, but he’s always been pretty timid in any gossip over the years.
Boring. He’s always been boring.
“Am I overstepping to ask why that is?” I gently ask, but seriously, what the hell is going on?
“Maybe we should sign some paperwork before we get into all of that,” Pippa interrupts.
She’s not wrong, but I don’t care what it takes, I want our firm to represent Savannah in her divorce proceedings.
I’ll waive the fee myself if necessary, or hell, I’ll pay it personally.
Shane has had karma coming for him for a long time, and I will gladly fund any and all retribution to serve it up on a platter to the asshole. Just call me Karma Delivery.
I’ve felt like that about him for years, but seeing the sadness in Savannah’s eyes as she nods in agreement with my sister lights a fire in my gut.
She is radiant, regardless of who she’s divorcing.
But when her sparkle just dimmed right in front of us as the reality of why we are here sinks in?
That coward has done something to hurt this queen sitting at our table.
And that is completely, and utterly unacceptable.
“If you’re comfortable hiring Smith and Harrington as your legal representation in your divorce, I assure you, I will do everything in my power to take the very best care of you and get you exactly what you deserve from this difficult situation,” Pippa calmly states.
“Yes, I think that’s the right move and I’m comfortable moving forward with you representing me.” She directs the statement to Pippa and I can’t fight the massive grin that spreads across my face.
“Jack already gave my assistant the necessary banking information for securing the retainer in case you decided to move forward with us, as well as any other financial needs throughout the process. It’s a simple form and then we can move forward, and I have a few …
creative ideas of what that could look like, depending on the level of response you want to fire back. ”
“Do you have a pen?” Savannah nods at Pippa before signing the agreement in front of her. She sets the pen down on the table and seems to sit a little taller. “I’m ready to light up his world like the Fourth of July.”