Chapter 17 – Graham
Chapter Seventeen
GRAHAM
“A nd while truth is a defense in defamation cases, you have no proof that the gifts and ring that Ms. Miller were gifted were fake. Therefore, her statements were defamation per se, which allows us to recover both ordinary and punitive damages. We believe the case is strong and aren’t willing to negotiate on the number.” Montclair’s lawyer has such a smug expression on his face that my hands curl involuntarily into fists.
My own lawyer coughs into his hand as if to warn me that punching out the opposing counsel will not make negotiations go easier.
Luna’s leg is shaking again, which makes me angry at Montclair but also at myself for not being able to protect her better. I move my hand down to cover her clenched ones to provide what comfort I can. She stops shaking, but her hands remain cold and clammy.
Montclair doesn’t have many secrets, according to my investigators. He lives a debauched life, but it’s on full display. He’s known to have paid for abortions, drugs, hookers, settlements to angry spouses, and damages to many establishments for trying to rearrange the interiors by throwing bottles at mirrors and jumping on tables when he was drunk or high or both. Luna was an attempt at appeasing his family. They thought if he found someone, he would settle down. It bothered them that Luna wasn’t from a wealthy family, but she was pretty enough and had nice manners, and because she wasn’t moneyed, they thought they would be able to control her.
They misjudged her by a lot.
“Your guy has to have a reputation to ruin in order to suffer any harm. I’ve got a dozen people who will be willing to testify that Michael Montclair is a drug-addled, porn-addicted degenerate.”
“Maybe so, but it still doesn’t make him a fraud.” The lawyer points to the bottom of the demand letter he’d given us. “Pay this, make a full and public apology, and the two can go on their way.”
“I’m not paying real diamond prices for a fake diamond ring,” Luna spits out angrily. “He lied to me. He used me.”
“Maybe you sold the real ring and replaced it with a fake. The truth really doesn’t matter here. Only what you can prove, and you can’t prove that anything you received was a fake. We have the receipts.” The lawyer shrugs. He gets to his feet. “You can make the check payable to my firm.”
“I don’t have the money.” Luna is defiant. She might be shaking underneath the table, but she isn’t going to let this lawyer cow her.
The lawyer’s eyes flit to me. “Someone might help you if you?—”
I rise swiftly. “If you want to make it out of here in one piece, don’t finish your sentence. You said your piece, and now it’s time to leave.”
The lawyer is smart enough to realize that he’s about an inch away from the danger zone where I forget we’re both wearing suits in a conference room. He snaps his mouth shut, gathers up his briefcase, and exits.
”Do you want my advice?” asks my lawyer.
“No, but thanks for coming.”
“I’ll see myself out.” The door makes almost no noise as it shuts behind him.
Luna’s breath comes out in a shaky, almost tearful stream. I want to run after the lawyer and beat him into the ground, but I know that’s not going to make her feel better. Me, yes, but beating someone up isn’t going to allay her fears. I take her hands in mine. “Let me pay this.”
“No.” She shakes her head adamantly. “It’s too much. I feel gross just thinking about it. This is not like nail glue or even a designer bag. This is like”—she waves her hand toward the paperwork—“buying a small country. It’s wrong.”
“Let’s get married, Luna, and then my money is yours.”
Her face screws up in horror. “A pity marriage? I don’t want that. I’ll always feel like I owe you. We won’t ever be equals. Besides, it was my greed that got me into this position in the first place. I knew I didn’t belong next to Michael, that I was marrying above my station.”
“This isn’t the 19th century. There are no stations.” I’m starting to feel desperate, like she’s slipping away from me. I knew it was a mistake to drive back into the city, but my lawyer called and said that Montclair’s side wanted to talk about a settlement, so I convinced Luna we should leave our love nest for this debacle.
“There are. There are rich people like you and Montclair”—I flinch at that comparison—“and there are poor people like me. We’re like oil and water. They don’t mix.”
“Montclair’s a special kind of asshole. You had the misfortune for falling for someone like that.”
“I didn’t fall for him. That’s the thing. I wanted what he had. The name, the security, the belonging. But it wasn’t for me.” She wrenches her hands from mine. “Please just let me go. I know he’s only asking for this kind of money because you’re involved. If I’m alone, I can get him to lay off. It was sweet of you to try to help, but at this point, I’m better off alone.”
I move to block the door. “I can’t let you leave, little dove. You promised me that you would be mine forever, and I’m holding you to that.”
She purses her pretty lips together. “I never said anything like that.”
“Not in so many words, but you made that promise when you let me take you, when you lay with me, when you let me come inside you.” I reach out and lay my hand across her stomach. “My child is probably growing in you right now. I won’t let you walk out on me.”
“I thought you used protection.” She looks confused now.
“No. Why would I? Luna, I’ve never slept with another woman before. You’re the only one, and you will remain the only one. Now we’re going to go to my home, have some dinner, make love, and then we’ll reassess how we’re going to deal with Montclair. But it’s going to be together because you’re not leaving me.”