"He's not going to court. You're not the only one with big-time lawyers, Jamie. Uncle Jon is going to help us with the case. Daddy's brother. Remember him?" She moved toward the desk and Jamie stood, not wanting their fight to turn physical, but more than ready to dish out an ass-whooping should her sister think otherwise.
"Uncle Jon is a child custody lawyer. You can't be serious right now." She moved around the desk as Christine backed up and almost tripped.
"Shut up. You don't know anything, you stupid, fat cow. Leave my man alone. He didn't want you, remember? You disgust him, just like you disgust me." She turned and walked to the door. "I hope the press continues to tear you apart. You deserve it. Stupid whore."
"Right. Enjoy your day, and if you need lessons in the bedroom on how to make Stephen scream like an animal in heat, just let me know." Jamie regretted the words once they were out, but there was no taking them back. “Next time you come to this office, security will escort you out of the building. You aren’t allowed back in here. Do I need to get them now?” She sat back down, starting to type on her keyboard as her sister slammed the door and left her to stew in the insanity that was her life.
"Why? What have I done to deserve all of this?" She pressed her hands to her face and took slow, deep breaths. "It's going to be fine. It's going to be—"
The sound of the fire alarm blaring from above her head caused her heart to almost stop.
"No way... What now?"
Chapter 9
"Freakin’ false alarm." Mark moved in front of her door as she gathered her things quickly. The alarm stopped suddenly, as if Mark’s words controlled them.
"What happened?"
"No clue, but there are a couple of older gentlemen up front asking for Alex, and one is getting rather testy. I'm thinking maybe you might want to help Kristen out. She can't find the boss."
"Testy? Why?" Jamie dropped her purse into her seat and hurried out into the hall to find people shuffling back to their offices. "Why would the fire alarm go off? Is it just damned to be one of those weeks?"
"Or one of those lives?" Mark chuckled before ducking into another office as Jamie continued her trek to the front. She half expected the sound of raised voices to greet her, but there was nothing of the sort.
"Nicolas." She stopped at the entrance to the hall. The ex-shareholder had proven to be far more of a detriment to the firm than any of the other scandals that had rocked them over the last year. He'd almost seemed to make it his personal mission to pin Alex as a greedy, womanizing bastard. It had almost worked in more ways than she cared to recount.
"Good morning, Jamie! Is Mr. Reid in today, or is he taking a day off?" A smirk played at the side of the older man's mouth. It was an expression that didn't become him. He was handsome and professional in his appearance and demeanor.
"I'm not sure where Alex is, but maybe I can help you?" She ran her hand over the top of the counter beside her and moved to stand beside them, extending her hand to the gentleman he was with. "I'm Jamie Connors, Mr. Reid's assistant."
"Jerry Donahue, legal counsel." He shook her hand and gave a curt nod.
Jamie thought fast. Nic here with legal counsel couldn’t mean anything good. “Let’s get you guys in a conference room. Would you like a cup of coffee? I’ll get you into a room and then go locate Alex." She gave Kristen a smile to let the girl know that everything was okay before turning and walking back down the hall. Why were Nicholas and his lawyer there? Were they looking to settle? Was that even a possibility? The situation was more than just being involved in collusion and fraud, right? Or was it more of a civil suit that Alex had the power to close down if Nic offered him enough money or restitution?
"Right here." She opened the door and moved back, avoiding Nicholas's hard stare. She had a million things she wanted to say to him, but held her tongue. He was a wolf in sheep’s clothing like none other she'd encountered. That he would use Gina to get to Alex showed the depths of his character, including every nasty flaw in it.
"You look nice." Nic nodded and walked into the room.
"Coffee?" She glanced down the hall, hoping like hell she might find Alex headed her way. Surely he had to know that Nicholas was coming in today.
"Sure. Black." The lawyer unbuttoned his coat and sat down, pulling a stack of files toward him.
"I'm fine." Nicholas walked toward the window, looking back at her through the reflection on the glass.
Jamie turned and walked to Alex's office, finding him gone, which wasn't a surprise. "Any clue where he is?"
Kristen stood up. "I think he's down at security on the bottom floor trying to figure out what happened with the alarm on the building. Want me to call his cell?"
"No. I'll go get him. Can you get a cup of black coffee to the guy in the dark blue suit in conference room three?" She walked to the elevator as Kristen agreed to help out.
Jamie pressed her back to wall behind her and let out a slow breath, wishing for a few minutes of peace. A night in the arms of the man she loved would be even better, but that wasn't going to happen in the near future. She made another mental note to talk with him about his schedule again. Being a nagging wife wasn't her desire, but having more of him for herself was going to have to become the case. They needed it. It centered both of them.
The elevator opened on the fourth floor, and a pretty girl walked on, her eyes lighting up as she stopped in front of Jamie.
"Oh wow. You're Jamie Connors." She offered her hand. "I was just reading all about you this morning."
Jamie cringed internally. "Lucky me!" she joked as she shook the girl's hand and tried to discern who the stranger might be. The building was mostly taken up by Reid associates, but they had recently decided to lease out the twelfth floor. Maybe the girl worked for one of their sublease tenants.