‘Are you satisfied?’ Thomas’s face bore no signs of a smile. His dark hair was messy, as though he’d been raking his hands through it. ‘Did you get what you wanted?’
‘Perhaps you could leave my client alone,’ Gloria said.
Juliet placed her hand on her lawyer’s arm, calming her. ‘It’s okay, Gloria. I’m happy to answer him.’ Then, turning to Thomas she looked him straight in the eye. ‘Since you asked, Thomas, then yes, I’m satisfied with our terms. I’m pleased our daughter will get the support she deserves. And I’m delighted not to get any alimony, because I can look after myself.’
His laugh was short. ‘I know you can.’
‘And we might not be together any more, but we still have a child. And for the next twelve years it’s our job to make sure she thrives.’ She looked him straight in the eye. ‘And I’ll do my best to make sure she does. Nothing else matters. Not you and not me.’
‘Damn right,’ Gloria murmured.
‘But you also asked if I’ve got what I wanted, and the answer to that is no. I didn’t want to be cheated on, and I sure as hell didn’t want to be treated like crap by you and your family. I didn’t want to miss my daughter every other weekend, but since you made all these decisions without me, then I’ll do it anyway. And I’ll do it well, because I’m a Shakespeare, and you can’t keep a Shakespeare girl down forever. No matter how hard you try.’
Thomas narrowed his eyes as he stared at her, the cool breeze lifting the ends of his hair. ‘Whatever,’ he huffed. ‘I’ll pick Poppy up on Saturday morning. Make sure she’s ready.’
‘Of course.’ Juliet gave him a patient smile. ‘Whatever you want, Thomas.’
She wasn’t going to let him get to her. Not today, and not ever again. Sure, she knew there would be hard times ahead. He wouldn’t give up trying to bait her, and no doubt he’d do his hardest to mess her around whenever he could. But he had no hold on her any more, legally or emotionally.
She was free, and it felt wonderful.
As her ex-husband hurried down the courthouse steps, she turned to give Gloria a final smile. ‘I guess I’d better go and share the good news, before my phone starts blowing up.’
‘I don’t need to ask who you’ll be telling first,’ Gloria said.
‘No you don’t.’ They shared a knowing look. Ryan had wanted to come to court with her. It had taken a lot of persuasion to keep him away. Thank goodness Gloria had backed her up. As far as Juliet was concerned, the more distance Ryan could keep between himself and the courthouse the better. All charges of assault against him had been dropped – but Thomas was still a liability. There was no way she wanted Ryan to poke the beast.
Juliet’s phone vibrated in her pocket again. She knew exactly who it was. ‘I’d better go,’ she said, smiling up at her lawyer. ‘Thank you again for everything.’
‘You’re welcome, Ms Shakespeare.’ Gloria gave her a huge grin.
She was going to have to get used to that.
Ryan lifted his gaze from the beam he’d been sawing, and saw the man stalking his way up the boardwalk. He recognised that walk – he’d seen it since he was little more than a child in the crib. Carefully he placed the circular saw back in its cradle, taking care to switch it off at the plug. Lifting the safety goggles from his eyes, he stood up, brushing the sawdust from his hair with a sweep of his palm.
‘Dad.’
The old man stared at him through narrowed eyes. ‘I’ve been calling you for days.’
Ryan touched the pocket of his jeans automatically. ‘And I’ve been avoiding you for days.’
His father blinked. The dust in the air was settling on him, a fine layer of brown on his
expensively tailored suit. ‘You need to explain yourself.’
‘I don’t think so.’
‘You sold your goddamned shares to a third party.’ His dad’s face turned puce. ‘Why the hell did you do that? Do you understand what you’ve done?’
‘It’s obvious isn’t it?’ It was taking a lot of strength for Ryan to subdue his shit-eating grin. ‘I needed the money to buy the wharf. In fact it was you who gave me the idea, after you suggested I sell the shares to you.’
His father shook his head. ‘Do you know how long the business has been in our family? And now you’ve invited the sharks in. They’re already demanding an audit, and talking about bringing consultants in.’ He was rocking back and forth on his feet, his shiny leather brogues covered in the same dust as his shoulders. ‘They even asked me if I’d consider retirement.’
Ryan would have liked to have seen that. The image of his father being told he was surplus to requirements made him want to laugh out loud. ‘You’re not getting any younger. Maybe you should think about it.’
‘You don’t know the meaning of family, do you? You never did. You tried to betray me once, and now you’ve done it again. You’re scum, Ryan. You don’t deserve to bear my name.’
Ryan shook his head. It was amazing how easily things could be turned around to suit your own point of view. ‘I was a kid,’ he said, trying to keep his voice even. ‘You let me leave with nothing and didn’t give a shit where I ended up. That’s not the kind of family I want to be part of.’