“Thank you,” I whisper, and Maddie rests her head on my arm.
“It’ll come to you. The song,” she says, shivering at the cool breeze that’s picked up, so I wrap an arm around her shoulders. “When you’re ready for it.”
“Yeah,” I agree.I just hope I won’t go insane waiting.
Chapter Eighteen
Lauren
Hugging porcelain,again.
I would have been fine had it not been in the ladies' room of Jason’s law firm, five minutes before an impromptu meeting with one of the name partners.
“You okay?” Hattie’s dark green eyes scan me with worry.
“Yeah, my nerves are a bit shot, I guess,” I reply, accepting the gum she’s offering.
“It’ll be okay.” She lays a gentle hand on my arm, smiling reassuringly, and I can’t thank her enough for coming with me.
Phoebe tried to catch a flight to get here on time but it was so last minute she couldn’t find one, so Hattie offered to act as my emotional support for whatever’s waiting for me behind door number two.
“Miss Banks?” Rex Deloitte’s assistant sticks her head out of the office. “You can come in.”
Rex is one of the managing partners, and he’s always been incredibly nice to me. It makes me wonder why he took on representing Jason in this meeting, considering I’m pretty sure he isn’t a big fan of my ex.
“Lauren.” Rex beams at me. “You look more stunning than ever.”
“Thank you, Rex.” I smile, noting Jason isn’t in the room, but a man in a pink button-down and bright brown hair is. “You look good. You’ve lost weight.”
“Pat has me on a new diet.” He grimaces. “I’m not allowed to drink more than a glass of red wine a day, but I cheat with the occasional scotch.”
“I won’t tell.” I wink at him. “Where’s Jason?”
“He isn’t required for this meeting,” Rex replies, turning to the stranger, who promptly stands.
He’s at least six-foot-one, his hair is straight and neatly cut, strands falling over his forehead, a light scruff decorating his handsome face, and piercing blue eyes that acknowledge Hattie, then turn to me.
“Hammond Zane,” he introduces himself, stretching his hand out to me, and I tentatively take it.
“Lauren Banks.”
“I’ve heard a lot about you. I even follow S.A.S.S. on Instagram.” He flashes a dazzling smile, and I catch the flush on Hattie’s cheeks.
“Oh, that’s all Hattie. She’s the fashion marketing genius,” I reply with a grin.
Hammond Zane turns to Hattie, the perfect smile never leaving his face. “Nice to meet you, Hattie, the fashion marketing genius.”
“Mr. Zane.” She takes his hand without so much as a flustered tremble, and I admit that I’m impressed.
“Just Zane,” he informs us, and Hattie smiles and nods.
“So, let’s cut to the chase, shall we?” Rex offers, and we all take our seats.
“I’ve looked over the demands your lawyer has made on your behalf. It’s almost suspicious how reasonable they are,” Rex observes. “Jason’s been telling everyone how you’re trying to extort him, but I didn’t believe it for a second, and I’m glad Gabe reached out to me.”
“Gabe?” I ask in confusion.
“Gabriel Walsh.” Zane turns to look at me. “He works with Phoebe, and he’s a mutual acquaintance of Rex and me.”