Page 119 of Beautiful Betrayal

“He wants to know the terms, but he’s cautiously optimistic.”

Cautiously optimistic, I repeat in my head. I keep hearing those words but I cling to them. I want this to be over, really over, but I also know Grayson. He can assess the deal, he’s a talented attorney himself, but that won’t be enough. He’ll wantEric and Davis, his confidants in different ways, to offer in-depth opinions, to pass along to Reese. This agreement is nothing but a verbal tease right now.

I force my focus back to my client notes and Grayson’s gaze catches on the controversial idea I have for Delaney’s defense. He reaches for my notepad. “Can I?”

“Of course,” I say, holding my breath as he scans the notes in more detail before those intelligent green eyes meet mine. “I think you need to be running our criminal law division.” It’s the biggest compliment I could ever get from anyone.

I’m warmed by his praise, my cheeks heating, but I force myself to remain dubious for Delaney’s sake. “I hope Reese is as approving of my strategy as you are.”

“If he doesn’t, she doesn’t need him.”

His confidence in my strategy matters and not just because I’m representing his firm and him, but because I care about what happens to Delaney.

“It’s true,” I say of what he’s read. I don’t speak the details, not with Smith and Jacob in the vehicle. I trust the Walker team, but Grayson is part of Delaney’s legal team and they aren’t, which means they aren’t privy to the knowledge he is. “That’s why I’m supporting her.”

“As well you should. Does she know this is your strategy?”

“No. And I’m not telling her yet.”

“Why?”

“I want her to tell her story to Reese with me guiding her to my conclusion, of course.”

“As you would if she were on the stand,” he assumes.

“Yes. I want him to experience what I did when I first talked to her. Her desperation, her honesty, and she is honest, no matter how brutal it is for her to speak the words.”

“Are you sure a public place is the best place for this meet and greet?”

“It works for Reese, so we’ll make it work, but I’m really not worried. An interesting thing about Delaney—she can tell you her story with dry eyes and somehow be composed, but you feel her spiraling inside. It’s like nothing I’ve ever seen. You’ll see. I want you to sit in on this.”

“Are you sure she wants me to sit in?”

“She’ll have the most powerful man in the legal world in front of her. Yes. She needs to feel that support. Unless you don’t want to join us?”

The Escalade pulls to the front door of Reese and Cat’s building and Grayson considers that idea a moment before he surprises me by saying, “No. This is your story, and hers, that’s your writing, Mia. Not mine.”

“My story is our story.”

“Of course it is and inside our story, we weave our individual successes, which we celebrate together. I need to run to the bank and take care of a few things. I’ll leave you with the Walker team, and meet you back here at the building.” His hand slides under my hair and settles on my neck and he leans in close, his breath a warm fan on my cheek. “You’ve got this. And we’ve got each other.”

I know what he’s doing and I’m profoundly affected by where we’ve been and how far we have come together. He’s right. We are two pieces of one whole, held together by love, but we have to grow each piece for a lasting bond. Because we know this now, we are stronger than ever before. We will not make the same mistakes as before. We were almost perfect and from now on, we both know that we will always be almost perfect. We can’t let the word “perfect” allow us to take each other for granted.

He’s right. We’ve got each other. “Yes, we do,” I say, pressing my lips to his and we share a soft caress of tongues that I feel from head to toe.

Grayson growls soft and low. “Go before I don’t let you go.” He motions to Jacob.

Jacob exits the vehicle from the front and he’s quickly opening my door. I hesitate to exit with my attention on Grayson. “Don’t you need to speak to Reese?”

“See if we can give him a ride to the courthouse.”

I nod. “Will do. Wish me luck.”

“You don’t need it.” He winks. “You have the truth and a strategy.”

I smile, but as I exit to the street, it fades into a mix of the cool fall wind and my nerves over this meeting. Jacob and Blake are both waiting for me on the sidewalk. The two men have size in common, both tall and broad, but otherwise, they’re polar opposites. Jacob has a buzz cut, and he’s wearing a tan suit and tie and a perfectly pressed shirt, while Blake is in jeans and a T-shirt with his long dark hair tied at his nape. Blake’s a handsome man, but there are shadows under his eyes, and the lines on his face are more pronounced than usual. I’m reminded of last night and immediately say, “Thank you for all you’ve done. I know you’re tired.”

He arches a brow. “You mean I look like shit?”

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