Page 120 of Teaching Tanner

She smiles at me, and then at Zara, and we make our way to the front door, where I release her to let her pass through ahead of me, and then take her hand while we cross the street.

Neither of us says a word. In my case, I’m nervous about the tone of Ezra’s message, wondering what Sabrina or her lawyers have done now. I think Zara probably feels the same, and until we get to Ezra’s and find out what’s going on, there doesn’t seem to be any point in discussing it.

His secretary ushers us in the moment we arrive, and Ezra looks up from behind his desk, then shoots to his feet, a broad smile on his face.

“Hello,” he says, focusing on Zara. “You must be Miss Howell.”

“Zara.” She offers her hand, and he takes it.

“It’s lovely to meet you.”

Zara nods her head, and I fetch a spare chair from beside the door, so we can both sit, facing Ezra, who resumes his seat, staring at us for a second, before he looks back at his computer screen.

“I take it you’ve heard something?” I say, impatience getting the better of me.

“I have, and while we could have talked over the phone, I didn’t think you’d mind coming over.”

“I don’t.”

He nods his head. “Did you have any issues over the weekend?” he asks, leaning back in his chair.

“With Sabrina, you mean?”

“Yes. Did she cause a problem when you took Nash home?”

“No. There was no sign of her. It was her boyfriend who came to the door, not her.”

“So, she didn’t say a word?”

“No.”

He frowns slightly, sits forward, then taps on the keyboard and leans a little closer to the screen. “I’m surprised by that.”

“You are? Why? I assumed Sabrina’s lawyer must have told her it wouldn’t look good in court if she didn’t behave herself.”

“Maybe he did, but I imagined something must have happened between you. You see, Mrs. Pope’s lawyer has written back this morning to say your ex-wife is prepared to withdraw her application for full custody.”

“She is?” I’m as shocked as he is.

“Yes. Providing you agree to stop seeing Miss Howell.”

“That’s a joke, right?”

Ezra shakes his head. “I don’t think it’s intended to be.”

“Can they seriously ask me to do that?”

“Their client can.”

“The answer’s no,” I say, taking Zara’s hand in mine.

“You want me to go back and say that?” Ezra asks, his fingers poised over the keyboard.

“Yeah, I do, and now might be a good time to raise the fact that Sabrina and her lawyers somehow knew about Zara being fired before Miss Montgomery had even spoken to her.”

Ezra nods his head. “Would you like me to find a way to phrase that which makes it sound suitably threatening?”

“Absolutely,” I say, and turn to Zara. “Are you okay?”

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