Page 54 of Friends with Benefits (Club Risqué)

He needed to be able to tell Trinity the matter was closed, so they could put it behind them and move forward.

The thought of losing her now was literally killing him. Christian had never been so terrified of anything in his entire life, and that was saying something since there had been quite a few times when things had absolutely sucked.

It was in that moment, when the thought of losing her hit him so hard, that he realised the true extent of his feelings for her.

"So, how bad is it?" he asked dejectedly, sitting forward with his elbows resting on his knees and looking from Micah to Logan who had both settled themselves into seats opposite him. It felt a little bit like an interrogation.

Logan leaned back and crossed his legs, looking relaxed and somewhat out of place, in his immaculate three-piece suit, mirror-shined oxford shoes, and precisely knotted, coordinating tie.

Since Christian usually saw him at the club, he was barely recognisable, his distinctive amber eyes shuttered behind a pair of spectacles and his shoulder length hair, his only outward rebellion against the straitjacket of societal norms, neatly contained with a leather cord.

Next to him, Micah was his antithesis, lounging nonchalantly in his matching leather vest and pants.

"Actually, it's not as bad as you might imagine. Especially since you were prepared to pay her off. We both know Bianca's main objective here is money, and clawing back what she thinks she was denied during the original divorce negotiations."

Christian nodded. As much as he hated to give the conniving witch anything, including the time of day, it would be worth it to get her out of his life once and for all.

Right now, he was just preparing for how much of a hit he was going to take. He resented giving one damn penny to someone who had lied and manipulated her way into bleeding it out of him. But at the end of the day, the money wasn't as important to him as getting all of the loose ends tied off, so he could finally put it behind him—again—and make things right with Trinity.

Christian nodded. "So, what's the damage?" he asked, trying not to cringe at the thought of giving anything to somebody who was, in effect, trying to blackmail it out of him.

If it hadn't been for Trinity, he might have called Bianca's bluff. But sometimes in life, you had an epiphany and the things that were truly important stood up and shone so brightly in front of you that everything else paled by comparison and became insignificant.

"Nothing!" Logan replied with a grin.

Christian sat up arrow straight in his seat, and even Micah raised a surprised eyebrow.

"What? How is that possible?"

"Yes, I'm kind of interested in that, myself." That from Micah.

"It seems Bianca miscalculated," Logan informed them both. "She went about seducing your lawyer, Christian. Then she used their illicit assignation to coerce him into 'forgetting' to file your decree absolute.”

"You mean she set him up and then blackmailed him!" Christian spat derisively, shaking his head in disgust.

"Pretty much," Logan agreed. "However, what she didn't count on was the fact that your lawyer had a conscience. He came clean and told his wife, who was a rather smart cookie and managed to see past his infidelity to the way that he had been used. She agreed to stick by him and work things out, as long as your lawyer nixed Bianca's plans by filing the decree after all. Which he did… but on the quiet and without forwarding the paperwork to any of the other parties involved."

"Jeez, I don't know if I want to punch the idiot or hug him!" Christian laughed cynically.

A small smile played at the corners of Logan's serious face in acknowledgement. "Bianca, believing you were still married despite her initial settlement, decided it was time to call in some markers. She knew your trust had matured and that the situation with you taking over your father's position within the company had been resolved, so she decided to cash in. You should know that she was all out for everything she could get, since she blames you for impeding any future sources of income by drawing attention to her illicit behaviour."

Christian snorted. "No surprise there, then!"

"It seems her last couple of marks fell through, largely thanks to your intervention, but homing in on Trinity here tonight was actually a coincidence. She didn't recognise Trinity as Tara or even from last week's charity event. Since her interest is so fixated on men, she tends to overlook women completely. Her only interest in Trinity was as a way to manoeuvre you into a publicly humiliating corner, at the kind of venue that might raise a few eyebrows if leaked. Her plan was to then coerce you into agreeing to whatever terms she had dreamed up, in return for your divorce settlement and her silence. She certainly knows how to go in for the kill."

"So why Trinity and not me?" Micah interrupted. "You already said she overlooks women and manipulates men. I might have rather enjoyed the challenge."

Logan laughed outright. "Your reputation precedes you, Micah. Bianca already knew you'd be a tough nut to crack, and while she might have been interested in trying her luck, there was far too much riding on her not being caught out. In her warped little mind, pulling the sob story and relying on another woman's compassion and sense of romance was a sure-fire way to get herself through the door. Underestimating women, as she does, she thought Trinity would be a soft touch and an easy mark."

"Okay, I can understand that logic to some extent." Micah frowned. "But where is she now?"

"I had her escorted off the premises with a promise that if she causes any more trouble, we will press charges for blackmail and perverting the course of justice by coercing a purveyor of the law not to fulfil his obligations."

"So, we just let it go at that and hope she behaves?" Micah sounded incensed.

"Not at all," Logan denied. "I have everything under control. I've already alerted the authorities. They are investigating my claims and accumulating enough evidence to charge her with." He looked at Christian with deadly seriousness. "You should certainly expect a visit from the feds if they think it's worth pursuing a criminal investigation."

Christian wanted to wilt with relief. It was over.

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