Page 28 of Broken Halo

8

Does It Haunt You?

Don’t nibble on that crow. Choke it down fast and furious. If you’re in the position to eat crow to begin with, you deserve it.

Ellie

“Until your court date, I want you to log all your activities—more specifically, where Griffin is, who he’s with, and what he’s doing. The more detailed, the better. It obviously won’t hold up as evidence in court, but depending on the judge, it shows good faith on your part. And I’m sure you’ll have people who can corroborate it.”

I hold Griffin’s cup of Cheerios, which is nothing but pure baby entertainment, while I make notes on everything Scott Lehman is telling me to do. There’s more cereal on the floor than in my son’s tummy at this point, and the rest of them are mushy and sticking to my T-shirt.

I don’t know any attorneys, and quite frankly, my google search first thing this morning about did my already-overwhelmed head in. When my parents found out about my arrest—through Twitter, no less—they told me to call Lehmans right after they lectured me on everything under the sun. I ignored them, but I did call Scott. His firm represented Jen a few months ago and took over completely after the lead attorney for Montgomery Industries was killed. Trig worked for them then.

Luckily, the last name I was born with carries enough clout in this town that I was barely put on hold for thirty seconds before the founding partner himself took my call. I explained that I had Griffin with me and he agreed to meet me at my place of business—the construction zone from hell.

Scott hasn’t complained once about the jackhammering, saws, and other noises that Griffin is now impersonating as he makes a mess while sitting on my lap. Scott shouldn’t complain, not after he told me his hourly fee. For that, he should also clean up the Cheerios on my floor and smile while doing so.

Whatever. I’ll pay anything to get CPS and my in-laws off my back.

Quinn, who started today, knocks on my door before sticking her head in. “Um, excuse me but you have a visitor, Ellie, and he insisted I interrupt.”

I hand Griffin his sippy cup while trying to keep him from grabbing everything off my desk. “Who is it?”

She looks back over her shoulder and whispers, “What’s your name?”

I hear him over the construction and poor Quinn has to move away when he pushes past her and through my door. “Easton Barrett.”

My face falls. “What are you doing here?”

He ignores me and instead addresses my new attorney. “Hey, Scott. Thanks for coming by, but you won’t be needed.”

Scott looks to me. “I thought you said Trig had his hands full and was in over his head at MI?”

I clamp my mouth shut and Trig frowns at me. “You told him I was in over my head?”

Well. Now I’m thankful for the mess Griffin made because I turn my attention to my son and brush the dried cereal off both of us before picking wet Cheerios out of my hair.

“Ellie?”

I look up at Trig and glare. Standing there in his designer suit and custom-cut dress shirt, he towers over us and fills my small office with a force that, if I give it any headspace, could definitely overwhelm and crush me at the same time.

“What?” I tip my head defiantly and lift a shoulder. “When you were banging down my door in the middle of the night, you sure seemed out of sorts. I thought it was only safe to assume your new position is challenging to the point of frustration. It’s okay, though. We can’t all be a badass at everything now, can we?”

His icy blue eyes become slits and I’m surprised they don’t strike me down where I sit here in my folding chair since I don’t have real office furniture yet. “Yes. Lord knows, it’s been a busy few months.”

Scott stands and collects his papers before turning to Trig and offers him a hand. He must not have believed my story about Trig’s struggles with his new position because he has no problem leaving me with the man I have no desire to ever see again. “I have no doubt you’re settling in nicely at MI.” Looking back to me one last time, Scott says, “I have no problem taking your money, Ellie, but Easton is more than capable of handling this. Jen called me first thing this morning and said I might hear from you. She really wants to keep your case in-house.”

I gasp, pissed and betrayed by my own sister. “She did?”

Scott gives me a small smile. “Good luck, though you won’t need any, I’m sure. You’re in good hands.”

With that, he’s gone and poor Quinn is standing in the doorway to my office with a frown on her face that could threaten her with early-onset wrinkles. “I’m so sorry, Ellie. I can tell you’re unhappy. I shouldn’t have let him interrupt.”

Trig helps himself to my desk and tosses his briefcase down with a thump and starts to dig through it, producing stacks of folders and papers thick enough they could contain the phone numbers and addresses for all of North Texas. I have to look around him to see Quinn. “Don’t worry. I plan on having him draw up a restraining order against himself. From now on, feel free to call the police when you see him.”

A horrific expression bleeds through her young face and I jerk when Trig slams his folders on my desk across from me right before shrugging off his suit jacket and draping it over the back of his chair.

Griffin, the little copycat, slams his sippy cup and erupts into a fit of giggles.

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