Page 40 of Yours, Truly

I looked at him confused. I picked up the keychain and turned over the small disk to read the engraving'Mi casa es tu casa'.

I looked up at him, knowing full well what this was but neededhim to clarify. Something so trivial, a part of Spain, a sentiment of our relationship and at the same time, such a grand gesture.

“Are you sure?” I asked hesitantly.

“Positive. You are here all the time anyway. And it would make it easier for you to let yourself in and out” he smiled; this was a massive step for him. He was letting me into his life. Into his space.

“I love it Nate!” I smiled as I took the key out of the box. He checked his watch.

“I need to go, sweetheart. I know today is going to be hard but I'm here, okay? Even if I can't hold you in that courtroom today, I promise I will later. I love you.”

“I love you too, Nate. Good luck and I'm excited to see you do your thing,” I teased. He kissed me on the lips before leaving the penthouse.

Silence filled the room and washed over me, now that Nate was gone, the volume of my thoughts increased. I sat on the stool with a sigh, giving myself a moment. Today wasn't going to be easy. This could be the end of the company and, as mad as I was that Nate had to be the one to have a hand in that decision, it wasn't his fault. He had prepared me for this and had tried his best to minimise the damage in the process.

I made my way to the courthouse, separate from Nate, to meet Angelina and Jennifer. Angelina was visibly nervous, fiddling with her car keys that she hadn’t put away yet. I tried to keep my cool, she knew me and Nate were together but had kept our secret just like she had promised as long as I kept upmy end of the deal. I never told her Nate’s boss knew about us.

Our legal team came into view and greeted us all, briefing us quickly for today’s events. Angelina would be representing the company and taking the stand. She smiled at us both, grabbing both of our hands in hers.

“This is it,” she said, as she took a deep breath. “No matter the outcome today, we have fought as hard as we could. It's been an amazing company and I'm so proud I have you guys by my side. You have helped me to build this company into something I never imagined.” She hugged us both tight.

Angelina wasn't one for hugs and affectionate words. In a way, I felt like she was already resigned to the outcome, like she knew what the result was going to be.

We made our way into the courtroom, our legal team on one side followed by some supporters of our business. and the other side was a smug client smirking as we entered the room. I didn’t recognise this client and nor did Jennifer. Nate was sitting beside him. He turned around, gave me a quick glance and a warm smile before clearing his throat and turning back to his client. I could read him like a book, and while Nate's eyes showed he was nervous on the inside, his facial expressions and body language displayed the opposite. His posture was so strong and powerful that it was actually pretty sexy. It made me more excited watching him do his job.

It reminded me of the power he had over me the first time he came into the office and demanded I call Angelina. It made my stomach twitch and an ache appear in my lower body. Iclenched my thighs together trying to push the thoughts out of my head as my heart and body ignited at the thought of his assertiveness. And how I knew this feature in our role play later.

Jennifer sat beside me as Angelina stepped into a separate area of the courtroom. She sat next to our lawyers.

We stood as the judge entered the bench and the trial began. Months we had waited for this day and we hoped this would come to an end this week. I was so nervous of what this meant for my future, for our company’s future.

I wasn’t ready to find another job yet, and this would set me back years for opening my own business as I would need the finance to support myself. The only thing I could do was sit back and watch Nate do his thing.

He was amazing, so much passion, such pride in his work and he was the most powerful man in the room. The confidence that radiated off him was intoxicating. He paced the courtroom floor, asking questions not just to his client but to our side too. He was actually pretty intimidating.

The court session droned on, replaying the same shit we had already discussed a hundred times out of the courtroom and now another hundred times in it. The questions were asked and then reworded to get the same answer, I couldn’t keep up and zoned out. I honestly couldn’t wait to take a break. It was becoming overwhelming.

We were allowed to take a small lunch and some time to regroup before court was back in session. We wandered to the local coffee shop to step away from the courthouse and take abreather. Angelina looked exhausted and honestly, I couldn’t blame her. I was exhausted just watching. The session was a shit show, our lawyers looked rubbish compared to Nate and his team. Even the jury was mesmerised by Nate working the room, and it looked like it was going to be impossible to fight. Nate did that, he lit up any room that he walked into, his presence was known.

Angelina told us that whatever happens we go down with a smile on our face and dignity. She even praised Nate and said she wished that Mr Dalton was our lawyer as she was pretty impressed with him despite him being an arsehole to us during the case.

Hearing her praise Nate after months of her passive aggressive comments warmed my heart. At the end of the day he was just doing his job and he was doing it well. It made me incredibly proud of him. I knew this wasn’t his dream job and, thinking about the way he was in his line of work, I imagined just how well he would have succeeded had he chased the dreams he wanted.

I was interrupted by my phone buzzing on the table, his name lighting up the screen.Talking of the devil.Angelina caught a glimpse, giving me a subtle smile as I blushed.

I chuckled softly as I admired his cockiness. That’s what I loved about Nate. His confidence. Very attractive. He had the power, not just in the courtroom but over me, my heart, body and soul.

Angelina cleared her throat, interrupting my little thought

bubble. We had to go back in for the final stretch.Let’s get this over anddone with.

30

COURT IN SESSION

Back in court, we took our seats as we had previously and the case resumed where we paused. After what seemed like a power break, our lawyers took charge, pulling back a bit, until a new piece of evidence cropped up, taking us all by surprise. One Nate hadn’t shown me before and by the looks of it, Angelina and our team were just as surprised as I was. Nate turned to give me a quick apologetic smile.

If we had gained any control of the court case, I feared that we were now going to lose it, and I think Nate knew that. I tried not to react, and gave a gentle nod to Nate that it was okay. I had mentally been preparing myself all morning for both scenarios. Sometimes that’s the plus side of anxiety. You can prepare for the worst situation and actually be okay as you had already convinced yourself of the worse and pulled yourself through.

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