Page 123 of A Lesson for Laurel

Laurel growled in her throat over Philip standing there. She should have expected this but didn’t.

She whipped the door open. It was like a flashback.

“What the hell happened to you?” Philip asked, wrinkling his nose. “Do you not have AC in here?”

“I was working out on the deck,” she said. “Sorry if a little bit of sweat turns you off. And once again, what are you doing here?”

“I felt like I had no choice,” Philip snarled. “And since when do you spend that kind of money on a car? You always gave me shit over my BMW.”

“It’s my car, not hers,” Easton said from behind her.

Oops, had a lapse that she forgot her hot boyfriend was here and going to witness this.

“Who are you?” Philip asked.

“The new boyfriend,” he said. “Easton Cooke.” He put his hand out and she could see Philip didn’t know what to make ofthe situation. Easton was in shorts and a fitted T-shirt, barefoot and squeezing Philip’s hand enough that her ex winced, but she knew it wasn’t that hard.

Philip was just a wimp.

“This is between Laurel and me,” Philip said. “If you can give us privacy.”

“Nope,” he said. “As the attorney representing her, I need to be here.”

“You’rean attorney?” Philip asked, looking Easton over again. “Guess that was your problem all along. It’s what you wanted and I wasn’t it.”

There were so many things she wanted to say to that but was going to be the better person and bite her tongue right now.

“Come in, Philip. Let’s get this situated. Did you know your mother is suing me?”

“No,” Philip said. “I only found out because I had to do some digging. Then I finally went to my father. He’s pissed. He didn’t know about it.”

“I find that hard to believe,” she said.

“Just pay her half and it will go away,” Philip said. “Ask your father for it.”

“No,” Easton said.

“I’ve got this,” she said, putting her hand on his arm and then squeezing his fingers after she ran her hand down. She could tell he was tense and she wasn’t sure why. “No. You’re going to tell your mother why our engagement ended. And if you don’t, I’m going to. And I’m going to do it more publicly than my ring in your plate at the country club.”

“You wouldn’t,” Philip said. “It’d only embarrass you and your father.”

“I would,” she said. “I’m not embarrassed. I called it off with you the minute I found out. And once your mother finds out the real reason, she’s going to be the one hiding. So either you tellher and get her to drop this, or I’m going to and it won’t be a nice letter she is served or even a phone call. It’s going to be at the country club, maybe on stage in front of the mic. I might even blow up the screenshots I took of your phone that day and texted to myself. Remember them? They’d look good as posters. They are going to come in handy now.”

“I never realized how much of a bitch you were,” Philip said.

Easton took a step toward her ex. “Watch your mouth,” he snarled.

Philip backed up and tripped on his two feet. She held back the laugh. “Do what I just said and this can all go away. Otherwise, not only will your mother be embarrassed but your father too. He’ll be even more pissed off and you’ll not only have family drama at home but in the office.”

Which she knew Philip hated more than anything.

Everyone talked behind his back about the fact that he wasn’t smart enough to pass the bar. His father never defended him and his mother was the one that forced the job for Philip there.

“I don’t know what I ever saw in you,” Philip said and walked out the door. When he got to the sidewalk, he turned and shouted, “You can have her crazy ass.”

“I’m crazy in love with her ass,” Easton said, laughing.

She laughed. “You have until noon tomorrow for your mother to reach out to me that this matter has been dropped. Otherwise I’m going to do what I said.”

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