Page 37 of Wandering Closer

“My truck. Your Jeep’s name is Marge, what should I name my truck? I’ve never named a car before. He needs something manly.”

Her laugh is light, “Cars only have girl names. It’s an unspoken rule.” She thinks it over, clearly putting thought into her decision. “Freya.”

“Freya?”

She finally turns those sapphire blues on me again. “Yes. She’s a Norse goddess known for love, beauty, and material things. Since you have the whole Thor, built like a god thing going for you, I think it fits.”

“That’s not the first time you’ve alluded to my body like that. Like what you see, Lily?”

She turns even further toward me, slowly perusing every inch of me from head to toe and back. “I do,” she says without an ounce of embarrassment. My dick jumps, happy with her assessment.

I don’t have time to respond, as I pull into the parking garage for the lawyer’s office. With Freya in park, I turn her off, feeling the nervous energy radiating from Lily. “Would you like me to stay here, or come in with you?”

“Please come with me,” she says, chewing on her bottom lip.

I hop out and round the truck, opening her door to help her step out. My hand reaches for her and she takes it with no hesitation. With fingers intertwined, we walk into the office and get ushered into a small meeting room by the receptionist. We barely have time to sit before the door opens again and a tall brunette in a power suit steps in.

“Hello Ms. Wilks, I’m Kinsley DeWitt. You can call me Kinsley or Dewitt, I respond to both. Who do you have with you today?”

“This is Thoren, and you can just call me Lily, please,” she squeezes my hand tighter under the table. “Can he stay?”

“Absolutely. You are in control here.” She takes a seat across the table from us, laying out a folder as she opens her laptop. “First things first, I’m sorry you’re even in this scenario. That being said, I think we have options here. I called your former place of employment Monday when we got off the phone, and they basically laughed in my face when I brought up mediation. I immediately filed with the EEOC, the next step, after that andheard back from them yesterday. They said they found no fault, but you have the option to sue, if you so choose.”

My fingers are losing feeling with how tight Lily is squeezing them. I reach over and pull her chair closer to mine to give her knee a squeeze before grabbing her hand again. “What does it mean that they found no fault? Does she still have a chance to win in court?”

“Yes, I think we have a good case, and I haven’t even done more research or subpoenaed anything yet. The government hardly ever finds fault in these cases, but it’s a step we had to take. I will reach out to the company one more time offering mediation, and if they refuse again, then we will bring a lawsuit against them. We are hoping for mediation. It tends to be less ugly, but even that can get rough. Are you sure you want to move forward, Lily?”

“Yes,” her voice shakes, but her shoulders straighten. I am so proud of her.

“Good. Let’s nail these bastards,” Kinsley smiles as she opens a folder in front of her.

We leave the office two hours later, both of us feeling an odd mix of exhausted and relieved. Kinsley has a plan in place for moving forward that Lily is comfortable with. She will try for mediation one more time, which she doesn’t have high hopes for, and then will serve them with a lawsuit. This is going to cost me a good chunk of change, but is absolutely worth every penny.

I take us straight to the hotel, seeing the weariness start to creep over Lily. It’s a nice hotel with a great view of the Space Needle from the window of the room I booked. Before I take her in there, though, I need to walk her through the options.

I unbuckle both of us, turning in my seat to face her. “Before I ask how you’re doing, I want to go over tonight. My brother offered to let us stay with him, but I also booked a hotel room here. The choice is yours and I am up for whatever you choose.Us both with him, us both here, me with him and you here, the options are endless. Before you make that choice though, know that my brother has a routine before home games, and that routine usually involves… very audible sex.” I wince and rub the back of my neck. How do I tell her that the few times I have stayed at River’s before a game, he and his girlfriend have fucked on every surface they could find in the apartment? I’m sure he would keep it in his room with Lily there but still, not the mood I was going for on this trip.

Her cheeks are just as red as mine feel. “I think the hotel sounds lovely.”

I let out a slow breath, “I only booked one room. It has two beds, but I can get a second if you’re more comfortable with that. I just didn’t want to book two in case you wanted to stay with River.”

“That’s okay. One room is fine, it’s silly to pay for two. Will you at least let me pay for dinner tonight?”

That went over better than I expected. I’m not trying to get her alone in a room with me, even if that sounds like heaven. I really didn’t want to pay for two unused rooms if she wanted to stay with River. I should have known she wouldn’t, though; she doesn’t like to overstep, even if it’s offered. Not that I’m complaining. Thoughts of her climbing into a bed right next to me, where I can be with her all night, are swimming through my head.

I climb out of the truck and open her door before grabbing our bags. “I’m afraid dinner is on River. He’s taking us somewhere special tonight.”

She leads us into the lobby after I refuse to let her carry the bags. “I don’t want to ruin his routine or take up any more of his time,” she says, a little unsure.

“This dinner is as much him showing off to his new girlfriend as it is for us all to have a quiet evening together. He will be ableto talk you through baseball and show you around tomorrow, but tonight, he just wants to catch up and get to know you.” I don’t like that she’s always so nervous and unsure of everything. I don’t know if it was tiny dick Tyler that made her this way, or the way she was raised, but I intend to help her find her self confidence and worth again.

After checking us in, we take the elevator up to the twenty-eighth floor. Lily leads us to our room, unlocking it while holding the door open for me. Together, we walk into the room and take in the wall of windows and glass front balcony. Brilliant oranges and fiery reds dance on the Puget Sound’s surface as the sun descends, igniting a warmth that mirrors the joy in my soul.

“This is incredible,” comes Lily’s soft voice. She slowly turns and looks at the luxury room, two queen beds, a brown leather couch, and the large en suite with a double shower head and jacuzzi tub. “This is too much, Thoren.”

I set the bags by the closet, stepping into her space. I need her to really hear and understand me. “You deserve nice things, Lily. This is not too much. It’s not nearly enough.”

I let my words linger in the air, feeling her chest rising and falling in front of me. Slowly, I step back and bend down to unzip my bag. “Now, did you pack a nice outfit like I said? Our dinner reservations are in an hour.”

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