Page 4 of Happily Never After

CHAPTER TWO

To Do:

- Yelp reviews for party vendors

- Give Luke the envelope

- Fake sick to get out of dinner with Jack

It washard to take Kyle seriously as a lawyer when he had a barbecue sauce stain on the collar of his white polo.

Claire closed the door of her office and took a deep breath. She backed into the corner and straightened the hem of her dress. A jolt shot through her elbow. Damn bookcase. It was the third time this week she had banged some part of her body on it.

Kyle took the seat behind the desk.

“So. The trial.” She crossed her arms over her chest. Maybe if she squeezed tightly enough, she could suffocate the anxiety out of herself.

“You recall that I told you Barney is under new counsel.” He leaned back in her chair, crossed one ankle over his knee, andpressed the tips of his fingers together. Was he practicing lawyer poses? This was not the time.

“Yes, and I’ll certainly miss Rachel calling me a deluded alcoholic in front of the entire nation.”

He nodded. “Right, well, his new attorney reached out to me this afternoon. There’s been a change in the plan.”

She pursed her lips. “I already hate where this is going.”

There was a series of sharp knocks on the door. “Come in,” she said, even though the suspense was drawing a wedge of pain between her shoulder blades.

Rachel bustled into the room and shut the door behind her, a fresh dirty martini gripped in her pterodactyl-like claws. What the hell was she doing here? Maybe the bar had run out of olives.

“Mr. Collins,” she said pointedly. Her nostrils were flaring, and for the first time since Claire had known her, she seemed to be shaken. Maybe it was just the vodka, but her perfectly coiffed hair had several escaping strands, and dog hair clung stubbornly to the hem of her pencil skirt. Ha.

“Rachel,” he said cordially, nodding in her direction. It was bold to call your best friend’s mom by her first name. Especially when he had thrown up Four Loko in her den as a teen.

She set the martini on the desk and crossed her arms. “You’ve heard?”

“Yes,” Kyle said slowly.

“And you’ve told Claire?”

“I was about to. How do you know?” He narrowed his eyes.

Rachel waved one hand. “I have many connections. Well, get on with it.”

He eyed Rachel before leaning forward and addressing Claire. This couldn’t be good.

“The DA’s office contacted Barney’s team. They’re offering a plea bargain.”

A bowling ball dropped into Claire’s stomach. “A plea bargain? What does that mean for the trial?”

“There won’t be a trial.”

Heat shot through her. Static burst into her vision. Her heart galloped like she was running away from Barney all over again.

“With a plea deal, he can plead to a lesser charge and negotiate for a better outcome,” Rachel clarified.

Claire was silent for almost a full minute. Rachel and Kyle looked at each other.

Taking a deep breath, Claire pinched the bridge of her nose between her fingertips. “So you’re telling me that the man who stalked me, chloroformed me, and stabbed me with the intent to bury me in his parking garage will be allowed to take a lesser sentence?”

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