Page 81 of It's Always Been You
I smile against his chest, pressing a kiss right over the heart I know has always beaten for me, as mine beats for him.
And in the dark of night, in the shadow of the tree that holds our names, in our most sacred place, we hold onto each other, tangled together as closely as we can be, absolutely certain that nothing has ever been more perfect than this.
Chapter Thirty
Molly
“You did what?” I manage to keep my voice even, but inside, I’m a tangled web of rage, just barely resisting the urge to flip my desk. If I did, all the clutter I can never seem to keep under control would end up on the floor and then I’d just have to clean it all up. I fucking hate cleaning.
We got back from California late last night, and judging from this conversation, I should have just stayed there. Or skipped work today and fucked Gabe until neither of us could walk while I ran my fake engagement ring over his balls the way I recently discovered he likes. Kinky fucker, I love him so damn much.
Instead, I’m on a phone call with asshole Brad, trying to keep from screaming my head off. It’s only eight-forty-five in the morning, and Monday already sucks.
“We executed the trust,” Brad says in a haughty voice that makes me want to reach through the phone and strangle him. “Uncle Harvey wanted to get it done, and you were on a plane with your fiancé.” He drawls out the last word, and my anger ratchets up another notch.
He’s expecting me to say something, but I don’t. Like the coward he is, he rushes to fill the silence. “Anyway, we couldn’treach you and my uncle was eager to have it finished. But it wasn’t a problem because you copied me on the trust draft, so I finalized it and emailed him a PDF of the document that he could print out on the ship. All he had to do was sign since Pennsylvania trusts don’t have to be witnessed or notarized.”
He says that proudly, like he’s asking to be congratulated for knowing the most basic information about trust execution, as if every law student in a second-year wills class couldn’t give you that information without a second thought. Fuck this guy. I take a deep breath and let it out slowly. When I speak, my voice is even because I’ll be goddamned if I show this douchebag a single ounce of my rage.
“So, what you’re telling me is that your uncle called you on a Sunday from his yacht somewhere in the Caribbean and told you it was absolutely critical that he execute his trust, weeks earlier than planned, at the exact time I was scheduled to be on an airplane?”
I’m internally cursing myself for being the conscientious kind of lawyer who tells her clients when she’ll be out of touch. I really should be just a little less responsible. Like this asshole.
“That’s exactly what I’m telling you.” Brad’s voice is smug. “Obviously he would have preferred you do it, but I explained to him that you were on a plane with your fiancé and unreachable. So, he suggested we just go ahead and do it without you.”
“He did, did he? You see, Brad, I find that astonishing because I was exchanging emails with your uncle just two days ago, where he outlined some changes he wanted to make to the trust. In addition, since you are so clearly up to speed on everything, you are obviously aware that the sole purpose of this trust is to hold a portion of the shares of your uncle’s family limited partnership. But since the partnership doesn’t exist yet, there would be no point in executing the trust since the finalization of the partnership and the execution of thetrust typically happen on the same day. So now what we have is a completely worthless, irrevocable trust that will have to be revoked, a client who thinks everything is fine when it is, in fact, not fine, and extra work to do since you simply couldn’t resist the urge to take an opportunity to showcase to your uncle how smart you are and knock me down a peg or two.”
“I didn’t…I mean, I don’t,” he stammers before I cut him off.
“Don’t worry about it, Brad. I know you sometimes have trouble with the salient details of, well, everything. I’ll clean up your mess, but it’s a one-time offer. Don’t fuck with me and stay in your goddamn lane.”
I slam the phone down without saying goodbye and shove up from my chair, squaring my shoulders and shaking back my hair, slamming my hands on my hips in my power pose.
So much for not showing him my rage. It was a fool’s mission anyway.
You cannot commit murder, Molly, no matter how much you want to choke the life out of that colossal bag of dicks.
You’ll go to jail. They’ll confiscate your skincare and sex with Gabe will be off the table for twenty-five to life. Orange is not your color.
When my phone beeps, I reach out with one hand and grab it, reading it with my other hand still anchored on my hip.
Gabe
Don’t freak out.
Me
Not an auspicious way to start a conversation, Gabriel. Have you ever even met a woman before?
I’ve spent the last ten years hiding in a computer lab.
I snort out a laugh. God, I love bantering with him, even when my rage could power the city.
Me
So, no is what you’re saying.
Gabe
