Page 61 of The Agent
Alastair nodded. “I understand, but this is going to be tricky. Your child has no rights until it is born, so neither of you can be granted custody at this point. However, your husband will easily be able to delay the divorce proceedings until the child is born. Then we’ll have a tough custody battle on our hands.”
“Not if it’s a girl,” Regina said. “Dobs only cares about carrying on the family name.”
“Then let us hope you have a daughter,” Alastair said.
Natalie heard the faint note of skepticism in the lawyer’s voice and agreed with him. Dobs would want to punish his wife, so he would try to take the child she cared about away from her, whether it was a girl or a boy.
“In the meantime, let’s discuss what I would recommend you ask for in the divorce settlement,” the lawyer said.
Natalie gave Alastair kudos for subtle persuasion. Regina wanted to have nothing to do with Dobs Van Houten for the rest of her life. However, Alastair pointed out that she owed her unborn child a secure financial future, so they worked out a way to manage that without being tied to Dobs after the divorce.
After they rose from their seats at the conference table two hours later, Alastair walked them through the firm’s lobby to the elevators. “I’ll send the restraining order papers over for your signature as soon as they’re ready,” he said, shaking Regina’s hand.
He turned to Natalie and grasped her hand in both of his. “I admire what you do very much. If another one of your guests should require legal assistance, please don’t hesitate to call me.”
“That’s very kind of you,” Natalie said, surprised by his offer.
The flash of anger lit his eyes again. “I find domestic abuse appalling. No one should be forced to live in that kind of situation.”
Natalie rubbed her eyes and closed her laptop. The appointment with Regina’s lawyer had been early in the morning, and on Thursdays the Mane Attraction was open late, so it had been a long day. She had stood up to tell Pam she was ready to leave when her bodyguard appeared in the doorway. “You have a visitor.”
Pam stepped aside and Deion bounded into Natalie’s office. With his dreads pulled back in a neat ponytail and his necktie loosened so his shirt collar stood slightly open, he looked like a fashion model. “My boss—who’s a great lady like you—let me resign from the store without giving two weeks’ notice, so I can start with KRG any time.” He threw his arms around Natalie. “Thank you so much.”
“I didn’t do anything to earn your gratitude,” she said, although it was nice to be hugged by Deion.
He let her go and stepped back. “You introduced me to Mr. Gibson. You told him I was a good guy despite my record.” He gestured toward the ceiling. “You gave me a nice place to live so I could start over. You’ve done a shitload.” He waved an apologetic hand. “Sorry, but it’s true.”
“You earned your good fortune,” Natalie said with a smile.
Pam walked all the way into the office with her hand held out. “Welcome to KRG, Deion, and congrats on the job. It’s good to have you on board.”
“Hey, thanks!” Deion’s face lit up as he shook his new colleague’s hand. Then his beautiful face turned serious as he faced Natalie again. “You ever need any kind of help that I can give you, you better ask.”
“I promise.” Natalie was touched by the young man’s earnest gratitude. It washed away some of the ugliness she still carried with her after hearing Regina’s story that morning.
“Have you heard from the stalker today?” Deion asked.
“Not a peep,” Natalie said. “Pam’s been monitoring the surveillance feed, and Tully sent someone to check my house in person a couple of times.”
Natalie had almost been able to forget about her stalker because she’d been so busy at the salon.
“Why don’t you scope out the salon before Natalie gets here tomorrow morning?” Pam said to Deion. “That way we won’t walk into anything nasty. Just be careful.”
Deion’s eyes lit up. “I’m on it. And no heroics—I promise. I know I have a lot to learn.”
Two hours later, Pam pulled the big SUV into the courtyard behind Tully’s house. His back door opened and warm, buttery light painted the edges of Tully’s silhouette in the entrance before he jogged down the steps to open Natalie’s car door.
She was so tired that she practically fell out of the high seat of the SUV into his strong, welcoming arms. “You okay?” he asked, brushing a kiss against her temple.
“I just want to stand here a minute,” she said, her voice muffled because she had her face pressed into his warm chest, the clean, male smell of him filling her lungs.
His arms tightened slightly and he called a good night to Pam. Natalie heard the car pull away and then only the usual sounds of the nighttime city filtered into her awareness.
“What the hell happened today?” Tully asked, his voice worried, as she clung to him in the middle of the courtyard. “Pam said the stalker went silent.”
“It was the meeting with Regina.” She blew out a breath. “It brought back some unpleasant memories.”
“Shit!” Tully said, then gentled his tone. “Sweetheart, let’s get you inside.”
