Page 18 of Bonus Daddy
“We’re not,” I gritted out. “We’re going to do what she asked. We’re going to file for relocation, and it’ll be granted.”
Her face fell. “But the child support order?—”
I held up a hand. “Is bullshit. I agree. But this is what she hired us to do.” It didn’t surprise me that Lo had combed through the files as carefully as I had and had noted several injustices.
Lo crossed her arms, her brow creasing. She might be cool and detached most of the time, but the need for justice ran deep within her. It was why she was so damn good at her job.
“You gonna ask her out?” Cal waggled his eyebrows.
“Of course not,” I snapped. “I’d be disbarred. Jesus, Cal.”
His blue eyes flashed. “We could take her case.”
Lo turned and glared at him. “You want a relo?”
“Hell no.” Cringing, he ducked out and headed down the hall.
“I’ll set that meeting up,” Lo trilled, following him. “Better get yourself together before you see her again.”
Chapter 7
Jess
“Sorry,” I said, my pulse picking up. Nervous, I smoothed down my skirt. It was bright blue and covered with daisies. I’d felt compelled to dress up for this meeting, though I had no idea why. With all the time I’d spent in lawyers’ offices over the past few years, the novelty had long worn off.
“It’s no problem,” Lo said. “The girls can hang here for as long as you need.”
Kit and Greta sat at the conference table, pulling their homework from their backpacks. They’d gotten used to tagging along these days and were old enough to keep themselves busy.
Lo encouraged me to sit and handed me a stack of paperwork to fill out. It was interesting, seeing her in her natural environment rather than the yoga studio. While I was used to seeing her in athletic clothes and with her hair pulled up messily, today, she was dressed in a crisp button-down shirt and a black pencil skirt, with her deep red hair pulled back in a tight braid.
I had just started to fill out the paperwork when a figure appeared in the doorway and boomed, “Yoga Jess!” Though his voice was deep, CallahanMurphy’s eyes were lit up and his smile was huge as he darted toward me like an overexcited puppy and swept me into a hug, lifting me off my feet.
Initially, I’d been deceived by the posh British accent and expensive athletic wear. Though it didn’t take long to realize that this man was the antithesis of the stuck-up prick I assumed he was when we were introduced.
“I’m so glad you’re here.”
He’d just set me on my feet when the sound of a throat clearing caused us all to turn to the doorway again.
Cal was handsome, sure, but the man standing in the doorway, his auburn hair just a shade lighter than his trimmed beard, stole my breath. Brian was tall, with broad shoulders. Though he typically wore a stern expression, on occasion, when a person had really earned it, a dimple in his right cheek would appear.
Initially, I couldn’t see how Cal and Lo were compatible. They were opposites in every way. But by the time they’d left that first yoga class, I understood. The two of them were more in sync than any couple I’d ever met, and they couldn’t keep their eyes off one another.
“Yoga Jess saved my life,” Cal explained, pulling me into his side protectively.
Brian frowned.
“She single-handedly fixed my back pain. You know”—he squinted—“because you make me sit at a desk all day.”
Eyes closed, Brian sighed. “You’re a lawyer, Cal. It’s what we do.”
The golden retriever who still hadn’t let me go smiled down at me, his energy infectious. “We don’t wanna lose her. But I can’t blame her. Vermont sounds amazing.”
It was. And his comment was a good reminder. I was fighting this battle, pushing to move to Vermont, so I could give my kids something different. So they’d have community and family and the kind of support they didn’t even know existed.
Yes, leaving would be hard. But staying felt impossible.
I’d had more than my fair share of meetings with lawyers over the past few years, but none of them could hold a candle to Brian. I’d only recently come here for his help, and already, he’d done morework than Will did in the weeks he swore he was prepping for the request.
