Page 67 of The Marriage Deal
"Wyatt is suing her and the university for emotional distress, if you can believe it." Jess rolled her eyes when she said 'emotional distress', emphasizing how silly she thought the whole thing was.
Levi's brow furrowed, and he ventured into my office. He extended his hand. "Can I see?"
"It's nothing, really. I can deal with—"
"Elle." The declarative note in his voice was hard to miss. I took out the papers and handed them to him. He dropped his bag onto the floor and began reading. His eyes scanning the papers, flipping the pages a little harshly as he read on. His jaw ticking.
"That measly asshole!" He threw the papers on the desk and pointed at them. "I'll fix this." Then marched out of the office to his. I wanted to tell him he didn't need to, but he was already closing the door before I could utter a word, leaving us stunned.
"I don't want to be Wyatt right now." Jess checked her phone. Screamed when she saw the time and hurried out of my office. I tried to concentrate on work, but couldn't. So instead I went toLevi's office. He was at his desk crowded with books and stacks of paper and files. His office had become less of the organized chaos it used to be, to just chaotic. Levi looked up from the book he was reading when I knocked on his door. A stubble I had not noticed before shadowed his chin.
"Can I speak to you for a moment?"He snapped the book shut and gestured to the guest chair. I sank into the small chair and cleared my throat. "About the lawsuit."
"I told you I am handling it. I know a couple of good lawyers who can quash this thing before it even goes to court. Carey has a few friends at City Hall who can help us as well."
"Us?"
"Well, you are my wife after all."
"Levi…"
"What's the point of being a Hawthorne if you can't use the resources afforded to you by the name?" said. Adding, "Even if it's on paper only."
"That's what I wanted to talk to you about. You can't fight my battles all the time. I really appreciate what you did for me in that hearing, but you can't do that all the time."
"What if I want to?" he said in a low voice. "You helped me with my work. With what you did, I am on my way to restoring my reputation. Why can't I do the same for you?"
His plea touched my heart. Why was I fighting him when he was right? He had enough resources to fight someone like Wyatt, who would have bankrupted me and probably gotten me fired had it just been me and without Levi in my corner. And besides, it would be fun to see someone like Wyatt find out that he can't just throw his money at everything and make people do what he wants. "Fine. But don't expect me to suck you off in the library if we win."
A smile I hadn't seen in a long time cracked through his lips. "A simple kiss would be reward enough."
An awkward silence passed between us. Levi grabbed his laptop, which was lying closed on the edge of the desk, opened it and said, "If you want, we could do something ourselves to threaten him or, dare I say, blackmail him into not going through with it."
"What do you have in mind? I could hire some guys to break his legs if that's what you're thinking of. I know a few."
Levi raised his eyebrows. "You know people willing to break someone's legs for money?"
"What? You don't think a girl like me knows some people. A girl from the Bronx. "
"Some girls, but not you."
I folded my arms. "Really? Why?"
"Because you're a nerd," he said, his voice full of mirth. “You cannot convince me that you're the type that,” he put on an Italian accent, "knows a guy who knows a guy."
I rolled my eyes and pressed my lips to stop myself from laughing. Levi and I hadn't hung out like this in a long time. It felt good. I wanted more of it. But I had no idea how to talk to him again. After the library encounter, we had gone back to being cordial with each other. Levi did not try to sleep with me again, nor I. I couldn't remember what made me mad at him in the first place.
“Jess told me you recommended her for a full time position.”
Levi nodded.
“Why?”
He shrugged. “Why not?”
“I don’t know. You hardly know her for starters.”
“She’s your friend isn’t she.”
