in a mystery.
CHAPTER TEN
P A S T
D A Y 5
THEA
“What’s the matter?” I asked, taking a seat on his lap.
He shook his head, and wrapped his arms around my waist.
“Nothing.”
“You’re a horrible liar.”
“Ah, my pride,” he joked, but he didn't really seem to be in the mood for anything.
Sighing, I sat up, reached over the couch, grabbed a napkin from the side table, and quickly scribbled a note on it before I handed it to him.
“One free rant?” he read.
“Yep, you get one free rant, about anything, for as long as you need, and when you’re done, I won’t say anything. We’ll just move on like it never even happened.”
He looked at me for a moment before reaching over to get another napkin off the table. He wrote on it and handed it right back.
“I’m not going to have anything to rant about within the next two days Levi.”
“That’s why there isn’t an expiration date on it. Even when were not together, you can call me up, and cash that in. If you don’t promise to use yours, I’m not going to use mine.”
“Fine.”
Did he always have to be so difficult?
He lifted his pinky.
“You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“You have to do it, or I won’t believe you,” he said with a grin so wide, I just wanted to kiss and slap him at the same time.
Sighing, I locked my pinky with his. “Yeah, this definitely makes it legal and binding.”
“Can I cash this in yet?”
Closing my mouth, I waited.
“My ex-wife,” he stated, pausing as if to test my reaction to those two words.
I ignored the alarms going off my head for a moment, and tried my best to stay composed and to keep my poker face in place.
“My ex-wife has been driving me insane for the last few weeks,” he continued, and I noticed his grip on me tightened, just slightly. “We were only married for three years before I found out she had been having an affair with my business partner. I left them both to start my own practice.
“In the beginning it was fine. Neither of them bothered much with me, because apparently, they expected me to fail. Starting a new firm in this economy is almost impossible, but I was dedicated. I was going to come back and tear them both down.
“It’s taken me a few years, but I’ve finally managed to get back on top. The only thing is that I no longer give a shit about either of them. I want to be the best lawyer I can be, for myself, not them. Fuck them. The only problem is, the higher I get, the bigger a target my firm becomes.
“My ex-wife’s been trying to steal clients new and old. My former partner has friends in Capital Hill, you know, the financial fraud agency, and they keep trying to railroad me at every turn. I’ve been audited every other year since my first big case. There are days when I want to walk into his office with a bat, and do what I should have done the moment I found about their affair...”
I sat up more, wrapping my arms around his neck, but not saying anything.
“It’s like high school never ended with them, grown adults acting like fucking children! And the only way I can fight back is to avoid them both and keep winning cases. But that isn’t enough, I want to close off that chapter of my life completely.
“I want to forget about her. I met her once since the divorce, and you know what she told me? That I wasn’t man enough, that I was too good, too nice. And for months I racked my brains, trying to figure out what the fuck it meant to be ‘too good’.
“I’m sorry I don’t drive a Harley, or feel the need to start brawls to prove I have fucking balls. She hurt me, I got over it, and now, I just want to work in peace. I sound… pathetic, don’t I?” he groaned, dropping his head back.
“I know I said that I wouldn’t say anything, but can I amend the conditions of your voucher for just one statement?”
“Sure, why not?” he muttered half-heartedly, keeping his gaze fixed on the ceiling.
Sitting up on my knees, right between his
CHAPTER TEN
P A S T
D A Y 5
THEA
“What’s the matter?” I asked, taking a seat on his lap.
He shook his head, and wrapped his arms around my waist.
“Nothing.”
“You’re a horrible liar.”
“Ah, my pride,” he joked, but he didn't really seem to be in the mood for anything.
Sighing, I sat up, reached over the couch, grabbed a napkin from the side table, and quickly scribbled a note on it before I handed it to him.
“One free rant?” he read.
“Yep, you get one free rant, about anything, for as long as you need, and when you’re done, I won’t say anything. We’ll just move on like it never even happened.”
He looked at me for a moment before reaching over to get another napkin off the table. He wrote on it and handed it right back.
“I’m not going to have anything to rant about within the next two days Levi.”
“That’s why there isn’t an expiration date on it. Even when were not together, you can call me up, and cash that in. If you don’t promise to use yours, I’m not going to use mine.”
“Fine.”
Did he always have to be so difficult?
He lifted his pinky.
“You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“You have to do it, or I won’t believe you,” he said with a grin so wide, I just wanted to kiss and slap him at the same time.
Sighing, I locked my pinky with his. “Yeah, this definitely makes it legal and binding.”
“Can I cash this in yet?”
Closing my mouth, I waited.
“My ex-wife,” he stated, pausing as if to test my reaction to those two words.
I ignored the alarms going off my head for a moment, and tried my best to stay composed and to keep my poker face in place.
“My ex-wife has been driving me insane for the last few weeks,” he continued, and I noticed his grip on me tightened, just slightly. “We were only married for three years before I found out she had been having an affair with my business partner. I left them both to start my own practice.
“In the beginning it was fine. Neither of them bothered much with me, because apparently, they expected me to fail. Starting a new firm in this economy is almost impossible, but I was dedicated. I was going to come back and tear them both down.
“It’s taken me a few years, but I’ve finally managed to get back on top. The only thing is that I no longer give a shit about either of them. I want to be the best lawyer I can be, for myself, not them. Fuck them. The only problem is, the higher I get, the bigger a target my firm becomes.
“My ex-wife’s been trying to steal clients new and old. My former partner has friends in Capital Hill, you know, the financial fraud agency, and they keep trying to railroad me at every turn. I’ve been audited every other year since my first big case. There are days when I want to walk into his office with a bat, and do what I should have done the moment I found about their affair...”
I sat up more, wrapping my arms around his neck, but not saying anything.
“It’s like high school never ended with them, grown adults acting like fucking children! And the only way I can fight back is to avoid them both and keep winning cases. But that isn’t enough, I want to close off that chapter of my life completely.
“I want to forget about her. I met her once since the divorce, and you know what she told me? That I wasn’t man enough, that I was too good, too nice. And for months I racked my brains, trying to figure out what the fuck it meant to be ‘too good’.
“I’m sorry I don’t drive a Harley, or feel the need to start brawls to prove I have fucking balls. She hurt me, I got over it, and now, I just want to work in peace. I sound… pathetic, don’t I?” he groaned, dropping his head back.
“I know I said that I wouldn’t say anything, but can I amend the conditions of your voucher for just one statement?”
“Sure, why not?” he muttered half-heartedly, keeping his gaze fixed on the ceiling.
Sitting up on my knees, right between his
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