Total pages in book: 105
Estimated words: 98398 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 492(@200wpm)___ 394(@250wpm)___ 328(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 98398 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 492(@200wpm)___ 394(@250wpm)___ 328(@300wpm)
“You can’t.”
“I can, but I won’t unless provoked. Now get out of my office.” I turned my back to her and looked out the window. It was dark enough that the only things I could see were my mother’s and my reflections. A multitude of emotions flickered over her face: shock, doubt, anger, and finally, determination. She turned and marched out of my office.
Just when I thought it was over, shouts erupted right outside my door.
“This is all your fault, you stupid little whore,” my mother yelled. I didn’t think I had ever heard my mother yell like that at anyone who wasn’t staff with an NDA or family.
CHAPTER 28
HARRISON
I ran out into the bullpen to see my mother’s hand wrapped around Eddie’s arm and Catherine looking on with a smug smile.
Fuck my life.
“Did you want to add assault charges to the list, Mother?” I asked.
“This is all her fault.” My mother dug her nails into Edwina’s arm, and she let out a whimper of pain that woke up something deep inside me.
“Let me go.” Edwina tried to pull out of my mother’s grip, but her acrylic talons dug in deeper. I swore I could see a drop of blood starting to form.
“Let her go immediately,” I shouted. I didn’t think I had ever shouted before, not out of anger, not at my mother.
The second her talons were out of Eddie’s skin, Eddie ran to me, moving behind me, trusting me to protect her.
That felt good, too good.
“Be gone when I get back,” I told the two women before ushering Eddie into my office. “Are you okay?”
Tears started to spill down her cheeks, and I whipped them away with my thumb.
“I’m sorry, I just realized that I still had files on my desk, and it wasn’t locked. It still isn’t, and the driver wasn’t here yet, so I thought I could sneak back up and just lock it without being seen, then found that bottle blonde bitch sitting at my desk and she started accusing me of things and then your mother came out…”
I pulled her into my arms and held her for a moment. It felt good to hold her, to protect her, so I closed my eyes and savored it, trying to commit to memory exactly what this felt like.
We waited about fifteen minutes in silence and when we left my office they were gone. Eddie ran over to her desk and locked the drawers, and I walked her to the car.
Later, my mind was racing with everything that had happened, debating what the best course of action was going forward. I weighed what I wanted versus what I needed over and over. Every angle was meticulously examined in my head as I lay alone in bed.
What would happen if I continued the affair with Eddie and we got caught in my office after hours. There were so many fantasies of what we could do during those late nights, I didn’t think it would be possible to not fool around in my office.
What would happen to her if she got pregnant and Catherine or my mother decided to launch a smear campaign? Eddie’s entire career would be tainted by my feelings for her, she wouldn’t be able to escape it.
Alternatively, what would happen if everything went right? If we were never caught, what would that look like? I would still be living a hypocritical double life with this secret over my head, and Eddie would be alone. She would have me when I was able to be with her, but it would be a secret.
Eddie deserved more.
She deserved a man who could proudly have her on his arm, who could shower her with gifts and affection and not have to hide. She deserved a man who could eventually give her a wedding and a family.
The sunlight was streaming through my windows when I realized what I had to do.
When I got to the office, Eddie was already there going through her desk.
“I have some calls to make this morning, but then I need you to come into my office. Bring with you the files on Judge Harrison and Judge White.”
“Yes, sir.” She gave me a sweet smile, making my chest ache.
It only intensified my foul mood. I wasn’t a man accustomed to not getting what I wanted, let alone having precisely what I wanted within my reach but denied the pleasure of it. While my decision was the right one, it didn’t mean I had to like it.
I slammed the door to my office harder than I intended, making me feel like an even bigger asshole, just adding to my miserable mood.
The phone calls took two hours, and in that time, I had made two attorneys cry, and another was probably writing their letter of resignation.
It was already well known I didn’t tolerate incompetence well on a good day, but the mood I was in had me acting borderline unprofessional and a little belligerent. I hit the intercom on my desk that usually went to Cynthia’s desk but had been moved to Eddie’s for the moment.