Total pages in book: 107
Estimated words: 99748 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 499(@200wpm)___ 399(@250wpm)___ 332(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 99748 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 499(@200wpm)___ 399(@250wpm)___ 332(@300wpm)
“I’m not waiting,” Jed declares. “Lucy and me are getting hitched before Jed Junior’s born, so I want this shit handled now.”
“Married? Jed Junior?” Chrissy echoes vacantly.
Smiling as he twists the knife, Jed tells her, “Yep. Jed and Lucy Ford, and little Jed Junior.”
Jesus. Could he be any more evil? Chrissy’s not the best, but she doesn’t deserve that, for fuck’s sake.
She sits with it, numbly staring at him as it sinks in and then . . .
Chrissy hurls herself across the table, kneeling as she lunges for Jed with clawed hands. “You sonuvabitch! I’m gonna kill you and your whore!”
It turns into more banshee screeches while Ben and Oliver try to pull her back. Jed simply scoots his chair back from the table, baiting Chrissy more, likely hoping she’ll fall to the floor at his feet.
“We’re gonna be one happy little family,” he says gleefully, egging Chrissy’s breakdown on. “Probably send out Christmas cards with matching pj’s and a cute nickname like hashtag-FordFam. Maybe start us up one of those family InstaTok accounts.”
“Shut the fuck up, Uncle Jed!” I shout, not giving a shit about professionalism when this meeting has turned into a three-ring circus. “Shut alllll the fucking way up!”
Oliver finally manages to pull Chrissy off the table and to her feet, but she looks utterly defeated. The anger and hurt of a moment ago have completely petered out, leaving her empty and probably exhausted.
“Chrissy, go home and let me handle this. This is what I’m here for,” Oliver instructs her stonily. Chrissy obediently turns to leave, and I think her head only stays lifted and her shoulders back from years of practice. Otherwise, I think she’d be curled up with her arms crossed and eyes dropped to the floor.
Once she’s gone, Jed claps his hands once sharply to get everyone’s attention. He’s got a wide grin on his face, though I don’t think he stopped smiling once through Chrissy’s attack, either, and says, “I’m open to renegotiating that contract with my new construction company as soon as I get the paperwork filed.”
Is he for real right now? Honestly, if I could let the whole development go to salt, I would, because I don’t want to work with Chrissy or Jed. Him, because he’s a narcissistic jerk, and her, because she’s clueless. But I have to, for Cold Springs.
I rub the bridge of my nose as I take a deep breath, mulling over my thoughts to see if there are any other angles I can play. But when I find none, I glance at Ben to be sure he’s come to the same conclusion. He stays stoic, not giving me a hint of his thoughts either way. It’s another test. Not if I know what to do because we’ve already discussed that at length, but of whether I’ll do it even when it’s the best of two excruciatingly bad choices.
Being a lawyer is not always about right and wrong, but sometimes of defending the least wrong.
“Moving forward with the divorce now, then, and giving Chrissy ownership of the existing company and contracts, means that the development stays with Chrissy as you agreed to,” I tell Jed. Turning to Oliver, I continue, “However, the contract will not be a simple matter of find and replace the name of the company. We’ll need to go through it with a fine-tooth comb to reflect the new ownership and her skills, or lack thereof.”
“I can do that with you on Chrissy’s behalf,” Oliver offers a bit too quickly. “We can start tonight after I meet with my client to discuss today.”
Shit. Of course he’s happy about the whole thing. Beyond working up a new contract being a side gig for him with Chrissy, and therefore, worth at least a couple dozen more billed hours, he’ll be spending at least a chunk of those hours with me.
I’m not new to someone pursuing me. But when it’s a professional relationship, it’s wrong, or dangerous at the minimum. And I’m exploring things with Jesse, and don’t want to jeopardize that. I wish Oliver would get the hint!
Jed balks, likely thinking he had this in the bag. “If you have to rewrite the contract anyway, why not do it with me?”
“Because you threw the keys to Chrissy, gave her the land and development, and don’t have your shit straight. Need any other reasons?” I snap. I’ve never spoken to him this way, not even when he was screwing my dad over. I was the good daughter, quietly taking care of things like always. But I’m done with Jed and his assholery. He literally uses everyone, every chance he gets, and then somehow thinks he’s still the hero we all love and adore.
He’s not.
And maybe, if I can work this contract with Chrissy right, I can tweak a few of the details in Cold Springs’ favor somehow. That’s my focus now. Not Jed’s delusions of grandeur.