“No.” Richard checks his watch and announces, “I have another meeting soon. If you don’t want to be seen here, you should leave before they arrive.”
As soon as we exit his office and the door closes behind us, I ask, “You don’t actually plan to use one of his suggestions, do you?”
“Fuck no,” Alex scoffs. “I’m going to compare the list to the business cards we have so we aren’t using one of his friends.”
I grin, proud of his foresight. “Maybe we can figure it out without a lawyer. Neither of us are trying to fight the annulment, which might make it easier.”
Alex sighs and starts walking down the hall. “Yeah, he did have a point. Maybe representing ourselves is better. We can go home and research—shit.” He grabs my arm and yanks me down a side hallway, away from the front doors. He frantically reads the plaques on the doors, muttering the names on each, until he finds a blank door. The handle turns easily in his grip and he shoves me inside, then carefully closes the door behind him so it doesn’t slam.
“What is it?”
His blue eyes are wide and panicked as they meet mine. “Richard’s next meeting is with Theresa.”
Chapter Thirteen: Alex
One problem with ducking down a random hallway is that I have no idea when the coast will be clear. How long does a meeting between lawyers typically take? Our meeting with Richard, while a disaster, was relatively short. Somehow, I don’t think we’re going to be that lucky.
God, why did I have to choose Theresa’s ex of all things? I’d been so focused on avoiding the other lawyers at her firm that I barely paid attention to the remaining names. Besides, it’s not like I remembered his last name. Theresa always referred to him as Richard or Rich or ‘my ex’ when she wasn’t particularly happy with him. It’s too common of a name to assume every ‘Richard’ in the city is my ex’s ex.
“Should we wait here until they finish their meeting?” I whisper. “Or just until she goes into Richard’s office?”
“I think we should probably at least have eyes on the hall.”
“Good point.” Slowly, I peel the door open and peek through the crack. Not that I can see much from this angle. Sections of the lobby are visible but all I see is part of the receptionist’s desk.
Euan places his right hand above me to support himself while he leans in, and I crouch down to give him a better view. Maybe he’ll be able to see more than I can from his angle. Something brushes my left hip, and I glance down to watch Euan’s other hand press against the door. Whether he means to or not, he’s caged me in.
Aside from that brief graze, he’s not touching me anywhere. The heat radiating from him traces me from head to toe, drawing the thinnest line between us. Goose bumps rise along my skin and the hairs stand up on the back of my neck, as if trying to lessen the distance. If I lean back the tiniest bit, I’d be completely plastered against him.
“It seems your client is late, Richard.”
I tense and snap my eyes back to the hallway.Shit, they’re coming this way.
Richard is leading Theresa and an older woman directly toward us. Why aren’t they meeting in Richard’s office? I specifically chose a hallway leadingawayfrom there so we could avoid this issue.
“As you’ll recall, our meeting is scheduled for noon. You’re just egregiously early,” Richard replies, grinning at her over his shoulder.
Please, please, please do not look over here and notice the crack in the door.Closing it might draw more attention to us.
“Early bird gets the worm,” Theresa quips. “Or in this case, the settlement.”
“Arriving early only guarantees you’ll need to sit in the conference room’s uncomfortable chairs longer.”
Conference room? Shit.
I lurch backwards in a panic, trying to get away from the door. Euan grunts as I collide with him and wraps his arms around me but it’s not enough to keep us upright. He falls back, carrying me with him all the way to the floor. The door we openedjust a crackcreaks as it swings open several moreinches. Light spills into the room, framing Euan and I perfectly as our audience arrives.
Richard stares down at us, one dark eyebrow raised in judgement.
Theresa and her client are standing behind him, which means they don’t have a clear view of us. Before I can sigh in relief, Richard steps forward and flips the light switch. Fluorescent lights flare to life, illuminating the whole damning scene. I flinch at the brightness, and Euan’s arm tightens around me.
“Alexander?”
Blinded for a second, I miss any opportunity to hide from Theresa. Or at least not be caught lying on the conference room floor, wrapped up in my husband’s arms.
Euan finally releases me so I can scramble to my feet. I offer him my hand and he grasps it, pulling himself up.
“What are you doing here?” Theresa asks as she steps around Richard.
