Page 124 of At His Beck & Call

“This is ridiculous,” he bellows. “I will have your head for this, you fucking asshole.”

“That may be, Mr. Davenport. But here’s the alternative: We drop the primary custody petition today, and you can pay Lissa what she’s owed. Every cent you’ve spent on your mistress over the last five years, plus the ‘generous’ settlement figure you just offered, and the activation of your insurance policy guaranteeing everything your son requires is paid for. You will see him every other weekend as before, and there will be no more violations of the protection order. You lay a finger on my client again, and I will make it my personal mission that you never see your son. Do we have a deal?”

My voice rings through the room, James’s furious expression turning from red to white in seconds. I have him over a barrel; he knows it, and I know it.

He looks at his lawyers, a silent signal as they both rise.

“You’ll be hearing from me,” he spits out.

“I look forward to it, Mr. Davenport. Make sure you think carefully before pursuing this. A court won’t look favorably on your lies. And one day, neither will your son.”

He storms out, slamming his hand so hard into the glass door that I see Noah wince. His lawyers scuttle out behind him, and Isit back in my chair, pushing the sheet of paper inside the folder with a smile of satisfaction on my face.

Chapter 43

Oliver

As we leave the conference room, Noah awkwardly shakes my hand and walks down the hallway, his fingers flexing at his sides as he disappears into the stairwell. As soon as he’s out of sight, a heavy weight settles in my stomach as the reality of what just happened sinks in.

I’ve just given Lissa everything she could ever want. I have eviscerated her ex, guaranteed her financial security, and saved her son.

She doesn’t need me any longer.

The small kernel of hope that I’ve held onto over the last few weeks shrivels to nothing. The belief that I could have meant something more to her than money seems crazy now.

Closing my eyes, I try to settle the unhappiness clawing at my insides. I always knew the end was coming; I just didn’t realize it would be today.

This is a good thing. Lissa is free now, and I made that happen.

Why would she ever want someone like me, anyway? She has the whole world at her disposal now.

I stare along the hallway, listening to the buzz of the office. I should be elated that I nailed James’s balls to the wall. But I feel empty. The thought of her leaving is unbearable.

My throat tightens, stomach churning as I walk over and open the door to the office she’s in. She looks up, her beautiful, dark blue eyes fixing on mine as she rises from her chair. The playlist I sent her is still playing quietly on her phone, and she silences it hurriedly, straightening her jacket and looking fearfully over my shoulder.

Maybe this is for the best. Cut the cord. Rip off the band-aid. At least that way I’m in control.

“It’s alright,” I say slowly, closing the door. “He’s gone.”

She’s frowning at me, a crease between her brows. She knows something’s wrong—I can tell already by her body language.

“What happened? Did he pull something at the last minute? He’s so good at that.”

“No,” I say slowly, putting down the files on the table at the side of the room and placing my hands in my pockets.

Maybe if I don’t look at her, this will be easier to get through.

“It went exactly as we hoped,” I say solemnly. “We discovered something about his past that has given us a huge advantage.”

“What?” she asks.

I’ve debated whether to tell her about the other woman for days. Her name is Amber Wallace, and James started seeing her only weeks after they were married.

I know Lissa deserves to know, but her focus should be on her son, on Henry’s recovery, not trying to deal with yet more pain piled on her by a worthless piece of shit.

She’ll find out someday, I know that, but not today.

“It has to do with a financial omission. You remember I told you James had to sign his financial affidavit?” She nods. “Well,he signed it without telling the whole truth. He has more assets than he disclosed. It’s not uncommon in cases like this.”