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Vicki nodded and slipped out again. Ian straightened up his papers and went to stand by the windows.
“Darling!”
“Meryl.” Ian half-turned and raised a brow. Meryl had nuked her hair at the salon recently. That color of red didn’t exist in nature. Neither did breasts like those, but he’d been all too aware of that during their marriage. “You’re looking prosperous. To what do I owe this visit?”
“Partially because you’ve answered not one of my letters.” Meryl brushed a bit of white fluff off of her suit jacket and walked over to take a seat by the coffee table.
“I’ve been busy.”
“Oh, I’ve heard! Ian Cartwright, cozy old professor, now? How you’ve changed.” She crossed her legs and leaned back.
With a sigh, Ian walked over to her. It was one of her common tricks—forcing you to come to her, even when she was the one asking for something. He had to admit, though, even if they hadn’t worked together romantically, they’d been quite aligned when it came to business philosophy.
“What can I do for you?”
“I’m representing a group that is looking to strengthen laws against sexual assault and sex trafficking. I know philanthropy isn’t really part of your business plan, beyond yearly donations for tax breaks…” Meryl waved a hand in the air. “But I thought, ‘Ian’s big into the PR thing right now, offering up his services to help tutor a bunch of budding entrepreneurs. Maybe he’d be interested in helping us make some connections’.”
“That was never part of your plans either,” Ian pointed out.
“It isn’t, but my fiancé is involved, through his business, and they hired me for my legal expertise. So, are you interested? It’s a win-win for you, honestly. No one is going to look poorly on a man who supports legislation protecting against sex crimes, except maybe some politicians and priests. And it isn’t like they’re on your board of trustees in any case.”
Ian pressed his lips into a line. It was harsh but amusing, and that was Meryl all over. They’d known one another in school, for a time, before he’d made his career, and then married and divorced his first wife in an explosion of mutual emotional trauma after her miscarriage. Meryl had come into the picture afterward, a corporate lawyer with equal amounts of confidence and ruthlessness. No one would ever catch her blushing.
Ian took a seat. “Tell me more about what my involvement would be.”
Nearly an hour later, the doors to his office opened again, and there was Hazel. Both Ian and Meryl looked up to see her burdened with her laptop bag, messenger bag, and a third bag of notes. She wore her work clothes, but her hair was a loose mess, and she’d forgotten to change her Converses for heels. Ian nearly burst out in laughter, but Hazel looked so startled to see Meryl there that he held off.
“Meryl, this is my assistant and the young woman helping me with my next book.” Ian rose and took two of Hazel’s bags from her. “Hazel Greenwood. And Hazel, this is my ex-wife—”
“Meryl Davenport,” Hazel said.
“Oh, you’ve heard of me.” Meryl laughed. “Good things, I hope.” She winked at Ian.
“We covered one of your cases this semester in my Poli-Sci class. Elder vs. Conway.” Hazel looked up at Ian uncertainly for a moment before setting her laptop on the coffee table.
“Ah, yes. That was tricky. How did the class take that?”
“Explosively.”
“Sounds a lot more interesting than my political science courses.” Meryl smirked.
“Hazel is getting one of her majors in Nonprofit Management,” Ian explained. “Her peers are excitable, to say the least. I wish I had half their energy.”
“Yes, I’m sure you can barely keep up with this girl.” Meryl ran her eyes over Hazel. “Don’t wear the old man out.”
“Oh, I am not that old,” Ian protested. “Lester is older than I am.”
“Lester is my husband,” Meryl said, answering Hazel’s curious expression. “And at forty, he’s only three years older than Ian.”
Hazel looked incredibly uncomfortable. Ian took the seat next to hers.
“We were just talking about the organization that Meryl works for, and if it would be possible for Cartwright & Benton to partner with them.” Ian nodded to Meryl. “Could you give her the details?”
The tension dissipated a little after that. Hazel was focused on asking questions about exactly what Cartwright & Benton would be offering, and if there was anything else they could do. A few minutes into the conversation, and he’d realized that Meryl had captured all of Hazel’s attention and the two ladies were taking this away from him. Given that Hazel had fixed a laser-like focus on the problem, Ian wasn’t about to disrupt them. It would probably bode well for Hazel if she could get along with Meryl, anyway.
