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Over two hours after her first meeting of the day with Savon, Stacy did not feel calm. Or centered, or relaxed, or any of the other things she should be feeling. And she was running late.
She’d rushed into her apartment and changed, heeding Demetri’s advice. She pulled on black thigh high hose and a black skirt that came to her knees before putting her boots on. Then, walking back over to her closet, she pulled out a crimson blouse that she thought would look perfect. Unfortunately, while it was dark enough to cover her hickey, it wasn’t conservative enough. She could still see the edges of the mark, and more of it when she leaned over.
She went through about five tops before settling on a navy blue silk shirt that luckily could be buttoned all the way to her neck. She put on a nice, decorative necklace before folding down the collar.
The only downside to that particular top was part of the bite on her shoulder was visible. It was, however, the only thing visible, and with only ten minutes to make the twenty-minute drive to Demetri’s office, Stacy decided a shawl would just have to suffice. She sighed. Not even the weather could cooperate with her and allow her to wear a jacket without looking too suspicious. Damn heat wave.
When she arrived at the office, she was only a few minutes late. She wanted to smirk when she saw Thomas sitting in the lobby, clearly being forced to wait. She was slightly surprised to see he was alone, but didn’t have time to ponder it. As soon as Marie saw her, Stacy was ushered back to Demetri’s office before her ex could say a single word to her.
“Very nice,” Demetri complimented her. “Now, shall we go to the conference room and get this over with?”
“Please.”
He pressed a button on his phone. “Marie, please show Mr. Jones to conference room two.”
“Right away, sir.”
Demetri stood up and walked around his desk. Holding out his hand, he helped Stacy stand up and placed his palm against her lower back.
“You really do look quite tempting.”
“I’m almost completely covered up,” she told him shocked.
“The better to unwrap you, my dear.” He winked at her. The second his office door was opened, he stopped touching her in any way. He seemed to lose all humor and appeared to be all business.
Thomas was sitting on one side of a rather large conference table when they entered the room.
A true gentleman, Demetri held a chair out for her on the opposite side of the table. “I believe I asked you to bring your lawyer, Mr. Jones,” he stated as he sat down.
“Stacy, I want to work things out with you. This paperwork is ridiculous. I mean, really, a divorce? After...” He paused long enough for her to wonder if he even remembered how long they had been married. “After so many years?”
“Please refrain from speaking that way to my client,” Demetri said. Unlike when they were alone or at BSC, he didn’t growl. But she could still hear it under the forced civility.
“Shut up. This is between me and my wife. Listen, it never bothered you before when—”
“Please do not speak to my lawyer that way,” she interrupted him. “I have complete respect for him.” When she pointed to the pitcher of water positioned beside Demetri, he immediately poured her a glass.
As always, Thomas ignored that she’d spoken at all. “What’s going on? You’ve changed so much. Your hair, your clothes...What happened to your shoulder?”
Stacy had begun to take a sip of the cool liquid when he asked the last question. She quickly placed her hand in front of her mouth to keep from spraying everyone and everything with the water.
Coughing, she saw a curious look on Demetri’s face as the men in the room seemed intent on waiting for her answer. “Bad puppy,” she told them before quickly lifting her glass again.
The look on Demetri’s face was priceless, for the entire half of a second it was allowed to show. Thomas, however, still looked confused.
“You got a puppy? When? And those marks look like they were made by a full sized dog...”
“Not that it’s any business of yours, but a friend of mine has a...dog. Well, he still thinks he’s a puppy. We were playing and he got a little rough. Now, back to the matter at hand.”
“Yes, that would be wise,” Demetri was clearly not amused at her calling him a bad puppy. But she liked the nickname. She’d have to start using it. That brought a smile to her face and helped her relax slightly.
“I told you stay the hell out of this. This is between me and my wife. Stacy, do we really have to have this jerk in here while we talk?”
“Unfortunately, I’ve been told you have to be in here while discussing the separation papers. Otherwise, the jerk would be out of this room and my lawyer and I could get some work done.”
Thomas stared at her. “What has gotten into you?”
“What are you talking about?” She started to take another sip of her water, but thought better about it.
