AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Now, I was fighting her over every hard-earned penny. She’d made my life a living hell for over two decades, and I wouldn’t give her anything more than I had to. I lived in the courthouse. What were a few more years slugging it out there with her?
And if JoJo thought I was the devil, she clearly didn’t know her precious sister. Alma was the anti-Christ.
“I’d invite you to sit, but I’m not sure my chairs can handle the weight of a barn.” I gestured to the two chairs in front of my desk.
She glared, but took a step into my office as if it were a tightrope instead of the most expensive hardwood floors money could buy.
Instead of moving toward a chair, she wandered over to the bar. She picked up the photograph of all of us that Labor Day weekend so long ago. She studied it a moment before setting it down again. Like the people and place were unfamiliar. I had forgotten that photo was there. It was definitely time to throw it away.
“What brings you back to New York? Isn’t there a crisis in Uzbekistan that requires your attention?”
She whirled around. “I told you why I’m in New York. And as soon as the issue is taken care of, I’m leaving.”
“I’m licensed in California, Texas, Jersey”—I waved my hand in the air—“and a handful of other states. But I told you I can’t save your ass from Timbuktu.”
“It’s not my ass that needs saving.” She dropped dramatically in a chair.
“Then I’m not interested.” I hadn’t meant to say that. I wanted her to wonder if I’d help her. She had to be desperate if she’d come to me. The last time I’d seen JoJo was my wedding day.
She’d made avoiding family functions look like it was her job. Which was fine with me. She was out saving the planet.
“What about your niece? Will you help her?”
I folded my hands on the desk. “The niece I’ve never met and only talked to once when all she could say was ‘bah bah bah’?”
“Penelope is not a sheep.”
“When she was two she sure as hell sounded like one.” I smirked. “And she was born in a barn.”
She sniffed. “Still as cute as ever with the insults.”
“The way you dress is an insult.” I snapped my mouth shut as soon as I’d said the words. TheI’m sorryI owed her wouldn’t come out. The dresses were ridiculous, but they were uniquely and unapologetically JoJo.
“My attire is irrelevant.” She straightened. “It’s no secret that I wouldn’t be here if this weren’t well and truly my last resort. And as much as it pains me to say it, I need the best. And you are the best.”
“Damn straight, I am.”
“This is not a visit to fluff your already enormous ego.”
“It is if that’s what it takes to get you what you want.”
A growl of frustration escaped her. “Why don’t you make this easier on both of us? Bend over and I’ll pucker up.”
My brows shot to my hairline. I’d never heard her speak that way... but a woman in her family had. The one she was named after. Grandma Josephine. That woman never did like me, but I admired the hell out of her.
“As tempting of an offer as that is, I’m afraid I’ll have to decline.”
Her mouth worked in an irritated fashion. “Will you help her?”
“You haven’t given me a good reason to. If anything, you owe me.” It was a low blow. One I’d never cash in on. But I couldn’t resist making her squirm.
She fisted her dress. “Please.”
The word was more of a curse than a plea.
“What’s in it for me?”
She swallowed hard. “I could convince Alma to give you what you want in the divorce.”
