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“How dare you,” he shot back. “What is this? You’re a scorned woman now that your husband cheated on you and the whole world knows it? At least some men have the decency to be discreet.”
My head fell back in maniacal laughter because I couldn’t believe the audacity of this jackass.
“Ah, yes. It would have been so much better if he’d been discreet. Because then I’d have been trapped with a cheating piece of shit for years to come.” I smirked as I stepped closer to him.
“All right. That’s enough. This is not helping,” Phillip said. “Grant, go to your office. I’ll speak to you later. Let me talk to Presley alone, please.”
“Well, we all know whose side you’re going to take, Phillip. But she needs to have a bit more couth than what she displayed today.”
Grant stormed out of the office, and Phillip pulled the door closed before motioning for me to sit across from him. “What’s going on with you?”
“Are you seriously siding with that snake? He’s just mad that I called him out. And I did need to ask Dan if the rumors were true. I need to have all the information in order to represent the company best.”
Phillip smiled. He was a kind man. A good man. He was honest and fair. Sure, he’d been married to his job, but as far as I knew, he’d never been a cheating slimeball like Grant. He’d remained friends with his ex-wives, so that was telling.
“You know that Grant is right, and I do tend to side with you. I’ve gone to bat for you.” He held his hands up when I started to interrupt. “I’ve done it because I believe in you. You’re good to your core, and I know this firm needs that. We don’t have enough good here; we need to keep things balanced.”
I rolled my eyes. “Well, thank you.”
“I’m not looking for gratitude. I’m looking for honesty. What you asked Dan was fair. Could you have excused us from the room and asked him alone? Sure. But it wouldn’t have mattered because you would have filled us in anyway. I wasn’t bothered by that. You were direct with him, as you should be. However, calling Grant out was unprofessional, and you know it. It’s not like you to lose your temper. I’ve noticed a difference since you returned, so how about you tell me what’s really going on?”
“Obviously, I think Grant is a bit of a slimeball,” I said.
“I’m a lawyer. You’re avoiding the question.”
“I’ve told you about my ex-boyfriend, Cage, who I dated for a long time before I met Wes.”
“Yes, I remember you speaking of him often when you first came to work here.”
“Well, I spent a lot of time with him and his daughter when I was back home.” I blew out a breath. Only with Phillip could I say this. With him, I wouldn’t feel judged. “I’m really missing them, which I hadn’t expected. And I just don’t know what I’m doing with my life anymore. I know it’s not the right thing to say to my mentor who has just made me a partner, which I’ve been dreaming of for so long.” I shook my head as a lump formed in my throat.
His gaze softened, and he smiled. “Wow. All those years married to Wes, and I never saw it.”
“Saw what?”
“That look in your eyes. The one that tells me you’ve found something that matters more than work.”
“It’ll pass.” I cleared my throat, embarrassed by how much I’d just shared, yet it felt good to say it to someone.
“Presley,” he said, waiting for my eyes to meet his. “Maybe it shouldn’t pass.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means exactly that. Sometimes life throws you a curveball, and it’s the one you need to go for. Listen, I think you’re brilliant, or I wouldn’t have pushed for you to become a partner. And this firm needs you, no doubt about it. But learn from my mistakes. I’m a sixty-five-year-old man who has been married three times and his only child won’t speak to him. There are more important things in life than work. It just took me way too long to realize it.”
A tear ran down my cheek and landed on the table. “They live there. I live here. Realizing it isn’t the problem. I know that I belong with them. I just don’t know how to make it happen.”
“Semantics. Could you live there and be a partner? No. I’m not going to lie to you or sugarcoat things. But if it’s the real deal, does it really matter? You’re a wealthy young woman. This isn’t about money. You’re successful. Maybe you could have the best of both worlds. It just might look different than you imagined, but that doesn’t mean it’s a bad thing.”
I nodded, although I had no idea how to make that my reality.
twenty-eight
Cage
I’d hada hell of a day at the office. I’d seen back-to-back clients, and I’d ended my day with a visit from Martha Langley. She’d informed me that Maxine was depressed and not eating, and she was at her wit’s end. She’d decided to give her to a pig rescue a few towns over.
There were days that I felt more like a therapist than a veterinarian. And my daughter had not snapped back the way I’d hoped, and neither had I. I couldn’t even make fun of Bob because Gracie and I were as pathetic as he was now. None of us felt like doing much lately.
