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"Sure you don't want me to go with you for moral support?"
"It's okay. I'm a big girl. I can handle it."
He leaned over, curved his hand around her neck and pulled her in for a soft, reassuring kiss. "Call me as soon as you're through."
She checked herself one last time in the mirror and slicked on another coat of lip gloss.
"You look great, by the way," he said, eyeing her black sleeveless shift dress and pointy toed black heels. "Showing him what he's missing."
"I don't care about that." She was lying and he knew it.
"It's okay to care a little bit," he said with a wink.
She grabbed her purse and got out of the truck. Her heartbeat pounded in her ears, drowning out the tap-tapping of her heels against the concrete. She got in the—thankfully empty—elevator, closed her eyes, leaned against the wall and took a deep breath.
It's no big deal. It's no big deal, she told herself over and over, willing her teeth to unclench and her shoulders to relax. The elevator stopped on the fourth floor, and Colleen smoothed her hair and straightened her shoulders.
She braced herself as she opened the door to the lobby. Gregory and Angela sat on the gray couch, holding hands. They looked up at the sound of the door opening.
Her stomach rolled at the sight of them. Ugh, what was Angela doing here? She forced herself not to curl her lip in disgust.
She noticed, with no small amount of satisfaction, that pregnancy and bedrest had not been kind to the other woman. Even though Angela was seated, she could tell she had already gained a significant amount of weight. Her upper arms strained at the sleeves of her cotton dress, and her heavy makeup couldn't disguise the puffiness of her cheeks.
Once again, Colleen was happy she'd chosen the figure hugging black dress that hit her just above the knee and emphasized her slim frame.
She turned her attention to Gregory and felt... shockingly little. In an instant, all the anxiety and apprehension she'd felt leading up to this moment disappeared. Her heartbeat slowed, her stomach unclenched, and a wave of calm washed over her.
She would never have believed it were possible if she weren't experiencing it real time. Before this moment, every encounter with him had been an emotionally wrenching experience. Right after they split, every time she saw him she was overcome with grief and a deep yearning for him to come to his senses, for him to realize what a horrible mistake he had made and beg her to take him back.
Eventually that yearning had morphed into anger. The sight of him had her curling her fists, restraining herself from punching him in the face when she saw him, and dreaming up elaborate revenge scenarios as she lay sleepless in her lonely bed.
Now she looked at his familiar features, still handsome, but nothing to make her weak in the knees like they once did, and felt... nothing.
Maybe not nothing, she conceded. She definitely had a strong aversion to his presence, and would have taken care of all this remotely if she thought for a minute she could trust him. But she'd take annoyed over despairing any day of the week.
"Gregory, Angela," she said coolly before going to check in with the receptionist.
"Catherine will be with you in a few minutes," the receptionist said.
"And we're still waiting for David," Gregory added.
Colleen nodded and sat down in an armchair opposite the couple.
"You look like you're doing well," Gregory said.
"I am, thank you. And I'll be doing even better once we have this all resolved." She turned to Angela with a tight smile. "I'm surprised to see you here. Last I heard you were on bedrest."
The other woman straightened in her seat. "I'm allowed to get out of bed as long as I don't overdo it. And I wanted to be here to support Gregory." Her smile didn't quite reach her eyes as her grip on Gregory's hand tightened until the whites of her knuckles showed.
Colleen suppressed an eye roll. No need to worry about me trying to steal him away. Been there, done that, had the STD screening to prove it.
Besides, she thought as an image of JT popped into her head, I have someone so much better waiting for me when I walk out of this office.
"Well, I hope this doesn't prove too taxing." Colleen picked up a copy of National Geographic from a wooden side table and began leafing through, effectively putting an end to any more small talk.
A few minutes later, Catherine came into the lobby to greet her and Gregory and lead them back to a small conference room. An attractive woman in her mid-forties, Catherine wore her shoulder length blond hair in a clip at her nape. A tailored gray pantsuit hung perfectly on her tall, athletic frame.
She shook hands with them both and gestured for them to take their seats. A few minutes later, Gregory's lawyer, David Bandish arrived. Medium height with salt-and-pepper hair, he wore a navy suit that couldn't quite conceal his middle age paunch.
