“I’m counting on it, Mr. Aldridge.” I lick my lips, fantasizing about tonight.
But my stomach drops when I swing the door open and I find Fitzhenry Everhart, Henry’s lawyer, on the other side. He consults for our legal department and handles most of his personal affairs. He’s also a close friend of ours. You can’t meet Fitz and not become his friend instantly.
“I want to be excited to see you,” I state with a dry mouth. What is he doing here? “But my gut tells me you’re about to give me some bad news.”
“Interesting. I came to his new office, but it’s a house and you’re here, dressed like a naughty teacher and with a face that says, I was thoroughly fucked a few minutes ago,” he claims, giving me a hug. “You look good, sweetheart. Please tell me you found some nice Northwestern boy and you’re not with that asshole.”
I smile. “You interrupted us.”
He shakes his head. “Women. They always fall for the tall, fuckable, dark prince.”
“You fall for those too, Fitz.”
“Guilty as charged, and I never regret it.” He smiles. “I mostly fall in love with love and lust after those assholes. Once the fun is over, I drop their asses. That’s a tip, free of charge. You had your fun and now run, because this is going to get too intense—and ugly. I’m not even sure I’m working for your boss anymore. I think he dumped me without even a text saying it’s over. The least he could’ve done is change our relationship status on social media.”
“Everhart, come into my office and stop the nonsense.”
“Listen, Aldridge, I like you. We’ve been together for years. All I want is for you to be honest with me,” he says as he steps inside Henry’s office, who is sitting down in his chair still looking flushed, and I bet thinking of anything to make his hard-on go down. “Are you leaving me for your brother?”
“Leave it to you to make our association sound like a K drama,” he states. “You’re still my lawyer and Merkel’s number one legal team. Pierce is consulting often, and I hope you two can learn to get along with each other.”
“Not what your betrothed said the last time I spoke to her legal counselor. She swears Pierce Griffin Aldridge is your lawyer and I should stop harassing her,” he says.
He pulls out a folder from his messenger bag and hands it to Henry. “Here are the amendments she sent a week ago. I know your brother is dodging her, but we can’t solve our problems by ignoring them, can we? Assuming we are still your preferred firm, I’m here to fix this problem. I will even give you two punches on your frequent client card. Your next legal mess is free.”
Henry scans the documents and sighs. It’s obvious that he’s not pleased with any of it. While he’s reading through them, Pierce and Leyla enter the house without knocking on the door.
“Martina Edelstein is here,” he says, and Leyla marches to where I stand.
“She’s not alone,” Pierce continuous speaking, “Our dear Jerome Parrish is with her. We have more bad news, in case this isn’t enough. Since there’s an arrangement, he’s insinuating that she has to stay with you, and the fact that she hasn’t been living with us might violate the testament’s stipulations.”
“No fucking way,” Henry growls. “You gotta be shitting me.”
He runs a hand through his hair and yells at the ceiling, “Fuck you, William!”
“It’s going to be okay,” Pierce assures him.
“No, it’s not. This is how he defeats us, and he’s going to pin the failure on me. I never saw this move coming.”
Then he looks at the floor. “I hope you’re burning in hell!”
Fitz turns to Pierce and extends his hand, “Fitzhenry Everhart. I assume we’re working together on this case, counselor.”
“Pierce Aldridge.”
“Yes, you are an Aldridge,” he keeps shaking his hand and sweeping him from head to toe. “Any chance you and I can…”
“Nope, he’s married to her,” I inform him.
“Oh, he’s the married one,” he repeats, releasing Pierce’s hand. “It’s okay. I don’t date lawyers anyway. We’re high maintenance. Let’s get to work then.”
“Seriously, she wants to use a surrogate to have my child?” Henry protests.
“You’re having kids with her?” I ask a little put off. Leyla side hugs me.
“No, I’m reading her amendments out loud, and she’s requesting to have the child via surrogate.”
“Only one kid?” I question perplexed.
I’m not planning on marrying the guy tomorrow but…well, it shouldn’t be my problem how many children he wants. We’re just dating or were dating… What are we now?
I press my lips together and stare at the desk while he speaks, “When grandpa was working on this, he asked how many children I wanted to have. I responded none. After negotiating it, we compromised to one.”
My heart shrinks because that was a compromise. He doesn’t even want children.
“How refreshing. An Aldridge who doesn’t want children,” Leyla says and laughs humorlessly.
“Why even bother with one?” I question, not sure if it’s curiosity or just a way to stick the knife deeper into my heart.
Maybe I’ll die fast instead of bleeding for the next thousand years.
“He wanted me to have an heir. If I die, my next of kin gets Merkel. In this case, that would be my wife or ex-wife. He didn’t want that to happen.”
“You already planned the future of that child, just like they did with you,” I say, irritated by his lack of emotions and the absurdity of this situation.
“Babe, hear me out. That’s something that happened when I was twenty-two. Please, stay focused. I need you to stay focused. Martina doesn’t mean anything to me. You are my future, and we are actively breaking this agreement,” he states, pointing at Fitz and Pierce. “I trust these men.”
“You talk about it as if it’s a business transaction.”
He lifts the folder and says, “Indeed, this is a business transaction.”
Then he stands up and saunters toward me, taking me in his arms, placing his hand on the back of my head, and brushing his lips against mine before he says, “You and I…we’re the rest of our lives. Dreams and hopes. We’re a living miracle.”
“Oh, my fucking god, he is in love,” Fitz says. “Okay, children, we have a lot of work to do. We have to find a way to keep these two lovebirds together. I wish I had brought my brother along. He’s better at family law, but if we need him, he’s a call away.”
My phone buzzes. It’s Mills in the family chat group.
Mills: There’s a woman with Parrish demanding to see Henry. Parrish wants me to take her bags from her car to Henry’s room. I’m not the fucking butler.
Hayes: You can’t carry anything, Mills. Just ignore them. I’m on my way.
Beacon: She’s a hot piece of ass, but I don’t like her. She talked to G like she’s the help. We’re heading to the studio. Let us know how this ends.
Mills: Yeah. What is up with this? You have a fiancée, Henry? I’m taking Arden to the park.