“He swears he didn’t do it. That he loves me.”
“So why do you think he’s lying?”
She looked sad. “He’s just so cold. So distant.”
“Is he working out more? Putting more care into his appearance?”
“No.” She looked confused. “No more than usual.”
“Is he having trouble at work?”
“Yeah, he has issues with his boss.”
Blair took a deep breath. “Leslie, I would be happy to represent you should it come to a divorce, but I think what you need is a private investigator or a marriage counselor.”
“But . . .”
“We’ll need names and some type of proof he’s cheated on you to build a stronger case. And if your only hint that he’s been unfaithful is that he’s acting distant, I suspect he’s merely preoccupied with the possibility of losing his job.”
Leslie looked surprised.
Blair rested a forearm on the table. “Do you still love him?”
Tears filled her eyes. “Yes.”
“Then fight for your marriage. Don’t give up on him so easily.” Like she’d done with Garrett five years ago. “But if you do find proof or you decide you still want a divorce, come back and I’ll help you in any way I can.”
“Thank you.” Relief washed over her face.
Blair watched her walk out of her office, and Melissa came in several minutes later. “Do you have a new client?”
“No. I told her to hire a private investigator or a marriage counselor.”
Her eyes widened. “The marriage counselor bit is new.”
She shrugged. “Her suspicions were flimsy. And she still loves him.”
Melissa moved toward the door, but instead of leaving, she surprised Blair by shutting the door and moving back toward her. “So you’re still getting married?”
Caught off guard, Blair looked up at her. “Well . . . yeah.”
Melissa grabbed the chair Leslie had used and moved it in front of Blair. Blair watched in silence as her assistant sat in front of her.
“Blair, we’ve been together for four years. I think I know you pretty well by now, wouldn’t you say?”
Blair sat rigid, wondering where Melissa was going with this. “Of course.”
She took a deep breath. “Sometimes the relationship you and I have is difficult.”
Pain twisted in her gut. “You don’t like working for me?”
“What?” Melissa asked in horror. “No! I love working for you. What I meant is that you’re my boss, but we’re also friends, so I sometimes struggle with knowing when not to cross that line.”
Blair nodded, her anxiety ratcheting up.
“But I decided to risk my relationship as your employee today to approach you as your friend.”
“Okay.”
“I don’t think you should marry Neil. He doesn’t love you, so why does he want to marry you?”
Blair expected to feel anger, but she felt exhausted instead. “We love each other in our own way. I know you don’t understand. No one does, and I get it. It’s different. But let’s face it, I intimidate most men . . . and even those who aren’t afraid of me wouldn’t tolerate my schedule. Besides, I might not believe in happily ever after, but I think it will be nice to be married and have a partner for special events and vacations. Plus we both know it will help my job.”
“None of those are good reasons, Blair,” Melissa said bluntly. “What about love?”
“I’ve spent all night thinking this over. It’s simple. I can either go with emotion or with reason. Emotion is not to be trusted. At least I know what I’ll be getting with Neil.”
“Do you?” she asked. “Are you sure?”
Blair’s eyes narrowed. “Why do you say that?”
“He doesn’t like me, and while that sounds petty on my part, I don’t get why he sees me as a threat.”
“Surely you’ve misunderstood.”
“No. You know I don’t misunderstand.”
She was right. Melissa was excellent at reading people. “What else?”
“He hates Mr. Lowry.”
“Well, that’s to be expected. Even more so now.”
“I’m certain that he wants to marry you to hurt Mr. Lowry. I don’t trust him, Blair.”
She knew that had to be part of his motivation now, but he didn’t know Garrett was her ex-boyfriend until the shower, so that certainly hadn’t been his motivation to propose. She nodded. “Okay.”
“You’re not angry?”
Blair shook her head. “No. But I admit I probably wouldn’t have listened to you before now.”
“So what are you going to do?”
“I don’t know.”
“Your rehearsal’s in six hours.”
“I know. For now, we’ll leave it as it stands.”
Melissa stood and took several steps before turning around. “I know you want to keep your job, but don’t do this to save me. I couldn’t live with the guilt.” Then she walked out.
Blair sat there thinking about it. She had three choices. Marry Neil. Give Garrett a chance. Or be alone. If she chose one of the latter two, she would need to make sure Melissa was protected. But how could she do that without letting on that Ben Stuart had told her about her potential partnership and its unique conditions?
Five minutes later, she knocked on the door to human resources, but even as she did, she knew it was a mere formality. The door was always open, and Mary, the one-person department, was always welcoming.
“Blair! What are you doing here? You requested the day off for your wedding.”
She smiled. “Oh, you know work . . .”
Mary grinned. “I do. But don’t let the important things slip by.”
“Thanks, Mary. I’ll remember that.”
“So what can I do for you?”
“Um . . .” She’d worked up a story of sorts. “Neil got word that he might be offered a position in Dallas. Now, we’re not at all sure what decision he’d make, but I would go with him if he went.”
Her eyes widened. “Oh! I know they’d miss you around here. Why, Mr. Sisco Sr. himself was raving about you just last week.”
“Really? Mr. Sisco Jr. sat in on one of my depositions this week. I was worried they found my work unsatisfactory.”
She waved her hand. “Standard performance review. He didn’t tell you?”
“No.” Had Ben lied to her? But then again, the partners probably wouldn’t have informed Mary of their intentions. “So . . . if I were to move to Dallas with Neil, what would happen to Melissa?”
Mary smiled. “Oh, aren’t you a sweet girl. She’s a wonderful employee. We’d find a place for her.”
“So she wouldn’t lose her job?”
“Good heavens, no. Half the attorneys here would duke it out over who gets to work with her.”
“Thank you, Mary.” She turned to leave, then asked, “If it comes to that, promise me that you’ll make sure to put her with someone who will be good to her. Not Mark Garter. He’s an ass.” Her voice tightened. She couldn’t handle Melissa working for that jerk.