“I’m in,” Reese replies, glancing at Grayson. “Cat will get you a client agreement this afternoon. That is if that’s what you want?”
“All-in,” Grayson replies, but his focus is instantly back on Blake. “You said for starters,” he repeats. “What else is holding you back on this?”
“I don’t want to fuck you in the process of trying to stop these assholes from fucking you. Everything isn’t online and documented with technology. There could be another method of payment or a backup source of payment. If there is, we could trigger a rapid attack. It’s like cutting a wire on a bomb. If you cut the wrong one, you blow the hell up.”
Grayson’s hand tightens over mine. “Then where does that leave us?”
“The attorney in question, Brian Johnson, is attending a party tonight. I’m having a team search his house and office, but even if it’s clean, even if we find nothing we don’t already have—”
“You can’t eliminate all risks,” Grayson supplies and he doesn’t hesitate to add, “Take the risk. Pressure the DA and the FBI. Make this happen. I need this over with.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Grayson
Take the risk.
I’m all about calculated, well-researched risk-taking, but as Blake leaves Mia and me with Cat and Reese to act on that risk, it feels more like a Vegas gamble. I’m not a Vegas gambler.
“This feels like the right move,” Mia murmurs as he departs, “but I still think I could use a drink I can’t handle once we get home.”
And just like that, Mia charms the moment into something lighter and the tension around the table fades into laughter.
The rest of the lunch, we relax into the conversation, as best as I can relax under these circumstances, but through our meal, I decide that I’m impressed with Reese Summer. If I could buy out his firm and bring him on board, I’d do it in a heartbeat and not because he needs me to grow and thrive. Because he’s one of the good guys and good guys need to align.
He and I talk about his firm, his partner, and the stock markets while Mia and Cat fall into their own deep conversation, an obvious connection between the two. Watching Mia just be Mia is a piece of my life that was sadly empty when we were apart. Her laugh charms me. Her smile heats my blood. Her presence calms me in ways I was never truly calm before her or apart from her.
She’s in the middle of a sentence when her gaze lifts to the TV to her right and mounted to the ceiling. The entire table’s attention follows hers to the image of a woman, with a subtitle under her photo that reads: Wife of billionaire claims self-defense in his murder.
Mia sets her fork down and sighs. “Nothing like your client on the TV to ruin a meal.”
“Delaney Wittmore is your client?” Cat asks, glancing at Reese. “She’s her client.” Excitement lifts her voice and she turns back to Mia. “Mia, I had no idea. I’m intrigued by this case. I’m interested in following the trial in my column. When does the trial start?”
“Four months,” Mia says. “But right before this Ri mess, I submitted to have the judge removed, so I don’t know how that will play out.”
“That’s a big move,” Reese comments. “Why?”
“He made an offhanded comment about Delaney killing her husband for his money, which speaks of an opinion he shouldn’t openly have.”
“Did she?” Cat asks.
“I wouldn’t be representing her if I believed that,” Mia retorts quickly, sitting up straighter. “And there are a half-dozen police reports, documented bruises on her body, and a recording she made of him threatening her mother’s life that say otherwise. And while I’m not surprised that the evidence doesn’t matter to the press, it should to the judge on her case.”
“You really believe in her,” Reese observes.
“I do,” Mia assures him. “I do, or I would never bring this drama to Grayson’s firm right now, in the middle of all of this, if I didn’t feel this passionately about her. She was terrorized by that man.”
Reese sips his drink. “Who’s the judge?”
“Nickleson,” she says.
Reese grimaces and grabs a piece of bread. “He’s a bastard. You’re smart to jump off that ship if you can. Who’s the prosecutor?”
“Nick Reynolds,” Mia says. “And as I’m sure you know at this point from Blake, Ri was trying to set Grayson up through the DA’s office.”
“I’m painfully aware of that fact,” Reese confirms.
“Well,” Mia continues, “we now know that Nick has a connection to Ri. The honest truth here is that this poor woman has a stacked deck from me and this firm representing her, but Ri’s firm is without Ri. I don’t know what that will mean for its future and she trusts me. She begged me to keep her case.”
“What do you want to happen for her?” Reese asks.
“Honestly,” Mia replies, “she deserves to have the charges dismissed, but people love to hate pretty women who stand to inherit a fortune. I don’t feel like her odds are good.”
“I know Nick,” Reese says. “I don’t like him, but I have had some luck with him, but that aside for a moment, Cat has been researching this case. She’s been talking about it non-stop. It piqued my interest even before we sat down for this lunch. If you’re willing to talk about some sort of partnership, I wouldn’t want to steal the spotlight this brings your career. I do, however, want to help.”
“I don’t care about credit,” Mia says. “I care about my client, not me.” She turns to me. “Grayson?”
I stare at her, my beautiful Mia, her long dark hair around her shoulders, and I understand the question she hasn’t fully vocalized. She wants me to decide for her. She wants me to tell her to hold onto the case or let it go, and fuck, I want her to let it go. Delaney was just on the television. Mia will be in the press with her, and they will push her to talk about Ri. They will push her in all kinds of ways that might affect her in ways she doesn’t yet realize.
And even beyond that, the underground operation could use this to attack her and play it off as some crazy protestor. I want her to take this deal with Reese, but Reese will steal her spotlight and I made the mistake of pulling her from a case against her will once before to protect her. I won’t do that again. “It’s your call, Mia. It’s your case.”
“It’s your company.”
“And you’re about to be my wife.”
“That doesn’t change the business side of this. Grayson—”
“This is your case and your decision.”
“I want your opinion,” she counters.
“And I want you to do what feels right to you, Mia, not me. This isn’t about me.”
Her lips press together. “Stubborn man,” she snaps and turns back to the table, inhaling before she makes her decision. “This isn’t well-timed for the firm and I’m not Delaney’s best path to freedom. I haven’t fully processed that fact until now. This has all happened so quickly, but sitting here right now, I know that’s true. Honestly, Reese, she’d be better off with you. And this is a high-profile feather in your cap if you get her off. I believe her. I know you will as well. If you would consider taking the case—when can you meet her?”