“I need to move,” Reese calls out to the front, and Smith immediately sets us in motion.
Reese leans forward to talk to us both. “Know this. The message I got from my conversation with Blake was that he believes the Dungeon threat is gone. He is not a man to make a statement like that lightly. He’s not a false hope kind of guy, but I’ll call you, Grayson, the minute I talk to the Feds. And once you sign an immunity agreement, you can do that interview you talked about with Cat or anyone you wish and shut down the press obsession with your stories.” We’ve already made the walkable ride to the courthouse, which is swarming with protestors.
“Wonderful,” Reese mumbles irritably. “This case has been a press nightmare.”
Smith pulls us round to a side entrance, where the press is blocked off, parking right in front of a door for Reese’s ease of escape into the building. Reese reaches for the door but hesitates, just a moment. “Don’t get too happy when your press fade. It won’t last. We’re going to make headlines over Delaney.” He exits the Escalade and shuts the door behind him.
Grayson arches a brow. “I take it that means you two are officially teaming up?”
“We are,” I say. “Delaney won him over.”
“And you had nothing to do with it?”
“I believe it was all Delaney, but Reese did try and call the ADA and got shut down hard and fast, just like I have.” I frown. “It feels like there is more to this, doesn’t it?”
“What are you thinking?”
“I don’t know, but something is bothering me.” I sink back into the seat and start beating up my mind, looking for an answer I can’t quite reach, but it’s there, wishing Grayson and I were alone so we could talk it out but we are not alone.
Grayson laces his fingers with my fingers. “It’ll come to you,” he says. “I know it will.” He kisses my knuckles. That small little kiss sends goosebumps up my arm and warmth across my chest. This man loves me and when I think of the scandal around Mitch and his money, I’m really reminded of Grayson’s trust issues. And he does have trust issues. Everyone is entranced by his money and power. He keeps a small circle around him. He’s careful about who he lets close to him. He learned from his father to love hard, but to make sure the love is well-deserved and yet he didn’t even want a prenup. He never once considered that I might be in this for his money. I’m so glad his father talked him into the prenup for more than one reason. As his father presented, of course, I want Grayson to know I don’t want his money, but Grayson also needs to know that I won’t stay for the money. The only way to do that is for the prenup to guarantee me money. That I wouldn’t take of course, but that’s not the point.
This man loves me.
And I am one lucky woman to have that love, but unlike the past, when I tended to see only my good fortune in this match, I now see his. He can trust me, and I love him passionately, with all my heart. We are lucky. Delaney was not. She was trapped in a diamond and Chanel-decorated prison and I haven’t yet set her free.
***
Fifteen minutes later, we pull up to the Bennett building that is thankfully free of the press. Jacob walks us into the building and ensures I have his cellphone number. “Don’t go anywhere without me.”
I’m frowning when me and Grayson step onto the elevator. “So we aren’t free of the Dungeon at all, are we?” I ask when the doors shut on us.
He turns to me, stroking hair behind my ear, his tenderness something that has always stolen my breath, and now is no different. “You have reporters coming at you left and right, baby. I’ve told them to keep you safe.”
“Right. Of course. I’m just eager to have this over. I’m fortunate Walker was there when that man came at me. He could have been someone really dangerous.”
“It’s almost over.”
Those words play in my mind the rest of the ride up: almost over. We’re almost to the other side of our breakup because all of this is connected. Ri came at us and our relationship. Mitch came at Delaney, I think, shifting gears. Mitch’s brother came at Delaney. I’ll be okay. I have Grayson. Delaney is counting on me, and Reese, now. I have to come through for her.
We’ve just entered the Bennett executive offices and Eric and Davis are all but tackling Grayson. “We have the Feds’ agreement,” Eric informs him, both men in our path, halting us in the hallway. “We need to tear it apart.”
Grayson kisses me. “Go solve your mystery. I’m going to go and read through this.”
“Should I be there?”
“I can tell you that I know these two men. Two hours from now, it’s not going to look the same. Spare yourself the twenty versions.”
I’m torn, eager to work on the Delaney case, but nervous about this deal with the Feds. I eye Eric and Davis. “You feel good about it?”
Davis pipes in. “Cautiously—”
“Optimistic,” I supply. “Okay, well, I’m getting used to that non-answer.” I turn to Grayson. “I’ll leave you three musketeers to your cautious optimism.” I kiss Grayson’s cheek and head into my office.
I’ve just sat down when my cellphone rings with a call from my father. “Hey, Dad.”
“I just wanted to check on you, with all this mess going on. Are you still in the Hamptons with Grayson?”
“We’re home now. I’m back at work at Bennett. And I have news. Are you up to a New Year’s Eve wedding?”
“New Year’s Eve?”
“Yes. New Year’s Eve.”
“That’s fast, honey.”
“It doesn’t feel fast. It feels perfect.”
We talk for a good twenty minutes and make plans for him to join us for the holidays. He struggles alone without my mother, and when we hang up, I wish for his happiness. I want him to find his partner in life.
My cellphone rings again and this time, it’s Delaney. “I was just about to call you.”
“I arrived home to being served.” Her voice trembles. “You were right. Mitch’s brother is suing me and my daughter for everything.”
Of course, he is, I think. “That’s good,” I say.
“What? How is that good, Mia? This is not good.”
“We need to talk about who the real killer is and it’s not you. Jim used you to get rid of his brother and you, in one fatal swoop. He intends to inherit. Instead, we’re going to make him pay. You have my word.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
Grayson
The immunity agreement is, as Blake said, a good deal.
I spend a good two hours with Eric and Davis, tearing apart the wording on the agreement sent to us by the Feds. All in all, we feel like we’ll get to a place where this ends for me and Mia, and really, for the entire company. We’re about to wrap up the meeting when Nancy hands me Reese’s contract and Davis claims it for review. He heads to the conference room to have the quiet he needs to ensure he doesn't miss anything. Eric is about to leave as well, but I don’t let that happen.
He’s already at the door and I’m in front of my desk when I stop him. “Don’t even think about it.”