From the office grapevine, she’d learned that all his assets had been liquidated: his home, his shares in the firm, and even his beautiful custom-built silver-gray Audi was sold. The other lawyers had sworn that the only reason that Justin would have sold that car was if he were terminally ill, and even then, he would have wanted to be buried in it.
Somehow the media had also gotten wind of his divorce filing a few months ago. The divorce of one of the most prominent family members in the state had been a huge story, and it had exploded on the society pages in Austin and throughout Texas. Melissa had been only too happy to tell her side of the story on several TV and radio talk shows. According to her, Justin had wanted children and she hadn’t been ready yet. Melissa had tried painting him as a Neanderthal man intent on finding a woman who was willing to be a baby machine for him.
Justin’s family had bought an entire page of the newspaper when the story was reaching a ridiculous frenzy to state only, “Absolute Drivel,” on the entire page. Their defense of Justin was more than effective. #Absolutedrivel had been trending for an entire week. And Melissa’s attempt to turn the public against him for being a Neanderthal also had women coming out to sign up to be his baby machine.
The last Nakia had heard, Melissa was still trying to fight the divorce.
Nakia grabbed her handbag from her desk determined to go out and buy herself some celebratory divorce jewelry. Returning her wedding band and engagement ring to Ralph at their off-the-rails lunch had been a liberating experience. And now she wanted to celebrate her freedom. She’d asked for nothing from him in the divorce settlement, no alimony or a share in their marital assets. All of it had been purchased with his NFL contract money, so she’d felt no claim to them. Besides, he needed all of it to try to stay out of prison.
Channeling her badass, don’t-mess-with-me persona, Nakia strode through the office with her usual high-powered confident stride. At five-feet-nine and in her favorite stilettos, she ignored the stares and added a little extra roll of her ass in lieu of the fist pump she was dying to give on finally gaining her freedom. She’d just exited the elevator to the ground floor and was crossing the gleaming tiled floor of the crowded lobby when she stopped mid-stride at the sight of Justin. He was next to the senior partners’ elevator located away from usual staff elevators. That elevator went up to his and his brother’s private offices. He’d stopped and was apparently staring at her.
It felt as though she’d been sucker-punched as the breath whizzed from her body. Her heart was beating loudly even to her own ears in a mad staccato in her chest. Feeling slightly lightheaded, she felt a riot of nerves in her belly, and the jolt of emotions eviscerated all cognitive thought from her brain. He looked as though he’d come directly from wherever he’d been for the past thirteen months. With almost three days growth of dark hair on his face, a trimmed mustache and the hair on his head reaching the collar of his shirt, longer than the strict close-to-the-scalp military cut he usually wore, he looked lethal, dangerous. And then that emerald gaze ensnared her, and her heart stopped; in fact, everything around her stopped. It was only the two of them. Nothing else existed. He was so damn gorgeous, bigger, more rugged, igniting her lust fuse like it was the Fourth of July. He wore black jeans riding low on his lean hips and a fitted black T-shirt that showcased his massive chest and tattooed biceps and had a backpack draped casually on his shoulder.
She was in a full-on meltdown of sensory overload, smoldering with emotion she didn’t dare hope to interpret, and his unwavering gaze held her spellbound.
Her limbs could no longer sustain her weight, and she was forced to brace herself against the nearby wall to stop herself from crumpling to the floor in an embarrassing heap. At least she could be glad that she would look good while she was embarrassing herself. She’d worn a peach figure-hugging dress and tan jacket that matched her stilettos. She’d gained a few extra pounds on her ass and breasts, which made her usual business dresses a bit sexier than intended, thus the jacket. She’d been so depressed when Justin had left she’d resort to what she usually did when depressed. She ate. It was only a few months ago that she’d gotten her act together and started at the gym again. At least her waist and stomach were lean again, giving her a curvaceous hourglass figure. There was nothing she could do about the double D breast size and apple-shaped bottom though.
Justin started toward her, weaving coolly and confidently through the staff rushing out to lunch. Many stopped him along the way to greet him. He nodded, acknowledging their greeting, but he didn’t stop moving toward her.
The change in him was stark. Nakia had watched his interaction before with sometimes stalkerish intensity, and it was easy for her to note the difference in his carefree demeanor of the past to the cool, almost chilling, dangerous persona now. Whatever he’d been engaged in over the past year had taken a toll. The muscles in his arms and his chest were visibly harder, bigger, and his movement was panther smooth, as though he were still anticipating an enemy attack. As he got closer, she noted a few extra scars on his face and arms. However, it only enhanced his beauty.
“Hi, Nakia.” He stood less than a foot in front of her, his jeweled gaze, now devoid of its customary teasing gleam, roaming hungrily over her. The deep bass of his voice triggered something deep in her core, making her instantly wet and pulsing.
She shivered and couldn’t help reacting to the dark promise in his eyes. She barely stifled the moan of longing that was flooding her senses. “Hi,” she breathed.
“You look well,” he said softly. He voiced those three little simple words, but his body language was telling her she looked better than “well” to him. He seemed ready to pounce, and she was his prey.
“Thank you,” she told him in the same hushed tone. She was finding it hard to get enough oxygen in her lungs to breathe and talk at the same time.
“I hear that congratulations are in order.” He moved even closer to her.
“Yes, I received the papers a few minutes ago.” She was proud of her ability to get a full sentence out. “I’m finally free.”
“Good. He’s no longer harassing you.”
Narrowing her eyes at him, Nakia paused before speaking. Wait, he’s made a statement. That wasn’t a question. “How did you know my divorce was finalized today? And how did you know Ralph was no longer harassing me?”
He was silent for so long she thought he wasn’t going to answer her.
“Where were you going just now?” he asked instead.
“That’s none of your business.”
He gazed down at her coolly. “Where are your bodyguards?”
Nakia anchored her palms at her waist and tried her best to give him a defiant stare-down, but it was impossible being angry with him when she was so damn glad to see him. And she couldn’t be mad at him for caring about her. However, she was going to make sure he understood that he didn’t have the right to tell her what to do. “I’m confused by your assumption that you have the right to question me. Did I miss that part of our interaction that gave you that right? Are we in a relationship that I’m unaware of?” She was proud. She almost sounded coherent and not the insanely-in-love woman that she was.