8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

~ James ~

I pushed my sunglasses up, needing to block out the vicious glare. And it wasn't the sun's fault. It was probably more like mine. I stayed up way too late the night before, drinking in one of the world-famous bars. And damn, could they make some drinks!

They also had some of the best beers. Bri and I did two world tours, where they had fifteen different beers from around the world. After the day of avoiding a certain lawyer on the boat, I needed to let go. So, I drank.

Not my wisest decision when I needed to be up early to ride a horse along the beaches of Grand Turk. I screwed myself over on this one and was left with no choice. So, here I am, before the sun has even shown its face, to enjoy a breathtaking morning on the shores with me and my horse, and honestly, I hope no one else is there.

Truthfully, I can't deal with useless chatter. I've had a few other women come up and hit on me, and I can't deal with them either.

"Do you always get up so early?"

Behind my glasses, I rolled my eyes. Really, what were the chances here? I mean, on the boat we can ignore each other, how are we landing on the same outings?

"Unless I have a night of debauchery, yes, I'm up early. Didn't peg the witch as one to get up before the sun rises."

Even from where I stood, I could hear the drink of her teeth, and deep down, there was some satisfaction in that. Don't ask me why poking the bear was fun, but it was.

Maybe because, even though I wanted to loathe her with a passion, there was some undeniable chemistry between us and seeing her in her glorious anger was just, well, let's say it didn't help my dick from going back down when around her.

"You sure like tossing that out, don't you?"

"Just like you like tossing out that I'm this horrible womanizer? You make it sound like women are my prey or something."

I watched as she crossed her arms over her chest and lifted a brow at me.

"Well, don't you?"

"You know what, Addison, you know jack shit about me. You seem to know only want someone tells you. And no offense, that makes you a really crappy lawyer if you don't do research or find anything out on your own." With that, I turned around, grateful to see others joining our group.

This woman knew nothing about me. I wasn't a pig when it came to women. Did I appreciate the opposite sex? Yes. Was I always flirting and all over them? No. Did I sleep around? That was also a no. But this woman did not want to believe any of that.

So, no matter how badly I wanted to fuck her, it wasn't going to happen. She just didn't get me, and I wouldn't stoop down to a level of fucking a need out with someone that hated me so much.

We got on the bus and down to the horse ranch by the shore, easily ignoring each other. I'm sure it was hard for her not to say something, but it was not my problem. She could easily talk to any other ladies who were eyeing me, but she didn't.

"I'm sorry," she muttered as we got done saddling the horses and started the trip down the shore. "You're right. It's not like me to not look into things."

"How hard is it for you to say that?"

I grinned as she rolled her eyes at me.

"It's not hard, actually. I just…" she trailed off as she looked at the water for a moment. "I'm not a divorce lawyer, actually. But she's a friend of a friend and I am a good lawyer. When the case was presented to me, I took it on. I really thought it wouldn't be a problem, a quick win.

"She really did peg you in the worst light, you know? And after my own horrible past of an ex-husband, it was easy to get wrapped up in what she was saying and just side with her, without verifying the facts."

"I'm sorry for your jackass of an ex. And I figured she had. She always did when I didn't get her what she wanted."

I glanced at Addi, who was twisting her lip, and I wanted to smile. She had questions, there was no doubt.

"Was she always horrible?"

"No. I did love her. And when I'm with a woman, I'm with them. They get my heart, my love, my attention, but not always the first time slot. I'm a busy man, what I do isn't for the faint of heart. And at the start, she loved that. But when I couldn't devote every waking second to what she wanted, she quickly changed."

"People can be fickle like that."

"Same problem?" I asked, having probably guessed with her being a lawyer.

"Yeah. Ex liked the powerful wife, not the time it took for me to be powerful, though."

"Funny how things change like that?"

"Yeah. It's also annoying." Once more, I watched as she twisted her lip and shook my head.

"Ask away, Addi. I don't think it's going to hurt you or the case if we talk."

"The statement of her divorce is that she left, is that true?"

"Hmm. I'm a great many things, Addi, but calling people liars is not something I like. But your client is lying. She didn't walk out. I actually ended it. I could see the love gone in her eyes. The struggle of us remaining a couple was far too hard. She kept causing scenes. So, I told her we were through. I had a meeting out of state over a two-week period, and she had that time to pack up everything and leave."

"That changes the dynamic of the case."

"I bet it does. Can I share a secret?"

"What's that, James?"

"I kinda like the fact that you have to work harder to try and win this case."

"Oh, you jerk," she teased, quickly reaching out her arm to shove me. But with the way her horse was compared to mine, she didn't do much damage. "Just you wait, I'm going to win. And you can go cry about it when I take everything.

"Funny." This time, it was my turn to reach over and shove her. But I had the upper hand, and the better strength, so instead of a gentle shove, the push knocked her right off her horse, and into the waves lapping at the shore.