30. Chapter 30

Chapter 30

ALEX

T hat was a nice relaxing night but now it’s time to get to the gym and get this day over with.

Hmmm, Roman beat me out of bed this morning. He must be out in the kitchen making coffee or our pre-workout drinks.

I headed out to the kitchen in just a tee shirt, and I screamed when I opened the door. There was a small woman, about fifty years old or so, with a vacuum in the hall.

I started laughing and went over and hugged her and said, “Oh my goodness you scared me. You must be Mary.” She looked a little frightened and taken aback by the hug and shook her head.

“Yes, you must be Alex.” She stepped around me still holding the vacuum.

“That’s me. I’m sorry if I scared you. Roman didn’t tell me you started so early.”

“I always start around seven.” I shook my head thinking it couldn't be after seven and marched out to the kitchen to find out what was going on.

He was already dressed and ready for work.

“Did you turn my alarm off again? You’ve got to stop doing that.” Why is he so controlling?

He turned around and said, “Good morning to you, too.” He came over and hugged me, kissing my forehead as I stepped back, crossing my arms over my chest.

“I didn’t go in your phone. Well, I did turn your alarm off, but only because you didn’t wake up and do it yourself. I asked you if you wanted to go to the gym and you said no, so I let you sleep.”

Ugh, what the hell. I guess I needed the sleep. Oh well, no gym this morning. I can go after I see Dr. King.

“Ok, sorry. I think I scared Mary. I know she scared me.”

“I’m sure she’ll be fine. I made you some breakfast. Call me and let me know when you get home. Do you want anything special for dinner tonight? I can just order something if we don’t want to cook.”

“I’ll think about it and let you know later. Thank you for breakfast. Have a good day. I’ll take a shower, eat breakfast and head out.” He handed me a coffee and left for the day.

I sat in my car for a minute, thinking about what I was going to say to Bruce. How am I going to keep him from freaking out and get him to go along with my plan? I turned on some music I and cranked it up. The music drowned out all the noise in my head and made the drive to the studio bearable. I knew exactly what I was going to say to Bruce now. I jumped out of the car and hurried in before I lost my nerve. He smiled and waved me into his office, and I closed the door behind me.

“What the heck are you so excited about?” he laughed. I was practically bouncing up and down.

“Bruce, please don’t get mad at me and don’t tell me no.” I was almost out of breath. He sat back in his chair and crossed his arms.

“I promise not to get mad, but I do not promise I won’t say no until I hear what it is.”

“Fair enough. Tuesday is the big day. I want to provoke Tanner.” My hands were balled up in fists and I was biting my bottom lip.

He raised his eyebrows with a look that was more confused than surprised. “What? What do you mean, provoke him? Why do you want to provoke him?”

I had everything running so fast through my head.

“There’s a reason I wanted to learn how to fight. It wasn’t just to get control of my emotions. I have control of them, I promise.”

He leaned forward and put his arms on the desk. “Oh shit, you want to fight him!”

I just smiled and nodded, waiting for him to say something else.

“Tell me your thoughts. I’m intrigued.”

Fantastic. Now I can get it off my chest and finally relax a bit.

“He’s planning to have his lawyer spin the whole thing making me look like I somehow did this to myself or asked for it. I just want to give him a chance to finish what he started, fairly.” Or try to, I should say .

He sat back and clapped his hands together and said, “Only a dumb motherfucker would want to fight you. What do you need from me?”

Oh my god, I can’t believe he’s really going to help me. My heart was racing so fast now.

“Well, first I need to get him to take the bait. When his lawyer starts interrogating me and trying to make it sound like I’m some kind of degenerate, I plan to make a personal attack of my own on him and his manhood. I’m hoping to have a lawsuit filed against me for defamation.” When I say it out loud, it sounds completely mental.

“How do you plan to get him to sue you?” He sat back in his chair. This was such a rush having someone to talk to about this stuff.

“Well, he’s quite the arrogant SOB, so I’m going to say something like, ‘I could choose to sleep with every guy in that place and I would still turn you down.’ Then I plan to say he needed to drug me because he would never have been able to take me without it.”

Bruce was laughing now.

“I’m sure that’s the laymen’s terms for what you plan to say in there. What if they object to what you’re saying and make you stop?”

Good question. I think I know what to do though.

“Well, I’ve thought about that. I’m going to keep going and get him really riled up. If I get fined or held in contempt, I’m ready for that. I have plenty of money to pay for fines. I’ll make sure I say everything I need to say before the judge threatens jail time.” I don’t need or want to go to jail for any reason because of this guy.

“And what if they convict him and he gets jail time?”

“That would be awesome, but as far as I’m concerned, nothing they give him will be enough. I think it will be a slap on the wrist, and I have a feeling he’ll do something to retaliate and if he does; that’s where you come in. ”

He looked sideways at me and asked, “Where exactly do I come in?”

“If he sues me, which I believe he will, there will only be one way to prove it’s not defamation. He would need to fight me. I want to do it here. I want there to be lots of media, a fucking circus. I want to humiliate the guy beyond repair and the deal will be that he spends an extra five years in jail with no chance of early release.”

“Do you think a judge would really go for that?”

I hope so, I thought, or this is all for nothing.

“I don’t know, but I’m going to try.” They’d be nuts to say yes to it, but I'm going to be as compelling as I can.

“You’re a crazy girl, but you have my support. What does Roman think about this?” I put my hands on my head and took a deep breath.

“Roman doesn’t know. No one knows. Not my friends, family or my attorneys.”

He sat back again and let out a deep breath. “You’re going to scare the hell out of a lot of people. Are you ready for that?” That’s the only real fear I have.

“I’m worried, I have to admit, but I’m not just doing this for me. I don’t ever want to feel like a victim again and I want other women to know that they don’t ever have to be victims either.”

“Can I ask you something?” He sounded cautious.

“Sure, absolutely.”

“When this is all over, would you consider teaching a self-defense class and talking to victims of domestic violence?”

I hadn’t thought about it, but I would like to do that.

“Bruce, I will circle back to that with you after this court crap is over. I just want to get my life back. This has been so consuming, and I don’t think I could really help anyone right now.” I hope I can be more helpful when this is over .

“Of course. Yes, let’s revisit this after the hearing and whatever comes after. I’ve got your back no matter what, and the rest of the team here does too.”

I hugged Bruce and then headed over to see Dr. King.

***

ROMAN

I arrived at the office to find Harrison and Amelia being all lovey-dovey at her desk. It was such a weird thing to witness, but she didn’t like anyone seeing them like that, so she switched to professional mode as soon as she saw me.

“Good morning Mr. King.”

Just stop calling me that. Is that too much to ask?

“Seriously? Do you call him Mr. King at the office too?” I pointed at my brother.

She smiled and got ready to say something when Harrison interrupted.

“Do you really want to know what she calls me?” She smacked his arm, and I shook my head and walked into my office.

Amelia followed me in laughing. “Sorry about that. Here’s your schedule for the day.”

“Thanks. Are you two going to be like this every day?”

She shrugged her shoulders.

“Kind of annoying, isn’t it?” she said as she smirked. I nodded. “Yeah, that’s how we feel around you and Alex.” She winked at me.

“Please stop calling me Mr. King. I feel like an old man when you do that. ”

“Fine. How’s Alex? Is she coming into the office today?” Amelia asked standing one foot in and one foot out of the space.

“No, she’s taking the day off and going to see my mom.”

“I’ll be at the office all day tomorrow manning the phone and the computer, if that’s cool.”

That’s great. I’d hate it if I have to shut the place down for this crap.

“Yeah, that’s perfect. I feel like this is going to be a shitshow tomorrow and I wish so many people weren’t getting involved in it.”

“You know Harrison’s going to be there, right?”

“Yes, with my parents.” I rubbed my hands quickly over my face and tried to focus on something else.

“I’ll shoot Alex a text and let her know I’m thinking of her.”

“Thanks.” She closed the door as she left.

I had a few meetings about current projects and then at three I had the meeting with the architectural team about the winery. I invited Harrison to come to that meeting as well.

I met Harrison at the door. “Here we go. You’re stepping into the life.” He slapped me on the back.

“Shut up. I’m doing a renovation, that’s all.” I really wish he would quit even joking about that. I was in knots about it as it was.

“That’s what you think. You’ll become family, symbolically and then…you’re in.” I shook my head.

“You’re an idiot. Let’s go make some money.” I firmly pushed him on the shoulder and ushered us out the door.

The team I used to renovate all the breweries were the ones invited to this meeting. They were ready to get started on the winery. I talked to them about where it was and showed them some pictures I took. We talked about the initial idea of what the Santoros wanted. They all seemed excited about the project. I gave them the start date and an expected finish date. I called the Santoros while we were there and set up a time for the team to come out to talk to them, get a proposal together and see what we needed to get started on the work.

I asked Harrison to come back to my office to talk about some investment strategies.

“What can I do for you? By the way, that's going to be an awesome project. Mom’s gonna go nuts over that winery.” That’s exactly what I thought, too.

“I know, I mentioned to them that mom would love it and they’re very excited for her to come visit.”

“Are you trying to bring the whole family into their world?” He leaned back in the chair with his arms behind his head.

“Harrison, I’m not bringing anyone into any life, shut up already. Plus, you agreed mom would love it.” I let out a deep breath and threw my head back. I’m not trying to think about what or who I’m dealing with when it comes to this winery project.

“In all seriousness, what’s up?” He was relaxed and ready to listen.

“Alex wants to start a non-profit for renovating dilapidated neighborhoods.” I scrolled through my emails as I talked.

“Yeah, I heard about that neighborhood she chose for the relocation, and I about fell out of my chair. It’s a shit hole.”

I snickered a little because that was true. Even Alex said so.

“From what I heard, she left Shay and Darius thinking she lost her mind, but she has some amazing ideas, and we have a big meeting with the residents of Burrow Township to come in and hear what she’s got to say.”

I leaned forward and put my arms on my desk.

“Do you need me to pitch an investment to some investors about the non-profit then?” he asked.

I clasped my hands together and nodded .

“That would be great. I think after the hearing would be best, but if you can get some of your people together and set up that meeting, at least we’ll have that on the books.”

After Harrison returned to his own office, I finished answering emails and confirming meetings and saw a text from Alex.

ALEX: “Hey babe, I ordered dinner from the Chinese restaurant. I hope you don’t mind.”

ME: “That sounds good to me. What did you get?”

ALEX: “Kind of a sampler platter since I didn’t know what you liked.”

ME: “That’ll work for me.”

ALEX: “Are you drinking tonight?”

ME: “Are you?”

ALEX: “I don’t think so.”

ME: “Ok, neither will I. See you soon.” I finished what I was doing and headed up to the penthouse.

She wasn’t kidding. She had a ton of food ordered from a Chinese restaurant.

She spun around and said, “Do you think I got too much?”

I laughed. “Not if we’re having ten people over for dinner.” At least she seemed to be in a good mood. “Leftovers for days.” I kissed her and grabbed an eggroll on my way to change clothes.

***

ALEX

Lisette was at the door as always when I pulled into the drive .

I waved as I was getting out of the car and yelled, “Hi, Dr. King.” I followed her to the office. She gave me a quick hug and put both hands on my shoulders, looking me up and down.

“Let me look at you. You look fantastic. I may have to start taking your classes.” She was always so encouraging and sweet to me. I hated what I was about to do.

“Roman and the guys are going to take kickboxing classes with us girls, you should definitely join.” Keeping things light should help with whatever emotions I might be feeling.

“I’m going to look into it. Could be something fun for me and Fitz to do together,” she agreed.

“That’s the same thing I thought. Couples’ kickboxing should be a thing.”

After our initial chit chat, Dr. King asked calmly, “Tomorrow is the start of the hearing. How are you feeling?”

I held her gaze, thinking about my level of stress as it pertained to this hearing and stated confidently, “I feel really good.”

She relaxed her position on the couch and crossed her legs.

“You know what? I believe you.” I was glad for that because I did feel good about it, but maybe not everyone else would.

I got right to what I wanted to talk about because I had so much nervous energy. “What do I do if I say something that someone may not like hearing? There’s going to be a lot of people in there and we already know his lawyer is going to spin this whole thing back on me. I’m going to have to defend myself. My dad’s going to be in there, my brother, Roman, you and Mr. King…”

She interrupted. “Alex, we’re all going to be in there by choice, if we don’t like it, we can leave.” That was about as matter of fact as it gets, it was just hard to think why my dad would be leaving .

“That makes me feel better, maybe. I still might feel uneasy about having to talk about this in front of everyone.” Now I was wringing my hands and bouncing my knee.

“What is it that you may have to talk about?” This was a little weird, but I felt like honest communication was the way to go.

“Dr. King, I’m afraid they're going to talk about my past behavior. Not that it's actually a big deal, honestly. But…” My eyes shifted downward as I tried to think of how to put this where I didn't sound like a complete floosy.

She uncrossed her legs and sat up a little straighter. I couldn’t tell if she was uncomfortable or just getting ready to run out of the room.

“Without getting into detail, what kind of past behavior do you think might make people uncomfortable?”

Where the hell should I start? “How shall I say this? Short relationships?” The heat of embarrassment rose to my face.

She started laughing and said, “Like one nighters?"

I put my head into my hands and muffled out, “Oh my God, how embarrassing. I thought I was over humiliating myself.” She reached over and grabbed my hands off my face.

“Alex, we all have a past. If you have open, honest communication with people and they’re fine with the relationship, however short or long it may have been, then there’s nothing to worry about. Who are you afraid to upset in there?”

My face fell. It’s not like anything happened in those relationships but I went on a lot of dates. The only one I took further than a date besides Roman was the one who started all the sordid rumors, leaving me with a lot of trust issues.

“My dad.” I could feel the tears prickling my eyes as I said the words, but I blinked them away and tried to concentrate on her response .

“Ahh. That can be a little nerve racking. Is he the type that would be bothered by it?” she inquired, while still holding my hands.

“Most definitely. He couldn’t have any kind of personal conversations with me growing up and I’m daddy’s little girl.” She released my hands and just oozed sympathy at that point. Maybe I should just convince him it’s better off if he doesn’t come. Yeah right, he’ll never not be there for me. I wrestled with the thoughts.

“You should give him a heads up,” she said.

I slumped onto the sofa. “I talked to my brother and let him know what they were planning to do. He told me not to worry if dad had to leave in the middle of it.” The more pain I see in my father’s eyes the more I will inflict on Tanner. Maybe having my dad in there won’t be so bad after all.

She nodded. “It sounds like your brother’s going to be taking care of your dad. I think you should just concentrate on what you’re going to be doing in there and that’s being truthful.” I thought about what I was going to be doing in there— being truthful and vicious.

“As always, Dr. King, you’ve helped me get over a hurdle. I wish this wasn’t happening and I’m sorry for whatever you hear in there that affects you.”

“Alex don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine. I’m there if you need me after as well.”

I said, “Thank you.” I popped up from my seat and practically ran out of there.

My ride back to the penthouse seemed to take forever. I changed for the gym and tried to decide what I wanted for dinner while I was working out. By the time I was finished I was starving because I forgot to eat lunch. I went all through the fridge and the pantry and couldn’t decide on anything, so I decided to order Chinese food. But what the heck would Roman want? I realized I had no idea what he likes to eat. All this time together and we really haven’t gotten to know each other. We’ve just been dealing with so much outside interference.

My nerves are getting the best of me now. Maybe I should do something to calm down a bit, like do a shot or have a drink or something. No, that’s a bad idea with court in the morning. I need to be on my game. I’ll order food and then go take a nice hot relaxing soak in the tub. I slipped into the warm bubble bath. I added some lavender oil and lit a candle. I put my earbuds in and listened to calming meditation music. The water was soothing. It was just what I needed. I got out and put on some sweats then ordered the food.

I texted with Roman about ordering Chinese then punched the code in for the delivery guy to come up.

Oh lord, I may have over ordered.

I stood there looking at all the food and thought, who the heck was going to eat all this? I jumped when the elevator doors opened.

“Do you think I ordered too much food?” Of course he does. That was a dumb question.

“You must’ve been starving when you ordered this,” Roman said when he came back out of the bedroom wearing his sweats. He rested his chin on my shoulder.

“You have no idea. I forgot to eat lunch and worked out and everything. I was just trying to keep my mind occupied.” I was starting to feel the exhaustion in my body now, however.

“Yeah, I know. I’ve managed to keep most of it out of my head today. Had a lot of meetings and talked to Harrison about getting with his investors about your non-profit.” I squealed with delight.

“Oh my God. Are you serious?” He nodded then caught me when I hurled myself into his arms.

“Have you eaten yet?” He was trying to get me back on track. He knew I was distracted .

I shook my head. “No.” I was so nervous but I’m also starving so it’s good to have the voice of reason here with me.

“Then let’s eat!” He grabbed some plates, kissing my cheek as we plated up the food.

***

ROMAN

I didn’t think I would have to remind her to eat. She must really be distracted by the hearing. We had fun sampling everything she ordered and talking about mundane stuff.

“What if you hear something in there you don’t like or aren’t comfortable with?” She reached out placing her hands on my cheeks, eyeing me skeptically. Honestly, I’m not going to be comfortable with anything that’s said in there, but not a lot I can do about that.

“Like what?” Maybe she’s going to give me a hint about whatever it is she’s planning. I took hold of her hands, gently. Caressing them with my thumbs to let her know she’s safe with me.

“Well, like when they start asking me questions about before we met.” I almost started laughing because I know I’ve heard stories and as much as I don’t want to hear any of it coming from her, it doesn’t really mean shit to me.

“Do you want me to tell you stories about me before we met so you can feel awkward and then we’ll be even?” She laughed and jerked her head from side to side, shoving my shoulder.

“But I’m serious. What if you hear something that bothers you?” Too late .

“Look, nothing in there is going to bother me more than what’s already happened so, don’t worry about me.” She snuggled up next to me, caging me in her arms as she nuzzled into my chest.

“Thank you. I’m sorry.” I wish she would quit saying that.

“Babe, you have nothing to be sorry for. I’m a grown man and you’re a grown woman. We weren’t lucky enough to find each other before we found a bunch of useless relationships.” She clutched me tighter and burrowed her face further into my shoulder.

“For getting you and everyone involved in this,” she mumbled.

“Look, it will work itself out. You’re going to have a lot of support in that courtroom. I hope that it’s over tomorrow, but whatever happens I’m going to be there for you.”

“I hope so.” I cuddled her tightly to me, and we watched a movie as she fell soundlessly asleep on my lap.

I managed to carry her to bed then I went out to the kitchen to clean up. We were going to have leftovers for weeks.

I wonder if you can freeze this food.

I’m glad she went to sleep, now if only I could. I’m so worried about what’s going to happen in this court fiasco. She’s being so cryptic. Going to sleep would probably be the best thing to do so she doesn’t wake up and think I’m gone. I have a feeling we’re all going to need to be on our A game for this event.