Page 45 of The Irresistible One
Could he be … Abbi’s father?
I didn’t know where that thought had come from. It hadn’t registered until now that I didn’t know who Abbi’s father was. In addition, my daughter had called her Mrs. Rivers without being able to explain her reasoning, which I had yet to settle.
I cleared my throat, forcing myself to really focus on Callum’s question. “We’ve been working with the Daltons since almost the very beginning. Not when we opened our first restaurant, but when the idea of expansion became a real thing. We needed a firm that could support us. We had a relationship with the Spade family, the owners of the hotel chain. They work exclusively with the Daltons, so when the Spades referred them, that carried a lot of weight. Troy isn’t the only attorney we use at the Daltons’, but lately, he’s been on speed dial.” I nodded toward Sophie. “Especially when we’re going up against this one.”
“Who won?”
I laughed at Jones’s question. “She didn’t tell you?”
“I can’t tell him. I can’t discuss the matter with anyone.” She flicked her bottom lip with her teeth.
My smile was to goad her—and for no other reason. “Go ahead. Tell them. I’m giving you my permission.”
“Didn’t you hear me?” Her tone was curt. “I can’t.”
I stared at the Manhattan that filled my glass and gave it a quick shake before I addressed Jones. “Sophie tried to squeeze every last dime she could get from us, giving her clients something they don’t deserve.” I shifted my gaze to Callum. “They essentially robbed us. And are still robbing us since the menu of the restaurant, which is the entire basis of the case, isn’t fullyfinalized. To settle, we didn’t give as high of a percentage as we would have, so I guess that’s somewhat of a win, but ultimately, we had to give, and that’s where she won.”
The anger was evident on her face.
“Sophie doesn’t like it when I point out the greed that fueled her.” I circled the top of my glass. “But that’s what this entire case was about. Greed, jealousy, and one hell of a goddamn ego.”
All eyes were on her. But she didn’t say a word. She just lifted her martini and took a drink.
“Sounds like our girl outdid Troy,” Callum said.
“We’ll need to give him shit for that,” Jones added.
“Troy did a hell of a job,” I told them. “Don’t discount his skills based on the result. Our defense was cut and dry. The prosecution, because their counsel happens to be a fucking shark, found a loophole. An unfair one that earned her and her clients a shit ton of money.”
Sophie’s top lip rose like she was about to snarl. “How is it that you make even a compliment sound condescending?”
“Don’t twist my words into something they’re not. I’m not praising you. What you did was fucked up—we both know that.” The first Manhattan had teased the edges of my nerves. The second had dissolved them. The third, which I was on now, was simply for fun.
At this point, I would do anything to get a reaction out of her. That was how I won.
“Ooh,ouch,” Jones sang.
The humidity had caused some of her hair to loosen from the clip that held the majority of it back, and when she shook her head, those hanging pieces crossed her cheeks. “We’re just beating a dead horse. There’s no reason to continue arguing about something we’ll never agree on.” Her smile was nefarious. “Even though you love to bring it up.”
“Sophie …” I laughed, the sound of her name even tickling my tongue. “They asked. That’s the reason we’re discussing this.”
“We’re going to start calling you the shark,” Jones teased.
She looked at her friends—or whatever they were to her. “Call me what you want, but my job is to find loopholes. It’s Troy’s job too. That’s why we’re in this business. To maximize results for our clients. Not that I need to justify any of this, but, Jesus, the man makes it sound like this was a personal vendetta against him.”
“Was it?” My brows lifted.
She leaned into the table, a path that had already been cleared when the waitress removed our plates. “Why would I have it in for you?”
“You tell me.”
Part of me didn’t believe there was a reason. The only time we had met prior to the case was at Lush. And that night had been all about her. Was there a chance she felt different? Was there jealousy? I had no idea. But I knew I wanted to keep provoking.
“What I can tell you is that nothing pleases me more than the thought of never having to see you again.” She licked her lips. “I thought the finalization of the case would make that dream come true. But then this morning happened … which has been nothing short of a nightmare. This dinner, the same. The only reason I’m still sitting here is because of them.” She pointed at both men. “I tried to leave, Colson. Don’t flatter yourself into thinking I want to be here.”
I’d almost forgotten we weren’t alone until I heard the sounds from the other guys. Noises that told me they thought she was in the lead after the last round of verbal lashing.
I tapped the table with my thumb. “I can think of much worse things than running into me at yourbrother’s office.”
