Page 92 of Always Beth
My apartment is somewhat modest, better than the cottage but nowhere near as sleek as my London place. Not that it matters as I’ve not entertained anyone since I got here, tonight was the closest I’ve even got to a woman’s advances and yet here I am alone again. The same as every other night. I head straight in, dump my bag, discarding my clothes as I go, and step straight into the shower. As the water cascades around me, I lean back flush against the wall, and sighing heavily, I run my hand down my body and slowly begin to stroke my cock. The only tool at my disposal is my memory and Beth’s burned into it for eternity. When I close my eyes, I don’t only see her, I can feel and hear her as well and as I pleasure myself to her memory every night, the cold harsh reality is that every day that memory is a bit further away. I came here to get over the loss of my twin, what I didn’t anticipate was that I was adding to my grief rather than easing it. Bethany Cross is harder to get over than I ever imagined.
ChapterTwenty-Five
Beth
The last time I sat in this office I was a nervous wreck, waiting to divulge all the sordid information about my marriage. Back then I had James for comfort. Caroline’s been out of the office for weeks. So much for her taking the bull by the horns and dealing with matters. I’m hoping today she has the news I’ve been waiting for. The minute the settlement is reached I’m going to end the lease on the cottage, sell the property I’ve acquired in the divorce and buy something new. It will be a fresh start for us, dogs included. I glance down at my ever-expanding stomach, despite picking the loosest item of clothing I own, I don’t think there’s any way I can hide this from Caroline.
‘Ms Cross, you may go in,’ the paralegal calls.
I walk slowly into Caroline’s office and I’m greeted by her usual firm persona.
‘Beth, please sit. I’ve a lot for you to sign.’
‘I hope this is nearly wrapped up, because my life is pretty much on hold at the moment,’ I snap.
She peers up at me and I can tell that she’s taken aback by my tone.
‘The divorce was the easy part, Beth, this, quite frankly, has been a nightmare, your ex-husband’s solicitor has deliberately dragged his heels at every opportunity. Still, you can’t avoid the inevitable. Here are the land transfer documents I need you to sign.’ She shoves a pile of forms under my nose and I scan the addresses on every one before putting pen to paper.
‘As part of the settlement, Stephen’s paying for cost of property transfers,’ she says as she scrutinises the documents I’ve just signed.
‘So I guess your fees have been deducted from my final figure then?’ I question.
She hesitates for a moment and I think this is the first time I’ve ever seen her flustered.
‘Yes, well, here’s a settlement of your account with us, you’ll need that for your records.’
I inwardly groan, what’s this going to be twenty grand, thirty grand, who knows? I scan quickly down the list of assets and cash and can’t see a single deduction.
‘Err, Caroline, are you sure this is correct?’
‘Yes,’ she says barely lifting her head from the paperwork in front of her.
‘Caroline—’
‘Beth. It’s not wrong, but that’s all I’m going to say on the matter.’
I flick through the paperwork again. This must be a mistake. James… ‘What did he do?’
‘He’s a senior partner here, Beth, he can do whatever he likes.’
A senior partner? I glance at the initials emblazoned on the wall to my right. TWB. My throat goes dry as I realise I was so mesmerised by him in the bedroom that I ignored what was going on right under my nose.
‘Even I know you can’t swallow a bill like that?’
‘It’s been accounted for in other ways.’ Her mouth presses into a hard line.
I sit in a state of disbelief. I know I should be grateful, but I can’t help but feel angry that he did this behind my back.
‘How?’ I grind out.
She sighs and sits back in her chair, tossing her pen on to the desk. ‘Fine. He wanted to pay for it himself, but Mark and I said no, it wouldn’t have been ethical despite the fact he wasn’t even working your case. So, we agreed to do it for free.’
I hold her stare across the desk and she chews her bottom lip in an attempt to hold back the rest of the story.
‘Go on.’
‘We agreed to do it for free on the agreement that he took a reduced share of the profits this year to account for the cost of your case.’
