Page 3 of Guilty As Charged (Love and Lawyers #3)

Chapter Three

ABBIE

S pencer is far more charming than I thought he would be. It’s not in a cocky way either. I get a sense of calm from him, like he wants to put me at ease. After only a few minutes with him, I’m already feeling a tad safer.

That, however, is easy to achieve while I’m a million floors up from the city, with security at the front desk. On top of having a very tall, handsome man in a suit who wants to protect and feed me.

Right now, though, the glare on his face is kind of scary. I'm glad it's not directed at me and is fully on the printed-out papers in front of him. He’s reading the contract I signed, and he is not happy.

"Geoff Hale. I recognize the name,” Spencer says, and it doesn't temper his anger about the contract.

I was worried he could be a fan of Geoff's. Scout told me how Spencer collects comics, and it’s not out of the realm of possibility. But the scowl on Spencer's face deepens as he scans the pages.

"You've been doing the illustrations for his new series?”

"I'm not supposed to admit that. There’s an NDA.” It’s more common that a person does both the drawings and the writing, but drawing wasn’t Geoff’s strong suit.

"I'm your lawyer, you can tell me anything,” Spencer says, and I relax at the finality of his statement. He’s my lawyer, and he’s going to help me. "Do you want to wait for the food to arrive before we dig into the things he's been doing to violate this contract?"

Spencer's eyes search my face longer than most people would when asking a question. He's done it more than once, but I don't think he's checking me out. It’s like he’s trying to figure out if he knows me.

Getting all dressed up in cosplay lets me appear completely different.

It's part of the fun. But I have been good about keeping my real name away from any of this. Only Geoff knows who I really am. When finalizing the contract, I didn’t have a choice but to give him my real name. That’s come back to bite me on the ass.

As far as I can tell, Spencer hasn't connected my real name with my persona.

"I would rather get it all out now." It’s not easy to talk about this, but I want to keep pushing forward. I’m worried that if I stop, I’ll change my mind.

"Then let's start at the beginning. How did you and Geoff come to work together?"

I huff and put my face in my hands. I hate telling this story because I see how na?ve I was. Spencer must sense my frustration because he comes around his deck to sit in the chair next to mine.

“It’s going to be okay. You can trust me.”

“I think that’s what got me here. I’m too trusting.” When I look up, he’s smiling softly.

“Maybe, but I’m willing to bet it’s a series of events.”

That’s probably true. It wasn’t until all the red flags were out and smacking me in the face that I really saw how much I’d missed or brushed aside.

“Okay, the beginning would have to be at the convention.” I’m telling Spencer about meeting Geoff when all of a sudden Spencer’s eyes widen.

“Wait.” He holds up his hand like he’s going to grip my chin, and I pause mid-sentence. He stops himself before he makes contact, and I realize I’m disappointed he doesn’t touch me.

“It’s fine,” I whisper, letting him know it’s okay. After a moment’s pause, he keeps going until his fingers catch my chin to tilt my head back.

“Delphine?”

Oh, wow. He got it on the first try.

“Yep, that’s me.” My teeth sink into my bottom lip, and I have no idea why I'm suddenly shy. I suppose it’s because of how Spencer might perceive me. People can be judgmental when it comes to cosplay or dressing up. They think it’s silly or a million other judgmental things.

“You really are breathtaking in every form.” He gives a slight shake of his head before a rueful smile takes over his handsome face.

“Thanks.” I have no doubt heat is rushing to my cheeks. Why am I blushing? I’m not usually like this, but when I’m dressed as Delphine, I can pretend to be her. Right now I’m simply me.

“Oh sorry!” I hear from behind us, and I jerk back to see Scout standing in the open doorway. Crap, is this inappropriate? Great, now Scout is going to think I’m hitting on her cousin. “I’ll, uh, come back.” Scout's eyebrows are almost to her hairline.

“Let me take that from you first,” Spencer says and gets the white bag of food from her. “We’re good if you want to head out for the day.”

“I want to make sure Abbie gets home safely.”

“I’m fine,” I tell her at the same time as Spencer speaks.

“I’ll take her.”

I’m fine, I mouth to her, even though I really like the idea of Spencer taking me home.

“All right, then I’ll leave you to it.” Scout takes a step back, and a smile lights up her face. I take it she wouldn’t have been pissed if there had been anything happening with Spencer and me. Not that there is! Or she could just be happy about leaving early.

Spencer takes the bag of food over to the other side of his office, where there’s a couch and table along the wall.

I love how his office is professional and comfortable, but at the same time, I can spot a few unassuming figurines on a couple of his shelves and bookcases.

There are traces of the real man here that don't include the high-powered attorney persona.

"Come on, let's eat, and you can tell me more."

At his offer, my stomach growls, so I follow him over to the couch.

We sit down, and as we eat, I keep talking.

I tell him how Geoff came into my life and how things changed over time.

The more I talk, the more irritated he becomes.

When I make it to social media crap, Spencer stands and removes his suit jacket.

The moment he rolls up his sleeves, I have to look away.

He’s gone from irritated to pissed, but he’s trying to hide it.

“He’s behind it, but I have a person who can dig into it and check.”

“I don’t want to think it’s him, but you’re probably right,” I admit.

Spencer puts more food onto my plate, and I pick up another one of the chicken wings.

“These are really good.” It’s the first time in a week I’m not having to force myself to eat.

"Maybe you should have some more so you won't feel so angry. "

“In a minute.” He sits back down and pulls out his phone. “I have a sense of what Taylor is going to say about this.”

My stomach tightens, but it’s probably the wings. They are spicy, and I haven’t eaten much lately.

“Who’s she?”

“He,” Spencer corrects. “Taylor is good at digging into shit. I’m sure he’ll want your phone and possibly your computer.”

“Really? Why?”

“First he’ll want to check to see if anyone is tracking you with them.”

“Oh gosh. That never crossed my mind.” Would Geoff have gone that far? “Can he remove them if that’s the case?”

“He could, but he might want to use it as bait too. We could turn the tables on this asshole.” Spencer's taps on the phone screen grow harder with each one.

"As I thought." When he lifts his head, I look away quickly so I’m not caught staring at him.

I can't help it; he has a jawline similar to Vance Astrovik.

Also known as Justice in the Marvel Universe.

Spencer places his hand on my knee and gently squeezes it. "We got this. No one is going to hurt you."

"I want to believe you." Tears sting in my eyes, but I fight them back. It's what I should be doing: fighting to get my life back.

"I'm going to prove it to you,” Spencer vows. Crap, I better be careful or I might fall for this man. "Trust me, Abbie. Can you do that?"

"I think so." I nod.

"All right then." He stands. "First we’ll go to your place and get your phone and computer."

"Okay," I say, realizing he’s ready to move on this quickly.

"You can pack a bag too." Spencer starts cleaning up our food containers, and it takes a second for his words to sink in.

“Pack a bag?”

“You said you’d trust me.”

“What does that have to do with packing a bag?”

“You’re going to stay with me,” he says as he straightens to his full height. "I promise we’ll both sleep better if you’re with me."

“Well, okay then.” I should be freaking out about staying with him, but right now, all I can think about is the disaster I left at my apartment.

When Spencer gets a peek at my place, I'm sure he's going to change his mind about me staying with him. In my defense, when I take the time to organize it, I can’t find anything. Chaos is my normal.