Page 46 of Overruled

Twenty-Five

Ezra

“Ezra, are you even listening?”

I look up from my phone to find Alexander glaring at me from across his desk. I want to tell him that no , I wasn’t listening, that I could go my entire life without ever listening to him again, but I don’t do that. I keep my expression neutral.

“I’m listening.”

“I hope that whatever is on your phone is more important than work,” he chides.

I have to physically restrain myself from grinning. Alexander would absolutely become apoplectic if he knew I was sitting across from him and just beside his sleazy client flirting with the opposing counsel, and the image of that is enough to make me gleeful.

“Just checking an email,” I answer blandly. “I’m waiting on some news.”

“News that will help with the case, I hope,” Lorenzo snorts.

I resist the urge to roll my eyes. The truth is, every day in court is tipping the scales in Bianca and Dani’s favor.

The more Dani’s team discovers about Lorenzo, the more slimy it makes him appear.

Even more truthfully, I am secretly all too glad to witness it happening.

Alexander may be forcing my hand to participate in this farce of a trial to save his friend’s ass, but that doesn’t mean I have to root for the bastard.

“It certainly didn’t look good when your mistress forgot her own ‘diagnosis’ that you’ve been helping her pay the bills for when they called her to the stand,” I remark dryly.

Lorenzo’s face turns blotchy and red. “If you had done a proper job, she would not have been on the stand at all.”

“It’s hard to continue to quash subpoenas on the grounds of confidential information when we can’t provide anything more than vague references and a fucking plastic surgeon instead of an actual primary care physician.”

“I told you that you should have scheduled more prepping,” Alexander grouses. “LeeAnn isn’t exactly what one would call quick on the uptake.”

“Do not speak of her that way,” Lorenzo snarls.

Alexander lifts his hands in apology. “I’m on your side, Lorenzo. But we need to get on top of this or you’re going to be shelling out millions to your wife.”

“Bianca thinks she can just take what’s mine,” Lorenzo huffs. “Her and that bitch of a little lawyer she employs. They make quite a pair.”

My fingers grip the arms of the chair I’m sitting in, and I’m struck with the strong desire to reach over and cave in Lorenzo’s teeth. The way his lip curls when he mentions Dani, calling her that…it’s enough to have my blood boiling.

“Bianca will take the stand this week,” I remind them both through clenched teeth.

“Where you will remind the court that she has pulled this move before,” Alexander says. “No one trusts a boy who cries wolf.”

“We have to assume that Da—” I cover my slip by clearing my throat. “That Ms. Pierce will have come up with a solid reasoning for why Bianca filed and then withdrew.”

Lorenzo crosses his arms. “We paint her as money hungry, yes?” He glances at Alexander. “Her trust took quite the hit that year.”

“Which Ms. Pierce will say is circumstantial,” I counter.

“He’s not wrong,” Alexander admits begrudgingly, resting his steepled fingers against his mouth. “Perhaps we should take a more unorthodox approach.”

My brow quirks. “Such as?”

“We tell the truth,” he tells me with a sly grin.

My confusion is evident by my frown. “What do you mean?”

“We cannot tell the truth ,” Lorenzo stutters. “I will not be the only one who suffers from the truth,” he goes on, voice rising. “You will also—”

“That isn’t what I meant,” Alexander says quickly, cutting him off.

Curiosity prickles in my brain at whatever Lorenzo was about to say. Is he implying Alexander has some connection to him? To Bianca? Alexander keeps going, not allowing me very much time to ponder the possibility.

“We tell the court that Bianca filed for divorce because she accused you of infidelity,” Alexander says simply.

Lorenzo reels. “Excuse me?”

“That seems…a little more than unorthodox,” I tell Alexander, secretly disgusted by the roundabout casual admission that he is a fucking cheater, even if I’ve known it all along.

“It’s perfect,” Alexander says confidently. “Because just like now…Bianca had no way to prove her allegations.”

Lorenzo still looks unconvinced. “So?”

“ So ,” Alexander stresses. “We convince the judge that Bianca has a tendency to…cry wolf when it suits her. This establishes a pattern. Not many women would change their mind if they actually believed their husband was cheating. The fact that she stayed only strengthens our point that this is all a ploy. Just a way to ruin Lorenzo for her own purposes.”

I can’t help but snort. “And you really think that anyone is going to buy that?”

“Why not?” Alexander leans back in his chair, looking smug. “They cannot prove otherwise, so does it really matter?”

Lorenzo looks thoughtful now, stroking his chin. “It would be very satisfying to see Bianca’s face when she hears this. If you truly think it will work.”

“Ezra will make it work,” Alexander tells him confidently. He shoots me a cold look. “Won’t you.”

Pure rage is coursing through me, and I’m feeling helpless and trapped between these two disgusting men and their equally horrible whims. Every part of me wants to end this right now, to get up and walk out and tell Alexander that he can go fuck himself, but my mother’s face flashes in my eyes.

What would Alexander do if I were to tell him no?

Would he actually send her away? Would he make it that much harder to see her?

Not knowing keeps me from doing any of the things I really want to, so I nod numbly instead.

“I will,” I answer hollowly, knowing I have few other options.

“Excellent,” Alexander says with a smug grin. “You and Lorenzo can prep tomorrow.” He looks expectantly at my client. “Let’s grab lunch, Lorenzo. We have things to discuss.”

There’s a hardness to his gaze, and my mind wanders back to Lorenzo’s outburst. I wonder for the first time if there is more between them than I was originally led to believe.

Could there be a deeper reason for Alexander’s insistence upon the importance of this case other than his and Lorenzo’s “friendship”?

Alexander dismisses me, leaving me to my musings.

I’m back in my office before I remember Dani’s text that I was forced to stow away, leaning back in my chair and pushing thoughts of Alexander and Lorenzo’s bullshit far away as I give her my undivided attention.

Sour Patch: Who says it was YOU I wanted to see? Maybe I just want to check on Purrgood. I miss him.

I grin, knowing full well that it wasn’t Purrgood on her mind when she asked what I was doing tonight, but I’m happy to let her pretend. It’s more fun that way.

Me: He misses you too. You should probably come over and make sure I’m not overfeeding him.

Sour Patch: I have no doubts that you’re overfeeding him, but I guess if you really want me to…

Me: Just assume I always want you to.

Sour Patch: Fine. So needy.

Me: No arguments there. See you tonight.

I let out a sigh as I drop my phone on the desk, running my fingers through my hair.

Seeing Dani is exactly what I need to forget this hellish day.

I wonder what she would think if she knew how incredibly gone I am for her.

The thought makes me smile. My prickly little lawyer would most likely fight the idea of feeling something more for me tooth and nail.

But a guy can dream.

···

“God,” Dani groans. “No wonder Purrgood is so huge. If you feed him like you just fed me.”

“No one made you get a second helping,” I point out, eyeing her from the kitchen island, where I’m washing the dishes. She offered, but the sight of her stretched out on my couch was too tempting to pass up. “I’m starting to think you only like me for my cooking.”

She cracks one eye open to glare at me. “You’ve only cooked for me like, three times.”

“And you raved and raved about each one,” I preen.

She rolls her eyes before closing them again, resuming her slow stroking of Purrgood’s belly as he lounges in her lap. “Whatever. You had to be good at something.”

“I’d argue I’m good at several things where you’re concerned,” I say slyly, drying my hands on a dish towel.

Dani blows a raspberry in lieu of answering, and I bark out a laugh as I pad out of the kitchen to settle on the opposite end of the couch.

She eyes me suspiciously when I grab for one of her feet, which are draped over the side, pulling it into my lap and working it with my fingers as she relaxes with a satisfied sound.

“Now you’re just trying to butter me up,” she mumbles.

I press the pad of my thumb into the arch of her foot, rubbing a hard line down the length. “I do what I have to.”

“Well, keep doing it,” she hums.

It’s been a relatively uneventful evening; we ate chicken carbonara that I made and drank the wine that she likes (she still won’t admit how pleased it made her when she found out I started keeping a bottle of it here), talking about everything and nothing.

I find that I like this time with her almost as much as touching her intimately.

Maybe even more so. I can’t be sure. It really is a toss-up, if I’m being honest. I’m greedy for any time I get to spend with her.

“So how is the Preston case going?” I ask casually. “Did Nate get the receipts for the wife’s sex addiction therapy?”

Dani snorts. “He hasn’t shut up about it. Didn’t know it was a thing, apparently. I swear to God, if I have to hear him muse about potential treatments for it one more time, I’m going to throw myself out the window.”

“I’m sure Vera is enjoying that immensely,” I chuckle, rolling my thumb into the ball of her foot as she gives a satisfied hum.

“I wish they’d just fuck and get it over with,” she grumbles. “I swear they fight like it’s foreplay.”

“Sounds familiar,” I tease.

She opens one eye again to peek at me. “I guess Nate just hasn’t been intolerable enough to convince Vera to fall into bed with him yet.”

“It is a gift,” I answer matter-of-factly.

I don’t miss the slight smile that curves her mouth before her eyes close again.

For a moment I just watch her fingers stroke back and forth through Purrgood’s fur, glancing at him and catching him blinking at me lazily.

He’s completely abandoned me at this point, considering Dani as a more desirable object of his affections, and I can’t even say I blame the guy.

“Mm. Keep doing that,” she murmurs.

“Bossy,” I tut.

“How was your meeting today? Was Alexander insufferable?”

I pause for a moment, knowing I can’t actually tell her the fine details, not that she expects me to, but there is a brief urge to do so anyway.

For a moment, I really want to unburden myself to her.

I resume the slow stroking of her foot, deciding against it.

We don’t need to complicate things between us any more than they already are by breaking any more rules.

“As much as usual,” I tell her. “Sometimes when he talks, I like to fantasize about something very large and heavy falling out of the sky and crushing him.”

“Like a piano,” Dani laughs.

My lips curl. “Or a small meteor.”

“It’s a nice dream,” she muses.

She continues to watch me as I relinquish her foot just to give my attention to the other, her brow furrowing in thought.

“What?”

She bites her lip. “I don’t want you to think I overstepped, but…”

“What is it?”

“I was looking into some old case examples on broken conservatorships today.”

I go still, my breath catching. “You were?”

“There was a case in California where the family was able to transfer the conservatorship from a father to an aunt when they found out he’d changed the parameters to her will without her consent.”

“Alexander would raise all sorts of hell if I were to go digging through my mom’s legal profile.”

“Would he have to know? Where do you think he keeps those records?”

“In his office at home, most likely. He keeps it locked up tight when he’s not using it.”

She frowns, thinking. “There was another case where a sister was able to establish via medical records that their condition had gotten better. That they no longer needed the conservatorship.”

“I’ve looked into it,” I tell her, “but my mother really hasn’t gotten any better. There’s no doubt that she needs care…just not Alexander’s.”

“Could you convince her to testify that you would be a better conservator for her?”

“We’ve talked about it,” I admit. “She always stresses that she doesn’t want to be a burden on me. Without her cooperation, it would be almost impossible.”

Dani looks frustrated, the corners of her mouth turning down and her eyes far away in thought. I can see her brain working ninety miles an hour, and I know without a doubt that it’s not something she’s likely to give up on. Dani is nothing if not tenacious.

“We’ll think of something,” she says determinedly. “I’ll keep looking.”

My chest feels too tight at the resolution in her eyes, and I have a swelling feeling inside that makes it just a little harder to breathe.

Dani keeps talking, looking at Purrgood with concentration as she draws patterns into his belly, but her words are harder to make out with the sudden thumping of my pulse, which sounds deafening in my ears.

If you had asked me all those months ago if I ever thought I would be here with her like this, that she would be casually enjoying my touch and my space while doing her best to help me, to reassure me, I would have told you that you were crazy.

I can’t even pinpoint a direct path to how we got here, but I’m suddenly struck with the realization that there is absolutely nowhere I would rather be.

That this prickly woman with her hidden smile and her fierce demeanor has somehow become the reason I get out of bed in the morning, the person I think about just before I go to sleep. She’s become everything .

And I’m completely, irrevocably in love with her.

She keeps rambling about old court cases, talking to herself like it’s a problem she can work around and arrive at a solution all on her own, completely oblivious to the revelation I’m having only a few feet away.

What would Dani do if she knew? Would she run away?

Would she hide? Could she ever feel the same about me?

I know it’s too soon to tell her. That Dani’s walls are more fragile now but by no means broken down, and I urge my racing heart to calm, begging my heavy tongue to stay silent. Because I can wait, I tell myself. Until she’s ready to hear it. I’ll wait as long as it takes for her.

Because I meant it, what I told her all those weeks ago. That she’s absolutely worth staying for.

And that’s exactly what I intend to do.