Avoiding Temptation (Avoiding #3)(38)

“That’s the million-dollar question—quite literally,” Lexi said under her breath.

“Well, just because he is getting a divorce doesn’t mean you can’t tell him you’re engaged, chica. You know that, right? I mean, I know he’s different, but it’s still Jack.”

“I know, C.”

“Right, you’ve always known. You’ve always known everything.”

“Chyna…”

“I’m just looking out for you. You’re marrying Ramsey. He’s a good guy. You love him. Remember that.”

“God, I haven’t forgotten any of that, all right?”

“Just saying.”

“So, are you finished reminding me of things I already know? And can we get back to planning your trip this weekend?”

“Just don’t be stupid.”

“Thanks for that one.”

“Jack makes you stupid.”

“He’s married!” Lexi snapped. She did not want to have this conversation. She had been fighting that battle with herself. She didn’t need Chyna’s help with it.

“Not much longer…”

Lexi spent the next day at work searching out the best divorce attorney in Atlanta who didn’t currently work under the Bridges hegemony. She was f**king pissed by how difficult it was to do that. How did they possibly have five of the best attorneys in-house? Didn’t that seem a bit ridiculous to anyone else? Who had allowed them a monopoly on the market?

Fucking Bekah Bridges—that was probably how.

The girl never stopped plotting. Three of the attorneys had been acquired in the last year since she had been married to Jack. It didn’t seem coincidental, but Lexi didn’t know how to prove that it was connected. It made her eyes hurt.

In the end, she just plucked up the courage to ask her boss about it.

He suspiciously eyed her. “You thinking of getting a divorce before you’re even married?” he asked.

“Just asking for a friend, sir,” she said.

“Did I hear you got engaged?”

Lexi smiled sweetly. It was the only way to deal with her boss. “That’s right,” she said, showing off the ring.

Her boss whistled between his teeth. “That’s a big diamond.”

“Yeah, he spoils me.”

It wasn’t something she would have normally said, but her boss cared about pedigree, power, and privilege. Ramsey had all three, and sometimes it helped situations.

“Good man you have there.”

“So, sir, about that attorney. Do you think you could put me in contact with one?” she asked, batting her eyelashes.

“Yeah, I know a guy. I’ll give him a call on my lunch break and put him in contact with you,” he grumbled. “Oh, and Lexi…”

“Sir?”

“Any progress on the Bryant case? I want that one resolved this month. It’s eating away time,” he told her before promptly turning around and walking away like he hadn’t just handed her an impossible task without a second thought.

“Great,” she said, storming back to her office.

At least she was getting that f**king name.

Lexi spent the rest of the afternoon buried in casework. She hadn’t even bothered surfacing for lunch, and by the time she was ready to leave the office that afternoon, she was starving and still without a contact for the divorce attorney.

She hesitantly wandered over to her boss’s office.

His assistant was looking bleary-eyed at the computer screen. “Can I help you?” she asked.

“Yeah. Is Chuck still here?” Lexi asked.

“No, he never came back after lunch.”

“Great,” Lexi groaned. “Did he happen to leave a message with you about a divorce attorney?”

His secretary glanced around her desk before shaking her head. “Nothing here, sorry. Did you want me to phone him?”

“No,” Lexi said quickly. The last thing she wanted to do was to draw more attention to herself than she already had. The next time she talked to her boss, he would probably tell her to close the case by the end of the week rather than the end of the month. “Thanks.”

She would have to remind him about it some other time. There wasn’t all that much time to waste, but there was nothing she could do at the moment.

She took the elevator down to the parking garage, got into her car, and drove out of the building. Stopping by the nearest drive-through restaurant, Lexi ordered some much-needed food, and then cut across town to Ramsey’s office.

Last night, she had told him all about Chyna’s freak-out about the wedding and how she was going to come into town for the weekend to celebrate. He had been ecstatic to hear it. By the look on his face, it almost seemed like he had been afraid that Lexi wasn’t excited about the prospect of their engagement. It wasn’t that she wasn’t excited. She had just had so much other stuff piled on top of her all at once. Listening to Chyna freak out about it had brought Lexi back to reality, and now, she was looking forward to the celebration.

In fact, she was on her way right now to celebrate. She had gotten out of work a little early, and she was surprising Ramsey at the office. They hadn’t spent as much time together prior to the engagement, and she thought it would be a sign of goodwill, proving that she really was invested in him. She loved him. All this talk of divorce made her anxious to show it.