Elastic Hearts (Hearts #3)(35)
Grace and I made small talk while I drank my coffee and she switched on the computer and did whatever she had to do to set up for the day.
“Well, I have to go. It’s going to be a long day.”
“What time do you go in today?” she asked. Grace was always interested in my job. It didn’t matter how insignificant it was, she wanted to know about it.
“Today’s a late night. Eight to eight.”
“Wow, and you’re here? I would be sleeping.”
I smiled. “Yeah, that’s where I’m headed.” I paused and looked at the door to Victor’s office. “Shit. I just remembered I had to give him something. I’ll be right back.”
She didn’t even look up from the computer screen as I disappeared into Victor’s office. My blood roared in my ears as I took off my sneakers, peeled off my yoga pants, slid off my panties, and quickly redressed. I walked over to his desk and stuffed them into his briefcase. I could only hope he looked inside it before he went to court. Of course, knowing Victor he probably emptied it and organized it more than I did when I switched handbags. I ran out of there before he could come out of the bathroom and catch me.
“Did you leave what you needed to leave?” Grace asked as I waved her goodbye and got into the elevator.
“I did,” I said with a wide smile.
MY MISOPHONIA WAS out of control. I knew this, yet I couldn’t help the cringe that came every time Corinne took a bite of her sandwich. My skin crawled with every chew. I sighed and stood up to pace the conference room to distract myself from my agony. I f*cking hated lunch meetings. Food had no place in the conference room. None. The only reason I’d even called a lunch meeting was because we had no time to waste and I was supposed to meet with Nicole in the afternoon to give her some papers.
“Everything’s in here?” I asked, going back to the file Corinne had set on top of the table. She nodded slowly. “Did you file the paper I sent you? The last one?”
“The Golden Globe thing in the agreement she made with her ex? Yes.”
I nodded sharply. I needed to keep that paper out of any file I gave her back, in case it fell into the wrong hands. The fact that it had been drafted and emailed was already making me paranoid. I hated the Internet. I started leafing through the pages, making sure each page was initialed and that the ones needed signing were marked for her. As long as Gabriel agreed to this, the divorce could be sped up. Normally I tried to make these cases as painless as possible for my clients, because I could only imagine how badly they must want closure, but with Nicole I wished I could jump through hoops and just get this shit done immediately.
I wanted her out of the house she shared with Gabriel Lane. I wanted him out of her life for good. I wanted her in my bed. It was quite simple, really. I wasn’t an idiot. I knew the girl was a catch, and it would only be a matter of time before somebody else caught her. If she wanted to be caught, I wanted her to have the freedom to make that choice. But first, I’d have her. Maybe I was a f*cking idiot, because every time the thought crossed my mind all I could do was imagine me catching her. Me being the one she stayed with. I tried to picture what my life would have been like if I’d been the one to catch her five years ago and not the guy she was divorcing. Would I have f*cked things up? Would I have let her go? I had a difficult time believing I would have done the latter. Fuck things up, maybe. I’d been young and had more drive than I knew what to do with. While my friends were busy chasing skirts and getting married, I worked my ass off. I didn’t regret it. I didn’t wish I could turn back time and make more out of what Nicole and I had. The way I saw it, everything happened for a reason, and we just weren’t meant to happen then.
How much had I changed during those years, though? Jensen seemed set on reminding me that I would be turning thirty-one soon, as if that meant I might as well start planning my funeral.
“Victor?” Corinne asked. I looked up from the papers.
“What?”
She shifted uncomfortably in her seat. “I was wondering how you felt about me taking time off next month?”
My gaze stayed on hers as I processed her request. When was the last time she’d taken time off? Had it already been a year? I flipped through my mental calendar, trying to remember what I had next month. There would be very little to do with Nicole’s divorce by then. I would make sure of that. I had a meeting scheduled for later in the week with a well-known romance author, who was divorcing his wife, to see if they could settle out-of-court, so that shouldn’t run over to the next month. I realized I was still staring at Corinne and blinked rapidly. I was in the habit of staring people down when I was lost in thought. I cleared my throat.
“Sure. Just put it on the Outlook Calendar so we can plan for it,” I said finally.
Her shoulders sagged a little.
“Anything else I should know about?” I asked.
She shook her head, but I knew there was something she wanted to tell me. Women were so f*cking annoying. Why couldn’t they just spit it out? They would be a lot easier to deal with if they just voiced their thoughts instead of making us go on a goddamn scavenger hunt. I shook my head and went back to the papers in front of me. I didn’t have time for that shit.
“It’s just,” she said quietly. I let out a breath. Of course she was going to start talking again when I was already trying to focus on something else. “I think my boyfriend is going to propose to me when we go on vacation.”