I Married a Billionaire: Lost and Found(50)

"He was very adamant about it." There was something strained in his tone. Something beyond just his resistance to spill Daniel’s secrets.

"John, I can tell you’re worried about something. Come on, just tell me. I’ll take care of it."

"I just -" John sighed. "It’s hardly any of my business, Maddy. But I think what he’s doing is a bad idea, to say the least."

My heart clenched in my chest. "Please. Please tell me where he is."

"I’m waiting for him," said John. "Outside of the courthouse. He went to see the judge. He seemed very…agitated, very angry. Not in any kind of state to meet with someone that important. I thought at first he was going to just file a request for a reassignment, like you were all talking about on the way back from the hearing. But he finally told me. I think he just needed to tell someone." John swallowed audibly. "I shouldn’t have said anything, but…"




"No, no, you absolutely should have." I was already hopping into my shoes. "I’m going to get there as fast as I can; let’s hope the judge has a full waiting room already."

I managed to nab a taxi with a driver who knew how to beat the growing rush-hour traffic, getting me to the courthouse in record time. I rushed up the huge staircase, through the heavy wooden doors, and breathlessly approached the receptionist.

"Judge Warren, please."

She gave me a look.

"Do you have an appointment?"

"No," I said. "But it’s urgent."

"You’re the second person to come in today without one," she said, irritated. "It’s highly unlikely that he’ll see either of you."

"Fine, okay, thank you," I said. "Which way is his office?"

She pointed wordlessly, and I could feel her eyes on me as I walked through the metal detector, fetched my purse from the end of the x-ray machine, and ran up yet another spiral staircase. When I finally rounded the corner where the signs told me his chambers would be, I spotted Daniel sitting on a bench in the hall.

He looked up at me, startled.

"Are you insane?" I asked him, trying and mostly-succeeding at keeping my voice down.

"How did you find me?" he hissed.

I sat down. "Take a wild guess. Don’t you dare get mad at him - he did the right thing. What are you planning to do, exactly? What could this possibly accomplish?"

"Personal satisfaction," said Daniel. "After all this, I think I’m entitled to a little."

"This isn’t going to accomplish anything, except warning him that you’re about to request another judge. That’s insane. If he has any evidence, he’ll destroy it. You’re not thinking straight."

"He’s destroyed it already," said Daniel. "I promise you that. If you -"

The judge’s door swung open, heavily.

"Mr. and Mrs. Thorne," he said, looking at us like we were evangelists on his porch. "Please do come in, I’m very interested in what you have to discuss with me."





CHAPTER FIFTEEN





I briefly considered turning and running away, but that certainly wasn’t going to accomplish anything at this point.

"I’m sure you are," said Daniel, as we all crowded into the small, wood-paneled room. A clock ticked loudly in the corner.

"Well?" said the judge. "I have a limited amount of time between cases."

"I appreciate that," said Daniel. "You’re a busy man. So am I. I just thought you might be interested to know that I found out about you and the plaintiffs from my last case. The one about the prototype. You’ve heard about it, yes? The case that settled in court just about eight years ago?"

"You seem to have made up your mind already," said the judge. "But as it happens, no, I’m not familiar with that particular case."

"Bullshit." Daniel’s nostrils were flaring with every breath. "I spoke to my friends at Dartwood. I have the emails, back and forth between you and Jim Paulson."

The judge blinked. "I seem to recall someone by that name," he said. "I believe he was a Dartwood student, yes. We met at an alumni dinner. He had some very interesting ideas for a handheld personal organizer."

Daniel leaned forward on the desk, his hands spread out on the polished wood. He loomed over the judge, who didn’t seem perturbed in the slightest. "And you were one of the first investors, weren’t you? All cash, no trail. You were careful, even back then. When his idea fizzled and I ‘stole’ it, you must have felt very hurt indeed. I’m sure it was easier to blame me, than to blame Paulson for being the lazy piece of shit he is. I might not be able to prove how much of a hand you had in this whole thing. I’m sure when Paulson passed you the money for Florence to pay my broker off, he did it very, very carefully. And once you happened to be assigned to my case, I know you covered your tracks. You couldn’t pass up the chance to eviscerate me in front of the whole world. That’s how Florence ended up working directly with Paulson and his friends in the first place - and you paid off that scum journalist to lie about it."

The judge was smiling.

"I can’t prove any of this," said Daniel. "As I’m sure you know. But this is more than enough to get me a new judge assigned, and to put you under the microscope. I hope you enjoy the scrutiny."