And why it hadn’t matched my client’s. But the officer and I both already known that.
“Thank you for letting me know.” I hung up the phone and sat, stunned.
“Derek,” I called over my intercom, “get in here.”
He came sprinting in. “What?”
“You’ll never guess what I just found out.”
When I finished relaying the conversation to Derek, he said, “I never saw that coming.”
“You and me both.”
The phone on Derek’s desk rang. “I’d better get that.” Ten seconds later, he was back. “You’ll never guess who’s on the phone for you.”
“Who?”
“The Scotts’ lawyer.”
“Put him through.”
“I was calling to let you know we’re dropping the lawsuit,” the Scotts’ lawyer said.
No shit. “It should have never been filed in the first place.”
“We’re just going to have to agree to disagree on that.”
“I suppose so. But you might want to warn your clients that we still might be seeing each other again soon.”
“How so?”
“In light of the information I received this morning, Tate Garrett has a very strong case for defamation.”
He cleared his throat. “Let me talk to my clients and get back to you. We might be able to work something out.”
“You do that. I’ll be waiting to hear back from you.”
I hung up the phone, feeling very good for my client.
Yet a sudden sadness came over me. With Miranda Scott in custody, there was no reason for Tommy to stay with me anymore.
I picked up the phone and dialed Tate to tell him the unbelievable news.
I’d worry about my feelings for Tommy later.
When Tommy walked into my office at five thirty on the dot, my stomach was in knots. I had surrounded myself with research on new cases, so I wouldn’t have to think about him leaving.
“Hey, Liv,” he said, coming over and kissing me.
He seemed on high alert, almost like he was nervous.
Oh no. He didn’t know how to tell me he was going back to Brook Creek.
Earlier, I had called Tommy after finishing up with Tate. When I told him the news from the police, he had so much relief in his voice that it almost hurt. I’d thought he had liked spending time with me.
But maybe he was like every other guy I’d dated and couldn’t get past how bad I was in bed.
I hadn’t thought about that in a long time because I felt more open while having sex with Tommy than anyone else from my past.
But maybe I was doomed to “never truly satisfy a guy,” as one ex had told me.
I quickly looked down at my desk, frantically trying to focus on something other than the feeling of wanting to cry.
“Are you ready to get out of here?” he asked me. “There’s something I need to talk to you about, especially now that the threats have stopped for good. I thought maybe we could go to dinner somewhere and—”
“I’m sorry. Since the story broke on the news, I’ve been flooded with new client requests. I can’t go to dinner tonight.”
Yes, I was lying. My name hadn’t come up on the news. But Tommy didn’t need to know that.
“I understand you probably need to get back to Brook Creek. You don’t have to wait around for me if you want to head back tonight. I can call an Uber or get a ride from someone in the office.” My voice started to wobble toward the end, and I knew there was no way I was going to be able to hold back my tears.
I lifted my leg, and my knee rammed against the top of my desk. “Ow. Damn it. That hurt.” I had done it to give me an excuse to cry, except I had actually managed to hurt myself.
The floodgates opened, and there was no holding back my emotions now.
Tommy came around to my side of the desk and swung me around to face him. He got down on his haunches. “Where did you hurt yourself?”
I pointed to my left knee.
He lifted my skirt and kissed it.
It only made me cry harder.
“Hey, I think you’ll be okay.” He felt all around my lower thigh and knee. “It looks like it’s just going to be a bruise.”
“I’ll take some painkillers. I’ll be fine.” If only the painkillers could reach my heart. I pushed against his shoulders. “But I really should get back to work.” Maybe if I buried myself deeply enough in cases, it wouldn’t hurt so much.
Tommy stood and rounded my desk once more, so we were on opposite sides. He stood there with his hands on his hips for a minute and then nodded. “We’ll talk later then.”
No, I wanted to scream. We don’t need to talk. You don’t have to explain anything to me. You can just leave. I don’t need excuses.
But he was already out the door.
I took several deep breaths, grabbed a tissue to wipe my face and blow my nose, and went back to work.
It took me about fifteen minutes to put all my concentration into my work, but I did it. The endorphin release from crying had actually helped because I was feeling a lot calmer now and like the world wouldn’t end with Tommy leaving.
I would get through it, and life would go on.
I picked up a slip of paper with a client’s name, and underneath, it said, Possible civil rights case.
Interesting.
I wasn’t a civil rights lawyer, but a couple of our associates were. I could always be second chair if the case warranted it.
I turned to my computer and pulled up Google.
