With that, Trae Lymon sailed from the office as if he hadn’t a care in the world.
“See what you’ve done!” Henry accused Scarlett. “He doesn’t know what he wants.”
“Trae is an adult and knows exactly what he wants,” she replied. “He’s brave enough to go out and search for it.” She stood. “I’ll go draft that letter, sir.”
“You do that,” Henry said snidely. “Write the damn letter. Lymon McGraw doesn’t need you here anyway.” He stormed from the office.
Scarlett turned to the remaining Lymon. “I’m sorry.”
“No. Don’t say that. Henry can’t ever admit he’s wrong about anything. I must say, my dear, you’ve inspired not only Trae. You’ve let me see things with new eyes.”
“How so?”
“I think it’s time I stepped down from Lymon McGraw.”
She gasped.
“I’ve been thinking about it. I’m seventy-eight, you know. Still walk three miles each morning. I’m sitting on a pile of money. Margaret and I have our health. She’s begged me for years to quit so we could travel.” He smiled broadly. “I’m finally going to do it.”
Lymon stood. “Henry, as managing partner, can restructure the firm however he chooses. You draft the joint letter informing our clients of my retirement and your departure. Run it by me so it can go out by noon today.”
“Yes, sir.”
In a daze, Scarlett went back to her office, unsettled by the events of the past few minutes. She motioned for Erica to follow her into her office.
Her assistant closed the door and said, “Spill. Everything.”
She laughed. “We’ve been together seven years, right?”
“Yes. Why? What’s up?” Erica’s eyes widened. “Are you leaving, Scarlett?”
“I’m leaving.” Saying it aloud felt good.
“Then I’m coming with you,” her assistant insisted. “Big firm or small. It doesn’t matter. We’re a team.”
“It’ll only be you and me,” she revealed. “I’m starting my own firm. I may keep it a one-attorney office or it may grow in the future. Right now, I have no idea. All I know is that I need a change.”
Erica grabbed a pen and legal pad from Scarlett’s desk and starting jotting down notes. “You’ll need a website. A logo. Business cards. Martin can do those for you.”
“I thought your boyfriend was a fireman.”
Erica smiled. “My new fiancé is a fireman but they all have side jobs for their days off. Martin does web and product design.”
Scarlett grabbed Erica’s hand to look at her engagement ring. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me.”
“I was going to. It happened last night. You had a parade of people in and out this morning, though. Anyway, Martin has today and tomorrow off. He can drop whatever he’s doing and have mockups to you by tomorrow. What are you thinking about?”
She laughed. “I haven’t. Hmm. Something clean. Simple but classic.”
“Color scheme?”
Scarlett shrugged. “I’ll leave that to you. And Martin.”
Erica scrawled a few more things and looked up. “When are you quitting?”
“My desk is clear. I’d wrapped up everything existing before I came in this morning. Mr. Lymon wants me to write a letter from the firm and myself to go out to our client list. Once I do that, I’m out of here.”
“Then I am, too. I’ll hand in my resignation to HR now. I have almost three weeks of vacay coming. I’ll ask to be paid for the days instead. I’ll get to work on all the startup. Where will we office?”
“Out of my house to begin with. Later, we can find office space.”
“I’m on it.” Erica hugged Scarlett. “You’re the best boss ever. I can’t wait to start this new adventure with you.” She left, closing the door behind her.
Exhausted, Scarlett sat and removed her heels again. It would be an adventure. Running her own firm. Being a first-time mom.
How did Wynn fit into this picture?
She’d avoided thinking about him, preferring to focus on the baby. She owed it to him to let him know he was going to be a father. The trouble was, Wynn was a sweet man, old-fashioned in a few ways. The minute she broke the news to him, she expected he would propose.
A forced marriage to Wynn Gallagher was the last thing she wanted.
For Scarlett, marriage meant several things. Companionship. Laughter. Shared moral values. Above all else, the two most important aspects were love—and trust. Without them, any marriage would be doomed from the start. She didn’t have either from Wynn. True, they’d built a nice friendship before she’d royally screwed up. She loved Wynn—but he’d never given her any indication he felt the same about her.
The trust part was another piece she’d blown. Her dishonesty and keeping Wynn in the dark had led to him totally losing faith in her. Without that belief and openness between them, a sense of knowing they could depend upon one another to be nothing but honest, marriage was impossible. She wouldn’t tell him about the baby. Yet. She’d give it until the three-month mark. If she made it safely through the first trimester, she would call him and let him know everything. If she suffered a miscarriage, then he need never know. She wouldn’t contact him and most likely would never see him again.
The thought of Wynn not in her life caused a sense of emptiness to blossom within her.
Pushing aside the pain, Scarlett turned to her computer and began drafting the joint client letter.
CHAPTER 21
Wynn drove aimlessly for several minutes. Having learned from Cassie that Scarlett wasn’t there, his gut told him she’d returned to Lymon McGraw today. Since he’d texted Del last night and tersely told him to write something official on his firm’s letterhead that terminated Wynn’s relationship with Lymon McGraw and Henry Lymon, in particular, Wynn didn’t think it wise to show his face at Scarlett’s place of work. He didn’t want to cause a scene or embarrass her in any
