After a few moments Justin rolled off so he wouldn’t crush her. She turned to face him, her hair spread around her. “Justin…”
“Yeah?”
“I don’t think it’s working.”
Something cold wedged in his heart, turning the post-orgasm glow to ashes. “What do you mean?” he asked, keeping his voice neutral.
“It drove me crazy, not knowing. When nobody contacted me. If people knew I was your wife, they would’ve called me first.”
“That’s true.”
“So…maybe we should out ourselves. You know, announce the marriage. Then we could’ve avoided all this. You wouldn’t have to sneak around or risk your life.”
Justin smoothed a hand over her creased forehead. “This wasn’t your fault. It was the weather. The Bay area can get pretty foggy. Visibility was poor, and my pilot made a mistake. It’s not like I’m flying into a battle zone every day.”
“Still—”
“I’m serious. I know how important this July is for you. Didn’t you say you wanted to get promoted based on your own merits, and not because you’re married to me?”
“Yeah, but it doesn’t matter. I’m not getting promoted this year.”
He pulled back slightly. “You’re not?”
She shook her head. “The partners are giving me BS work. They also aren’t letting me do more than forty hours a week. You know what that means at a law firm?” She didn’t wait for his response. “It’s a not-so-subtle hint that I have no future there.”
Put it that way, it did look pretty bad. But he’d done it to ensure she wouldn’t work too much, and he didn’t want to change the way things were, not even to appease her self-esteem. A hundred billable hours a week was ridiculous for a pregnant woman. When would she find the time to see her doctor or eat regularly? He remembered how Gavin Lloyd’s wife had a pregnancy scare, and the woman had staff waiting on her. “Have they said anything to you directly?”
“No, but…”
“Well, you know what happens when you assume. Maybe your partners have a reason.”
“I guess.” She sighed, as though in resignation, but her thoughts were going a mile a minute from the way her eyes flashed.
“Hey. It’s okay. Everything’s going to be fine.”
She smiled. “You’re right. What do I have to complain about when you’re back safe and sound?”
He smiled back, swallowing the guilt twisting his gut.
Chapter Fourteen
The next morning, Vanessa thought that maybe she’d spoken too soon.
Zoe greeted her with, “Harry and John are looking for you. They want to see you immediately. In the Grand Conference Room.”
Vanessa raised an eyebrow. It was the nicest one the firm had, the one the partners used to impress new recruits and clients. She walked briskly down the hall, getting a few strange looks along the way. They barely registered. Strange looks were becoming almost normal, now that she was working so little.
She stopped in front of the dark wood door and took a deep breath. The Grand Conference Room isn’t designed for layoffs. You’ll be okay.
She knocked once and went inside. The conference room had a long mahogany table with expensive leather chairs. The windows gave a panoramic view of downtown Los Angeles, and the pristine cream walls had built-in shelves that held strategically placed awards and photos of the partners posing with various VIPs. It had been designed to impress.
Neither Harry nor John sat at the head of the table. Oh no. That seat currently belonged to another, far more important person: Barron Sterling.
Vanessa paused. Despite his age, Barron looked as languid and deadly as a great white shark. Fortunately his eyes twinkled with something that looked like good humor. She wondered about it for a split-second before remembering that it had to be because Justin had survived the crash. Totally understandable.
A Saville Row suit encased his solid body, only a hint of softness around the middle betraying his advanced years. He toyed with a sugar cooki
e that was on a plate in front of him.