His mouth dropped open. “What did you just say?”
“I was asking if you the bitch you were referring to was your ex-girlfriend Alexandra.”
“You think you’re so smart. So what, you talked to a woman I dumped who has an ax to grind. Big fucking deal. She was nothing more than a piece of ass, and not even a very good one at that,” he said, feigning nonchalance when Katherine knew he was fuming inside.
“Okay, we’ll go with that.”
He looked up at her and slowly began tearing the papers in half. “Oops, I guess your little papers are all gone.”
She threw her head back and laughed, letting the laughter release the nerves she had over the meeting. She wasn’t nervous anymore. “Tim, despite what you think, I’m not an idiot. Do you honestly think those are the only copies? Trust me, there are plenty of copies all ready to be mailed out and released to the press if you don’t agree to my terms. If anything happens to me or Ben, those papers will be released.”
“What do you want?” he snapped.
“Drop the lawsuit against Ben,” she said firmly.
He smirked, the evil in his eyes would normally scare her, but not anymore. She had the power, she kept reminding herself. She was the one that was in control. He could use fear and intimidation, but it wouldn’t work.
“Katherine, you’re not going to do shit. You know I won’t let you get away with this. You’re going to be looking over your shoulder wondering where I am.”
She shrugged a shoulder. “I don’t think so. You’ll be the one looking over your shoulder now.”
“Remember that charity ball we went to? The one where you accidentally spilled wine on your dress?” he asked in a low voice.
Katherine flinched, but refused to back down. He was bringing up one of the worst beatings he had ever doled out because she had embarrassed him. She refused to go back to that dark time when she was convinced she would be killed.
“I remember that ball very well. Maybe you shouldn’t bring up the past. It tends to make me mad. An angry woman is more likely to strike back,” she said coolly.
“Oh, like you have in the past? What are you going to do? Cry to your boyfriend? He can’t do shit. He doesn’t scare me. He can’t protect you,” he hissed, his hands pressing against the table as his face reddened with anger.
“He doesn’t have to protect me. I’m protecting myself. I’m bringing an end to this. You don’t get to control me any longer,” she said, finding the courage to speak out against him.
Tim leaned back in the chair, his hands streaking across the table, the knuckles white with the pressure he was pushing against the table with.
He started to shake his head. “Poor, poor stupid Katherine. You have no idea what you’re doing.”
“I know exactly what I’m doing. I’m not going to argue with you. These are my terms. Drop the lawsuit or those documents go out en masse,” she said, not flinching as he slapped a hand on the table.
There was a long stare-off. Katherine didn’t back down. Usually, she would look away and beg him not to be angry. Not now. She was tired of his shit and wouldn’t bow down to him ever again.
“Fine, but don’t think this is the last you’ve heard of me,” he snapped.
She smiled. “Which reminds me, you’ll need to sign those divorce papers as well.”
He shook his head. “No way.”
“Fine. Hmm, I wonder who I’ll send them to first, the LA Times or the California Bar. I can’t decide.”
“You little bitch!” he snapped, slapping his hand against the table.
Behind Tim, she saw Ben step forward. She gave a subtle shake of her head. A little temper tantrum was expected. She wanted to watch him squirm. She wanted him to be pissed. It was a little satisfaction in a long game of torture and manipulation.
“Sign the papers, Tim. Save yourself a lot of trouble. I have pictures of the damage you caused to my body. I have th
e medical records to prove the abuse. I will destroy you,” she said, her voice deadly calm.
He smirked. “If I remember right, you fell down the stairs once. Another time you had a skiing accident. You’ll never prove a thing.”
She raised an eyebrow and smiled. “You sure about that? Are you willing to bet your career, plus all your millions and your reputation as an attorney?”