VERSUS (Second Chances 2)

Her eyes widen. “Oh, that’s right. The Alcesters go to court tomorrow.”

I’m playing a hand I didn’t intend, but I’ll see it through to the end since Betsy is finally responding.

“Let me call her assistant myself.” She points at the phone on her desk. “I’ll explain the situation. She’ll understand the urgency. The Alcester case is a priority, after all. Excuse me for a minute, will you?”

I step back to give her the privacy she needs to make the call.

It’s not far en

ough that I can’t hear her side of the conversation.

She greets someone on the other end of the call. That’s followed by a conversation about the weather in New York City. It’s hot as hell here, and apparently that fascinates Betsy because she drags the discussion past the three-minute mark.

She finally gets down to the reason for her call.

I take a half-step closer so I don’t miss a word.

“I see,” she says. “Of course, Ms. Conrad needed to be there.”

That’s followed by a series of ‘uh-huh’s and ‘oh, yeses’.

Frustration draws me even closer. Betsy doesn’t notice me inching up on her because she’s circling a pen on a piece of paper.

“I won’t mention that to him,” she half-whispers. “I won’t say a thing about Eden’s husband to Mr. Colt.”

Chapter 44

Dylan

Anxiety threads its way through every one of my movements.

It started when I shaved my face bare this morning.

I haven’t done that in months.

It was a regular part of my routine for years, and this morning, in my dazed state, I reached for the razor. I came out of the shower and glanced at the mirror at a face I didn’t recognize.

I walked right past Palla on Fifth on my way to my office.

Gunner was greeted with a wave of my hand.

He took it to heart, trailing after me like I had just granted his greatest wish.

I did when I turned at the doorway of my office to embrace him.

I needed the hug more than he did.

I’m skilled in handling difficult situations. Some of my clients have told me that they’ve never met anyone as cold-hearted as me.

I’ve always taken it as a compliment.

I never will again.

Eden Conrad’s ex-husband is the purest definition of a cold-hearted bastard.

He’s rotting in prison just outside of Buffalo.

After the parole hearing she attended yesterday, he should be stuck there for at least the next two years.