“What time?”

“Six. But you don’t have to go if you don’t want to.”

“Of course I want to. And as much as I want to stay here with you all day, I have to go to my office for a while. I have my weekly meeting with Bruce House tomorrow morning and I need to prepare.”

“Is he coming here?” she asks.

“Yes.”

“Can I speak to him?”

“What would you like to say?”

“I want to ask him to drop the case,” she says with a shrug. “I know it’s a long shot, but I want to try.”

“I’ll arrange for the meeting.”

“This is unexpected,” Bruce says the next morning when I show Sienna into my office.

“I asked Quinn if I could have a minute of your time,” she begins and sits at the table across from him. “I wanted to update you. I’ve found three-quarters of the money that was loaned. I have receipts with the same handwriting of the letter in your possession that say the money was paid back.”

“But not all of it,” Bruce says.

“No.” Sienna crosses her hands over her folder, not looking away from Bruce. “But we still have a lot of boxes to look through, and I’m confident that we will find it. Because of this, I’d like to ask you to drop the case.”

Bruce looks to me, but I don’t say anything, waiting for his response. I want him to drop the case. I also want him to tell her that it’s her uncle who gave him the letter in the first place, so Sienna is no longer in the dark, and I don’t feel like a massive douchebag for keeping it from her.

I’m sorely disappointed.

“I’m not dropping the case,” Bruce says, and before Sienna can reply, he holds his hand up. “I’m not trying to be a jerk here. I’m a businessman, plain and simple. You have proof that part of the money was paid back.”

“Most of the money.”

“But not all of it. Which means that at this moment, I still own it.”

“What do you want?” Sienna asks. “I’ll gladly pay you the five thousand dollars right now.”

“We both know that it’s worth much more than that.”

“That was the loan amount,” she counters, but then nods. “Okay, I’ll pay you twenty-five thousand.”

“Five million,” Bruce replies, and Sienna’s eyes widen, her jaw clenches, and she drops her fisted hands under the table in her lap.

“Bruce, it might be best to settle out of court. We don’t know that the judge would rule in your favor, especially given that the majority of the money has been found. It’s likely that the rest was paid as well.”

“Yet, if the proof of that isn’t found, I still legally own it,” he counters. “Like I said, I’m a businessman, and I know what that property is worth. I’m not willing to give up on it. We have more than a week until court, so that gives you time to find the rest of your proof.”

Sienna sighs, then nods and stands to walk out of the room. But before she can shut the door, Bruce calls her back.

“Good luck to you, Miss Hendricks.”

Her eyes flick to mine, and then she shuts the door behind her.

“She’s a beautiful woman,” Bruce says casually. “I wonder if I signed the property over to her if she’d go to bed with me.”

“I wonder if you could find another attorney who would take you on in time for the court date,” I reply, my blood boiling over. I want to punch him in his smarmy face. I want to have him thrown out of my building.

But until this case is finished, I won’t sever ties.

The moment the gavel falls, however, Bruce will need to find new counsel. I don’t care how much money I make from him.

He glances at me in surprise. “You’re interested in her.” He sits back, his hands steepled in front of him, thinking. His eyes are too full of mirth for my liking. “I hope that interest won’t influence you in how you handle this case.”

“I dislike men who are disrespectful to women, especially in professional settings,” I say as I stand. “I’ll see you next week.”

Bruce doesn’t put up a fight as he leaves my office. I send a text to Finn and Carter.

We’ll no longer be working with Bruce when this case is done.

It’s for the best.

“It’s been a crazy week,” Sienna says as we join Finn and London for dinner later in the evening at my condo. Sienna is cooking, and the condo smells amazing.

“Tell me about it,” London says with a nod as Sienna sets a tray of bread in the oven. “I think we’re all a little stressed right now, but I have something to talk about to take our minds off the tough stuff.”

“What’s that?” Sienna asks. I pour her a glass of wine and she kisses my bicep in thanks.

Tags: Kristen Proby Romancing Manhattan Romance
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