I lost everything and now I have to feel it all over again.
I want to kill that man myself.
I want his family to know the agony he inflicted on mine.
I want Peter to walk through the door again, but I know that will never, ever happen.
I rub my face against Milo’s chest and the scent of his woodsy cologne fills me. Then it hits me. I’m . . . sobbing . . . on Milo.
My assistant who wants my job.
The pain in my ass who’s planning to get me kicked out of this office.
“Oh God!” I lift my head, covering my face with my hands. “I’m so sorry.”
“Not another word,” he commands. “Is your husband’s trial today?”
I nod, a new wave of embarrassment hitting me. “Look, I don’t know what just happened. I lost it.” I wipe under my eyes and release a heavy breath.
“You’ve been holding that in a while, I presume?”
“I guess so.”
Milo nods slowly. “I had the best assistant when we were in London. She was smart, funny, put me in my place on more than one occasion. She was there when my dog died, and she was of great comfort. Anyway, her job was so much more than just assisting me in work.”
I look to him, wondering what the hell he’s talking about. “Not sure where you’re going with this . . .”
“I’m not either,” he admits.
“Glad we cleared that up,” I say attempting to joke.
Milo doesn’t laugh though. “My point is . . . that while I’m stuck in this position, I’m here to help.”
“Help?”
“Yes.”
I study him warily. “Help how?”
He huffs. “I don’t know, but I’m trying to be nice.”
And he is being nice. “I appreciate that,” I say.
“Are you better now?” Milo’s emerald eyes watch me as though I’m a wounded animal. Which, maybe I am. Peter’s death had me at extremes. I was either a broken dove who couldn’t fly or I was a tiger, ripping people’s throats out. I’ve not found the middle, and it’s wearing on me.
“I think I’m going to be.” I place my hand on his arm. “Thank you.”
“Happy to help.”
“You know, you make a great assistant,” I tease.
I wait for the indignation and disgust, but instead, he looks at me with a mix of awe and wonder. Something, I don’t know what, is different right now. He seems a little kinder, non-threatening, which is a bad thing. It’s scary to be honest.
“Why are you here today?” A deep voice breaks the moment.
“Callum,” I say, getting to my feet.
He looks at Milo and then me with a wry smile. “You’re off for the day, Danielle. I implicitly told you to be with your family. It’s where you need to be.”
“You didn’t tell Nicole, right?”
“No, I hoped you would by now.” He sighs, placing his hands in his pockets. “I realize this is a bizarre situation, but she loves you and wants to be there for you.”
“I know, but I’m not ready.”
Callum’s eyes fill with empathy. “I understand, just know we’re all here to help.”
Milo clears his throat. “I hate to break up the party, but someone should do some work in this place.”
“Are you implying Danielle doesn’t?” Callum challenges him.
I wait, my heart pounding in my chest. Here’s a chance for Milo to sell me out or tell him about the screw up I had with the survey. His eyes meet mine and then move back to his brother.
“No,” Milo says with conviction. “You found a great replacement for me, brother.”
Callum’s eyes blink in surprise. “Well, that was very grown up of you.”
I see Milo’s hand open and close, but he doesn’t reply.
Now it’s my turn to do for him what he did for me. “You know, Callum, Milo has been a real asset.” I turn to look at him with a smile. “He found an error on the survey, fixed it, and it saved the company a bit of money we’d have lost had it gone through.”
Callum shakes his head and pushes off the doorframe. “So, he did his job? Great news. I guess there’s a first for everything.”
I want to defend him, but Milo grips my wrist. “It’s fine, he made up his mind about me a long time ago.”
“Some patterns are hard to break,” Callum rebukes and then walks out the door.
I think back to the conversation he had with Parker about superheroes and brothers.
“Maybe you’re more like Thor than you think,” I say as he turns.
“Don’t paint me as the hero.”
“You were a few minutes ago. You could’ve told Callum everything, made me look stupid. You could’ve told him I had a freak out where I was sobbing, but you didn’t.”
“How do you know I wasn’t playing the game we’ve been set up to play?” Milo asks.
I realize I don’t, but something in my gut says he’s not.
Milo has no reason to be nice to me. He’s a rich, arrogant, egomaniac who has lived a life I can only dream of, but only a fool wouldn’t see his motives. He’s desperate for his brother’s affections. The man he looked up to, wanted to be like, but has never been good enough in his eyes.
Just like Thor and Loki.
“I guess we’ll find out. But maybe you’re not the bad guy, Milo. Maybe you’re looking for something.”
He leans in close, his eyes trained on mine. “Don’t try to see something that’s not there. You’ll only end up disappointed, just like everyone else. Now, grab your handbag, we have a trial to get to.”
Chapter Ten
Danielle
“Are you ready?” Milo asks as we sit outside the courthouse.
“No.”
Is anyone ever ready to deal with something painful? That question always baffles me. When the doctor would tell the kids that they were getting a shot, he’d ask, “are you ready?” It was a stupid question. Of course they’re not ready. They knew it was going to hurt like a bitch.
Just like this will.
However, I’m not four years old. I’m an adult, and I have to take the pain.
“Okay, then,” he says as he opens the door. I watch him walk around, opening mine, with his hand out. “Let’s go.”
And face the man who destroyed my entire world.
Not wanting to seem like more of a hot mess, I place my hand in his, and exit the car.
Thankfully, since our exchange in the office, he’s been totally silent. I’ve been so lost in my thoughts. I sent a text to Richard but got no response. I’m not sure how I’ll handle it if the judge didn’t recuse him from defense.
Milo keeps his hand on the small of my back as we go through security. As crazy as it is, I’m glad he’s here. I don’t know him well and that could be the reason why it’s comforting. There’s no expectations that I need to keep it together or fall apart. I can feel whatever it is I feel and he’s still going to show up for work.
My stomach starts to churn as we stand before the doors. “I can’t do this,” I whisper.
“You can.”
“No.” I shake my head quickly. “I can’t. How do I not scream? Cry? Flip tables over when he walks in? How?”
Milo takes my face in his hands and releases a heavy breath through his nose. “You should do those things.”
“What?” I screech and grab his wrists, pulling them off. “What kind of advice is that?”
He shrugs. “It would make the evening news. Maybe you could even go viral,” Milo smirks. “Think of the footage. Crazy lady in Tampa climbs over pews to attack the suspect, only to be carried out in cuffs. It would be rather fitting, don’t you think?”
“Ass.” I can’t stop myself from laughing though.
“I bet Ava would love that.”
I cover my hand over my mouth to stop the giggling. “Yeah, she’d love her friends posting it and embarrassing her.”
“See, two birds with one stone.”
“Okay, so I should go in there, make a scene, and become internet famous?” I ask.
Milo taps his finger on his chin. “I would be chuffed. With you in jail, I’m the next logical choice to get my job back.”
I roll my eyes with a grin. “Well, anything to make life easier for you.”