Legally Bound (9 page)

Bobby started to drunkenly pace the floor in his room. He snorted and grumbled to himself about how impossible Paige was being and how much he wished she just give him a chance to make things right.

If only she understood his feelings for her, but how could he make her understand when she was always running from him or ignoring him. She was just so damn stubborn. She was so much like him.

Bobby stopped pacing at that thought. His heart ripped open and he dropped to his knees, placing his aching head in his hands. Paige was just as stubborn as he was. He knew what that meant. Once he made up his mind about something there was no changing it.

Paige had made up her mind about him. He had ruined his shot to be with her. He lost his chance with the woman he wanted more than anything. It was time to accept it and move on, if he could ever move on after her.

Chapter Fourteen

“S
he is so beautiful,” Paige cooed as Jessica bounced in her lap.

“Thank you,” Ellen gushed. “She looks nothing like me, she is all her father.”

“Oh, I don’t know. I see you right around here,” Paige said circling her nose, mouth and chin with one finger to demonstrate.

“See babe, I’ve been telling you that,” Sam said with a small grin and winked at Paige.

“I don’t see it,” Ellen pouted.

“Well, she is just adorable. I’m a twin but my sister travels the world catering to herself so I have little hope of having nieces and nephews but if I had them I would so spoil them,” Paige mused with a distant looking of longing on her face.

“So that’s why you spoil my brats,” Camille teased.

“Maybe, or it could be that I feel bad for them because they have you for a mother,” Paige teased and yelped when Camille pinched her side.

“Ouch,” Paige giggled out.

“Anyone see Bobby,” Marcus asked from across the deck as he worked on his laptop.

“Not since we called it a day,” Camille said then looked at Paige to narrow her eyes.

The work morning had been awkward between the three of them. There was a lot to go over with the team on a conference call and some documents they needed to go over together but Bobby was distant, just going through the motions of work. Paige noticed that he put as much space between the two of them as possible.

“I think he and Nathan went out for a swim or something,” Julia offered as she sat on the lounge with a wedding planning book.

“Nope, Nathan rode into town with Mom and Dad,” Marcus said.

“Maybe he is in his room. You need him for something?” Sam asked. “I can go up and check for you.”

“I’ll text him. I just have a question for him,” Marcus murmured.

“Hello everyone,” James crooned as he, Minnie and Nathan stepped onto the deck.

Everyone sang their greetings to the new comers. Minnie came over to Paige and plucked Jessica from her arms. It was the first time since they arrived that Paige was seeing James or Minnie. Minnie gave Paige a warm smile and cupped her chin.

“Paige, dear will you come and take a walk with this old man,” James asked softly.

“Sure James,” Paige said nervously. Her anger with Bobby was just spiking. She was prepared to go home if asked. She’d even looked into her accounts to see how long she would be able to go without working and how much she had to get her firm started. What she wasn’t prepared for was what happened.

They walked a good distance with James pointing out features of the private beach connected to the house. Paige listened and smile despite her nerves almost choking her. She had never been fired before and to be fired by James would hurt more than she thought.

“Paige, I’ve seen you as a daughter in many ways. It’s no secrets that the boys call you my little princess. I’ve always admired your ambition. I understand that you and my son have started a relationship that has you ready to make some changes,” James said sadly.

Here we go,
Paige thought and sighed. “I guess you can say that. Things are complicated between us and I just think it is better for me to go,” Paige murmured.

“If this is truly what you want to do then I want you to know that even though it saddens me to lose you as a part of the firm, you will still be like family to me and my wife. I want to help you in any way that I can, so let me know what I can do to help, and I do mean anything, Paige,” James stopped and turned to her with a weak smile.

“Thank you so much James,” Paige said and reached to squeeze his hand.

James squeezed her hand back and lifted it to place over his heart. He locked eyes with Paige and cleared his throat. “I hope I have not failed in letting you know how much I appreciate your hard work. I know I have taken a long time to reward your dedication and success but it was not because I didn’t appreciate or value you, Paige. I planned to make you partner this year, an equity partner. I wanted to give the reins over to you and Bobby as I will be retiring,” James blinked a few times.

“I’ve watched you grow faster than any of the lawyers that have come through my doors and as a result I have been just as focused and hard on you as I have Bobby. But I have always had the intention to hand things over to you and my son. A few of the others may not agree,” James chuckled. “You’re both still young but I know you and Bobby are right for the firm and its future.”

“It is an honor to hear you say that James,” Paige said as her lips trembled.

“It is an honor to be your mentor,” James said and pulled Paige into a hug. He kissed her forehead and held her out at arm’s length. “I want you to think about your decision. If you want to stay your future is more than secure, I’ll be announcing my retirement at the end of the year and you and Bobby would be preparing to take my place starting next month. If you decide to go we can sit with a few friends of mine that will get the ball rolling for you.”

“Thank you much James. I promise to think about it.” Paige hugged him again.

“Good,” James nodded and turned to start back toward the house. “You know my wife is pretty upset with me for letting this get away from me. She and I have been planning this since you win the Bower case and Bobby brought on the Kellerman contracts. We knew then that I could rest easy with my family legacy in the both of your hands. You two make a great team when you work together.”

Paige didn’t reply and James fell silent as if he wanted his words to set in. Paige knew she loved working at Mairettie & Mairettie. She never questioned that until her anger got the best of her. To know that, at thirty two, one of her biggest dreams could come true. The only thing keeping her from it was the same thing that made her want to leave, Bobby Mairettie. Paige started to wonder if it was really Bobby destroying her life or her.

Chapter Fifteen

P
aige sat in her room staring blankly at her computer. She hadn’t gotten one stitch of work done all morning. Bobby had taken the morning off to go sailing with the men, which was sort of a relief.

Paige had wanted Bobby to back off but now he was pulling back from everything and everyone. When they were together he didn’t try to make her laugh or get too close, but it wasn’t just with her. He may have laughed with his family but it never reached his eyes. Worst of all Paige noticed that the sparkle in his eyes was gone. She could even see the change physically, he had dark circles under his eyes and he looked tired.

She just kept hearing Nathan’s words in her ears, ‘
you are ruining him
.’ She was ruining Bobby and his family’s vacation. She could see that the others noticed something was wrong with him, it’s just no one called him on it yet.

Paige was just so confused. If Bobby wasn’t pursuing her to make her stay with the firm that meant he really wanted her, but how?
I’ve wanted to fuck you for so long and now I finally have you,
Bobby’s words floated around in her head. Had Bobby really been interested in her before she went to that club?

Paige knew she couldn’t take being humiliated again, not by Bobby. Before the club she trusted him. She trusted all the Mairetties not because she was naïve but because she knew them so well. She knew when they weren’t telling the truth because she knew all their tells. That’s how she knew James was being straight with her on the beach.

Every time James told a lie or stretched the truth he had a slow subtle twitch in his neck, which was hardly noticeable if you didn’t know what to look for. When he knew he was dangerously close to saying something false that could get him in trouble his green eyes become so still it was almost unnatural.

Marcus has a gradually slow blink he does when he is lying. It too is just about unnoticeable to the unknowing eye. He’d done it a few times when Julia asked for his opinion of some things for the wedding. Paige had to stifle her laughter so she didn’t get him busted.

It was one of the things that made her great at what she did. It was what made her great in the court room she was a people reader. She was even able to read judges that prided themselves on showing no emotion in the courtroom. Paige was always aware of the mood in the courtroom and worked her strategies according to the unnoticeable tells of each individual judge, they all had them and she learned them all.

A smile spread across Paige’s face. She knew Bobby’s tells better than anyone. She spent the last year working with his team and trying to stay in his good graces so that he would see her hard work and let his father know she deserved to be rewarded for her work. She had worked closely with a lot of lawyers but Bobby put in the crazy hours with her. He was there when she just wouldn’t give up until she found the answer.

Paige didn’t notice until that seconds how often Bobby stuck around because she was staying late. Inviting her to the conference room to work late in case she needed someone to bounce ideas off of, she never thought anything of it because she never saw him as more than James’s son and a coworker. Sure, he was a handsome coworker but a coworker none the less.

Paige knew that when Bobby manipulates the truth he fidgets with his cufflinks or runs a hand over his tie. Paige pointed it out to him once when they worked on a case together and since she noticed he has adapted a few new tells. He pinches his right thumb and forefinger together or he presses his index finger to his lips.

Paige ran all her memories of Bobby since they hooked up at the club through her mind and her smile broadened. Bobby was being honest. He wanted her. I pang of regret and guilt shot her in the heart. She had to fix this. She was still petrified of being with Bobby but she knew him, just like she knew what she was getting with Peter, Cliff and Isaiah. She’s picked the others because she could read that they were safer for her heart. Not good for her heart but safe.

She was running from Bobby because she knew just the opposite. He had stolen her heart without her knowing and it would never be safe from him but she had to try. She wanted to try, she knew what being with all those other guys felt like, now she wanted to know what being with someone that made her feel felt like.

Paige closed her laptop and jumped up from the bed to throw on some clothes. After putting on a pair of shorts and a tank top she rushed out of the room and downstairs. She ran into the sunroom and stopped as she found exactly who she was looking for, sighing with relief to find her alone.

“Paige dear, how lovely to see you,” Minnie beamed and placed her book down on the table as she patted the seat next to her. “Come, join me.”

Paige walked over and sat down, giving Minnie a kiss on the cheek she was offering. “Is this a bad time,” Paige asked coyly.

“Not at all, I was just getting in a little reading. The kids have brought me all sorts of those e-readers but there is just something about having a book in my fingertips,” Minnie smiled. “You look like you have something on your mind Paige, what is it?”

Paige felt her cheeks warm. She hadn’t thought things through this far. She just knew she needed to fix things. She started to fidget with her fingers in her lap thinking over her chance of words.

“I think I made a mistake,” Paige blurted.

“Oh,” Minnie said and turned toward her. “Well, I don’t believe in mistakes. I believe that we have lessons that we learn from. So let’s see what you have learned and how we can use that to our advantage.”

“Um, I …I learned that Bobby is not who I thought he was, but I’m afraid I may be too late to fix what I’ve done.” Paige started to nervously bit on her lip as she looked up at Minnie through her lashes.

“Ah, I see. Well Paige let me tell you something about my Bobby. He doesn’t fall in love easy but when he does it’s not something he can just shake. You still have time to right this,” Minnie patted Paige’s hand.

“You think he loves me,” Paige murmured and her mouth popped open.

“I don’t think Paige, I know. Bobby hasn’t looked this way since he crashed his first Porsches, his father brought it for him for his eighteenth birthday and it was love at first sight. No one could touch that car but him,” Minnie gave a light chuckle. “He moped around for days after the accident. His father replaced the car with a brand new one but it wasn’t the same to him. When I see the way Bobby looks at you it’s like the day his father give him that first set of keys all over again, but times ten over. He is in love alright Paige, whether he knows it or not.”

Paige wasn’t sure if Bobby was in love with her but she was certain she had to fix things between them. The look in Minnie’s eyes told Paige she had come to the right one to help her. Paige sucked in a deep breath and squared her shoulders.

“Minnie, I have to fix this. I want to give Bobby a chance,” Paige said bravely.

“Oh thank God, I thought you would never ask,” Minnie sighed and slumped back in her seat. They both starting to laugh and Minnie reached out to pull Paige into a hug.