Redemption: A British Stepbrother Romance (40 page)

A
pparently doing
the right thing could feel good. Shocking, huh?

April had found out about the motion I’d filed in the PorTupe case--probably because Bryan had a big mouth--and she’d got in touch to say she wanted to meet up.

I tried not to get too carried away, but knowing that I would be seeing her in just half an hour’s time, gave me a warm glow inside that even my meeting with Zach couldn’t disturb.

A few days ago, Zach had called to give me one last chance to pass PorTupe over to him in exchange for making this whole thing go away. Of course, I knew that he couldn’t do anything with the information anyway, because his father had forbid it, but I didn’t let him know that.

We met outside his office, and again he insisted on sneaking off somewhere quiet. The rumors about him having a broken jaw looked to be incorrect, but he still had one hell of a black eye. Well, not so much black any more, more a dingy yellow color. Either way, I actually took some pleasure in seeing his face for once. How many people could say that about Zach.

“I’m glad you finally came to your senses,” Zach said.

He was trying to sound as cocky and smug as he had done the last time we’d met, but I could tell he was worried this wouldn’t work out. He didn’t have leverage anymore, so he had to hope I didn’t call his bluff again.

“It’s not too late for you to come to your senses,” I said. “You can still call this off and we’ll go our separate ways. You don’t want to make an enemy of me.”

My heart stopped in my chest as Zach paused and seemed to consider my offer. I’d only said that to make this seem more realistic, but he looked tempted.

“No,” he said finally. A wave of relief washed over me, but I transformed it into a look of resignation for Zach’s benefit. “We’re doing this. And in case you haven’t noticed, I’m not scared of you.”

I twitched my right arm as if I were about to throw a punch, and Zach immediately backed up a few steps.

“Not afraid, huh?” I said, laughing.

“Whatever. I should make you pay for all the dental work I had to have done after the last time your temper got the best of you.”

“It’d be worth the price.”

“That’s okay. I’m going to be rolling in money by the time all the new billings for PorTupe start coming in, and you might find you need to start cutting back.”

“Can we just get this over with?” I asked, checking the time on my phone. “I have a meeting soon, and this conversation is boring me.”

Zach smiled and looked giddy with excitement. He’d probably never brought in a new client before, let alone one as big as PorTupe. Right now he was likely picturing his new office, the promotions, and a fat paycheck.

If my plan had one notable drawback, it was that Zach might actually end up profiting from this. I didn’t have to help him win PorTupe, but if he didn’t get it then he might throw a temper tantrum and leak the information about April to the bar association. I didn’t want that threat hanging over her. His dad had told him to stay quiet, but naughty children didn’t always listen to their parents.

“Okay, how are we going to play this?” Zach asked. “I don’t want this to take long.”

“It won’t. I’ve already resigned as legal counsel.” I’d told PorTupe that I had personal issues to deal with. They’d never look at the motion I filed with the court, where I’d made it clear that my personal issue was very much related to the client.

“You have?” Again, I detected some hesitation from Zach, as if he could tell this was too easy.

“We’d just finished up a big project, so it seemed like the right time. I’ll send them an email recommending he contact you for legal advice going forward.”

“I want to see it,” Zach said suspiciously.

I opened the email application on my phone and let Zach watch me type and send the email to PorTupe.

“I’m sure you’ll be hearing from them shortly. Now, are you going to forget all about this incident with April?”

“You have my word.”

“That’s not worth a lot to me, but it will have to do. As you’re so keen to remind me, I have a bit of a temper. You don’t want to find out what I’ll do if you ever go back on your promise.”

Zach let his guard slip and for a few seconds I saw a glimpse of the fear in his eyes as he looked at me. Getting punched tended to have that effect. You relived the pain over and over again, until your fear of the pain became greater than the pain itself.

We were about to part ways, when I saw April walking straight towards us. Shit, this probably didn’t look good. I hadn’t told her my plan, and now she’d busted me talking to Zach.

April walked straight up to us, and she didn’t exactly look pleased. “What’s going on?”

“What’s going on is that your boyfriend just handed me his biggest client,” Zach said confidently. “You’ll be pleased to know that you’re in the clear. I’m going to drop this whole thing.”

“You’re too kind,” April replied sarcastically. “It almost makes me wish I’d gone on that date with you after all.”

“Don’t flatter yourself. I never wanted to date you. I just like messing around with stuck-up little princesses. It helps pass the time at work, you know?”

I inhaled deeply, taking oxygen into my body to power my muscles, and then stepped forward to get in Zach’s face. Did he get off on being punched? I considered myself well-versed in sexual kinks, but that was a new one to me.

April reached her hand between us and placed it on my chest, urging me to take a few steps back.

I moved back as she wanted, but remained within fist throwing range. Perhaps this time I actually would break his jaw.

“You’re going to get what’s coming to you one day,” April said to Zach. “People like you always do.”

“The only thing I have coming to me is a shitload of money. Just think, if you hadn’t been such a frigid bitch, you could have been the lucky woman I shared my success with.”

“You did not just call her that,” I growled. My fists clenched by my side, but I didn’t move my arms. April would kill me if I punched him. For some weird reason, she didn’t like physical violence, even against people like Zach.

“Call her what?” Zach asked. He looked me in eyes, challenging me to punch him. “Oh, I remember. Frigid bitch.”

I envisioned my fist flying out and slamming into his pathetic face. He’d fall to the floor and scream, as blood and bits of teeth poured from his mouth.

But that didn’t happen. I stayed still. Zach was just trying to rile me. He wanted a reaction. He wanted me to swing out and hit him in from of April.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath and then another. Every muscle in my body was on fire, screaming out for me to do what came naturally when April was threatened. Finally, the fire receded and I relaxed.

“I’m impressed,” April said. “You just exerted a phenomenal amount of self-control.”

“Yeah, and it was exhausting,” I replied. “Come on, let’s get out of here before I have second thoughts.”

“Sure,” April said. “Just one moment.”

She turned back to face Zach and swung out her arm punching him hard on the left side of his jaw. The same place I had hit him. Her technique had been a little sloppy, but like I said, all punches to the face hurt, and Zach had a low pain threshold.

“Looks like you’ll be going back to the dentist,” I remarked as he sank down to the floor holding his mouth.

I quickly ushered April away before we attracted too much attention from onlookers. “How’s your fist?”

“I hurts like hell,” she replied, examining her grazed knuckles. “I don’t know how you do it.”

“Sometimes the pain is worth it. You want a coffee.”

“I want ice. And a strong drink.”

I laughed. “In that case, let’s go back to my place. We have a lot of catching up to do.”

I
curled
up on the sofa with Foster, relieved that we didn’t have to keep our relationship a secret from our parents.

We still kept things tame in front of them though. If we ever got too affectionate, Dad and Kathleen would do the same, which tended to take both of us out of the mood pretty quickly. Dad found it hilarious.

The big day had finally arrived. Dad, Kathleen, Foster, and I, all huddled around the television to watch a press conference by the Department of Justice. Not exactly how most families spend their free time together.

While I had been sulking in my apartment and considering whether or not to drop out of law school, Foster had been busy putting together a bullet proof case for against PorTupe. He must have spent days pouring through all the emails on the system, but he’d found enough to warrant the DOJ opening an investigation.

The Attorney General stood up and gave his speech announcing that the DOJ had received substantial evidence from a whistleblower giving them reason to believe that PorTupe had engaged in a prolonged period of systemic discrimination against women and minorities.

Sat just to the side of the Attorney General, was a terrified looking Bryan who didn’t look at home in front of the cameras. Foster had passed Bryan all the information, so internally Bryan had played a huge role in opening the investigation. He’d no doubt find himself pushed up a few pay grades by the time this was all over.

“How are things at work, Mom?” Foster asked. “I assume the partners are kicking up a right stink about this? Will you be able to keep your job?”

“Actually, it’s not been that bad. Word got out that we resigned as counsel for ethical reasons, so although we’ve lost some clients, we’ve also gained quite a few. Some people like having an ethical lawyer, believe it or not. And most of the money from the PorTupe work went to you in the first place, so none of the partners have been hit too hard financially.”

“It’s a shame you didn’t hang on to them, though,” Dad said. “They’re going to need a lot of legal advice over the next few years.”

“That’s what really bugs me,” I said. “When all’s said and done, Zach is going to profit from this just like he wanted.”

“He sounds like a nasty piece of work,” Dad remarked. “I wouldn’t worry about it too much. People like him are never truly happy, no matter how much money they have.”

“It still bugs me.”

“Your dad’s right,” Foster said. “You shouldn’t worry about it. Zach will get what’s coming to him. I’ve planted a few seeds that should grow to fruition in the next few years.”

“I don’t like that sound of that,” Kathleen remarked. “Do I want to hear this?”

“I do,” Dad said eagerly. “Sounds juicy.”

Kathleen rolled her eyes, but she didn’t leave the room.

“All I’ve done is give Zach enough rope to hang himself,” Foster said. “I had a word with the PorTupe directors and encouraged them to seek an alternate means of resolution to the case.”

“You mean a bribe?” Dad asked.

“Maybe. I told him to go directly through Zach to get it sorted. Zach doesn’t have to go along with it, but knowing him I think he will.”

A few of the pieces clicked into place. “By any chance, did you mention that a good person to try and bribe was a young attorney going by the name of Bryan?”

Foster smiled. “My lips are sealed.”

After the press conference, the media started speculating on what this investigation would mean for PorTupe. A few lawyers were dragged in to explain the process and how this would all play out. The short version is that this would take years to see through to its conclusion.

While the legal world moved at a glacial pace, the financial one didn’t. PorTupe’s stock price nose dived immediately after the press conference, wiping a third off its value in the space of a few hours.

The directors came under immediate pressure, but for the time being they refused to resign. That didn’t bother me so much. The next few years would be a living hell for them, so it’s not like they were getting off lightly.

“Time for us to make a move,” Kathleen said, grabbing my dad’s hand and encouraging him to stand up.

“Where are you going?” Foster asked.

“We’re going to meet with a few of the partners in the New York office, to talk about me moving back here. Pierce is a large part of why I want to do that, so I’m taking him along.”

Despite my dad’s lack of experience in the corporate world, he never failed to impress other professionals after just a few minutes of casual conversation. He’d help Kathleen seal the deal.

“Have fun, you two,” Dad said, as they left us alone on the sofa.

Foster gave me a little squeeze as I snuggled up on his chest. His muscles were firm, but the soft beating of his heart in his chest was almost hypnotic, and I often fell asleep on him while we were supposed to be watching television.

“Have I properly thanked you for everything you’ve done?” I asked.

“I consider what you did last night to be all the thanks I need. And the night before that. And the night before that.”

“Well I mean it. You got me out of a big problem and sacrificed your own career in the process.”

“I don’t care. I’d do anything for you, April, you know that.”

I did know that. I hadn’t known Foster that long, but his actions spoke louder than words ever could.

We lay there in silence for a few more minutes while I tried to let everything soak in. The events of the past week were still a blur, and occasionally I thought I must have dreamed some or all of it. Remarkable things like that didn’t happen to people like me.

I was a
magna cum laude
student; I wasn’t supposed to be at the center of a big controversy. I was a plain looking girl; I wasn’t supposed to end up in the arms of a man like Foster. Yet here I was.

I didn’t even have to worry about Dad and Foster hating each other any more. The two of them were suddenly acting like the best of friends, and it appeared to be genuine.

“What did you say to my dad to get him to like you so much?” I asked Foster.

For once, Foster’s heart rate actually sped up. Had I touched on a sensitive subject? I sat up and looked at him. If I didn’t know better, I could have sworn he looked nervous and apprehensive.

I’d never seen Foster go red before, but there were hints of color on his tanned cheeks. It was completely adorable, not to mention reassuring to know that he was human after all.

“I had a word with your father,” Foster said eventually.

“Did you apologize properly this time?”

“No, not exactly.” He turned to look at me. His eyes were serious, and for a fleeting moment I felt certain he was going to give me bad news. Then he smiled. “I told your dad I loved you.”

“Oh.”
He loves me?
I didn’t think Foster did love, but then love really did work in mysterious ways.

“‘Oh?’ Is that all you want to say?”

I couldn’t feel his heart rate anymore, but if I could, it would be racing a mile a minute and about to burst through his chest.

“I don’t know what to say,” I said.

“Ah. Well, never mind then.”

Foster turned away and tried to act like he didn’t care. He was cute when he was upset.

“I don’t know what to say, because so far you’ve only told my father and not me.”

“But I just told… You’re going to make me say it aren’t you?”

“Say what?” I asked with mock look of uncertainty on my face.

“April Rhodes,” Foster said, taking my hand. “I love you.”

“That’s better,” I said, kissing him on the cheek. I looked away and pretended to read something on my phone.

“April?”

I threw my phone down on the sofa and turned back to face him. “Yeah, I love you too. Now come here and kiss me.”

“I’m going to do a lot more than that.”