Breaking Bedrock (Book Two) (4 page)

Patrick stared blankly but said nothing.

“Patrick! Answer him.” Penny chided.

“Is this or isn’t it factual, Mr. Greyer?”

Patrick’s lips formed a hard line. “It is.”

“And do you also wish for a divorce?” The bald overweight man
probed further.

“No.” Patrick fumed.

Penny sighed. “Oh, come on, Patrick! For goodness’ sake, just let
her go already. She’s been nothing but selfish. And frankly, I’m not sure why
you married her in the first place.”

The attorney cleared his throat. “So is it your intention to
stall the divorce or fight for custody?”

Patrick’s eyes narrowed. “Both, I guess.”

Penny stood, pacing the room. “Patrick, dear, please, won’t you
let us talk some sense into you?”

“You know, Mrs. Greyer, your son is actually coming at this from
a very good angle. By positioning himself as the scorned husband vying to keep
his family together, he may actually stand a chance at getting custody. I
assume the infidelity is something we can prove in court?”

Penny smiled, and Patrick stared out the window. “Absolutely,”
Penny said. “But I just want to reiterate that we ensure that she is to end up
with nothing in the divorce. Have we made ourselves clear here?”

“You certainly have, Mother.” Patrick interjected. He stood and
started toward the door before stopping to address his attorney. “Look, I’ve
had enough for today. You know how to reach me, Mr. Pratt, should you have any
further questions.”

Penny Greyer was furious with her son. First, he
practically wasted the family attorney’s time, but what did he care? He wasn’t paying
for it. This was just like Patrick too, always leaving her to clean up the
messes he’d created. Just like his father.

Secondly, not only hadn’t she a clue why he’d married this woman
in the first place but now she hadn’t a clue why he didn’t want out when he had
a clear shot at getting out unscathed. What did this woman have over her son,
besides his children? Only another mother could understand how much she
abhorred this woman for ruining her son. From the moment Patrick brought her
home that first time, Penny was certain Addison had been determined to undo
their family. She’d made Penny the bad guy; she’d made her look like the crazy
one. All for what? For trying to protect her son, that’s what. Yes, she’d given
her the most beautiful, talented grandchildren ever, but Patrick never
should’ve married her in the first place. Had he listened to his mother,
because she was right after all, wasn’t she, there wouldn’t be this mess here
for her to worry herself over. Nor would she have to have taken the drastic
measures she’d undertaken. But anyone who knew Penny knew that she’d do anything
if it meant keeping the family image upheld.

Addie picked her best outfit, a dark grey fitted dress
and black pumps to wear on her first day back to the office. In many ways, the
dress matched her mood. Sure, it looked nice to the casual observer, but look
any deeper and you could clearly see the truth. The stress of the trial and
life in general had caused her to lose weight, and she was constantly on edge, not
to mention being extremely unsettled after receiving the phone call from Scott
Hammons. She’d reported it to the detective handling her case, but so far, the
phone number hadn’t been traceable, and it hadn’t appeared that he’d broken any
house arrest orders.
How then had he seen her in order to know her
whereabouts?
Addie wasn’t buying it and was determined to devise a plan to
catch him in the act before he had the chance to do her any further harm.

As was usual on Monday morning, Addie met Jess at the coffee shop
around the corner after Kelsey, the boys’ nanny, had taken over. This morning,
she had arrived a few minutes early and sat sipping her coffee, trying to
settle herself until a familiar voice interrupted. “Good morning, Mrs. Greyer.”

Addie looked up to see none other than William Hartman standing
before her. The mere sight of him rendered her speechless, unable to formulate
a coherent sentence.

“Well then, I guess it’s nice to see you too. May I sit?” William
eyed the empty chair.

Addie glanced at the seat, still unsure what to say. William took
the seat anyway, propping one knee on the other. “It’s okay. I don’t mind conversing
with myself. You see the thing is I got your letter. And to tell you the truth,
I didn’t much care for it.”

Addie frowned and traced her finger around the lid of her coffee
cup.
So he’s going play it this way, huh. Nice.
“I wasn’t aware I had
asked your opinion on the matter.”

William threw his head back and let out a deep throated laughed.
“Ah. See. Therein lies the problem. You really should have.”

Addie cocked her head and studied his face. He really was the
most beautiful man she’d ever seen. God, how she wanted to reach out and touch
him. “What happened to your face? The bruise?”

“Nothing. We’re not talking about bruises here, Addison.”

“Aren’t we though?”

“Hey, sweetie, sorry I’m late.” Jess interrupted, placing her
coffee cup on the table between them.

William and Addie stood, but neither of them took their eyes off the
other. “Jess, this is William Hartman. William, this is my best friend,
Jessica.”

William turned slowly towards Jess and extended his hand. “It’s a
pleasure to meet you, Jessica. Well, I really should be running, so we’ll
finish this up later, Addison? Word has it you’ll be in the office today.”

Addison bit her lip.
Fuck.
She sank back in her chair and
watched as William strode confidently out the door.

Jess cleared her throat, clearly enthralled with the show that
had just taken place. “Yeah, okay, so I get it. That man is . . . Well, he’s
even yummier in person. But what in bloody hell was that all about? I thought
you ended it.”

Addie rolled her eyes and grinned. “Yeah, I did too.”

“Girl, you are so in over your head. You do know that, right?”

Addie raised her eyebrows, shook her head, and changed the
subject to the only thing that made sense to say. “I asked Patrick for a
divorce, Jess. My attorney is filing Wednesday.”

Jessica drew in a deep breath and reached for Addie’s hand. “He’s
not going to let go easily, is he?”

“No, he’s not.” Addie replied as the tears spilled over.

Jess squeezed and smiled a little. “Hey, on the bright side, you’re
not even sure which of them I’m talking about, are you?”

Addie shot her a look that could kill. “Ha. I’m afraid there
isn’t a bright side in this situation.”

They sat in silence for a long while before Jess spoke again. “I
want you to know that I’m here for you, Addison, no matter what. Always know
that I’m in your corner.”

“I know. It helps.”

“Oh and you know there’s always a silver lining, right? Sometimes
you just have to look really hard to find it.”

Addison finished off her coffee and smiled weakly. “Can I get
that embroidered on a pillow or something?”

Jess winked at her. “I think that can be arranged.”

Addison walked the few blocks to her office, feeling
uneasy, fairly certain that she was being watched. It was only a matter of time
before Scott Hammons would strike again, and Addie knew she had to be
preemptive.

Walking into the office, she noticed not much had changed, except
the receptionist at the front desk, that is. “I’m Ruby. You must be Addison.”
The peppy voice exclaimed.

Addison extended her hand. “Hi, Ruby.”

The peppy brunette handed over a stack of papers. “Here’s your
itinerary for the day. Ms. Sheehan will see you as soon as you get settled in.
Oh, and this was here left for you.”

Addie surveyed the stationery.
Hmm.
“Thank you, Ruby.
Please let Sondra know that I’ll be ready for her in my office in ten minutes.”
It’s best to play on home field if given the chance.

Closing her office door, she grabbed the letter opener and
carefully sliced through the envelope. Addie impatiently pulled out the note,
knowing exactly who’d sent it.

Dearest Addison,

You were wrong about so many things, but I’ll start
with this: I did want to hear from you, that day, today, and every day in
between. I love you, Addison, and I know you love me too. But love isn’t always
that simple; this I understand.

The thing is, Addison, I’ve spent a great deal of my
life loving people who never loved me in return. I can see that you have too,
and I think perhaps that’s just a small part of why I fell in love with you.
Despite what you tell me, underneath it all, I believe that there’s a girl who,
just like me, wants to love and be loved—she just can’t quite figure out how to
go about it. I want her to know that the story doesn’t end here. She’ll figure
it out. My greatest hope is that that we’ll figure it out together. I want that
girl to know that all she has to do is to take my hand and jump. I’ll be her
soft landing.

I realize that you need me to let go right now, just
as you have asked. And so I will. But maybe in another life I will love you and
you will love me back at the exact same moment. And time will stop for the both
of us. I see us going on a grand adventure, and it will be more beautiful than
anything either of us could imagine in the here and now.

I’ll end with this: I believe I’ve loved you before,
Addison, in another time, in another place. And I will love you again. Just
wait and see.

All my love,

William

Five

Sondra was in her element, throwing orders left and
right. Addison hadn’t caught any of them until Sondra slapped her hand on the
desk, knocking her out of her reverie. “Damn it, Addison. What in the hell is
it now?”

Addie shifted in her chair and sat up straighter. “I’m sorry.”

Sondra gazed at her. “Well? Let’s have it.”

“I’m filing for a divorce. Scott Hammons is watching me. I guess
you could say things are a little rough right now.” Addie replied flatly.

“Good grief, Addison. Have you contacted the police?”

“Yeah, but they weren’t much help.”

Sondra crossed the room and took a seat in front of Addison. “I
assume Mr. Hartman’s staff is still protecting you.”

Addie nodded. “Something like that.”

“Well, we’re going to have to do something about this. Now, tell
me about the divorce. Why now?”

“Why not now?” Addie quipped.

Sondra frowned. “I don’t know. It just seems that you have a lot
going on; that’s all. Did you really need to add to it?”

Addie gazed drifted to the floor-to-ceiling window. “I’m moving
out this weekend. I’ve rented a little place not far from our house and hired
movers. Patrick has no idea, and I haven’t told the boys. I just have to get
out. I’m suffocating. If I tell him I’m leaving, he’ll make it impossible for
me to go. I didn’t want it to end this way.”

Sondra inhaled sharply. “We never do. Do you need anything? I
assume you’re satisfied with your new salary.”