My Happy Ending Part 1, page 21
All in her head.
And I knew better.
I knew, because Bree had told me from the moment that Talli didn’t show up in Memphis exactly what she wanted.
I knew, because in Tallahassee she’d kissed me.
I knew, because in Toronto, she’d stayed in my room, holding me through the night when my wife had to cancel our plans again.
I knew, because in Chicago she’d told me she was in love with me.
And I said nothing.
I ripped that picture into tiny pieces, each one a fraction of my heart that I’d allowed to grow so cold towards the only one who could warm my soul.
Talli... I’m so sorry... I don’t even deserve your forgiveness...
One more picture laid at my feet, face down. I bent over and picked it up, turning it slowly, as if I was afraid of what it may have in store. Please... please, no more reminders of...
Oh.
Oh.
TALLI AND ME.
It was a picture that a fan had taken, just before Talli had gotten pregnant with Em. We’d been out at a club seeing Timmy’s band play, having so much fun, enjoying life, enjoying each other.
And she looked so happy.
She looked so very happy, with me.
And she had been.
We had been.
There was that glow about her, the same glow she always had, and the most beautiful smile ever.
I miss that smile.
I miss my girl.
“One folder at your... um... service?” Kate came down the stairs holding the folder out for me.
“Thank you,” I said, taking it from her and placing the documents in it. “I think I got all of the glass out of them.”
“You don’t have any on you, do you,” she asked, and I shook my head ‘no.’ “Good. You need to get your jacket and tie, it’s about time to go, okay?”
“Yeah... yeah...” I was a bit distracted, looking around, trying to see where I’d put that picture. I just... I just wanted to hold it, keep it with me. “Where did I put that?” I mumbled, mostly to myself.
“Put what?” Kate asked.
“Nothing,” I replied, doing my best to smile. It must have been a sign. “It’s about time, right?”
“Right.”
I took a deep breath, calming my nerves as best I could, praying that today would do more good than harm.
CHAPTER 15
TALLI
“WHY CAN’T I GO WITH you?” Elizabeth pouted as I gathered their things together.
“This isn’t somewhere little kids can go,” I replied.
“You look pretty, Mommy,” Michael said, a sleepy smile on his face.
“Thank you.”
Donna Karan suit, Manolo pumps, hair now down, just a slight wave in it, make up now fitting what I was wearing, yet not so dark that I’d look like a street walker- yeah, I was ready to go.
“Do you have a date?” Elizabeth asked, her tone uneasy.
“No, Baby Girl, I don’t.”
“Then who’s that guy?” she asked loudly, pointing to the couch, where Paul sat reading over my hurried instructions. He smiled over at us and waved, seemingly unfazed by the question.
“That’s Dr. Coffman...”
“Paul,” he interrupted, correcting me.
“Sorry... Paul, and you kids are going to stay with him, or go with him, to his sisters.”
“Mommy says not... not to get in... da car with strangers,” Michael said to him as he looked at him suspiciously.
“Well, we don’t have to get in a car,” Paul explained. “We get in the elevator and go to floor six.”
“Why?” Elizabeth asked again, her eyes narrowed. “Em’s not gonna like him.”
I groaned inwardly, thankful that Paul laughed at her statement. “Mommy has things to do today.”
“So call Linda.”
“Not today.”
“So call Daddy.”
I faltered just outside of my bedroom door before walking in to get Emily. “Not today, Elizabeth,” I repeated, taking a sterner tone with her. My cell began ringing, and I glanced down at the unfamiliar number, almost afraid to answer it.
“That might be whomever was sending a car for you,” Paul’s voice carried easily from the living room.
“Good point,” I agreed, answering my phone. “Hello?”
“Mrs. Warner?”
I cringed at the thought of losing that title... no, not the title itself, but everything it had meant to me. “Yes... yes, this is.”
“This is James Wilson, from Sherise Adler’s office. I’m out in the parking lot, parked illegally I believe, to pick you up.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. “Give me just a minute and I’ll be down. Or, make it closer to five with the way these damn elevators are running.”
“Yes ma’am,” he replied, and I shuddered.
I’ll never get used to that word.
“Don’t worry about waking her up,” Paul said to me after I’d hung up. Emily had apparently decided today, of all days, she wanted to sleep in. “My kids are with my sister downstairs, so they’re okay. I can just stay here until she gets up on her own...”
“She’s going to freak out on you,” Elizabeth singsonged from her spot in my papasan chair.
“I can handle it,” Paul said to her as I stood and walked towards me. “You have everything?”
“Yeah,” I replied, grabbing my purse and checking to see that I had my keys.
“You do what you have to do,” he said, placing a hand on my arm. “They’ll be right here waiting for you.”
“I can’t thank you enough,” I said softly.
“Sure you can. You can thank me later.”
“I’m... um... what?”
He laughed at my stammering, not in a mocking way but in a completely friendly, platonic, make me feel at ease kind of way. It was... nice.
“You can thank me later by sitting down and actually talking,” he explained. “That’s what friends do, Talli.”
Friends.
“Good,” I said with a slight smile. “I mean... good, because of the friend thing, and... and I need that.”
“I know.” He removed his hand from my arm, pointing at the door. “You, go. Give ‘em hell.”
Hell.
Oh, boy.
Here we go.
“OKAY, SO WE KNOW YOU had an incident on Saturday,” Sherise was saying, looking over her notes. “I need... everything, Talia, everything you can think of.”
“Well, it’s... I mean, I forgot...”
“Not forgot,” she cut me off. “Leave the word ‘forgot’ out of it, okay?”
“Okay,” I said slowly. “I hadn’t eaten since that morning, though.”
“You were there for what occasion?”
“Emily’s birthday.”
“And you’d agreed to have it at his house because?”
“Because all of the plans were already made, and people were coming in town, and...”
“Make sure you specify that you had made the plans,” she added.
“Okay, but... can we just do this? Please?” I rubbed my temple that was beginning to pound. “I’ve done the physical thing with the independent doctors, they’ve drawn my blood, I just... I mean, if you’d just come face to face with the thing your husband was screwing around with...”
“I’m sorry, did you... Breeann Hamilton was there?”
“Yeah... yeah, she was there. She showed up when we were opening presents. I didn’t say that before?”
“No, you hadn’t, and... and this is perfect. Perfect.”
“Speak for yourself,” I mumbled, picking at my roast beef sandwich. “That was the last thing I needed.”
“So seeing the woman that your husband is having a rumored affair with at the party would cause undo strain and stress.”
“I thought we weren’t bringing this into the divorce,” one of her assistants said.
“I thought so, too,” I spoke up, my eyes darting back and forth between the two of them.
“And you thought that your husband would never bring your past drug use into this, either,” Sherise pointed out, placing the documents in front of me. “Are you telling me that you still don’t think he is?”
I looked over the papers, the request of toxicology reports, the psychological evaluation that was being ordered, the comments about ‘bizarre’ behavior and references to past indiscretions...
Yeah, that asshole was airing all of my dirty laundry.
My jaw was clenched as I handed them back to her. “I... I don’t know what else to do. I’m not... I haven’t used drugs in that capacity since I entered rehab. And he’s making me out...” I shuddered, cringing at the thought.
“So if he wants to destroy your reputation, you need to point out that, if not for your entire marriage, at least since the children were born you have never been seen intoxicated in a public setting... not even any reports of private settings, correct?”
“Correct, but...”
“Thank you, Celebrity Gossip,” the assistant added, placing printed off photos and documented accounts of Jase being publicly intoxicated, numerous photographs of him with an alcoholic beverage in his hand.
“And thanks to you as well,” Sherise added, nodding towards the photos printed off of my camera from Emily‘s party, at least three of them at different intervals showing Jase with a beer in his hand.
“He’s not an alcoholic, though.”
“And you’re not on drugs,” she replied quickly, her eyebrow raised. “And these gems here...”
I felt the bile raise up in my throat as she laid out the numerous pictures of Jase with Bree, including ones that had been taken on the plane.
“Mr. Warner isn’t going to know what hit him,” the assistant said.
“Oh, of course he will,” Sherise disagreed. “His legal team would be fools to not see this coming. They know that they’re opening the can of worms, opening the door to bring Breeann Hamilton and all of her... thank you again, Celebrity Gossip... baggage...”
“What is that?” I asked, pointing at the printed article in Sherise’s hand.
“Oh, this? This is where Ms. Hamilton was arrested for public intoxication, lewd behavior, indecent exposure... would you like to read this?”
“When did this happen?” I asked, feeling the scowl creep over my face.
“This was within the past two years,” she replied. “It was actually before she met and became involved with your husband. I’m surprised it hasn’t surfaced in the wake of all of this,” she said with a wave of her hand.
“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” the assistant asked Ms. Adler, who sat back and smiled her most perfect, pristine smile.
“Talia, my love,” she said, grinning at me, “I do believe your worries are over, at least for today.”
“Maybe they’re not actually trying for physical custody, though,” the assistant... what was his name?... added. “Maybe this is their scare tactic, their way to say ‘give more visitation time or else’.”
“Well, Talia? Do you want to cave, go back to the old visitation agreement?” Sherise asked me. I glanced down at the pictures of Jase with Bree, the account of her arrest, the way she snuggled up to him on the plane...
“No,” I said quickly. “No, I don’t.”
IT WAS JUST AFTER ONE when we arrived at the courthouse. Even though the hearing wasn’t set until one thirty, Sherise Adler wanted us there. Ready.
I wish I had a friend with me. Like... like Jaden, even though she had no business being there, since she was married to his brother. Or... or Tish, who was admittedly busy with her own family. Or Cass, who was trying to get a big promotion at her job.
Or even... Paul.
But I would be fine, see. I’m beyond capable of holding my own. I can command attention at any given time with merely a glance; I know this, I’ve worked the rooms of parties for many years, long before I’d ever gotten involved with one Mr. Jase Warner.
But this was different.
This wasn’t for me.
This was for my children.
I held my head high as I walked down that hallway. There were no more shutters clicking, no more flashbulbs going off in my face the way they had on the way in, but I still felt eyes on me, as if every move I made was being scrutinized.
Like I said, I knew how to work a room.
And today, it was once again a good thing.
“We’re going to be in a private room on the left,” Sherise said to me. “Due to the number of cases they have going on today, we will try to hammer out as much as we can before we go in front of the judge.”
“We’re all going to be in that room?” I asked, expertly keeping my tone even.
“Yes,” she replied, “and we have contacted Mave, a co-worker of yours, who was at the party. She’s agreed to come in as a witness.”
“A witness,” I repeated the words.
“I received a call from a friend here who let me know that Mr. Warner arrived with a witness of his own.”
What the hell?
Who did Jase bring with him? Who else was so adamant that I wasn’t fit to raise my own children?
“Kaitlyn Evans is apparently rather reputable,” Sherise said, but dismissed the comment with a wave of her hand.
“I’m sorry... did you say... Kaitlyn Evans?” I asked, stunned.
“Yes, I did,” she replied. “But since she’s an ex-girlfriend we can show definite bias, especially when we can prove he already has a penchant for messing around.”
She continued rambling on and on about how to discredit the perfect, immaculate Kaitlyn Evans as we walked into our private area, my heart slowing only a fraction when I saw that Jase and his team were not in the room just yet.
But...
Seriously.
Kaitlyn Evans.
Kaitlyn, who had helped me finalize details for our wedding. Kaitlyn, who had held Elizabeth during the ceremony. Kaitlyn, who has asserted herself into our lives, and put up the ruse of being my friend.
Kaitlyn, who had once said I wasn’t good enough for him.
And now she was going to help her ex-boyfriend, her first love, her first everything take my children away?
Not even if hell froze over.
“I know that you’re not exactly on board with all of this, Talia,” Sherise added.
“Oh no,” I disagreed. “No, I am on board one hundred percent.”
My eyes narrowed as Jase’s legal team began entering the room one by one. All male, all dressed starkly in black. Sherise smiled at me... a bit of a reassuring smile, showing me she wasn’t the least bit intimidated.
And then...
Jase walked in.
I set my jaw as I attempted to keep myself from glaring at him, ignoring my racing heart at the sight of him. His hair was perfectly tousled in all the right places, the highlights catching in the light of the room. His eyes were a stormy gray, matching his Armani suit that he had the audacity to wear, the fucker. He knew what seeing him in that damn suit did to me.
And you know what? Even with as pissed off as I was, even with as much as I wanted to just shove my Manolo pumps straight up his ass, my body still had the nerve to betray me.
But I can hold my own.
I can always hold my own.
My gaze was still hard, steel-like as he took his seat, directly across from me, his eyes glancing my way briefly... just for a flicker of a second.
What’s the matter, Warner?
Oh, right.
There you go.
Bring your eyes right back this way... yep. It’s me.
Oooo, good one, way to pretend to be shocked, surprised. You’ve seen me in this before, remember? And... there it is, the obligatory eye flicker up and down... yes, Warner, my breasts are still there. And they’re, what, ten times the size of your little toy’s?
Eat your heart out.
“And the witnesses are in the hallway?” Sherise’s question caused Jase to quickly look away, over at the head of his legal team.
“If they’re so needed, yes,” Jase’s lawyer replied.
Great. Wonderful. Kaitlyn fucking Evans is here to help her first love take my kids away.
A muscle in Jase’s jaw twitched slightly, but he didn’t bring his eyes back to me, so I focused my attention on my lawyer instead.
Let the games begin.
JASE
I WAS A BUNDLE OF NERVES when Kate and I arrived at the court house, wishing I’d had someone else drive us. At least then we could have gotten out and walked only a short distance to the front doors. But no, I’d mistakenly thought we’d avoid the circus and drove my own car myself.
Screw up one for me.
“I have the folder,” Kate muttered as we made our way towards the doors, the clicking of the shutters grating on my nerves. Even though there were roughly only a dozen of the sharks out there, it was still incredibly uncomfortable.
“Thank you,” I said back to her. “I thought I’d left it.”
We were silent the rest of the way, not that I could have heard her over the shouts of my name, and the questions they were firing at me.
“Jase! Will Bree Hamilton be joining you today?”
“Is this Kate? Are the two of you an item again?”
“Where are the children? Is it true you feel they’re in danger?”
“Jase! Is it true your wife is back on drugs?”
A security officer finally met us at the steps, helping us the rest of the way in. Once inside, I removed my sunglasses, placing them in the pocket of my suit jacket, my eyes adjusting to the indoor lighting.
“Are you all right?” Kate asked.
“Peachy,” I replied dryly. “Chris said I’d be meeting Robert in room 213, before we meet with Talia’s lawyer.” I glanced down at my watch, seeing the 12:30 staring back at me. “They asked me to be here by one.”
“So you’re early.” Kate smiled tightly. “Is it really coming to this?” We paused by the elevators, and I sighed as it hit me how many times I’d asked the same question. “You know what you need to do?”
