“Yeah. I ran into him on the pier.” I told her about our conversation.
“You know you have feelings for him, right?”
With a smile I said, “Yes, I figured that out. But thanks.”
“Well,” she said. “Sometimes you’re a little hard headed. He must be a good guy if you feel so strongly about him.”
“Maybe,” I said. “But look at Jason. My track record is not so good.”
“You never really thought you loved that guy, did you?”
I shrugged. “I suppose not love… but feelings nonetheless.”
“Oh well, we’re all entitled a mistake or three,” she grinned. “We live and learn, honey. All of us. I personally think that you’re doing the right thing. Even if nothing ever happens with Alex, I believe what I said earlier, you’re strong enough to do this on your own and I’ll help you in any way I can. Jason is an opportunistic creep and you’ll be much better off without him.”
I nodded. She was right about Jason. I didn’t doubt that. I did hope that she was right about me being strong. Sometimes I felt it and sometimes I felt like I was just faking my way through it.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
ALEXANDER
I was sitting at my desk, trying to get some real work done. The problem was I couldn’t stop thinking about Vicki. “Mr. Reigns, Mr. Bronte is on line one,” my assistant told me. Bronte is the lead attorney on the civil case against Victoria. I had left a message for him this morning, telling him I wanted to drop the suit. Maybe after I talked to him, my frame of mind would be better.
“Herb! Thanks for getting back to me.”
“Alex, I got your message about dropping the lawsuit. I have some concerns…”
“Listen Herb, there’s no need to argue with me. My mind is made up. I want to drop this suit. It’s ridiculous and should not have ever been started in the first place. I let other people do my thinking for me. I don’t want to do that any longer.”
“Well, as much as I disagree with you and fear for your assets in this case, I won’t argue with you. You’re the boss. I also received word from Miss Hart’s attorney this morning. She’s dropped her suit as well.”
“Really? Did he say why?” I wondered if it had to do with our talk. That was what drove me to it. Not so much her words, but the feelings she expressed to me in her eyes. She didn’t want this or anything material of mine. That much I firmly believed.
“Pretty much the same silly reasons that you’re giving me. She told him it never should have been filed in the first place and that she didn’t want a dime. Maybe we could still get her to sign an agreement that states she doesn’t want anything and doesn’t feel entitled to anything and won’t sue in the future for anything…” I hung up on him. I didn’t want to hear her called a gold-digger anymore, even if it was in a roundabout way. For some reason, the news that Victoria had dropped her suit made me feel ecstatic, like the stressors of the past several months had suddenly been lifted. It’s not about the money; it’s about the fact that it proves I was right about her. I knew that she wasn’t a gold-digger and I suspected she had feelings for me. I think this proved both of those things. Where to go from here was still a question I’d have to give a lot of thought to but at least I had a starting point.
I dialed the staff number for my home and waited for Karen to pick up. “Reigns’ residence, Karen speaking. How can I help you?”
“Hi Karen, it’s Alexander.” I’d known Karen my whole life. I felt comfortable with her knowing my personal business. She never shared it. She was one of the most loyal and faithful people I’d ever known.
“Well hello Mr. Reigns, what can I do for you?”
“I need you to get in touch with Victoria Hart and offer her job back.”
“Excuse me sir? Isn’t there a restraining order or something like that in place?” I knew that Karen liked Vicki and all of this had been hard on her as well.
“Yes, there is Karen, it was all a mistake. Please notify the other staff of that before Vicki gets back. I don’t want this to be unnecessarily hard on her. She’s pregnant, so I’m sure there will be some other restrictions, but I trust you to handle all of that. When you talk to her, tell her that if she’d like to come back, she can start the first of July. That will give me a few weeks to take care of the legal nonsense.”
“Yes sir.” She sounded pleased.
“Karen, be nice to her please. She’s been through a lot.”