One Regret(15)

“I don’t understand why I’m paying you money to give me this ridiculous advice. It’s clear to me that you haven’t spent any time at all figuring out a solution to this problem.”

“Listen, Dennis.” I had no patience left to put up with his bitching. William had cut off my previous attempts to interject, but I wasn’t going to let that happen again. Jeffries needed to hear the truth. “You are a wretched human being. You took money from your clients. Money that people were depending on for college funds, dream houses and retirements. You deserve to go to prison.”

“Olivia,” William barked my name, cautioning me that I had crossed the line. I didn’t care.

“In fact, that’s exactly where you are headed. You are guilty, and nothing we do is going to change that.” I shoved a stack of papers at him. “Here’s the proof. The best thing you can do right now is take the deal. Plead guilty and make a public apology. If you’re lucky, you’ll spend the next ten years in prison and get out in time to see your grandkids graduate from high school. But if you continue to be a stubborn ass, you’re going to spend the next 25 years in prison, and you’ll miss everything.”

Jeffries eyes burned in anger but I could not have cared less. I pushed back my chair and stood up. “Either way, we’ll cash your check and move on. You’re the only one that has something to lose, and right now, you have the ability to minimize the damage.”

I waited for Jeffries to scream at me, or for William to order me out of the room. Neither of those things happened.

“Connor, I don’t know where you found this woman but I’ve never been spoken to in such a direct, rude manner.” Jeffries continued to stare at me, but I no longer got the impression that he was picturing me dead.

“She’s not wrong,” William said quietly.

“I know.” Jeffries turned to him. “I’ll take the deal.”

I considered the meeting to be a success. We had convinced Jeffries to do the right thing, and his victims would get some closure. William was less impressed when he ordered me into his office.

“Don’t ever do that again.” He slammed the office door shut behind us.

“I did what you were too scared to do.” I crossed my arms over my chest and stared him straight in the eye.

William returned my stare and eventually sighed. “Maybe so, but I’m the boss.”

“I know. Trust me, I know.” I tried to step past him to leave but he grabbed my arm. He didn’t say anything, but I could tell he was trying to figure out the best way to deliver bad news. “What’s wrong, William? You are clearly mad at me for some reason, and I doubt it has anything to do with Dennis Jeffries.”

“I’m not mad at you,” he said, but he couldn’t meet my eyes.

“You’re ending this, aren’t you?” I couldn’t keep the hurt out of my voice.

William finally looked at me, and I could see that he was hurting, too. “It’s for the best, Livy.”

I jerked my arm away and laughed despite the tears that filled my eyes. “You’re a coward. Just admit that you have been playing me this whole time. Admit you are like all the others, that you’re exactly the guy I thought you were that first night we spent together. Because I know you’re not really the man you pretended to be in Utah. That man was just a big lie.”

“Livy, please, try to understand.” William reached for me again but I backed away. “I don’t want to hurt you. I’m trying to save you from what’s going to happen.”

“I don’t need you to save me, William,” I said. “In fact, I think it’s about time I saved myself.”

I tossed my hair as I marched out of his office, making it all the way to the bathroom before the tears started to fall. I hated myself for crying over William. I felt broken, and I hated that feeling, so I reached for my phone.

Thomas answered on the first ring. “Livs. I was just about to call you. Today has been total shit. Want to meet up for a drink? Or twelve?”

“Absolutely.” I loved that Thomas and I had known each other so long that we didn’t have to explain ourselves. “I still owe you for William’s crazy behavior in the bar. Want to come over to my place? I’ll make you dinner.”

“With dessert?” Thomas had a weakness for my desserts.

“Of course.” A hearty meal, sugary desert and several drinks was just what I needed to forget about William, at least for a few hours.

By eight o’clock, our plates were clean and two bottles of wine were empty. By the time we had both vented about our personal issues, we were ready to open the third bottle.