Page 30 of Breaking All The Rules

“Yeah, I’m fine. Thanks.” I could feel Jeremy’s eyes on us as he stared.

“What’s going on?” Ethan asked, loud enough for Jeremy to hear.

I watched as Jeremy walked over, standing too close to me for comfort. Ethan’s hand curled possessively around my waist while he waited.

“This is Jeremy. My ex-fiancé,” I said unenthusiastically. “He is representing my sister’s abusive husband in a custody battle after she asked him for a divorce.”

“And who exactly are you?” Jeremy asked, his eyes narrowed as he pulled his shoulders back in an attempt to look stronger than Ethan. He wasn’t—not by a long shot.

“None of your fucking business,” Ethan responded, his eyes shifting from Jeremy back to me. “Are you done here?”

“Yeah,” I whispered so only he could hear as I continued to enjoy the comfort of his hands on me. As we turned to leave, I glanced over my shoulder one last time.

“Be sure to tell your sister that I look forward to seeing her soon,” Jeremy said, his eyes darkening.

I could feel my body tense as I turned to go back into his office. Before I could take a step, Ethan’s hand grabbed hold of my arm and led me down the hall and to the elevator. My blood pressure was sky-high, and my fingers trembled as the adrenaline shot through me. Once we were outside, Ethanwalked me over to an empty bench and sat down while I paced back and forth. I closed my eyes and rolled my head back on my neck, trying to alleviate some of the tension. He didn’t say anything as he allowed me some space to get myself together.

“I’m sorry about all of that,” I mumbled, glancing quickly at him as I continued to pace in front of him.

“Don’t be,” he said coolly. He leaned back comfortably on the bench and rested his ankle on his knee as if he had all damn day to sit there. I hated that he had seen this side of me more than I hated that Jeremy was the dick I always knew he was. There was no loyalty where Jeremy was concerned—hence his cheating. I had no idea why I thought for a second that he would suddenly grow a conscience and agree to step away from taking Lance as a client.

“So, I’m gonna take a wild guess and say this is what had you so riled up during lunch last week?” Ethan questioned, his voice still calm as he extended his arm along the top of the bench.

“Yes and no. I’ve been stressed over my sister’s situation in general, but I didn’t know that Jeremy was the lawyer representing her husband until this morning. It was the final straw for me, I guess?” I scrunched my face, hating that I didn’t know what to say at this point.

An awkward silence fell between us, quickly replaced by the hustle of people moving about, trying to get where they needed to go.

“Apparently, I didn’t handle the news that well.” I let out an awkward laugh and continued to pace. He didn’t say anything. He just sat there watching me until I kept talking.

“My sister’s husband is an asshole. She came to my apartment a few weeks ago with her face covered in bruises after he beat the shit out of her. It wasn’t the first time, and I know it won’t be the last time unless she goes through with getting a divorce. The problem is that they have a child together, mynephew, Jackson. He’s only four, and he needs his mother.” I could feel my voice crack as the tears started welling in my eyes. “She’s my baby sister, and she works her ass off to take care of her son. She doesn’t deserve what he’s doing to her, and I know that she can’t afford to hire a better lawyer. He’s playing these games with her simply because he can. It kills me that I can’t help her.”

I blew out a deep breath and looked over at Ethan. He had a somber look on his face before he lowered his head and clasped his hands together, resting his elbows on his knees.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to drag you into all of this. I promise I’m fine now. We can head to the office, and I will make sure to keep all of my personal stuff out of my work day.”

“You have nothing to apologize for, Eva,” he assured me as he got up and stood in front of me. “I know first-hand how hard it is to get caught up in a nasty custody battle.” He paused for a minute, then ran a hand through his hair. “Who’s your sister’s lawyer?”

“Some guy she found online.” I sighed heavily as a frustrated chuckle slipped past my lips. “He was the cheapest, and she refused to let me help her pay for a better one. Jeremy is as ruthless as her husband. I’m terrified that this will end badly, and she’ll lose custody of her son because Lance can buy whatever outcome he wants. And the really shitty thing is that he doesn’t even want full custody—he barely spends time with him as it is. He would only be doing this to spite her because he can.”

“I know a guy. I’ll give you his info when we get back to the office.”

“Is he any good?” I asked cautiously. I knew that if Ethan was referring someone, they had to be good. What I really wanted to ask was how much this guy was going to cost us. I made good money, but that didn’t mean I would be able to spend all of it on a lawyer for my sister.

“He’s the best,” Ethan replied, tilting his head to the side. “And he owes me a favor, so let your sister know that she can get rid of the other guy and save that money for something else.”

“Ethan, you don’t have to do that.” My face fell as I thought about how pathetic I must have looked for him to offer something like that to help my family. I didn’t want nor need his pity. “Thank you, but I’ll look into things, and we’ll figure out a way to pay for his services. I appreciate you getting me his information.”

“I know I don’t have to,” he said softly, turning and gently grabbing my elbow to lead me to the office. “I want to.”

We walked in silence for a few minutes, my anger finally starting to subside. As we waited for the elevator up to our offices, I realized that I had no idea why he was even at Jeremy’s work to begin with.

“What were you doing at Hyde and Wilson this morning anyway?” I asked as the bell dinged and we stepped inside the elevator.

“I was meeting with a lawyer that Brent asked me to speak to. He’s working through his estate and his own custody issues with Karly and wanted to make sure that I spoke with his lawyer about the deal with Watson Investments.”

“Have you heard any more about what he wants to do with that deal?” I asked, realizing that I hadn’t heard any updates from him on what was happening.

“Nope. Right now he’s spending time with Chloe, and apparently, there’s a new woman in his life that he’s been seeing. We’re supposed to meet next week to talk about things.”

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