Page 28 of Married Into Love

“Alessia isn’t Miss Valenti anymore. She’s my wife. Hence, Mrs.Rourke.”

“Oh. I didn’t realize. That might make it easier.” His gaze dropped to the rings on her hand before he picked up the phone. “There’s a Mr. and Mrs. Rourke here to see Mr.Whitehouse.”

He nodded and set the phone back on its cradle. “You both can go up. Take theelevatorto—”

“I know where we’re going.” Alessia yanked on my hand and led me to theelevators.

She was quiet as we headed up to the tenth floor, and I gave her a gentle squeeze before we stepped off. The receptionist looked surprised to see Alessia, but she didn’t warn anyone before she let us go back. The encouraging smile she offered us made me think she knew exactly the kind of shit her boss liked to pull, and it riled me upevenmore.

I yanked the envelope with the letter from the lawyer out of my suit coat pocket and settled my other hand at Alessia’s lower back as we walked into his office. The asshole jumped out of his chair the second he spotted her, but my hard glare had him sitting back downrightaway.

“Yeah, that’s what I thought,” I growled as I pulled the door shut behind us. “It’s not as easy to intimidate when you’re faced with a guy who can kick your ass instead of a vulnerable woman over whom you have power,isit?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he blustered. “I’m not sure what Miss Valenti told you, but whatever it was she was probably just trying to help build a case so she could go on unemployment and bilk the system for as long as she can. She was recently fired and can’t be trusted to tell thetruth.”

“It’s Mrs. Rourke now.” I smirked at him as I dropped the letter onto his desk. “And she’s not going to need that unemployment claim because you’re going to offer her a generous severancepackage.”

“That’s preposterous! Why would I do such a thing?” he spouted off. His beady dark eyes went round with surprise as he ripped open the envelope and scanned the contents of the letter. “You really expect anyone to believethiscrap?”

“Absolutely.” I leaned forward, pressing my fists against the desktop. “Did you spot the name of the law firm on the top of the letterhead? It’s one of the best in Vegas, and they were willing to take on my wife’s case after one simple phone call. Imagine the damage I can do if I put some effort into it. Called a private investigator. Asked them to do some checking into other women who’d worked under you and were fired. If I were a betting man—which c’mon, it’s Vegas...of course I am—I’d hazard a guess that it wouldn’t take them long to find someone who’d be willing to back up Alessia’s story with one of their own that would be eerily similar. What do you say, Whitehouse? Do you want to risk everything that theywon’t?”

He went red in the face, his shoulders slumping. “What do you wantfromme?”

“A check in the amount the lawyersdeemedfair.”

Henodded.

“A glowing letter ofrecommendation.”

Anothernod.

“Your word, as little as it’s worth, that you won’t pull this shit on another unsuspecting woman in thefuture.”

A muscle in his jaw jumped when he noddedagain.

“And this.” It was all the warning I gave him before bending farther over the desk to grab the collar of his shirt and yank him towards me with one hand while punching him straight in the cheekbone with the other. Then I cocked my fist back and followed it up withanotherblow.

I let him go, and he fell back against his chair. His lip was split, and there was a trickle of blood dripping from his nose. He deserved a fuck of a lot more pain after what he’d done to Alessia, but the cops would definitely be called if I kept at him. I was going to have to be satisfied with the punches I’d alreadylanded.

“Do we have anunderstanding?”

“Yes,” hehissed.

“Good.”

I escorted Alessia out of the room with my hand at her lower back. Neither of us said anything until we were outside, climbing into the back of the car that was waiting for us atthecurb.

“Holy crap! I can’t believe that reallyhappened.”

“Are youpissed?”

“What? No!” she denied. “I know I told you that you couldn’t beat him up, but that wasamazing.”

“Amazing,huh?”

She shifted closer to me and lowered her voice. “Andsexy.”

“There’s a big tip in it for you if you can get us to our hotel in under five minutes,” I called out to the driver. It was the motivation he needed to step on the gas, and we were up in our room in lessthanten.

---