Page 44 of Boss with Benefits

“Jessica and I are married now,” Brady said. “She and her son are living with me in my beautiful home.Ourbeautiful home. The backyard is huge, and I’m thinking about getting him a dog. Is there anything else we need to do before this jerk takes us to court?”

Us?The word filled Jessica with a sweet warmth she hadn’t experienced before. She turned her head to the side and blinked back tears. The thought of losing him once this was over almost made her unravel right there in the law firm’s conference room.

She pushed the bad thought to the side, intent on dealing with it later.

“Married?” Ms. Crawford grinned. “It’s a good start. Clever.” She addressed her partners and associates. “Do any of you have any suggestions for the newlyweds?”

Several of them spoke in turn, giving advice. It happened so quickly Jessica couldn’t keep up. She didn’t have time to write anything down. She tried to remember the best suggestions and hoped Brady had a better memory than she did.

“Brady should get involved with her son’s school,” one lawyer said.

Another said, “Do family stuff together.”

“Start making a list of character witnesses,” Haverdash said. “You’ll need people who’ve seen you interact as a loving couple.”

Jessica glared at him, noting the change once his boss gave them the order to be helpful. Now he seemed happy to be of service.

There were several other suggestions, but most of them went over her head. Her mind was occupied with making the list of character witnesses. Other than the people at work, no one had seen them together. She wondered if Deacon would lie for his buddy. Her friends definitely would not lie under oath, so they needed to be romantic in front of as many people as possible. Maybe they could start doing things at school in front of teachers and other parents. A little PDA never hurt.

“Hey,” she said, latching onto Brady’s arm to get his attention. “What about the pictures we took at the zoo? The three of us were together, and people saw us there.”

Ms. Crawford chimed in. “We can probably get video footage from the zoo. Think hard. Did the three of you ever do anything togetherbeforeyour ex threatened to take your son?”

Jessica and Brady looked at each other. He raised his eyebrows, and she shrugged at him. Had the three of them ever attended the same event? In all her years working with Brady, they must have done something together.

Brady was anti-social, unless it had something to do with his photography. She’d invited him to birthdays, Thanksgiving, and even Christmas. He hadn’t shown up once. The two of them attended networking events connected to their agency, but Axl stayed home with his nanny since it was business.

Ms. Crawford sighed. “If you think of anything, let us know. If you don’t, you may still have time to build a reputation as happy newlyweds. Go places together. Be romantic. Be seen. Bonus points for every family thing you can squeeze in between now and our court date.”

Jessica’s heart dropped to her stomach. “W-when is the c-court date?”

“Usually, it takes a while,” Ms. Crawford said. “But they had a sudden opening, so your court date has been set for two weeks from now. I’ll text you the exact day and time, both of you.”

The blood drained from Jessica’s face, and Brady’s arm went around her as though he thought she might faint. “Two weeks,” she said with numb lips. “That’s too soon.”

“I know it seems fast,” Ms. Crawford said. “Don’t be alarmed. They will simply assign an evaluator to you on that day, and his lawyer might try to get him weekly visitation or something.”

“I don’t want him anywhere near my son,” Jessica said.

Crawford sighed. “I wish you hadn’t allowed him to see the child at all, and I really wish you hadn’t put his name on the birth certificate. Those were two huge mistakes.” The attorney smiled. “Don’t worry. Since it was a one-night stand, there is no way he’ll get custody. Not even joint custody. Unless he can prove you are the worst mother in the world, and I don’t see that happening.”

That made Jessica feel better. She relaxed a bit while wondering why Haverdash hadn’t told her something similar. But then Crawford added to her statement, and Jessica’s heart dropped to her stomach.

“However, it’s reasonable to think he’ll get visitation, especially since you already let him see the boy.”

“No!” Jessica clenched her hands. “Axl doesn’t want to see him, and I promised he won’t have to ever go back there again.”

Crawford repeated what Brady had already told her. “You shouldn’t have promised that. Your ex had his DNA tested and his name is on the birth certificate. The judge will give him visitation unless you can prove he’s abusive or neglectful.”

“He yelled at my son.”

Crawford shrugged. “Parents yell all the time. The judge won’t care unless he abused your child in some way.”

Brady took her hand and squeezed it.

Jessica suddenly remembered his earlier gift and that she hadn’t acknowledged it. She turned to Brady. “Sorry I forgot to thank you for the flowers. They’re beautiful.”

“Not as beautiful as you,” he said.

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