Page 74 of All Right No
Ginny pushed the biscuit tin towards her. “Put a lid on that thought, Dani. The only person you’ll make miserable with it is yourself. Xane could fuck all day and still be up for it, I don’t think there’s any sense in reading any more into them doing one another than two off the charts libidos. You’d not be able to walk if you had to satisfy Xane all by yourself.”
“Am I being talked about?” Xane joined them in the lounge. He was dressed in a pair of black jeans. His fly was buttoned incorrectly, and his arms were raised above his head as he battled his way into a T-shirt that didn’t appear to want to fit. He gave up the fight and flung it towards them. “I think this is one of yours, D.”
His gaze swept across them and their drinks. “Is the kettle recently boiled?” He asked optimistically.
Dani got up. “I’ll make you one.”
“Is Ash still in the studio?” Ginny asked him.
Xane gave a nod. “Can’t pry him out of there. He’s insistent that he’s staying put until it’s exactly right. Don’t worry, Spook’s keeping an eye on him. There was some post that came for you earlier. The staff brought it across. They’re coming in to blitz the place tomorrow morning too, just so you’re warned.”
“Post—for me or for Ash?”
“Both.”
Dani walked between them to deliver Xane his brew, which he wrapped his hands around and sipped, before setting it aside so he could wrap his lips around his girlfriend.
Ginny frowned. Why was she receiving post here? Only one person outside of the band and their management knew where she was. While Dani snuggled up with her boyfriend, Ginny succumbed to curiosity. “Where is it?”
Xane, distracted by kissing, vaguely waved towards one of the low cottage windows.
Sure enough, there was a small stack of letters on the table beneath it. Ginny flicked through them. The majority of the items were addressed to Spook and Rock Giant, but there was a large Manilla envelope with her name on it, and an identical one addressed to Ash. Both bore UK franking marks and were stamped in red with the word DOCUMENTS and CONFIDENTIAL.
Apprehension growing, Ginny tore open the end of the one addressed to her and dug out the sheaf of papers inside.
Legal papers! Huh?
Her gaze streaked over the words, picking out the important passages.
Holy shit.This couldn’t be right. What was he doing? He couldn’t do this? Why was he doing this? She snatched up the set of documents addressed to Ash and tore them open too. The same, more or less. The rat bastard had named him. He’d fucking named him. How could he even know she and Ash were a thing?
Because she’d screwed up at Roskilde, hadn’t she? What the fuck had she been thinking when she’d gate-crashed the band’s interview slot with Ava March of Bang! Magazine? She hadn’t been thinking clearly. She’d been too bloody focussed on getting Ash to admit to his mates that they were a thing. While the magazine hadn’t shown the part of the interview where she walked in, the footage had no doubt found its way online courtesy of the magazines resident bitch reporter, Ava March. That woman had been publishing crap about Ash’s physical state since his fall in Karlstad, saying he was hooked on opiates, and all because Ash had turned her down one time when she’d tried to climb into his pants.
Not that any of that really mattered. Not next to what Miles had done. This could ruin everything for them.
Both sets of papers clutched to her chest, Ginny bolted to the bedroom and locked the door. She located her phone and hit speed dial.
“I got papers,” she blurted when the person on the other end picked up. “I don’t understand. I thought you said everything was going to plan. That once he was served, it would all be plain sailing, unless he contested, and we hadn’t given him any reason to contest. I made it plain I didn’t want anything other than his signature on the dotted line. Franny, he hasn’t just contested, he’s named Ash.”
“Counter filing was always a possibility. It’s his legal right. The judge won’t be impressed that he’s attempting to name and shame, though. It’ll be viewed as petty revenge.”
Judge—oh heck! It didn’t matter how the judge viewed it. Court was the last place she wanted this to end up. Too public. This was supposed to be hush-hush, and it would mean facing the bastard. No way was that ever part of the plan.
“I can’t do this. This can’t happen.”
“Ginny, are you sure what you have are official documents? Is this not merely a threat in order to get you to back down?”
“I’m holding them in my hands. A copy for me, and a set addressed to Ash. Christ! He doesn’t know. This is going to screw everything up.”
“Ginny, slow down. What do you mean he doesn’t know? I thought he was supporting you through this.”
“Nobody knows. I haven’t told anyone.” Why would she? It would make no sense to them, and she’d have to explain all the things she’d kept buttoned up. Revealing anything would be like stripping away the layers of herself until all that remained were bare bones—bare bones none of the people around her would recognise.
“Now would seem to be the time to have that chat.”
No—it really wasn’t. She was not about to pull the rug from under him when he’d only just got steady on his feet. “If I agree, what will happen then? It could proceed as a paper formality, right? We don’t need to go to court if there’s no contest.”
“Ginny, it’s not as simple as that. You’ve both filed on different grounds. Even if you agree to everything, the judge is likely to want to speak to you both in person to ensure the terms of severance are fair.”
