The Question (31 page)

“Go ahead.”

She glanced at him, one eyebrow arched in inquiry while virtually bouncing in place.

“Go to him. You know you want to.”

“You’re sure?” Her gaze kept darting away, straining to keep track of Greg’s position.

Hell no! “Yes, I’m sure.”

She gave him a blindingly bright smile and then took off running. “Greg! Greg!”

Greg looked around, trying to home in on the voice calling his name. Rashid could tell the minute he spotted her. His expression changed and he began shoving his way past fellow travelers, intent on reaching his goal. When she was close enough, Gail launched herself into the air. Greg dropped his briefcase and caught her midair, spinning her around in a circle, and knocking several people aside before gathering her close in a bear hug.

Rashid looked away, hands clenched by his side. He would give them this moment. He owed Greg that much, but after this, Greg had better remember that Gail was his wife and keep his hands off. When the happy reunion was finally over, they joined him where he stood off to the side out of the stream of traffic.

“Rashid.” Greg nodded. His hands were too full for the traditional handshake greeting. One arm wrapped securely around Gail’s waist. The other held his briefcase.

“Greg.” He casually reached out and pulled his wife from Greg’s side, hugging her securely against his own. “How was the flight?”

A mocking smile acknowledged Rashid’s actions as he responded, “The food was lousy. I’m starving.”

Gail made a sound that conveyed her sympathy. “We’ll feed you once we get out of here. We can drop your luggage off to the hotel and then head to the restaurant. Where are you booked?”

“No hotel. Rashid’s putting me up.”

Gail stopped abruptly, causing Rashid to stumble. “At the house?” Disbelief echoed in her voice.

“No, the penthouse.” He yanked, forcing her to walk or be carried.

Greg kept going.

“We have a penthouse?” Her attention completely focused on him and not on the congested walkway.

Rashid tugged her closer, out of the way of the stroller that rolled out in front of them. “No, the company does.”

“Don’t you own the company?”

He sighed and guided her around another obstacle. He could see Greg in the distance, headed toward the luggage carousal. “Yes, I own the company.”

“Then we have a penthouse. Why haven’t I heard about this before? All of those times you had me staying at the house, I could have been there instead. It’s staffed, isn’t it?”

“When someone’s in residence. The rest of the time, it’s maintained by a cleaning service.”

“So?”

“What?”

She huffed in frustration. “Why didn’t you let me stay in the penthouse?”

“The penthouse is for business purposes. Besides, I wanted you where I could keep an eye on you.”

He brought them to a stop and stood off to the side, watching the luggage as it rolled out on the belt. He could feel Gail staring at him. When he looked down, she was watching him with an expression that didn’t bode well for him. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

“You’re very intelligent, crafty even.”

“And?” He wondered where this was going.

“I’m just realizing how many times over the last year I’ve been maneuvered into doing what you want.”

Busted! Play dumb or confess all? He caught sight of Greg reaching for his suitcase out of the corner of his eye. Confessions were out of the question. He’d deny it with his last, dying breath. “What are you talking about?” He knew his expression held just the right amount of bored curiosity. It was a look he’d perfected in the boardroom.

She gave him suspicious eyes. “I’m on to you now. You won’t find me so easy to manipulate the next time.”

“I would never try to manipulate you.” Now that I have what I want, there’s no reason. He turned as Greg joined them, hiding his grin.

“This is everything. Now all I need is some wheels. I’ll head over to the rental section and catch up with you outside.”

“You don’t have to pay for a rental. Use mine and I’ll use one of the other vehicles at the house.”

“No offense, Gail, but no. I will not be seen driving the family station wagon.” He shuddered. “Think of my reputation.”

“It’s not a station wagon. I drive a Santa Fe, an SUV.”

“It’s a station wagon pretending to be a SUV. SUV’s are a hell of a lot bigger. That thing you drive is just…cute.” His nose wrinkled in distaste.

“Watch it, buster. That’s my pride and joy you’re talking about.”

“You can use the corporate car,” Rashid interrupted. “It’s an Impala. That should be manly enough to suite your image.” He put a stop to things before the two of them could get going good. He knew they were just playing, but each teasing jab reminded him of how close he’d come to losing Gail to this man.

They piled into the Mercedes and headed for his Club where they could speak privately. Once they’d eaten and were ready to discuss business, Greg got things going.

“Are either of you familiar with the appellate process?”

Rashid shook his head. Before now, he hadn’t had a reason to know.

“Not really. I’ve done research for appellate cases but I’m not familiar with the actual presentation.”

“That reminds me. Rashid, I need to borrow your wife while I’m here. There’s a lot to be done and a short timeframe in which to do it. Gail, I need you to brush off your dusty paralegal skills and be my assistant on this.”

His wife’s eyes gleamed with suppressed excitement.

Does she miss the legal work she used to do? Is she tired of being a full-time mother? This was something they needed to discuss later when they were alone, he decided. “That’s no problem. Angelina is available to watch the children during the day. You realize that you can’t charge me research fees if my wife is the one doing the research.”

“Sure I can. All I have to do is pay Gail and bill you, after adding a little markup for myself, of course.”

“I believe I’m already paying you enough. Why don’t I just pay her myself and cut out the middle man?”

“You’re not going to pay me—neither of you. Rashid is my husband. This affects me as well. Anything I can do to help gives me less time to sit and worry.”

“There’s no reason for you to worry. Rashid has actually made my job easy. This should be nothing more than a formality.”

“I’ll remember that when I get the bill,” Rashid commented.

“Quit complaining. I gave you a discount. I usually charge more for my services.”

“Oh, joy.”

Gail and Greg thought he was hilarious from the way they laughed.

When they quieted, Greg continued. “Here’s how the process works. From now on, we’re on a strict timetable. When Crystal received notification of the divorce, she only had so many days to request an appeal. The first step was her Declaration of Intent, which you received. Now her attorney has thirty days from the date of filing to submit a brief to the court explaining in detail the points of the divorce decree under protest, along with any supporting documentation he may have. Then it’s our turn. We’ll receive a copy of the brief, and have thirty days to submit our own, rebutting any claims made by the appellant along with any supporting documentation we have. The court will review both briefs.”

He took a sip of water before continuing. “Sometimes they make a judgment based on the information presented in the briefs. If there’s not enough justification for an appeal, the case will be dismissed. Or, the court may determine there’s reason enough to warrant a hearing. At the hearing, both attorneys will have fifteen minutes to make a verbal plea to the justice. After which, judgment is made.”

Gail looked puzzled. “We won’t be called on to testify?”

“No. Any testimonies will be in document form and presented as written statements. Yet another reason why I need your help. I want you to type up all our witness depositions.”

“Where do we start?”

“I need copies of everything—the prenup, divorce decree, the surrogate agreement, the reports from the private detective service as well as receipts for the public notices that were posted in newspapers.” Greg ticked the items off on his fingers.

“They’re in the car in my briefcase.” He’d been forewarned of what would be needed and was prepared.

“Good. I know Davis. I’ve opposed him many times and know how he operates. He’s going to try to prove that you violated the terms of the prenup to get custody of the children. Then he’s going to try to use Florida law against you and render the grounds for your divorce invalid.”

“But Florida accepted the divorce. If it hadn’t, Rashid and I wouldn’t be married right now.”

“The Circuit Court accepted the judgment, even though Crystal hadn’t been gone a full year. This is the State Supreme Court. They can reject it if they chose to do so, but I doubt that they will. It’s very rare that they override a lower court’s decision.”

Rashid frowned. “Guam granted the divorce because I had sufficient documentation of my fruitless attempts to locate Crystal.”

“And that’s going to be the basis of our defense with this appeal. You went through a lot of trouble, time, and expense to locate Crystal. You took out weekly newspaper ads in every major newspaper in Florida and Nevada, first to find her, and then to notify her of the pending divorce. You hired a private detective to trace her and kept them searching for her right up to the day Crystal appeared on your doorstep. We’ll formulate a more specific defense when we know the exact plea Davis is making. There’s very little that he can legally challenge: abandonment; lack of notification; and failure to comply with the terms of the prenup. That’s it. Everything else is subjective and won’t sway the court’s opinion one way or the other.”

“I still don’t get the whole “emotional instability” angle mentioned in the Declaration,” Gail confessed.

“It’s just a means of grabbing the courts attention. If it were me, this is how I would play it. I would prove that my client’s emotional instability made her not cognizant of her actions. Therefore, she didn’t really abandon Rashid because abandonment requires a conscious decision to leave, of which she was clearly incapable. No abandonment. No grounds for divorce. I win. But fortunately for you, Davis isn’t me.”

Gail stared at Greg in awe. Hell, even he was impressed. He was glad he allowed Gail to persuade him to hire Greg. Finished for now, Rashid drove Greg to his office and took him to Security.

“Roger, this is Greg Richmont. He’ll be using the corporate penthouse and car. Give him an I.D. badge and set up the necessary security clearances.”

“Right away, Mr. Jabbar.”

“You own all of this?”  The “this” Greg referred to was a ten story building located on the river downtown.

“My company does. I’ll show you around when we’re done here.”

He took them on a tour of the building. This was the first time Gail had seen it as well. Although she was aware of where it was located, she hadn’t had the opportunity to visit before now. The first story contained retail shops, a bank, and a combination deli-café. The second and third floors consisted of leased office space. The fourth floor housed the company gym on one side and a cafeteria/lounge on the other. Rashid’s corporate offices were located on floors five, six and seven. The remaining three floors divided into penthouses, all currently occupied with the exception of the company penthouse.

The tour ended at the penthouse. Gail explored while Rashid gave Greg the paperwork he requested. After setting a time for Gail to begin work with Greg the following morning, Rashid took his wife and headed home. On the drive home, Gail was full of “Greg this” and “Greg that.” He wanted to gag her. Worse than the chatter were the dreamy silences. She would get this look of remembered pleasures in her eyes that had his hands clenching on the steering wheel.

Thoughts of gagging led to other thoughts, and soon he knew just how he was going to handle his wife. She needed a reminder of who she belonged to and he knew just the way to do it. He waited until later that night to implement his plan.

When she came out of the bathroom, he was ready and waiting. He slipped up behind her and tied a blindfold over her eyes.

She laughed and her hands reached up to touch it. “What are you doing?”

He caught both her hands and brought them behind her back. “Do you trust me?”

“Of course.”

“Then follow my lead.” He waited for protests or questions. When none were forthcoming, he continued. “I’m going to lead you to the bed. When you feel it behind you, lie down and put your hands over your head.”

“Alright.” Her response was a little breathy.

When she lay in the center of the bed on her back, hands above her head as instructed, he fastened one hand then the other to the restraints already in place. He waited until she’d finished testing her bonds before asking, “Comfortable?”

“Yes.”

“Ready for the rest?”

“There’s more?”

“Only if you want it.”

“Give me what you’ve got.”

“All of it?”