My stomach flips. The case has been a drumbeat under everything, but now it’s real.
I text Ryan my reply. Before slipping my phone back into my pocket, I consider texting Mya back, but I still can’t find the right words.
Instead, I turn toward my office to pull the custody files. If I can’t stand beside Mya in there, I’ll damn well be ready to stand in front of Vanessa in court.
42
MYA
The door to the conference room clicks shut behind me, and the adrenaline that kept my spine straight for the last forty minutes drains out all the way down my body through to my heels, and my legs go a little watery.
Through the glass wall across the corridor, I catch a glimpse of Worth in his office—jacket off, sleeves rolled up, eyes glued to a stack of documents.
God, those forearms.
The way the fabric bites at his elbows, the veins standing out when he turns a page, do dangerous things to my pulse. It’s infuriating how much I love any look on him.
For half a second I think about knocking, but I don’t.
He never replied to my text. I tell myself he might need space, and that the smart thing is to give it to him. I adjust my blazer and head for my desk.
Seraya pops up the moment she sees me. “Well? How’d it go?”
I sag into my chair. “I didn’t faint. Or cry. Or throw up.”
“Low bar, babe, but I’ll take it.” She leans on the partition. “But Seriously?”
“It went good. They asked tough questions, but I had the answers. The board will reconvene and give everyone their decision in a month.” Saying it out loud makes the waiting feel like an Olympic event.
“A month!” Seraya theatrically clutches at her chest.
I laugh. “I know, right?”
Her phone lights up on the edge of the desk. She grimaces when she sees the name. “Ugh. My landlord.”
“Take it,” I tell her. “I’ll be here, breathing in and out like it’s my full-time job.”
She swipes to answer with a long-suffering sigh, pacing away. “Yes, Rafael?”
The office hums around me. Keyboards. Low conversation. The distant ping of the elevator. I stack my presentation notes into a neat pile I don’t need to look at anymore and stare across the open floor to Dre’s desk. If Worth needs space now, I can at least find out if he’s available later.
I stand and make my way over. “Hey, Dre. Is he busy today?”
She glances toward the glass. “Ryan is coming by soon.” Her voice dips. “They’re going over case files.”
My stomach tightens. The custody battle. “Right. Thanks.”
I hover for a second, then move to the office and rap my knuckles lightly on Worth’s door before easing it open.
He looks up.
“Bad time?”
Worth’s expression is polite. Not cold, just… contained. “I’ve got a few minutes.”
I close the door, suddenly aware of the way my pulse thumps in my wrists. “I, um… just wanted to let you know the presentation went well. They’ll deliberate and get back to us in a month.”
He nods once. “Good. I’m glad.”