Chapter 5: You!

The next day Devon arrives at his lawyer’s office with a determined look. Without knocking he badges in, and begins to speak without being aware of his surounding. 

“I need you to counter sue for twenty million dollars. This bitch thinks she can mess with me.” 

Devons stops abruptly when he looks and sees the room full of people, and they were gawking at him like he has an extra head. 

“I am sorry,” he says to them, with a guilty look and then direct his gaze to his lawyer. “Why didn’t you tell me you have visitors?” He says like it is his lawyer’s fault. 

The lawyer looks at him with a resigned expression. “I would have, Mr Cross, if you had told me you were coming.” 

Seeing reason in the older man’s words, but doesn’t want to apologise a second time, Devon keeps silence, and instead finds somewhere to sit and wait. 

His lawyer seeing that Devon isn’t going to give him the privacy he needed, concludes his meeting, and after his guests left, turns to Devon with a tight expression. 

“How can I help you, Mr Cross?” 

Failing to decode the sarcasm in the lawyer’s voice, Devon jumps into the reason he came. “I want you to counter sue my wife for twenty million dollars.”

Ex-wife, the lawyer corrects with a pointed look, but Devon dismisses his words, unbothered. So are you going to draft the letter now, he prompts the lawyer, looking eager. 

The lawyer rolls his eyes inwardly. “I will advice against doing that, Mr Cross.” 

Devon’s eyes snaps to his lawyer, his expression irritated. “And why the hell not?” He demands, his tone harsh. 

“Because of this,” the lawyer draws out his drawer and takes out a brown envelop, which he gives to Devon. 

With a furrow between his brow, Devon looks from the envelop in his hand to the lawyer’s inscrutable expression. “What is this?” 

“Open it and see.” 

Boiling with impatience, Devon hurriedly tears the envelop apart, and extracts its content. 

His jaw hits the desk when he stares at the evidence of his infidelity, and they stared back at him, leaving no room for misinterpretation. 

“So the bitch was spying on me,” he mumbles, staring down at the pictures with annoyance. 

The lawyer relaxes back against his seats, and stares at Devon flatly. “It appears so. And I would advice you refrain from calling her  a bitch.” 

Devon ignores the lawyer’s advice, and demands to know how he can counter what he termed an attack to his personality. 

“We can sue for unlawful procurement of evidence, and have it thrown out in court, but I would advice you not to deal with this people in court.” 

“Why?” Devon frowns at his lawyer. 

“They are very powerful.” 

Devon throws his head back and laughs, thinking his lawyer is messing with him. His ex-wife is a nobody, how can she know someone who is powerful. Unless–

He stops laughing, his expression hardening. His ex-wife would only have the audacity to sue him because of the guy she is dating. 

“Who are they?” He demands, his expression lacking any trace of humor. 

“Have you heard of the Blackwells?” 

Devon nods. “Who hasn’t.” The Blackwells are household name. One of the richest and powerful families in the city. 

“Well, your counter suit came from them.” 

“What?!” Devon gapes at his lawyer. 

“How does you ex-wife know the Blackwells?” His lawyer asks curiously. 

She doesn’t, Devon replies confidently. Maybe her lover contracted the Blackwells? Even as he thinks it, Devon is already shaking his head, believing his wife incapable of having such a strong connection.

“Is there a way to get them to meet us?” He asks his lawyer, with a twinkle in his eyes. He looks like he was upto something. 

His lawyer narrows his eyes at him suspiciously, but agrees to arrange a meeting with his ex-wife lawyers. 

Joe was in the office when the family lawyer called him to tell him about the meeting with Devon’s lawyer. 

He snorts in disgust when he heard that they are making them come to them. “Tell them that if they have something to discuss they should come to us.” 

The lawyer nods, and calls back Devon’s lawyer. When his lawyer relayed the message from the Blackwells, Devon threw a fit. He felt they were being arrogant for demanding they come to them. 

As he fumed, his mind recalls the image of the tall man that picked his wife up that night. “I bet he is behind this,” Devon sneers uncharitably, speaking more to himself than to his lawyer, but his voice wasn’t low enough. 

“What?!” His lawyer asks, with a questioning gaze. 

“Nothing,” Devon answers, forcing his tensed body to relax. “When are we seeing them?” 

“Next week Monday. That is when they have a free time.” 

Devon’s fist clenches, but he says nothing. His desire to find out his wife’s connection trumping his irritation at being made to wait. 

The days flew by with Devon barely concentrating on his work, and only thinking about the upcoming meeting he has with his ex-wife and her lawyers. Since he got married to Kathleen, he has never anticipated seeing her, like he is right now. 

Due to his preoccupation with his lawsuit against his ex, he has barely had time for his girlfriend. 

Monday morning arrived bright and early, and Devon drove off his house even before the short hand of clock hit seven to his lawyer’s office. 

He arrived before the man, bearing coffee, which the man takes from him with a suspicious look, when he arrived half an hour later. 

“Are we going now?” Devon eager demands as he followed his lawyer into his office. 

The older man rolls his eyes in exasperation. “No Mr Cross, because the meeting is at ten o’clock like I told you a week ago.” 

“What!” Devon tries to play ignorant, but at his lawyer’s pointed look, he composes himself and tries to excuse his behaviour. 

“I am sorry. Just has been worried about this. I can’t move on with this hanging over my head, and wants this over with so I can settle down with the woman I love.” 

The lawyer gives Devon I-am-not-impressed look. “I hope for your sake that this ends soon enough,” he says, taking a seat behind his desk. 

Devon nods. “I will get out of your hair then.” 

“Thanks, Mr Cross,” the lawyer says with another sarcasm that flies over Devon’s head. 

He says his goodbye and leaves. 

At ten o’clock on the dot, Devon and his lawyer arrives at the fifty story office complex of Blackwell Enterprise headquarters. 

They were admitted in at the reception desk and given a visitor’s badge. An employee takes them to the executive floor at fiftieth floor. 

When they arrived, another employee takes them to the conference room where they find the opposing lawyers waiting for them. 

Devon frowns as he and his lawyer takes a seat across the suits guys. “Where is Kathleen?” He demands. He is boiling with so many questions that he needs answers to. For example. Who the fuck is the man that picked her up that night? 

“I am sorry, Mr Cross, but we do not know about the wayabouts of Ms Kathleen, but we are waiting for Mr Blackwell to arrive before we can begin.” 

“Mr Blackwell?” His lawyer asks, while Devon ponders over the absence of his ex-wife. 

The lead lawyer nods. “He is the one suing Mr Cross on behalf of Ms Kathleen.” 

The door to the conference room opens, and Joe strides in, his presence commanding and authoritative, his expression cold and aloof. 

Devon flies to his feet when he sees his familiar frame. “You!” He growls.