Page 37 of The Billionaire's Special Relationship

Tabby was thrilled when he saw her and grabbed her away from the crowd. It could not have turned out better. But when he and his attorneys and the man she didn’t know at the time was Mel Weiss, the CEO of Dellstone, made their way onto the elevator, and those doors closed her in with all of those powerful people, she felt like a tadpole in a sea of sharks. She was terrified and so out of her element that she didn’t know how to behave. But when Stuart looked his kind eyes into her eyes, she felt safe again.

“How did you get here?” he asked her. He still held his arm around her waist in a protective hug that he knew she needed. Her eyes showed what she’d been through.

“I drove your car,” she said.

“All that way?”

She nodded as if it was no big deal to her. And that was when Stuart smiled. “I forgot you were a rideshare driver,” he said, and she smiled too.

But JK and Mel looked at each other. A rideshare driver? They had a defense to mount and he was bringing along some rideshare driver?

“Just who is this?” JK decided to ask Stuart.

“This is Tabitha Morgan,” Stuart said. “And Tabby, this man right here is JK Barris. He’s my lead counsel and one of the best attorneys in the business. And this is his team,” he added, motioning toward the other lawyers on the elevator. All of whom were on retainer by Stuart. “And this guy righthere is the CEO of Dellstone, and a friend of mine.”

“Nice to meet all of you,” Tabby said.

“And Miss Morgan is who to you exactly?” JK asked Stuart. “I’m only asking because I need to know who the players are here.”

Stuart wanted to claim her as his own right then and there, but he didn’t want to cast any derision on her. They wouldn’t understand. “She’s a friend of mine,” he said.

It wasn’t how Tabby felt about it after last night, but she understood now why he would say that. What else was she going to be to a man in his position? Certainly not his girlfriend or anything that serious.

“And you were willing to drive all the way from Ohio to New York,” said Mel, “just to . . . to what?”

Stuart could feel Tabby’s body beginning to tremble. She was not accustomed to this level of grilling. “She drove my car back,” he said.

It was a lame excuse since everybody on that elevator, except for maybe Tabitha, knew he could have easily hired a service to bring his car back to him. In their circles, it was done all the time.

But Stuart didn’t care how they felt about it. It was the first time he didn’t feel anxious and worried since the Feds drove him away from her. She was by his side. That was all that mattered to him.

And Stuart was all that mattered to Tabby. “You’re out because they dropped the charges?”she asked him. “I knew they would.”

“Not so fast. But they did grant bail. I’m out on bail.”

“Oh.” Then she perked back up. “I have proof of your innocence,” she said confidently.

The elevator was already quiet when she made that statement. But nothing like it feltaftershe made that statement.

“What do you mean you have proof?” JK asked.

Mel couldn’t wait to find out either. But not on an elevator that some news outlet could have paid somebody to bug. “We’ll discuss it inside,” he said firmly, as all talking ceased and they continued to travel, in silence, all the way up to the penthouse.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

Stuart and Tabby sat on one sofa, Mel and JK sat on the opposite sofa, and the rest of the legal team, two men and one woman, sat around them in chairs. But Mel and JK noticed that Stuart seemed more concerned about the young lady than about the evidence she claimed to have.

“Have you eaten?” Stuart asked her as soon as they sat down.

“Not yet, no.”

Stuart didn’t like her response. “What do you mean not yet? It’s nightfall, Tabitha. The day is spent.”

Tabby looked at him. “I was on the road all day. And weren’t you in custody all day? Have you eaten?”

Stuart smiled. “You’re too sharp for me,” he said, which made her smile. Then he leaned behind her and pressed a button on the side table.

“Good evening, Francois.”