Page 85 of Apparently, I’m A B!tch

I looked at her squarely, hoping she could hear the sincerity in my voice. “If taking Rochelle’s offer meant losing your trust, it was never worth it. None of it is. I’d give up painting, teaching and the shop if it meant I could have you, Nikki.”

She leaned back in her chair and shook her head, the action sending a chill down my spine despite the heat in the room.

“You’re just here to get me to forgive you, aren’t you?”

“No. I really want to do this. I would give up anything for you, Nikki. I would. But Uncle Henry reminded me that when something isn’t right, you have to fix it. I’m not here to chase an art career or to beg you to forgive me. No matter how much I want those things, right now I have to deal with Rochelle and make her own up to what she’s done.”

Her shoulders dropped and her expression relaxed. I let my eyes trace the curve of her lip, the set of her jaw. She was so beautiful… my fingers flexed from wanting to touch her.

I forced myself to keep my glance on her face. Nikki wanted honesty, and that was what I was going to give her. Direct, formal honesty. I was her client after all.

“In the interest of full transparency, Miss Gataki–” Her surprised laugh forced a small smile from my lips, but I kept speaking. “I plan to file a restraining order against Rochelle Weiner for coercion. I’ve been doing some research, and Miss Weiner has been attempting to coerce me into a sexual relationship in exchange for industry connections. I’ve refused her offer on multiple occasions, yet she has persisted. She’s been spreading misinformation, and–”

I bent to check the notes resting on the boardroom table. Kelly scribbled them down for me after agreeing to set this up, and I was grateful for the cheat sheet. Formal legal jargon wasn’t my kind of thing, but if it appealed to Nikki’s logical, social justice side, I would find a way to make it work.

“…has been performing various acts that have resulted in my unfair dismissal, thereby hurting my business and reputation in the process.”

Nikki bit her bottom lip and fought a smile. “You’re ridiculous, you know that?”

I shrugged. “I don’t think there’s anything ridiculous about extortion, Miss Gataki.”

She laughed. “I meant this.” She waved her hand up and down, the gesture taking in my whole body. “My artsy Tristy is sitting across from me in a suit and turning legal jargon like he was born into it.”

I smiled back at her, oddly glad to hear the nickname she gave me. “I’m serious about this, and I want to go about it the right way. Yes, I could file a restraining order on my own, but I don’t think that would be enough. If I were to open a lawsuit against her, what would that look like?”

She shifted in her chair. “If we were to open a suit, you’d need witness testimonials and proof that your dismissal happened because she instigated it. If your case is successful, she could serve a sentence of four years.”

Shit. A sentence?

I thought maybe at worst she might receive a fine and a set of papers restricting her from coming into close contact with me. I didn’t think she could get jail time out of this. And could I get witnesses? Kenny and Carlos were my best bet, but did I want to involve them in something like this? At the very least, I had Kenny’s apologetic voicemail as proof, but would that be enough?

I took a breath and leaned back, shaking my head against the leather. “I’m not sure I want that, Nikki.”

She shot me a strange look. “Why not? She had you fired from the ArtBox, and she’s been spreading lies about you to her contacts, which limits your ability to access a showing. Your art career was dead before it started because she happened to walk into your coffee shop.”

Nikki’s face contorted into righteous irritation, and I knew what that look meant. She was angry about this. She believed me.

I had to take this slow. I didn’t want Nikki to question her sudden shift. She came in here because she had to hear her client out, not because she was ready to trust me.

“Is there a way we could file my claims against her, but find a way to settle this outside of court?”

She took a breath and nodded. “First thing we would have to do is take your report and file it. I can do that for you. Then we arrange the restraining order and serve the papers to her.”

I tried to keep my face neutral as I asked, “Who would serve those papers, exactly?”

“A process server.”

Disappointment clawed at me. “Oh.”

She eyed me, then said, “But I could choose to do it myself.”

“And I could choose when those papers were served?”

She puckered out her bottom lip and tilted her face, confused. “If… you want that, we can arrange it.”

I smiled. “Great.”

I rose from my chair and strode toward Nikki, keeping my gaze on her, watching the rise and fall of her chest as her breath sharpened. Her lips parted prettily as I leaned my thigh on the edge of the boardroom table. Standing over her, I dared to run my thumb across her clenched fist. I was rewarded with a small gasp as she stared up at me.

Lowering my voice, I said, “If honesty is what you want, Nikki, I’ll give it to you. I don’t think I need to put Rochelle in jail, but I do think she needs a wake-up call. I want to serve the papers to her during an event. Her ex-husband and most of her contacts will be there. This woman is all about her reputation, and it’s been damaged before. Her wounded pride is probably what led her to be so aggressive with me, and I think this is a message she’ll finally understand. I might not get my teaching job back, or a gallery showing, but she’ll have this on her record, and that acknowledgment is enough for me.”

“Is it?” she whispered, her gaze flitting to my moving fingers.

I didn’t come here to seduce Nikki. I didn’t come here to force my apologies on her or beg her to give me another chance. I didn’t want to manipulate her. I just wanted her to have what she always wanted: the truth.

“She’s already damaged the one thing that meant anything to me, Nikki. Having a drawn-out case where Rochelle buys her way out of jail time isn’t going to make you trust me again. All I can do is what I think is the right thing, and hope that’ll be enough.”

I looked into her beautiful, hazel eyes and said, “I love you. That was always the truth. If this is what it means to love you, to lay everything out in the open, I’ll do it if it means earning your trust back.”

Her throat worked as she swallowed, and she pulled her hand away from my touch. Her eyes were glassy as she stood, looked away and muttered, “If this goes to trial, it would be unethical for me to represent you. But I can help in the meantime. I’ll get the paperwork.”

My chest caved as I watched her hurry out of the boardroom.