Page 10 of A Christmas Negotiation

“It isn’t? I expect my lawyer to know details like that.”

Jeremy looked over at Isabel as she got up from the table and made way for Mindy and Sam to leave the conference room. “In my experience, these things rarely go the way you think they will.”

Isabel accompanied Sam and Mindy out to the luxe Sharp and Sharp lobby. With dark wood, soft light and tufted navy leather settees, it spoke of old money and an organization steeped in tradition. Isabel could only imagine how her life would have been different if she’d come to New York instead of Washington, DC, and gotten her start at a firm like this, where business was done aboveboard. Sure, Mr. Summers had made a spectacle in the meeting, but it was nothing more than a man, accustomed to getting everything he wanted, kicking up dust because she and the Eden family were not going to go down without a fight. It wasn’t a real roll in the mud, one where people make threats to destroy other people’s lives.

“Is this normal?” Sam whispered at Isabel. His body language suggested pure agitation. His back was stiff as a board. “For the other lawyer to kick everybody out of the room?”

Isabel surveyed the lobby, which was unoccupied except for the receptionist, who was on the phone. If they were going to discuss this, they needed privacy. She placed her hand on Sam’s arm. She wasn’t entirely sure what Jeremy’s motives were, but she was curious. Their short string of quipping back and forth had really gotten her running hot. And damn, the man could rock a suit unlike any other. “I think he was trying to get his client to cool down. Which I think is for the best. Plus, I didn’t want him saying anything disparaging in front of Mindy.”

“Why?” Mindy asked. “You know I can take it.”

Isabel laughed quietly. “I know you can. It’s more that we need to walk a fine line between being tough and not escalating anything. Summers and Sharp are going to be all about taking things up a notch. It’s my job to walk everything back.”

“But you were the one who threatened to look into his business,” Mindy said.

“I know. He still needs to know we’re serious. And I had to let him know that I won’t hestiate to call his bluff.” What Isabel really meant to say was that old habits died hard.

Sam turned to Mindy. “I thought that was a brilliant move, personally. We need to fight fire with fire. We need to dig up dirt on this Summers guy and it’s not a bad idea to go after his lawyer, too. I don’t like that guy. He’s smug and arrogant, the exact kind of guy I’d love to take down a notch.”

Mindy looked at Sam like he had a screw loose. “Do you seriously not know who that guy is? Jeremy Sharp? Ex-husband of Kelsey Kline? The socialite?”

“Shh, you two,” Isabel snapped, eying the receptionist, who thankfully hadn’t seemed to overhear their conversation. Still, Isabel’s mind was reeling. Jeremy had been married? And to a socialite? Both details came as a big surprise, but Isabel had fought her urge to look into his personal life when she learned that he was handling the case for Mr. Summers. Only the old Isabel did that. Now she might have no choice but to do at least a minimum of digging. Otherwise, she’d die of curiosity. She glanced at her brother. How could she tell Sam that the man he found so unlikable was someone she’d fallen into bed with? Sam would never judge her for it, but he would be disappointed, and as far as Isabel was concerned, that was worse.

“Sorry.” Sam shoved his hands into his pockets. “I’m stressed. I hate that Mindy has to go through this.”

“It’s okay,” Isabel offered, loving that her brother was so focused on Mindy’s well-being. “Look, let’s focus on the merits of the case. We need to get an expert to analyze the promissory note and make sure it’s legitimate. I’ve already hired the financial forensic experts. They’re going through the old Eden’s books to see if there’s any evidence the money flowed through the store.” She turned to Mindy. “And I was thinking, if this relationship between Mr. Summers’s dad and your grandmother was this significant, don’t you think there’d likely be some evidence of it somewhere in her personal effects? Maybe old papers? Letters of some sort?”

“I got Gram’s apartment after she passed away, but I never moved in. I had planned to, but it’s only been a year and, well...” Mindy looked at Sam with utter adoration. “Your brother came along and everything changed.”

“Our offer was accepted on the house out in New Jersey,” Sam said to Isabel.

“It’s way too much room for two people,” Mindy added with a smile that said it didn’t bother her at all.

Sam shrugged it off, but his grin was also a mile wide. “I want us to start having kids as soon as possible. I’ve put my life on hold for too long. And I’ve always wanted a family.”

Isabel understood exactly what Sam was saying. She wanted those things for herself. In many ways, she felt like she and Sam would never truly heal from the trauma of losing their parents until they were each able to start a family.

“I’d still like to get married first,” Mindy offered.

If these two were going to continue to ruminate about their shared future, Isabel would never get any work done today. “Mindy, if you and I could get together and go through your grandmother’s apartment, that would be great. In the meantime, I need to go back in there and hash things out with Mr. Sharp.”

“Unless you need us, I think we’ll take off and grab lunch,” Sam said.

Isabel nodded. “Excellent idea.”

Mindy hooked her arm in Sam’s. “Thank you, Isabel, for having our backs. My sisters and I appreciate it more than you will ever know. Something about having a woman in charge makes us all breathe a little easier.”

Sam’s forehead crinkled in confusion. “I realize she’s an amazing lawyer, but what does being a woman have to do with it?”

It was apparent Mindy was doing her best not to roll her eyes. “I like to be in control, and your sister and I are a lot alike. I know that she won’t allow herself to fail. She’ll keep at it until we win. She won’t try to settle.”

Winning was Isabel’s preferred result, but this case wasn’t going to be that simple. And her brief history with Jeremy would certainly complicate it. “There will have to be some negotiation, Mindy. That’s just the way it works,” Isabel said. She didn’t make a habit of lowering her own bar, but if the note was determined to be authentic, Eden’s was in a very difficult situation, one that Isabel would have to work miracles to get them out of.

“Ifthe note is real,” Mindy said. “I think there’s a good chance that this is all a hoax.”

Isabel could only hope for that right now. “I’d better get back in there and get it settled.” She straightened her jacket and strode back down the hall. Wanting to appear confident and strong, she marched right into the room. And right into Jeremy. She reflexively braced herself, planting her hands on his chest. He gripped her elbows. She gazed up into his soft gray eyes. He intently peered down into hers. Her lips twitched with electricity, their connection fiercely uncomfortable to endure. Of course she’d fallen into bed with him that first night. Of course they’d given in to this. It would be impossible not to.

But now they were standing in a law office with a messy case to unravel. This was no time for rubbing up against Jeremy.