A Billionaire BWWM Romance 5: The Other Man (8 page)

“
You’re
the best dad,” she said in a whisper. He kissed her cheek and
sighed.

“
You
will always be my baby even at a hundred and eighty years,” he
said. She smiled and shook her head.

“
I
think your gumbo is burning,” she warned him. He pulled away
and looked at her. “I’ll go wash up,” she said as
she walked out of the kitchen. As she walked away she could feel her
father looking at her. It was the same feeling she had when her
father took her out to the park as a child.
“I
guess I will always be his baby,”
she
thought as she smiled.

“
Do
I look nervous? Because I sure want him to think that all is well
before I throw a nice big punch at him,” Meg said before she
took a long sip of her cocktail juice. Julie smiled.

“
There
will be no kind of violence here, today,” she ordered in what
she thought was an authoritative voice. The two were at a restaurant
waiting for Evan. Julie had called him earlier that day and asked to
meet him to discuss the way forward. For Julie, this was easy:
annulment. She didn’t want the stigma of a marriage she didn’t
even know existed following her to her new marriage with the love of
her life. She looked at Meg, who was baying for blood. She smiled and
sipped on her drink. The only thing that would have been any worse is
if her dad was here. They had been sitting for about fifteen minutes
when Evan finally walked into the restaurant. When she saw him, Julie
waved him over.

“
Hey,
there gorgeous,” he greeted when he got to where they were.

“
The
name’s Julie, Evan,” she corrected as she looked at him.
Evan looked at her and flashed her a smile.

“
I
didn’t know we were bringing company,” he said. Julie
gave him an insincere smile.

“
I
didn’t think it would be such a big deal. I mean you are
getting married right? It’s not like you will jump on anything
in skirt in the next few seconds,” she answered sarcastically.
Meg smiled.

“
Some
things never change,” she sighed as she looked at Evan. A
waitress had already come to their table ready to take his order.

“
I’ll
have what she’s having,” he said as he pointed at Meg’s
drink.

“
Fruit
cocktail?” the waitress asked as she scribbled on her pad. Evan
frowned.

“
That’s
it? There is nothing more to it?” The waitress looked at Meg
and then at Evan.

“
Sir?”

“
I
thought it would have some rum or vodka in it. You know, something to
make the juice a little happier,” he said. Meg rolled her eyes.

“
I
could top you up with something, if you’d like,” the
waitress offered. Evan looked at her and smiled.

“
Now
you’re speaking my language,” he winked. She smiled and
looked at her pad.

“
What
would you like?” she asked. Evan looked at her and then at Meg.

“
Surprise
me,” he said. The waitress said something and then walked awa,y
but Julie was staring daggers at Evan. She never really heard what
the waitress had to say. “I thought there was something that
was making you that witty,” he said. Meg touched her straw and
stirred her juice.

“
Oh,
there is, it’s called balls. I hear you don’t really have
those,” she retorted. Evan smiled again.

“
Whoa.
Someone has a sharp tongue,” he said as he looked at Julie.

“
What
are you looking at me for? Meg has a mind of her own,” she
snapped.

“
So
Meg’s the name. Evan Lockwood,” he said as he stretched
his hand out to shake Meg’s hand. “Funny, you seem to
know a lot about me yet I know nothing about you,” he said
after they shook hands.

“
There
isn’t much to tell,” Julie told him. “And the only
thing she knows about you is the most obvious one,” she added.

“
And
what’s that?” .

“
That
you, Evan Lockwood are a douche,” Julie answered just as the
waitress came back with his drink. She placed it in front of him and
then walked away. Evan looked at Julie and raised an eyebrow.

“
Don’t
you think you’re being a little unfair?” he asked.

“
Unfair?
To you? You should be thanking God we didn’t bring a firing
squad because God knows you deserve it,” Meg barked.

“
And
there it is,” Evan smiled.

“
There
is what?” Julie asked.

“
You
attacking me with your entire army, battering ram, infantry and
archers while my walls are already down,” he remarked before he
took a long sip of his drink. He closed his eyes and smiled. “That’s
the stuff,” he said as he put his glass down. Julie pushed a
strand of her hair behind her ear and leaned forward.

“
Let’s
just get this over and done with, okay?” She pulled a file out
of her handbag and put it on the table. “Once that is signed,
it shouldn’t be very long before the marriage is annulled,”
she explained. Evan looked up and shook his head. “What?”
Julie asked as she looked at him. Even he had to be brighter than
this. After all, what was so hard to understand on that file?

“
Are
you kidding me, Juelz?” .

“
Kidding
you? About what exactly?” she queried.

“
An
annulment? Why not a divorce?” he asked. Julie laughed
sarcastically.

“
You
must be more of a light weight than I thought. The booze is already
getting to your head,” she sneered.

“
I’m
not drunk, Juelz. I don’t understand why you don’t want a
divorce.”She shook her head and shrugged.

“
Evan,
this thing with you and me,” she started as she pointed at him
and then at herself. “This was the worst part of me and if I
can do anything to get a clean slate, I’ll do it.” Evan
leaned back in his seat.

“
I
wouldn’t want to completely wipe it clean, if you know what I
mean,” he commented. Meg wanted to talk, but Julie put her hand
on hers as a signal that she had everything under control.

“
I
don’t think you understand what I am talking about Evan. You
were supposed to be the one thing that was constant in my life, but
somehow because you couldn’t handle everything, including the
simplest thing, breaking up with me, you walked out and left me so
agitated I didn’t want to see anyone for weeks,” she
reminded him. “Why the hell would I want to remember that I
ever dated someone like that, let alone married?”

“
Come
on, Juelz, we did have some god times,” he reasoned.

“
Well,
you can keep the memories but I am not having the nightmares of being
Mrs. Lockwood haunt me in my new marriage,” Julie said.

“
Speaking
of new marriages, Julie said that you only found out because you went
for a marriage license,” Meg interrupted. Evan nodded.

“
Yes,
what about that?” he asked.

“
Well,
if you are also about to get married, I wonder why Julie is so
important to you? Why are you insisting on a divorce?” Meg
asked. By this time, the sweet talking Evan was gone. In his place
was an angry more aggressive man.

“
This
is not about you, Meg,” he bellowed.

“
Oh,
it is as much about me as it is about you and Julie. If you ask me,
you found out about this quote unquote marriage a long time ago and
you were probably using it as leverage with women,” Meg pointed
out.

“
Seriously,
stay out of this,” Evan snapped.

“
So,
I am just wondering. What made you come clean after all that time?
Did you knock up some poor woman?” Meg asked. Julie was
beginning to get worried. Meg was seemingly out of control. She
always loved how much Meg was protective of her, but at that moment,
even she was worried that Meg may be overstepping. But even though
she had these thoughts, she couldn’t help but feel that she
might have a point. She looked at him and raised an eyebrow.
Evan
noticed the look and shook his head.

“
Come
on Juelz, you can’t seriously be on her side,” Evan
protested. Julie shrugged.

“
Well,
she does have a point, Evan. It is not about taking sides. It is
about facts, period,” she stated. Evan shook his head and then
took a long sip of his drink.

“
This
is crazy and you know it,” he sighed. Julie pushed the file
towards him and then handed him a pen.

“
If
it’s so crazy, sign it,” she requested. Evan looked at
her and shook his head.

“
No,”
he objected. She shrugged.

“
Why
the hell not?”

“
Because
I have a history with you and I am not just going to throw it out,”
he argued. Julie looked at Meg and shook her head.

“
I
wanted this to be mature, but clearly you want to fight me on this,”
she replied.

“
Well,
I have to,” he said. Julie shook her head.

“
But
you have no case!” she exclaimed. “One of the grounds for
annulment is not being of sound mind and we were definitely not of
sound mind while getting married.”

“
Are
you saying you regret it?” he asked. Julie shook her head and
pulled her chair away from the table.

“
We
were intoxicated, Evan. You have no case,” she repeated as she
picked her bag up. “But if this is how you want to play it,
then expect a call from my lawyer.” Meg looked at him and shook
her head.

“
I
was hoping you weren’t such a douche,” she sneered as she
followed Julie out.

When
they got to the car, Julie was breathing hard. Meg looked at her and
waited for her to calm down.

“
Are
you okay?” she asked as Julie leaned over the hood of her car.
She nodded. “Or maybe I should drive?” she asked. Julie
nodded and handed her the keys. Meg took the keys from her and then
walked over to where she was. She threw her arms around her. Julie
was breathing hard and fast. Meg pulled away and looked at her.

“
I’m
sorry. I didn’t know he would get to me that much,” Julie
apologized.

“
I
would be this worked up as well if I had to deal with that douche.
So, I totally get it,” she smiled. “I’ve had my
fair share of sorry excuses for human beings.”Julie looked at
her and then walked to the passenger door. “So, where to?”
Meg asked when they were both strapped in.

“
Depends,”
Julie said.

“
On
what?” Meg asked.

“
Are
you in a hurry?” Meg shrugged and then shook her head.

“
Why?”

“
Then
we’re going to the offices of Hardman Pierce,” Julie
commanded. “That’s where we get the most kick ass lawyer
who will drain every ounce of energy from this fucking douche.”.
Meg smiled and started the engine. This was going to be an
interesting afternoon.

****************************************************

“
Oh
,you should have seen her. She was on fire!” Meg grinned as she
sipped on a glass of red wine at Dana's house. Dana smiled and looked
at Julie.

“
I
would have loved to be there,” she admitted. Julie smiled and
shook her head.

“
I
am not exactly proud of that moment,” she grimaced.

“
Why
the hell not? The way Meg tells it, you could have very well been
giving the ‘I have a dream’ speech,” Dana joked.

“
Yeah,
with a lot of vulgarity,” Meg laughed. Julie reached for her
glass and took a sip before she looked up at Dana.

“
We
both know Meg has a tendency to exaggerate things,” she said.
Dana shrugged.

“
Well,
I believe her,” she said as her six year old ran into the
living room. “What’s wrong honey? Why aren’t you in
bed?” Dana asked as she tucked a few strands of loose blonde
hair behind her ear.

“
Someone’s
up late,” Julie smiled.

“
Max
is telling scary stories, mummy. Can I stay here with you and aunt
Juelz and aunt Meg?” she pleaded. A smile played on Julie’s
lips. Dana’s daughter was precious. Dana smiled and shook her
head.

“
Mummy
and her friends are having grown up talk. And you have school
tomorrow.”

“
But
Max…” the beautiful blonde started again before Dana
held her small head in her hands.

“
Tell
you what, why don’t you go and lie down on my bed and I will
give Max a good smacking,” Dana suggested. Her daughter’s
blue eyes lit up.

“
Okay
mummy. Good night. Goodnight aunt Meg. Goodnight aunt Julie,”
the girl said before she ran out. Dana smiled at the two.

“
I’ll
be right back. I need to go get my son straightened out,” she
said before she stood up and walked out of the room and down the
hall. Meg looked at Julie and smiled.

“
You
have that look in your eyes. Are you mooning?” Meg asked. Julie
looked at her and shook her head.

“
What
the hell does that even mean? What is mooning?”