The Stubborn Suitor, Book 2 (The Stubborn Suitor #2)(3)

Cami couldn’t help but wonder if the woman was one more obstacle purposefully placed in her way in order to overwhelm her. She shook her head slightly to get rid of the thought before it could cause her any more stress. She knew well enough from experience—that kind of thinking would just make her feel like a crazy person.

Cami’s lawyer, Michael McKenzie, was waiting for her alone in the conference room and did nothing to soothe her nerves as she sat down. He looked as out of his league as she felt, shifting nervously as he rifled through some paperwork. She couldn’t help but remember the subpar service he’d provided during her divorce. Yet, he was all she could afford at the moment.

“Hello,” she said with a smile, trying to appear confident.

“Ms. Hendricks,” he replied, offering her a fragile smile of his own. “So good to see you again, though I’m sorry it’s under such circumstances.”

Cami just nodded. Before she and Michael had any time to talk, Ken and his lawyer marched into the room. Cami was surprised—and more than a little upset—to see that Ken’s fiancée, Natalie, was also present. Natalie really had nothing to do with any of this, in Cami’s opinion. In fact, Cami blamed Natalie, in part, for this custody battle.

It didn’t help that Natalie really did seem to fit in here. And why wouldn’t she? She was tall and thin and poised. And, much like the lady in the elevator, she was wearing a perfectly tailored designer dress with a matching jacket. Her blonde hair fell around her shoulders in flawless curls, and her makeup looked like it had been professionally applied.

For those reasons alone, Cami would have had a hard time liking Natalie. But on top of all that, Natalie was about to marry Cami’s ex-husband—and may very well have been sleeping with him before he and Cami had even split up. Cami couldn’t help but detest the woman.

Natalie had to know all about Ken’s drunken debauchery, so she was either a gold digger who didn’t care if he was an alcoholic adulterer, or just as depraved as he was. Cami wondered if it was something she’d never considered before: what if Natalie was too stupid to see how harmful Ken’s behavior was? Did she lack the strength of character to demand better, or was she really unable to see how miserable life with an alcoholic could become? Either way, Cami did not want Natalie around her child.

“Welcome,” Ken’s lawyer was saying.

He continued to talk, but Cami’s eyes and attention were on Ken and Natalie, who were holding hands above the table as they sat across from her. Cami was taken aback—Ken had never been publicly affectionate while they were married. He’d never even been overly affectionate in private. In fact, Cami could probably count on both hands the times the two of them had held hands in the years they were together.

And yet, here he was now, cradling Natalie’s exquisitely manicured fingers within his own as this thumb gently stroked over her knuckles. They were smiling sweetly at each other as their lawyer droned on. Cami felt like she was going to be sick, so she tried to force her attention back to the man speaking.

Gil Dubois was not just Ken’s lawyer but also a close family friend. She’d gotten to know him somewhat during her time with Ken, though she’d never warmed to the man. He’d always seemed smarmy to her, and he seemed even more so now, as she sat across from him, listing all of the reasons why his client deserved primary custody of their daughter.

“My client has already been awarded primary custody,” her own lawyer, Michael, began after Gil was finished. “The ruling, by a judge, has already been made and is still standing. There are absolutely no grounds to ask for a change at this juncture.”

“The custody agreement, as is stands now, was only allowed because my client believed, at the time, that it was in the best interests of the child to stay with her mother. However, he now feels like the child would be better off in his care, rather than in Ms. Hendricks’s,” Gil retorted.

“What?” Cami cried. “That’s ridiculous.”

Michael placed a hand on Cami’s forearm and shook his head, warning her to keep quiet. They had gone over what would be discussed beforehand, and Cami had been warned not to speak during the actual meeting. If she had something to say, Michael had advised her to speak quietly to him and allow him to talk for her. Cami wanted to say more, but instead, she shut her mouth and deferred to the lawyers.

“First,” Michael replied, “it is my impression that your client was not awarded more custody at the time of the divorce because of his irresponsible and erratic behavior, as well as his dependence on alcohol.”

“Although it is true that my client has struggled with substance abuse in the past,” Gil replied, “he has gone through treatment, which has been documented, and has been sober for almost two years.”

Cami tried not to laugh, knowing it was not true at all. She’d seen Ken drunk with her own eyes within the last year. But she kept quiet, knowing that revealing that information wouldn’t help in the moment. It wasn’t like she had any proof.

“Second,” Michael stated, ignoring Gil’s rebuttal, “as previously mentioned, the custody has already been awarded to my client, and there has been nothing to indicate that it is no longer in the child’s best interests to stay with her mother.”

“My client feels like Ms. Hendricks’s long hours and irregular schedule are harmful to the child,” Gil retorted. “As it stands now, the child is often left with the childcare provider late into the night, and on weekends. Because of this, my client believes that the best interests of the child would be to live primarily with my client and his wife, as the child would be in an environment that’s both stable and constant.”