The Law of Motion (Law Series) (76 page)

I grinned, but everyone else watched the exchange carefully. “Look at that, it has your name on it and everything.”

Juan squeaked happily, letting Kris put it on.

"What do you say, Juan?" Doc waited, letting her arms fall to her side. Now a little more relaxed and fighting a smile.

"Thank you!" he sang running back to Ross to show her. “Look Mommy I’m just like you.

She picked up the tag, and looked at it then planted a loud smooch on his head, which caused another laugh to burst forth from him. The entire room let out a collective breath, it seemed. If anything proved that Kris was trustworthy, it was that brief moment, because if Juan trusted him, everyone else could. He'd proven himself while he was in his care, and he'd just proven it again.

             
“Back to work.” I sighed sliding a file over to him. “Tell me if any of those faces are familiar.”

———————

“Come in,” I requested looking up from the work on my desk. It had been a typical Monday at Neil Tower, everyone busy with work. I had already known who was coming thanks to my assistant.

Roman Maxwell opened the doors with a smile on his face. “Hello Miss Marshall.”

“Ah, Mr. Maxwell, how are you?” I greeted with a smile standing up to walk around my desk.

             
He cradled my hands in both of his, “Just fine Miss Marshall, just fine. I was just stopping by to congratulate you on the benefit. It was more than a success.”

             
“Thanks, if only the other board members felt the same way.” I pretended to groan though I couldn’t stop smiling. They had been discouraged by the events that lead to the ending for the party, and the media taking their own spin to it. I received several 'I told you so’s but I didn’t care. I was just thankful that Hunt took my advice to hold out on putting the death of Zoe out there.

             
“Yes well, it’s unfortunate that those teenagers set fireworks off at the party, but your response on the news was spot on.” He commended.

             
I nodded in agreement, “Yes, all the more reason that the community
needed
a youth center. Get them off the streets and out of trouble.”

             
“Not to mention you rose double the amount you were expecting. It puts Neil Industries in a fine light, let’s the people know that we care about the community.”

             
“Exactly!” I burst to one of Paul’s longest friends. “I wish Mr. Neil had a few more men like you. Then maybe this company’s vision wouldn’t be so closed off.”

             
He sat in the chair in front of Paul’s desk next to mine. “I see the same drive in you that your father had when he first took over Neil Industries. He had so many plans, and yes he’s achieved quite a few, but he would fold to the board or compromise more times than not.”

             
“Well I tend to compromise for no one.” I muttered hating when people found things in common with Paul and me.

             
“Which is why you are taking things further in so little time,” he praised putting a hand on mine.

             
I waited for a minute wondering how to ask this next question. “Why did you do it Roman, why support me when no one else did?”

             
He thought for a moment, and then spoke, “Your father knew you wouldn’t be a favorite right away. He requested that in whichever way you chose to lead I would help you, as I have him over the years.”

             
I liked his honesty. “So you helped him?”

             
“As best I could.” He nodded. “He was so nervous when he took the reins of this place, and look what he did with it.”

             
I nodded, the multi-billion dollar corporation was doing great long before I got here.

             
“I helped support him while he was in charge, I’ll help support you when you take over for good, and hell if health willing I’ll be here supporting when your son takes over this place.” He grinned, “Even though they’ll probably have to wheel me in here to do it.”

             
I smiled back at him. “I’m not sure if I’ll want that responsibility.” I told him honestly.

             
“You will, you’re a Neil.” He foretold standing up. “Business is in your blood.”

             
I stood with him. “Leaving so soon?” I asked slightly disappointed.

             
He nodded, “Yes, I have a mountain of investments to look over. I’ll see you at the meeting next week.” He promised as I showed him out.

———————

              “I could have cooked.” Adrian protested as I pulled the cash out of my wallet to tip the pizza driver. All of us, Kris included, were pulling an all-nighter at our house.

             
I shrugged, “Juan wanted pizza.”

             
“And heaven forbid she ever says no to Juan.” Ross teased before mumbling ‘softie’.

             
“I’m not a softie, Macon want’s pizza too.” I defended glancing at the monitor to the front gate.

             
“Macon will want anything.”  Adrian groaned.

I looked over Tink’s shoulder at her laptop. She was taking a break from work like everyone else,
instead looking into everyone’s past. Right now it was on Joanne. "Nice hair, by the way."

Kristen looked over and barked a laugh from behind me at the feathered statue called hair, but Liam chuckled so hard that he had to sit down on his end of the sofa. Joanne smacked the back of his head and he corrected himself. "You know, you two," Liam started to chastised pointing to Tink and I. "Everyone had a bad style they had to live through. You keep that in mind ten years from now when tousled hair may not be so...cool." He laughed, reaching for his son's head, and Adrian ducked him nicely, putting his fists up.

"Come on, old man, can't you catch me?" he teased, jabbing lightly at his father.

"I can not only catch you, but kick your ass, son," Liam snorted, moving so quickly that Tink, Ross, and I gasped, he had his son wrapped in a headlock.

"Oh, fuck," Adrian laughed, trying his damnedest to get loose, but it wasn't happening.

I loved these moments with them. It wasn't that we'd forgotten why we were there, but the ease in which we all just...
were
...together, made anything we did really fun. Before I could say anything, the doorbell rang and I recounted the tip in my pocket.

I looked at the small monitor that Tink had set up with a view of the drive way both video and thermal. I switched to thermal and calmly checked that it was
only
the pizza guy out front.

“I’ll help.” Kris offered, though I didn’t need it.

I unlocked the door and met the delivery driver on the porch before he could ring the doorbell. Kris took the pizza and walked inside as I signed the credit card receipt and gave him the cash. The lanky teenager thanked me and I waited outside for a moment making sure that he was reversing up the drive before I turned to go back into the house.

             
Everyone listened quietly as the girls and I went over everything that Kris helped us find out that week. He didn’t feel like he did anything, but even the smallest of things, the ones people pass off as coincidence can make or break a case, and Kris had really
made
my case.

             
After we had gone over every last detail about how things would be handled I dismissed myself for a minute outside. I wasn’t out there long before Adrian came to check on me.

He looked at me with concerned eyes, tilting my chin up meet my eyes. “What’s going on in that head of yours, Honeyface? What are you thinking?”

              “I’m thinking that this is my last week at Neil Tower”

             
“I need you all not to do security today. I’d like you to stay in the apartment since I plan on being in the office myself.” I requested at the normal morning meeting.

             
Liam closed the folder holding the last deal that I would sign as CEO. I would have left a week ago but I needed to see any deals started by me to the end. If I were being honest with myself, it was really because I needed to be one hundred percent sure of the ring leader before I made the move to take him out.

             
Liam slid Kristen the contract and she put it away in her briefcase before he questioned me, “Is there a particular reason why Alyssa?”

             
I nodded, “I plan to fire Mr. Wendell today. Not that I don’t think I can handle that slime ball of a lawyer, but…”

             
Adrian picked up where my thought trailed, “…but you want us there. It’s understandable.”

             
“Not to mention people will be in and out of Alyssa’s office today with goodbye sentiments, flowers, and so on.” Kristen added looking into her PDA for anything else on the agenda for today. My last day.

             
My team stood up, already dressed in their all black, “Well let’s get to it, Sugar.” Jackson urged.

Everyone was antsy; they wanted this all to be over just as much as I did. They wanted us to go back to normal cases, and somewhat normal lives. Doc and Ross wanted Juan back
to normal, and away from the insanity of this case. Macon and Kristen wanted Makenna back in their home and not with Joanne or Kristen’s parents. Tink and Jackson wanted to finish settling into their not so new house and enjoy being newlyweds. As for Adrian and I, we just wanted to focus on planning our wedding, and for our engagement to be known outside of our immediate circle.




             
“Come in Rosalia,” I offered when Kristen opened the door.

             
She was wearing a plain black dress, her hair no longer up in a bun like the last time I saw her, but in soft curls around her face. “Alyssa, it’s good to see you.” She responded somewhat timidly as she walked in with a vase of daises in front of her. “I brought you these.”

             
“Thank you.” I replied trying to hide the  shock in my voice. Kristen took them from her and put them with the other arrangements, cards, and balloons.  I was nowhere near expecting as many as I had received so far, considering most of my run-ins with the execs weren’t very positive.

             
Rosalia eyed the section with curiosity as well. “It seems you will be missed.”

             
I shrugged sitting on the edge of my desk motioning for her to sit in one of the chairs. “I wouldn’t really say
missed
. It’s more like the funeral effect.” I went on when she eyed me curiously. “When a person dies whether you’re close to them or not, you send flowers. Usually the one that was around the least has the biggest arrangement, like their trying to overcompensate.”

             
“Oh.” She nodded once in understanding, playing with her hands in her lap.

             
A tell-tale sign of nerves. “Is there something you wanted to say Rosalia?” I coaxed, waiting.

             
“I just want to thank you for taking such good care of my father’s company. I’m sure that my sister and I didn’t make things easier for you, and honestly I’m not sure if Scarlett or I could have done even half as well, if the shoe was on the other foot.” She admitted locking eyes with me.

             
I nodded, my arms folded across my chest. “No it’s wasn’t easy, but I had a job to do.”

             
“Forgive me, but it still feels
awkward
talking to you.” She admitted halfheartedly, unsure how I would react.

             
I agreed, “I’m sure spending years thinking you and Scarlett were Paul’s only children takes more than a few months of getting used to.”

             
“Did you always kno
w
about us I mean?”  I nodded and she sighed bringing her hand to her forehead.  “You must have been so angry, with all of us. I assure you that if we had known, my mother, Scarlett and I, we all would have done the right thing by you.”

             
The words weren’t her own, she was only eighteen, and the worry in her face was uncharacteristically older. It led me to the conclusion that she was passing on not only her sentiments, but from her mother Stephanie as well.

             
“The only time that I was ever angry, was when Paul didn’t let me live my life. I didn’t understand, he had you and Scarlett, he had Marco, I just didn’t get why he wouldn’t leave me alone.”

             
“Pardon me, Marco?” She questioned raising an eyebrow. “Marco
François
? The boy that use to intern with my dad, was
another
child?”