Love & Business: Part II

Lawsuit

I stood still as my heartbeat accelerated. My grip tightened on the folders I held in my hand.

The unwelcomed man sat down on the sofa with one leg crossed over the other. He had a devilish smirk on his face as he watched me.

The last time I saw Mr. Lodge was two months ago when Hunter revoked his shares from the company.

"Where is my son?" he asked.

"Why are you here? How did you even get in here?" I asked, ignoring his question.

"If you'd answer my question, then you would know."

"He's home."

He stood up then walked to me. I watched as he pulled out a brown, letter-sized envelope from his briefcase and shoved it into my chest. "Tell him he's been served."

I looked down at the envelope confused as a short chuckle escaped my lips. "Served for what?"

"Physical assault and mental abuse."

My confusion only grew more. "When did he do this?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Just deliver the message child," he said before storming out.

The happy smile which was once on my face this morning was now turned into a worried one. What the heck is wrong with that man? Physical assault and mental abuse? Those are serious accusations that could tarnish Hunter's reputation or even worse, land him in jail.

I called Hunter and told him to meet me for lunch before I carried out the duties on his agenda for the morning. After I was finished with the last meeting for the morning, I headed straight to La Rosa.

...

I sat at a table on the outskirts of the restaurant waiting for Hunter to arrive. I had already gone and ordered two well-done steaks with a meal. I knew Hunter was going to be pissed off so filling his belly with his favorite meal was the smart thing to do.

I watched as he walked up to the building holding his phone in one hand and the car seat containing Blaze in the other. He wore baggy denim jeans pants with a black, oversized t-shirt that depicted a skeleton. He seldom wore casual clothes in public so it took me by surprise for a second.

Hunter spotted me in less than no time then took a seat. He unbuckled our baby and held him on his chest.

"How is everything so far?" he asked before flashing me with one of his scarce smiles. Darn, he was handsome.

His dark eyes pierced into mine as he waited for a response. I nodded my head as I tried to snap out of it.

"It's good. Everything on this morning's agenda has been completed."

He nodded just before the waitress brought us our food. We mostly stayed silent as we ate, occasionally asking one another questions.

If I wasn't so nervous about telling him about his father, we would've talked more.

"Hunter, there's something I have to tell you," I said nervously.

He smiled before raising his index finger in front of me. "No, wait. Let me tell you something first," he said as he started talking about Blaze.

"Today I realized Blaze was starting to-" before he could finish I interrupted.

"Your dad is suing you for abuse!"

His smile quickly dropped as his famous blank stare appeared. "What?"

I could see his hands tightening around Blaze. "Hunter!"

He was brought back to reality as he realized what he was doing. He quickly handed the baby to me as his jaw tightened.

He pinched the bridge of his nose trying to recollect himself.

I pulled out the brown envelope and handed it to him. He took it then started reviewing it.

I looked down on Blaze and saw him quietly sucking on his pacifier with his eyes glued shut. A smile quickly grew on my face. I turned back my attention to Hunter. "So what are we going to do now?"

"I'll handle it." he deadpanned. "How did he even get in the building?"

I shrugged.

He pulled out five hundred dollars and placed it under the dish. The bill was only three hundred but I guess he decided to tip generously today.

He stood up then stretched his hand out to mine, indicating he wanted to hold my hand. I was taken aback by his sudden action since we rarely had PDA. Nevertheless, I stood up and took his hand while I balanced Blaze in the other.

We walked to his car hand in hand silently. I glanced around and saw a few people discreetly taking pictures of us but ignored them. I mean we were billionaires just casually walking out in the open so I could understand but people seem to forget we are still humans just like them.

When we reached the car, he opened the backseat placing the car seat back in its place. He took Blaze from me and buckled him in. He then turned around to me. "You coming?"

I shook my head. "Nope, heading over to Lynda's."

A smile started to grow on his face as he watched me but he quickly put an end to it by biting his lips.

"What?"

He shook his head before entering the driver's seat. He started his engine. "By the way, your hickey is showing," he said before driving off.

I shook my head. That Hunter Lodge is something else. I quickly walked back to my car to head straight to Lynda's.

...

Before even knocking I could hear a crying baby, glass breaking, and an annoying dog barking to top it off. Chaotic.

I quickly made a U-turn to walk away from the situation but the door opened.

"Don't you dare leave Sophia Lodge!"

I closed my eyes before slowly turning around to face her angry figure.

She shook her crying daughter in her hand as she tried to calm her down. Lynda wore a cream shirt with a few noticeable holes in it. If I were being honest, she looked like shit.

After she had the baby, she cut her hair. It looked like one of those Karen hairstyles but I didn't dare to tell her as she would take offense to it.

"Are you going to just keep standing there or what?" she asked irritably.

I let out a soft chuckle and took baby Malynda out of her hands. I liked her name. It was a combination of Mason and Lynda.

With me being a first-time mom and her being a self-proclaimed  'pro', we have become closer over the past few weeks. She gives me tips which I don't mind since Hunter and I are clueless in this department.

I walk into her mansion and immediately frowned. In there was a mess. There were toys all over the floor. If she was struggling, she could've simply hired a maid. I keep that thought to myself, feeling that she might take offense to that comment too.

She looked at me up and down. "You look professional. What's the occasion?"

I smiled before updating her on my day. We talked for hours and I eventually just helped her clean her house before finally going home to my boys.