men. If she thought she could just run over him in the court room and in public… and on and on he went.
She sat there listening, saying, “I’m sorry, Witt, I’m sorry.”
Bly held out his hand for the phone and she shook her head. He gave her an exasperated look and took it from her.
“Collier,” he said, “calm down and get the fuck over it, buddy. Let’s not make this a pissing match, she’s made her choice or I wouldn’t be sitting next to her now. Lose her number and no hard feelings, got it? Good.”
He’d wanted her to come to his house but she said she needed time to think. He walked her to her door and there was a note from Finn taped to it.
“ We’re gone for a while, my love. Don’t cheat on me, Finn .”
Charlotte laughed and Bly scowled.
“He really is in love you, it’s obvious.”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” she said, “it’s his weird British sense of humor. I love it!”
“Show me your bedroom,” he said.
“Absolutely not, I’m so swollen right now you couldn’t get that monster in me with the help of a surgeon.”
He kissed her deeply and whispered, “I’m sorry, baby, we’ll give it a day or two.”
“It may take a little longer than that I’m afraid, and remember the card with the roses. The same rule goes for you.”
“I’ll try,” he said, “but no promises.” He pulled a pair of her panties out of his pocket and held them to his nose, he smiled and he was gone.
THREE
They both threw themselves into their work the next week, making a concentrated effort to give her bruised and swollen parts a chance to recover.
She tied up loose ends on various cases, dealt with the mountain of paperwork on her desk and sat in on office conferences.
He kept her office and her loft filled with white roses, white, he said, like their white-hot need of each other. He wanted to be with her, he told her each time they talked on the phone, it had been three days and he was at his breaking point.
Not yet, she said, and no matter how badly that most intimate part of her body ached, it mostly ached for him.
On Wednesday she had lunch with Finn’s mother, Georgina, who taught at a high school near Charlotte’s office. They met for coffee or a quick bite every few weeks, and JP and Charlotte usually spent the holidays with her and her four daughters and Finn, since neither of them had any family of their own.
“I worry about the boys,” she said, meaning Finn and JP, “they’re gone an awful lot on all that lawyering business for the government. You’re rarely called out of town for a case, Charlotte, and I know you’re phenomenal at what you do. Oh well, mothers just worry too much, don’t they? Now, tell me about this man you’re seeing, Finn mentioned him, although I didn’t get the idea he was too keen on the whole thing.”
“I don’t know what to tell you,” Charlotte said, picking at her salad, “it’s taken me completely by surprise. I knew Alexander Bly when I was still in college and then my bosses introduced him as my new client and things have gone a little crazy.”
“What about you?” Georgina asked, “Have you gone a little bit crazy over this man? I hear he has a lot to offer, just take it slowly, Charlotte, you’ve worked hard to get where you are, be as picky about love as you have been about the choices you’ve made so far.”
The next morning, she was
She sat there listening, saying, “I’m sorry, Witt, I’m sorry.”
Bly held out his hand for the phone and she shook her head. He gave her an exasperated look and took it from her.
“Collier,” he said, “calm down and get the fuck over it, buddy. Let’s not make this a pissing match, she’s made her choice or I wouldn’t be sitting next to her now. Lose her number and no hard feelings, got it? Good.”
He’d wanted her to come to his house but she said she needed time to think. He walked her to her door and there was a note from Finn taped to it.
“ We’re gone for a while, my love. Don’t cheat on me, Finn .”
Charlotte laughed and Bly scowled.
“He really is in love you, it’s obvious.”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” she said, “it’s his weird British sense of humor. I love it!”
“Show me your bedroom,” he said.
“Absolutely not, I’m so swollen right now you couldn’t get that monster in me with the help of a surgeon.”
He kissed her deeply and whispered, “I’m sorry, baby, we’ll give it a day or two.”
“It may take a little longer than that I’m afraid, and remember the card with the roses. The same rule goes for you.”
“I’ll try,” he said, “but no promises.” He pulled a pair of her panties out of his pocket and held them to his nose, he smiled and he was gone.
THREE
They both threw themselves into their work the next week, making a concentrated effort to give her bruised and swollen parts a chance to recover.
She tied up loose ends on various cases, dealt with the mountain of paperwork on her desk and sat in on office conferences.
He kept her office and her loft filled with white roses, white, he said, like their white-hot need of each other. He wanted to be with her, he told her each time they talked on the phone, it had been three days and he was at his breaking point.
Not yet, she said, and no matter how badly that most intimate part of her body ached, it mostly ached for him.
On Wednesday she had lunch with Finn’s mother, Georgina, who taught at a high school near Charlotte’s office. They met for coffee or a quick bite every few weeks, and JP and Charlotte usually spent the holidays with her and her four daughters and Finn, since neither of them had any family of their own.
“I worry about the boys,” she said, meaning Finn and JP, “they’re gone an awful lot on all that lawyering business for the government. You’re rarely called out of town for a case, Charlotte, and I know you’re phenomenal at what you do. Oh well, mothers just worry too much, don’t they? Now, tell me about this man you’re seeing, Finn mentioned him, although I didn’t get the idea he was too keen on the whole thing.”
“I don’t know what to tell you,” Charlotte said, picking at her salad, “it’s taken me completely by surprise. I knew Alexander Bly when I was still in college and then my bosses introduced him as my new client and things have gone a little crazy.”
“What about you?” Georgina asked, “Have you gone a little bit crazy over this man? I hear he has a lot to offer, just take it slowly, Charlotte, you’ve worked hard to get where you are, be as picky about love as you have been about the choices you’ve made so far.”
The next morning, she was
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