Free Gimme an O! by Kayla Perrin Page A

her remember the message Sha-Shana Dane had left on her cell phone this morning. Lord, but wasn’t Sha-Shana becoming a big thorn in her side? She would just have to keep putting her off—until she had the money in hand.
    “So you think I won’t have a problem collecting the five million?”
    “Your pre-nup is explicit. If your husband cheats, you get five million dollars. He cheated.”
    “Finally, someone who understands.”
    “Of course I understand. I’m glad you chose to trust me with this case. Believe me, I’ll give it the attention it deserves.”
    Of that, Ginger had no doubt. She was probably the most affluent wife Zack Mulroney had come across in his career. It didn’t matter to her, as long as he could get the job done.
    She sniffled, then said, “I won’t have to go to court, will I? The other lawyer I spoke with said something to that effect. But I got the feeling he just wasn’t as conscientious as you are, ya know? That he wanted to milk me for every last dime…”
    “Well…”
    “Oh, no.”
    Zack held up a hand. “Hear me out. I have every confidence it won’t come to that. But there’s a chance, if your husband refuses to negotiate, that yes, you could have to go to court to prove your allegation of infidelity.”
    “But his picture was plastered on every paper with that—that whore!”
    “Calm down, Mrs. Beals. I said that was a worst-case scenario. If I get your husband to admit to his infidelity—”
    “But he’s denying it!” Ginger sobbed harder. This time, Zack handed her the entire Kleenex box.
    “Where is this woman?”
    “The prostitute, you mean?”
    “Yes.”
    Ginger didn’t answer right away. She dabbed at her eyes, her nose. “I don’t know,” she lied. She didn’t want to bring Sha-Shana any further into this, but she would if she had to. Just like she’d go to court and cry a river if that would help.
    Zack bit his bottom lip. “That’s too bad.”
    “But I’m sure I can find her,” Ginger quickly said. “Through the police, I mean. Or an investigator.”
    Zack lowered himself onto his haunches beside Ginger, who sat on the pleather chair opposite his desk. The fabric was a plastic leather imitation. “I think if this woman comes forward, we could present her to your husband’s lawyer in a meeting. It would be a damn good argument for settling. At the very least, it would be in your husband’s best interest to settle, unless he wants even more bad press.”
    “I would think so, yes. But he can be very stubborn. He’s…spiteful. He doesn’t want to see me get a penny. After everything I did for him.”
    “How long was the marriage?”
    Ginger swallowed. She knew this was the sticking point. “Five months. But to me, it was like five years. I gave him everything I had.”
    Zack stood to his full height, which couldn’t have been more than five feet seven inches tall. “Look, if he doesn’t want to pay, we’ll just play hardball. If we can find this woman, I’ll make sure she talks to anyone who will listen.” Zack shrugged, as if to say, What more could I do? “Depraved Dave will be only too happy to give her air time. And all the tabloids will eat this up. Your husband will be paying you just to make her shut up.”
    That’s exactly what Ginger was counting on.
    “Thank you, Zack. I could tell from the first moment I saw you that you were the kind of man who would understand.”
    As he sat behind his desk, his eyes suddenly narrowed on her. Ginger’s heart slammed against her chest. “What?” she asked, alarmed.
    “I don’t know.” He continued to scrutinize her. “You look familiar to me. Could we have met somewhere before?”
    “I—I—” Ginger stammered. “I’m sure you’ve seen me on the news, in the papers. After this story broke—”
    “Of course,” Zack said. The answer satisfied him.
    Ginger pulled her purse strap off the back of the chair. The way she saw it, the sooner she got out of there, the better.
    “Not