Free Billionaire's Trust (Standalone Book) (Billionaire Bad Boy Romance) by Alexa Davis Page A

have been and always
will be. No wonder everyone we love is dead. They couldn't compete with your
self-centered need to be the focus of the universe. Don't worry, I'm next
up!"
    He turned and
raced down the stairs and tore across the dance floor to the exit. I could tell
he was crying and it killed me. The hateful things he said to me when he was in
desperate need of a fix tore me up and left a gaping wound that took a long
time to scab over. Unfortunately, every time I thought maybe it would get the
chance to heal, Beck would tear the scab off and thrust a knife deep into the
tender part.
    I rested my elbows
on my desk and dropped my head into my hands as I breathed through the pain and
vowed never to let him flay me like that again.
     

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
    CHAPTER
EIGHTEEN
    Brooke

 
    Later that afternoon, Jordie stuck his head in my office and asked me to come
down to the conference room. I grabbed my coffee mug and walked down the hall
to join them. Alma had made yet another fresh pot of coffee and I silently
thanked her for keeping us caffeinated.
    "What's
up?" I asked as I walked into the room.
    "Come sit
down and listen to what we've got," Jordie said.
He was holding a stack of papers that looked like they'd been stuffed in the
bottom of a backpack.
    "Okay, lay it
on me, guys," I said as I sat down and prepared to hear their game plan. Jordie looked at Roger and nodded.
    "Alright,
well, we've gone through Lydia's client list and narrowed it down to the top
ten clients we think we might be able to attract," Roger began.
    "Just
ten?" I asked with mock surprise.
    "Well, we've
got another ten backups just in case these don't work out," Roger said.
"But we thought that if we went after more than ten it would look
suspicious."
    "Oh, and
mining a dead lawyer's client list the day after she's pulled out of the water
isn't at all suspicious?" I said.
    "There's no
need for sarcasm, Brooke," Jordie warned. He was
right, but I was thinking about how all of this would play out in the papers.
Especially since I'd be the face of the firm.
    "I know, I'm
just thinking ahead," I said. "You guys have thought about how this
is going to play out, right?"
    "Yep, we
certainly have," Roger said. "That's why we've got a schedule for how
each of these clients should be approached and an individual plan for how we
can put ourselves in the path of client so that it doesn't look fishy."
    "Seriously,
Roger?" I said incredulously.
    "What? Too
soon?" he said with a crooked grin.
    "Definitely
too soon," Jordie piped in. "Okay, so what
we're going to do is fan out and do a wide sweep of the client list. Roger and
I are good for the clubs and parties since we're already well-known on the
circuit."
    "I guess your
wild ways will come in handy, after all," I said with a wry grin.
    "I told you
we were laying the ground for something important," Roger insisted. I
wanted to smack the goofy grin off of his face, but I knew he was completely
serious, so I let it pass.
    "So, where do
I come in?" I asked.
    "We want you
to land the big fish," Jordie said as he handed
me a crisp sheet of paper that contained three names. I looked at it and
inhaled sharply. "I know it's asking a lot for you to try and talk with
these people, but we figured that with your dad's connections you might be the
one best suited to approach them."
    "Jesus, Jordie , are you serious?" I asked.
    "Deadly,"
he replied. "If we can land one of those three, then we'll be set for at
least a year, and the publicity alone will give us a high profile and attract
more clients."
    "You're
talking about vying for one of three different high profile businessmen in
LA," I said. "Don't you think that they might be wary of the fact
that we'd offer to represent their rivals?"
    "We thought
about that," Roger said. "And, we decided that it's more of a push
game. We play them off of each other and then pick the one that shows the most
promise."
    "Or we end up
pissing them all