Still the One

Chapter Two

Thirteen years later.

Claudia sat idly tracing one of the horizontal lines of her legal pad as her boss's voice droned on in the background.

"..., Claudia."

Looking up at the sound of her name, she found her colleagues looking at her expectantly.

"Pardon?"

"Are we boring you, Mrs Wilson?"

"Of course not," she denied untruthfully. "I'm just missed the last bit of what you were saying."

"I was saying that we have an important new case coming in and I want you to handle it personally."

"Royston, I already have a heavy caseload," she reminded him in exasperation.

"Pass a few of your cases to Martina and Trevor. This new case is worth a lot of money. I want you to handle it personally. We are going to take Tyrell Montague to the cleaners. That flimsy pre-nup agreement he signed is not worth the paper it's printed on."

"Ty Montague?" Claudia queried in surprise.

"You know him?"

"We went to school together, but I haven't seen him in years."

"Well, I doubt that the man remembers you," Royston informed her nastily. "He's a multi-millionaire now."

Good for you, Ty.

"He's a friend of mine," she informed her boss. "Sorry, I can't take the case."

"You can't take on the case because you used to know him at school?" Royston demanded as he glared at her.

She glared right back. He was trying to browbeat the wrong person. She wasn't going to change her mind.

"Dorothy and Eileen, the two of you handle the case for now. Claudia, I'll give you a week to decide and if your answer is still no, you are dismissed."

All Royston understood was money. Most of the staff secretly thought he would sell his own mother for a loaf of mouldy bread.

"Royston, do what you have to," Claudia responded. "I'm not taking this case."

She had worked with the firm for five years. When Arnold Barnes had retired a year ago she had been tempted to leave but his son, Royston, had reassured everyone things would remain exactly the same and that he would be constantly liaising with his father. Less than a month after taking the reins he had introduced sweeping changes.

***

"Mrs Wilson, a Mr Montague is here to see you," her ever-efficient assistant Rosalind informed Claudia a week later.

Claudia sensed the woman was smiling even over the intercom and wondered what the woman found so amusing about her old friend. "Send him in, please."

She rushed around her desk as a sharp knock preceded the opening of her office door. Claudia gasped in surprise at the toned, well-built giant standing before her.

This could not be Tyrell!

"Ty?" she questioned uncertainly, making to retreat back behind her desk.

"Yes!" His deep voice was almost as startling as his physical transformation. He looked at her suspiciously and then a slow smile spread across his face. "Claudia?"

"Tyrell! Oh my God!" Mouth opened in shock, she launched herself at him.

He hugged her tightly for several long moments before slowly letting her go.