I blew a breath out and said calmly, “No it’s not your business….”

He nodded. “Okay, I respect that. And I respect you, you know that.”

“Yes, I do, and I thank you for that,” I answered him. And then my eyes narrowed, “Is this going to affect how you think I’m going to manage this case? Because I assure you that it won’t … but if you have any question in your mind, let’s talk about that right now. Openly between us. You know that I’m always forthright with you.”

He shook his head, “No, I don’t want another lawyer handling the supervision of this case. But you did say last week that the firm’s top divorce lawyer will handle the courtroom proceedings if things get to that point ….”

I nodded, “And that remains the plan, yes.”

He clapped his hands together and exclaimed, “Well, then we shouldn’t have a problem. At least none from my side. What about you, will you have any problem handling my case, given … um … this development in your life?”

I shook my head emphatically, “Absolutely not. I’ve worked hard on this case, Mr. Desmond, and you will not see another firm fight harder for you than ours.”

He gave me a smile and stuck out his hand to shake my hand. I shook his hand firmly, and said with relief, “I’m glad we cleared the air on that, Mr. Desmond.”

“Harley, you should know that you can always tell me what’s going on and, as long as you’re comfortable …” he let his voice trail out with the unspoken question as he ended our handshake.

I nodded.

We wrapped up ten minutes later, and, as we exited the conference room, Aerin stood as she saw us leave. Without asking, he walked over to her, and introduced himself. After a few minutes of exchanging pleasantries, he left.

As we were walking down the hall to return to my office, Aerin whispered in my ear, “I just want you to know you are the hottest lawyer in this building.”

I whispered back, “That’s because most of the other lawyers have left already.”

As we entered my office she pulled on my hand while moving to the glass wall and pulled down on the shade to cover the glass wall.