Guilty Pt 07 09

7 - Kai

Fucking Ricky.

"You tell me not to be late and you roll up here thirty minutes past? Is this a joke to you?"

He walks over to my car with a grin on his face. Smug fucker doesn't think I'll kick his damn ass.

"Actually, I did this for you boss." Handing a coffee over to me through my window and walking to the passenger side to get in. "Thought you'd get caught up with your... business. So I told you to come thirty minutes earlier just in case." He unbuttons his maroon jacket before taking a seat.

"I appreciate your thoughtfulness but I wouldn't risk this place for anything. Now I'm just pissed off knowing I missed out on a 5 star morning blow job because of your so called 'tactics'."

My side eye didn't go unnoticed from him while he pulled his phone out to call the agent.

I pull up to a gated entrance, past the gates you still cannot see the house. Large pine trees throughout the yard that block an outsiders view.

The property is as wonderful as I was told it would be, and fully protected.

I picked this property from many others although I didn't have many means to see it in person while I was away.

Word of mouth works well for me when I know it is coming from reputable sources.

There is little to no time where my people have disappointed me.

"Ms. Cridland is buzzing us in now."

The gate unlatches and opens for us to drive in.

The driveway consists of a couple twists and turns until the trees open up to the absolute perfect place I've been envisioning. Cottage core stone and vines style of house but a little bigger than what comes to mind right away. The agent is standing at the front door ready to bring us in and show us around.

"Good morning fellas, it has been lovely speaking with you over the past couple of months but it is amazing to put faces to names. You must be Ricky." She looks him up and down with a smirk on her face, a little too excited I can see.

"Yes ma'am. This is the man of the house, who it will be for but I have just been doing the majority of his bitch work for it is all." He winks at her and I gesture for us to head inside.

If I wasn't already sold on the house, Ms. Cridland would have sold me during her tour. Although she came on strong, she is very professional when she really means business.

"Well gentlemen, that is the tour and here we are back at the front entrance. Would you care for a cup of tea or freshly baked muffin for your travels?"

If looks could kill, Ricky would have devoured this woman minutes ago and I can just tell the thoughts running through his head trying to stay professional with his next words.

"Actually Ms. Cridland, I think I should just get down to business. What're we looking at here? I am obviously interested." I smile at her.

"Well I do have a little news on the place. We have recently gotten an offer from another buyer and it was generous enough to let the older couple who had this place leave their family happy. That being said, the deal hasn't been finalised just yet." She goes to open her folder to show papers and I couldn't be more irritated.

"I don't think you understand where I stand here Ms. Cridland. Respectfully, we have been in touch for months about this place, some other buyer isn't just going to steal it from me." My arms are crossed and she can sense the tension I have to hold back my words for her.

"Anything you want." As the words leave my mouth, her eyes dart to Ricky's cock and follow up his body.

It's as if I saw it all happen in slow motion, this woman is like a cat in heat.

Catching herself, she clears her throat. "Well sir, if we can come to an agreement, you still have to beat out the other offer of 2.5 -"

"You'll settle it for 5 million." She looks up at me like I'm an idiot for offering double the opposing offer price but writes it down anyways. She gives me a smirk and nods her head towards me and then towards Ricky with a disappointed release in her shoulders.

"You can have him as well." I say as I walk back to the car.

8 - Addison

Ruby swings her legs under the table with her hands tucked under her thighs as she keeps her attention away from the judge by looking around the room.

Adorably shy little one she is but, this setting will do that to most kids.

At least after today, this will be her last day needing to step foot into a courthouse.

Ruby has truly been through enough only being 12 years old and she deserves the most with her family.

To end my final statement, I pushed for a motion that only the judge can approve or deny.

"Your honour, before I end my final remarks I would like to push an impact statement on behalf of Ruby." I looked down and shot her a smile as she grabbed my hand. "Although it does not apply directly to her, due to her age it will apply to her guardian. With the false imprisonment of Mr. Branwyn, this family has suffered an impact that will never be forgotten. I would like to ask for compensation from the court of $10 thousand dollars due to the false imprisonment of Ruby's father and the mental load that this has taken on Ruby's future."

As I sit back down, I give Ruby a quick little hug and the judge takes notes while motioning the defence for their final remarks.

We wait patiently as the "defence" makes their final statement against mine which mostly contains accusations from Natali's case with Mr. Branwyn.

They are only trying to discredit him enough so the judge doesn't compensate them with the money I asked for. This move from them makes my heart jump with excitement. What they are doing doesn't help their case against Ruby since Natali already won her case so in turn, they have basically given up on trying to win against me.

Patiently we wait as the judge confers with the files and evidence provided. Finally looking up to everyone as she folds her hands together,

Ruby grabs onto my hand as the judge begins her statement to the court.

"Today the system has been proven to have its slip ups. I am devastated that you, Ruby, have had to sit through these proceedings making your father seem like a completely different person than the one you know and love. I am granting Mr. Branwyn full custody of his daughter and I am very aware of the impacts that imprisonment can have on day to day life back in society.. Therefore," she takes a breath and looks over to me with a smile and shake of her head. Almost as if she is thinking it was strategic for me to ask what I did when I did and says, "I am also granting the compensation requested by you Ms. Parker. To aid Ruby, apartment hunting and to make life comfortable while Andric is busy getting back into the job market."

After the judge wraps up her final remarks to the court, I give Ruby the biggest hug and tell her she did better than anyone else in her position would have.

She is the strongest little girl I have ever met and she made it through these proceedings without shedding a single tear about her father.

I turn and shake hands with the defence paying respects to their hard work as they do to me as well and, I take Ruby around back where Natali is meeting me to reunite Ruby with Andric.

Although this case was rewarding for me, and I have been looking forward to the end being able to reap the benefits of getting promoted, this moment is going to give me so many mixed emotions of nostalgia.

I open the door to the hallway and get a quick and tight embrace from Natali.

"I am so entirely proud of you. You killed it up there." She pushes me back by my shoulders holding onto them for dear life as I quickly lose myself in her eyes as she is staring me down. "You call me a badass. You went up there and basically left the judge questioning her career choice with this messed up system."

"DADDY!" Ruby screams and I hear her running to Andric who I hadn't even noticed was leaning against the wall behind me.

Natali lets me go and starts to introduce me to her client as she collects herself.

"This is Mr. Branwyn, the macho man who you can trust with your life is going to take great care of Ruby from here on out."

Suddenly, my smile as I turn to look at Andric starts to burn my cheeks and set the field of butterflies going off in my stomach on fire.

He tucks a piece of Ruby's hair behind her ear and wipes the tear falling down her cheek off with his thumb as he looks over at me.

Those mix-coloured eyes eating my soul the same way they did through my apartment windows reflection.

His stubble running across his sharp jawline just as I remember it running roughly across my thighs as he teased me the night prior.

"It is nice to meet you, Ms. Parker" His voice travels down my spine and sends a shock between my legs as my mind is reminded of the voice of someone who made me cum harder than I ever have before.

Kai?

I think I am in utter shock. Trying to fight with my unconscious mind, pulling myself out of the day dream I am currently having in the middle of a courthouse.

"Andric Kai Branwyn is the name." Kai reaches his hand out to shake mine.

Natali nudges my arm with her elbow and I snap back into reality, shaking his hand back.

"Uhm, wow sorry." I smile and shake his hand with a firm grip. "Kai is a lovely name. Do you usually go by Andric?" My snarky professionalism starts shining through the fact that I am still turned on by my prior thoughts.

He smiles as he is looking me dead in the eye trying to read my expressions.

His gaze falls from my eyes, to my mouth, to my neck, and to the floor.

Clearing his throat, he stands up straight off the wall he was leaning against and I clearly forgot how fucking big this man was.

"Andric is the name I go by for business." He fixes the cuffs on his expensive dress shirt that is just the right amount of tight around his muscles and looks back to my eyes. "Kai is not a name many people can call me by." He grins a little, brushing his hand through his slicked back and lightly speckled hair.

"I thank you both so much for your hard work and dedication towards my family. It will not be forgotten, I think I lucked out with the two of you being so... close." He pats Natali on the shoulder. "We should be heading out now. I have some job hunting to do." A short, stiff laugh rumbles through his throat and I can't tell if he was amused by the judges remarks or offended.

Natali and I watch as he walks away with Ruby holding onto his hand and talking away as she walks beside him, happy as ever.

A big teddy bear in her eyes but surely is someone that nobody here wants to test.

"Well. That was some sexual tension if I ever did feel it." Natali breaks the silence of us watching Kai walk out the door. "If I didn't know any better, I would think you knew Andric." She giggles and grabs her things. "Maybe you should get to know him, he seems like just the freak you need... wait you don't actually know him right?"

Natali looks up at me with questioning eyes.

I'm fighting my instincts to look away from her but I know that will give myself away.

What she doesn't know right now won't hurt her right? I really don't think she should find out, at least not yet.

"Of course I don't know him." I need to find a way to cover up the reason I am growing extremely hot and probably blushing right now though. "He is fucking sexy though."

Natali throws her head back with a laugh.

"You're not the one who had to have meetings with him in his prison uniform. Now that could get me going but, I kept it professional the whole time. You should be proud of me."

"Should I be? Do I sense a little bit of hesitation there?" I questioned her after she looked away and started walking.

Maybe they did sleep together and that's why he never wanted to come up and introduce himself at the club we were at.

"No. I could not risk this case just because my hormones go crazy sometimes. That being said, I don't know if I'm jealous that I totally know he is into you or if I'm jealous that I know you're into him. Either way, I felt your energy. You were basically spiritually fucking each other right in front of me and I wanted in on it."

She stops walking right as we enter the parking lot outside of the courthouse. As I look over at our cars parked next to one another, her hands grasp my chin and pull it to face back at her.

"I hope you know the world looks at you as if you're on fire. You have a certain burn in you that only some people carry and with that you can hold everyone in your grip if you do it correctly." She grabs my chin a little tighter before releasing it and gliding her fingers across my jaw line.

Goosebumps run down the side of my neck as I close my eyes and when I open them, she stares from my lips to my soul through my eyes and I just know there is something else she wants to say but instead says, "Are you ready to get out of here? I am over the moon excited right now to get back to the office so you can rub this public office promotion in Jake Wright's ugly face."

The tension subsides between us as she walks to her driver's side door, basically vibrating off of the high she is soon to get when she sees Jake humiliated in front of everyone.

I do have to admit, this is going to be my core memory promotion and on that account, the one most worth it after these last couple of days.

9 - Kai

I knew I was going to see her.

It was unavoidable that she would find out who I was at the courthouse but, I didn't expect her to turn me on so much with the way she was able to have the judge and defence in a chokehold with no other option but to go the way she was leading it.

I should have been more careful with the way I was with Addison around Natali but I truly couldn't help myself. If I hadn't dedicated my day towards Ruby, I would've taken her back home with me as well and said screw it to Natali.

The moment our house was visible through the trees, Ruby could see it from the back seat.

"Daddy, this castle is yours?" I look in the rear-view mirror to see her eyes widen at the thoughts rushing into her mind.

"Darlin, this is our castle. I got this for you, to love the home you have and to feel like as much of a princess as you want."

I smile knowing she will love every aspect of the house I will show her. I park the car and get out to help Ruby out of the car.

Opening the door I see that she has some tears streaming down her face.

"Ruby girl, what's the problem love? Do you not like it?" I wipe the tears from her cheeks and help her out of the car kneeling beside her on the ground looking up to her.

"No, I really love it." She sniffles. "I never thought I would have something I could call truly mine." She looks at me with her mix-coloured eyes just like mine. "But from here on out I am not a princess dad, I'm a queen!"

The minds of children never seem to surprise me. Simple things like this can mean everything to them in the moment especially when her mind is full of trauma.

I will have to get used to her more delicate and preteen emotions, something I am obviously not accustomed to. In my eyes she's still my baby girl...

As I take Ruby through the house tour showing her all the rooms that got set up in time for her arrival, I take the time to appreciate the team that was able to do this so fast for me.

I'll have to check in on Ricky later making sure he compensated everyone involved accordingly.

Thinking of help, my mind gets dragged back to Dee and the level of care she has for her cases. The old me would never stop to think about shit like this. Only until it was my family involved, from my doing, did I stop and realise a lot of things.

She had no idea who she was truly dealing with getting Ruby back with her father.

She still has no idea who I even am.

The more I was able to watch her mannerisms and the way she works the courtroom, the more I knew I could make a leader out of her.

She doesn't even realise her potential and that ignites my mind.

I can power her.

She will be someone that everyone will know and fear.