The Lingering Kiss of Farewell novel Chapter 49

CH 49

Calvin

He was currently sitting in his conference room of his own building, with Wil next to him. They were waiting for Lisa, Hamilton and Liam Stevens, a family and all lawyers. Lisa had not sat the bar exam, but she had attended law school and completed it, from what Wil had found out, she’d gotten good marks as well.

She’d simply opted not to sit the bar exam and had changed her career path and gone against her family’s tradition. She was likely to have only studied law because it was expected of her by her family. She also had

a mother and two sisters who were lawyers as well.

Calvin had prepped for this meeting in advance and was here to show them that he was genuine in wanting to help Marilyn recover from her injuries. Liam was the first to walk into the room, followed by Lisa and then

her brother Hamilton. Both he and Wil stood as they were shown into the room.

Wil waved them to the chairs opposite where they sat. There was food laid out on this table for them all. It- was 7pm at night, and he’d offered to provide a fully catered dinner, to which Liam had accepted. What was on the table now were only starters. “Dinner will arrive in about 10 minutes.” He told them, “Please help

yourself.” He indicated to the food. “Coffee?” he asked.

Coffee was made for everyone in the room and as he sat there, his eyes moved to Lisa, and she openly glared at him. He couldn’t blame her for that look; she had fallen and broken her wrist when trying to brace for the impact on the ground, and he had now also harmed her friend.

“I’d like to formally apologise again, Lisa,” he used her first name, trying to build some semblance of

comradery. “I never meant for you to be injured by my actions. I’m sorry about that,” he stated.

She looked at her cast and then back to him. “Well, I’m not the only one to sport a cast now, am | Mr Reeves!”

she shot right back at him, and her tone implied she was spoiling for a full fight with him.

“No,” he nodded at her.

“That is why we are here.” Wil interrupted them.

Before she and he could get into a heated discussion over it. Her claim that he had assaulted her had now

been resolved, and it had not gone in her favour. Had been turned by Wil, back on herself and become that

she had actually assaulted him.

Because, on a technicality, Lisa Stevens had laid hands on him first, so he’d only actively defended himself from her, and had only laid his own hands on her in an effort to have her let go of him. Which was all caught on film. She’d also been the first one to speak between them, and her words were aggressive and rude,

insulting him.

Her own father had come in and put a stop to her trying to take him to court over her broken wrist, because

Calvin had only tried to shake her off himself and, though yes, she’d fallen down and gotten injured, it couldn’t be seen as Calvin had intentionally tried to harm her.

Wil had put forward that if she’d not grabbed a hold of Calvin and yelled abuse at him, Calvin wouldn’t have touched her at all, and he wouldn’t have. So her own father had stopped his daughter from taking him to court because she would lose the battle. There was full video footage of her grabbing onto him first.

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He’d agreed to still pay for all of her medical bills, a gesture of good will on his part, but that did nothing to stop the anger coming from Lisa at all. She still wanted a piece of him, regardless that his name had been cleared against her.

“My client has apologised Miss Stevens, for your injury, even though it was agreed on that you instigated the event that led to your fall and broken arm. Calvin even paid the medical bills when he didn’t have to; because he was not at fault. Leave that out of this,” Wil stated, and then looked to her father “Could you contain her on that, please.”

Liam, he saw just nodded and put a hand on his daughter. “Calm down, we’re not here about you. Let it go, you’d never win that, not even with myself or your mother defending you,” she was told.

Dinner arrived and was served, and they could get down to discussing why they were actually here in the first place. “My client has taken full responsibility for the injuries sustained to Miss Riddley, who we acknowledge is not here due to still being in the hospital.” Wil stated, “Even though he did not push her down the stairs, or have any intent to physically harm her. Which you all now know, and have heard from or read in Miss Riddley’s police statement, as have I and Calvin. Her account of the events that led up to her falling down the stairs, not even she stated that Calvin pushed her. He simply let go as she demanded of him, unexpectedly, and she lost her balance, then fell was all.”

That was his saving grace, and he knew it. Calvin was glad that Marilyn had not lied about what had happened in that stairwell either. Her statement actually matched up with his. She was it seemed an honest person, not out to take him for everything.

Even when she could have, a simple lie would have seen it go in her favour because there were no witnesses to the events other than him and her. She could have stated he pushed her, and gotten a massive settlement from him, but she’d not tried to do that.

The detective had stated Marilyn had said she just wanted to leave Houston and go back home to Virginia, and live her life as before, peacefully and never have to lay her eyes on him again. The unwarranted pulling at her clothes by him to expose her torso to him. She’d not like that though, and again he couldn’t blame her.

They were here to discuss his accidental pulling of her hair and the way he’d exposed her torso to him. He was hoping to settle both of those here and now, and then get down to the way he was going to support her

recovery.

He also now understood just why she had fought so damned hard not to show him her torso. She was hiding the scars on her body, something he’d not known she had. His attempting to get evidence had likely been

distressing for her and in more ways than one. She likely wouldn’t have wanted him to know about the scars

on her body more than anything else at that very moment.

It was entirely possible in his mind now, that if she didn’t have all those scars, that she might well have just

seen fit to lift her shirt up and show him there was no strawberry birthmark on her lower left ribs.

That would have solved if she was or wasn’t Marrin to him, and he’d have apologised and walked away, and

he knew it. But he’d forced her hand, and there were now consequences for his own actions. One that had put Marilyn in the hospital and ones that could see her needing medical assistance for the rest of her life.

No one in this room could state he’d done it on purpose now, but he’d fully admitted it was his fault. “Liam, did you bring up the issues with Marilyn herself?” Calvin asked. He made a point of calling her Marilyn all the time to prove he no longer saw her as Marrin and had let that go.

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CH49

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