Chapter 5 The lawyer in black

LILA

The nerves of Joshua to go that far and photoshop a picture of me with an unknown man. Were they really that greedy and wanted to use everything to get my grandfather's property?

"Pathetic!" I scoffed, flipping my hair.

I was going through my grandfather's will, thinking of ways I could high up my game. I was going to make Jessica and Joshua so miserable that they'd wish they had never met me.

I sat in my chair, staring at the city through the glass walls. Jessica and Joshua flooded my thoughts, and it got on my nerves how they could stoop so low, going as far as trying to manipulate me.

The sound of my Telecom snapped me back to reality. "Sorry to disturb you, ma'am. But there's someone out here who wants to see you. He claims to be your grandfather's lawyer."

That intrigued me deeply. I had no idea my grandfather had a lawyer and I always wondered why I had never met him. "What's his name?" I asked.

"Mr Killian Vitale," she replied.

I took a deep breath, hoping this wasn't just some kind of trick from Jessica and Joshua, but I wanted to see what new plot they thought of this time. "Let him in," I told her.

Within seconds, my assistant- Rachel, walked in with a very handsome man. He was very tall, with dark brown hair and amber eyes. For a moment, I got lost staring into his eyes.

"Here he is, ma'am," Rachel's voice snapped me back to reality. I noticed the man smirking, realizing that he caught me staring.

My cheeks heat up, turning full red. The last thing I wanted was to embarrass myself in front of Joshua's allies.

I returned my gaze to Rachel. "You can leave us now, Rachel. Thank you."

She smiled and nodded, leaving us. He stood there, and both of us stared daggers at each other. I scanned him slowly- he was dressed in a suit, a black one, two buttons left open, giving me a peek at his biceps.

A lawyer should look professional and not flaunt his body like he's going on a runway show. "Are you done staring, Miss Lila?" He asked, causing me to feel embarrassed again.

This was the second time he caught me staring. "I... I was just studying you. Don't keep those silly ideas in your head."

My voice remained stern, and I was happy that I was able to cover that up. "What brings you here, Mr Killian Vitale?" I asked, going straight to the point.

He took a seat, despite me not offering him, but I dismissed that. "I'm here on behalf of your late grandfather. "I'm his lawyer," he said.

I burst into a fit of laughter. "Yeah, and I'm related to Beyoncé," I said amidst laughter. His expression didn't change; instead, he started rummaging through some files.

"This should prove it."

He handed me some kind of file that's supposed to prove that he's indeed my grandfather's lawyer. I scanned it, reading each detail carefully. It looked real, but that didn't prove anything to me.

"How do I know it's not forged?"

He smiled. "I knew you wouldn't believe me, but I'm indeed your grandfather's lawyer. I have the original copy of his will and can show it to you."

He handed that to me as well, but I wasn't interested in looking at it. "You think you can fool me, Mr Killian Vitale?" I scoffed.

He blinked. "That was not my intention."

I flung the files off my desk, not caring where they landed. "You can go back and tell Jessica and Joshua they can kiss my ass," I said sharply, standing up. "I'm not buying whatever it is you're selling."

He didn't even flinch. Just calmly watched me like he'd expected that reaction. Which only pissed me off more.

"I told you already," he said, his voice still maddeningly calm, "I'm not working with them."

"Right," I laughed dryly. "You just magically show up now, looking all sharp in a black suit like some Netflix lawyer, with a bunch of convenient papers that just happen to clear everything up?"

He bent down and picked up one of the pages I'd tossed, brushing it off carefully. "I came here because your grandfather asked me to. Before he passed."

I folded my arms tightly, trying to hold myself together. "Funny. He never mentioned a lawyer. Not once. And I was the closest person to him."

"I know," he said, eyes meeting mine. "He told me you'd react like this."

"Oh, so now you're psychic?" I shot back, trying to ignore the flutter in my chest when he didn't look away. "You seriously expect me to believe this crap? That you're just some loyal lawyer dropping out of thin air with no agenda?"

He didn't answer right away. Instead, he let out a slow breath and sat back down. Again, without me inviting him. The nerve.

"You've been through a lot, Lila," he said quietly, like he actually cared. I get it. You don't trust anyone. Especially not with Joshua and Jessica constantly breathing down your neck. But if you'd just give me five minutes to explain-"

"No," I cut in. "I don't need another fake person pretending to be at my side." So, unless you have a damn time machine to go back and prove you're not lying, I suggest you leave."

His jaw clenched just slightly, and for the first time, I saw a flicker of something-maybe frustration, maybe sadness, I couldn't tell. He leaned forward, resting his forearms on his knees.

"I'm not here to hurt you," he said, more seriously now. I made a promise to your grandfather. And whether you believe it or not, I plan on keeping it."

That shut me up for a second. My heart thudded louder in my chest than I wanted to admit. There was something about the way he said it-too calm to be fake, too honest to ignore.

Still, I wasn't about to let my guard down that easily.

I looked at him long and hard before turning away. "You can go," I said, voice low. "Whatever you think you're here to do-it's not going to work for me."

He stood up without arguing, straightened his jacket, and walked toward the door. But just before he stepped out, he paused.

"I'll be back," he said simply, not in a threatening way, but like a promise. "When you're ready to hear the truth."

And then he was gone.