Chapter 5
At Sawyer’s mother’s birthday party, the house was packed with guests.
He’d brought Quinn as his date..
Quinn wore a Chanel gown, makeup flawless, fluttering around the reception hall like a butterfly on Sawyer’s arm.
Anyone who didn’t know better would think Quinn was his wife.
During dinner, his mother found a quiet moment to ask:
“Sawyer, what’s Aria been up to lately? Why didn’t she come with you? You two… everything okay?”
Sawyer’s smile faltered almost imperceptibly.
Then he recovered, responding casually.
“Mom, you’re overthinking it. Her company’s been swamped, and I’m busy too. We’re fine.”
He smoothly changed the subject, nudging Quinn forward.
“Mom, this is Quinn Rivers, our firm’s new star attorney. Incredibly talented–just won a huge case.
His tone carried undisguised admiration and mentorship
Quinn chimed in with a few appropriate comments, and the mood quickly returned to birthday celebration mode.
Meanwhile, my assistant was driving toward the law firm.
She carried divorce papers and property division legal documents,
According to procedure, these had to be delivered to Sawyer personally today.
But the office was empty.
My assistant tried calling Sawyer’s cell.
No answer.
When she tried again, she realized she’d been blocked.
She called me, explaining that Sawyer wasn’t there.
That’s when I remembered–today was Mrs. Blake’s birthday.
Hi smother’s birthday? Yet my phone never rang once with an invitation.
Chapter 5
I laughed bitterly and told my assistant coldly:
“Just leave it in his office.”
At that moment, Sawyer was helping his mother cut the birthday cake.
Quinn stood beside him, thoughtfully deflecting drinks offered to him.
A colleague from the firm found him and whispered something, handing over an envelope.
“Ms. Channing’s people dropped off this document that needed your signature. She seemed urgent about it, so I signed for it.”
“Didn’t want to interrupt your event, but figured I should bring it over for you to take a look.
Sawyer’s expression darkened.
He probably figured anything I sent at this moment wouldn’t be good news.
He didn’t want to ruin his mother’s birthday.
Even more, he was afraid of his mother finding out about our lawsuit.
In Mrs. Blake’s mind, without me, Sawyer would never have gotten where he is today.
She often said the entire Blake family owed me their gratitude.
Too bad Sawyer forgot that.
He glanced at the plain manila envelope.
Under his mother’s questioning gaze, he casually shoved the document packet into Quinn’s hands.
Then smiled at his mother:
“Nothing important, just a supplemental investment agreement.”
Mrs. Blake took Sawyer’s hand.
“Sawyer, Aria’s such a good girl. All these years she’s supported our family financially. She’s never missed my birthday before. Why don’t you call her again? Let me talk to her personally.”
Sawyer quickly squeezed his mother’s hand.
“Mom, she’s in meetings right now. If you call her now, you’ll just put her in an awkward position.”
Hearing this, Mrs. Blake dropped the subject.
Quinn quickly buried the document packet deep in her briefcase.
Chapter 5
Her attention returned to figuring out how to impress Sawyer’s family.
And Sawyer?
He missed his only chance to find out what was coming and prepare accordingly.
