“Mrs. Lawson,” she said, her voice high and light. “Can I help you find Ethan? He’s in a meeting with Arthur.”

I walked up to the desk, the wheels of the heavy suitcases screeching loudly against the polished floor.

I lined the three bags up side by side right in front of her desk.

“These are for you, Lila,” I said, my voice carrying clearly across the quiet lobby.

Her smile faltered, her gaze dropping to the luggage. “I don’t understand.”

“These are Ethan’s things,” I said, keeping my tone perfectly conversational. “Since you have been sharing his bed, I assumed you would want to share his wardrobe.”

A couple of junior associates near the elevators stopped talking and turned to look.

Lila’s face flushed a deep, burning crimson. “Mrs. Lawson, please. This is a misunderstanding.”

“There is no misunderstanding, Lila,” I said. “I read the messages about the Friday reservation. I also smelled your perfume on his coat.”

She shrank back against the desk, her fingers clutching a paper folder.

At that moment, the executive elevator chimed behind me.

The silver doors slid open, and Ethan stepped out onto the marble floor.

He was laughing at something Arthur Vance was saying beside him.

Ethan’s laugh died instantly when his eyes landed on me, the suitcases, and Lila’s white face.

Arthur stopped walking, his brow furrowing as he looked between the three of us.

“Clara?” Ethan said, his voice dropping an octave as he stepped forward. “What is going on here?”

He looked down at the three leather bags parked in the middle of his firm’s lobby.

My phone buzzed in my hand with a new message notification.

I looked down at the screen.

The message was from the assistant to Evelyn Reed, the premier family law attorney in the city.

*The retainer has been processed, Mrs. Lawson. We are ready to proceed with the filing on your signal.*