Friends With Benefits Read Online Free Page B

thought he was really nice. Then he started saying things that were kind of…I don’t know. Insulting.”
    “Really.”
    “Well, not insulting, just…disparaging. Anyway. We decided to go somewhere else for dinner and things kind of got ugly.”
    “What do you mean ugly?” His gut clenched.
    “The guy’s a lush,” she said bluntly. “He was pissed as a newt.”
    Ah. Mitch leaned back into his leather couch and crossed one ankle over his knee. “What is a newt, anyway?”
    There was silence on the other end of the line. “Um…I think it’s like a lizard or something.”
    “And newts get drunk?’
    “Mitch…” He heard the warning in her voice.
    “Sorry, sorry,” he said. “So. What did he do?”
    “He didn’t do anything, other than get totally wasted.”
    “Oh. So you two won’t be getting married any time soon?”
    Kerri snorted. “Ha. How about never.”
    “That’s unfortunate.” He tried to sound sincere.
    There was another small silence on the other end of the line. “Yeah. So now you need to think of someone else.”
    “Oh, for Christ’s sake.” He sat up straight. “I did what I said I would. Isn’t that enough for you?”
    “Well, no,” she said slowly. “Come on, Mitch. You said you’d help. I still need to find a husband.”
    He shook his head, even though she couldn’t see him. “You’re crazy, honey,” he said. “Whacked. This isn’t going to work. You can’t just find a husband like that.”
    “Well, I have to start somewhere. You said you’d help,” she reminded him again, her soft voice pleading.
    Oh shit, here they went again. “I’ll see what I can do. It’s not that easy. Everyone I know is either married or already in a relationship.”
    “There must be somebody.”
    “I’ll see.”
    After he hung up the phone, he stared up at the beamed ceiling of his living room. How was he going to get out of this now?

Chapter Five
    “The guy just wants to spend his daughter’s birthday with her.”
    Mitch leaned back in the chair behind his desk, the phone to his ear, and frowned. “Garth, this custody deal was hammered out and finalized months ago,” he said. “The agreement was every other year. This is not his year to spend the kid’s birthday with her. There’s no way my client is going to reopen this.”
    He heard Garth Layton, the other attorney, give a weighty sigh. “Come on, Mitch. You have to try.”
    “I can’t just go to her with nothing. Give me something here, Garth.”
    There was a pause, then Garth said, “Okay. He’s having some health issues. He doesn’t want anyone to know, least of all his ex-wife, so that’s all I can tell you.”
    “Not enough.” Mitch shook his head. “There’s no way she’ll go for it. Health problems. Jesus. I’ve met a lot of bitter, angry women, but she takes the prize. If I tell her that, she’ll say no just to spite him. There has to be something in it for her.”
    “Just try, Mitch. He wants the daughter for her birthday in September, and Christmas.”
    “Christmas too! Holy shit.”
    Again, silence on the other end. “You’re a smooth talker,” Garth said wearily. “You could talk a hooker into joining a convent. Could you just talk to her?”
    There was something in Garth’s voice that made Mitch pause. “Okay,” he finally said. “No guarantees, that’s for sure. I’ll get back to you.”
    He hung up the phone and scribbled some notes on a pad of paper on his desk, then tossed down his pen. He was going to have to meet with Mariah Sinclair. No way would a phone call do in this case.
    He ran his hands through his hair. He had no idea what he was going to say to her, but he had to take the request to her and get her answer. As if he didn’t know what it was going to be.
    He was getting so tired of this shit. Why couldn’t people just get along?
    He went to ask Christie to set up the appointment. His new assistant was working out great. She was young and didn’t have much experience,