Reconcilable Differences: A 'Having It All' Novel Read Online Free Page A

trying to undermine her credibility?
Well, she'd show him. What did he know, anyway, about mediation? About
relationships? About her?
    Increasingly flustered, Kate was relieved to hand out
consent forms and wait quietly while everyone reviewed and signed them. She
hesitated, biting her lip. Conflict of interest was kind of an issue here.
Strictly speaking, she had an ethical responsibility to acknowledge any current
or previous relationship with the disputants or, she supposed, their
lawyers.
    She squinted in Simon's direction, pondering the problem.
Fifteen years was a long time. His features, tranquil while he scanned the
form, were even more handsome than they had been at nineteen. She felt her
pulse race wildly as the memory of him then, how he had made her feel, all that
he'd meant to her, invaded her mind, and body, like a creeping virus.
    He glanced up and studied her just as carefully over the
bent heads of the others. Her gaze locked briefly with his, and one corner of
his sensuous bow-shaped mouth crept upward in secret acknowledgment, as if
daring her to tell her clients that they'd in fact been lovers. She panicked,
glancing down at her notes, her heartbeat like thunder. Was he mocking her with
that sardonic smile? Her breath wouldn't come, and she struggled to draw more
air.
    She couldn't do it. She just couldn't make herself do it.
She could send them to another mediator, but... so much was riding on this for
her. Another perfect case study like this wouldn’t come her way before the end
of the year. Would it affect her performance? Her objectivity? She prayed not,
but she was in such a flustered state. If neither of them said anything, who
would know? Was that wrong? She'd think it over. There'd be time later. Maybe
she could get rid of him some other way. Maybe David Broadbent would come back.
She grasped at the threads of her thoughts. What was I saying? She stood
up and paced the length of the table and back.
    "I--I can assure you all that--that, though I may at
times appear to be meandering in my questioning, I am quite purposeful in my
methods. We are going on a journey of discovery together, and I do have
a map." Kate paused, conscious she was reciting her script too quickly,
hoping for a serene countenance to conceal her distress. She'd never felt so
lost at sea in her life. Well. Almost never. But she wasn't going there again.
She'd gotten over him long ago. There was nothing to worry about.
    She gathered the forms and tapped them briskly on the
table, resuming her seat. "I can also assure you that, if you play by my
rules, you will both leave here satisfied. Both of you." She looked
from D'arcy to Eli and back again. D'arcy’s crisp brow creased with a tiny
frown. She couldn't fail to notice Simon's lip curl in disbelief. Annoying man.
    She leveled her gaze at both lawyers, trying to suppress
her feelings of skepticism. From past experience, Kate knew she'd have some
trouble with Sharon as things got going. Simon's game plan was a complete
mystery. What kind of a lawyer had he become, anyway? Was he the cynical,
embittered, arrogant man he seemed? They'd better not mess this up for her. It
was too important. She would simply have to handle them, like she handled all
difficult people. His eyes followed her as she moved.
    She felt so exposed -- so naked under his scrutiny. She
folded an arm across her churning middle and fingered the silver eternal knot
pendant that hung at her neck - a reminder of the interrelatedness of all
phenomena - and drew a deep breath, using it to calm herself. Was there a
reason Simon had walked back into her life today? What lesson was she supposed
to take from this?
    His eyes were very expressive, very watchful, cerulean
blue, though his face was impassive. What thoughts swirled in that gorgeous
head? His hair was still blond with a slight wave, but cut much shorter than
she remembered. It looked darker than she remembered, too, almost brown at the
nape. But it still shone