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Chris Irvine stepped up to the door to Mr. McMahon's hotel suite and knocked. As he waited for an answer, a sneer came over his face when he recalled Stephanie's threats. She'd claimed she was "taking over" the WWE - what a joke.
The door opened, and Vince instantly looked pleased to see him.
"Chris, my boy - come right in..."
The blond man stepped inside, and as he did, he immediately caught sight of the woman - ash-blond hair just above the shoulder, petite, exceptionally attractive, cool gray eyes. She was wearing a tailored, feminine suit in black, her skirt just brushing her shapely knees. She appeared to be in her early thirties - about his own age, give or take a year. Irvine couldn't take his eyes off her.
Vince cleared his throat and spoke. "Christopher Irvine, this is Dana Finley - my attorney..."
Dana gave a winning smile as she put out her hand for a shake. "Christopher..."
"You can call me Chris," Irvine said with a sly grin. "Nice to meet you, Ms. Finley..." He took hold of her hand, noting the firm handshake she gave him. Impressive. His guess was that she made about a half-mill a year. Yes, very impressive indeed.
"Ever since I was served," McMahon explained, turning back to the blond man, "I've been meeting and having phone conferences with Dana here...she's the best damned defense attorney in all of Connecticut..."
"And anywhere else, too, I gather..."
The woman shifted her eyes to meet Chris', a tiny smile touching her lips. "Why, thank you..." she said in a soft tone. "...I know you're just saying that, but Vince is right - I am the best."
Finley had a definite arrogance about her, and Irvine liked that. Or was it just that she was overly confident? Either way, he liked this woman - a lot.
For now, Chris turned back to Vince. "So, it's true? Stephanie is trying to gain full control of the company?"
"Yes, it is, Chris," the older man replied. "And after everything I've done for her...that ungrateful little..." He held his tongue at the rest of the sentence, but his face wore a frown of disgust and anger.
"Don't worry," Dana said. "This is Stephanie's first case...take it from someone who knows from experience - people like her tend to lose their first case against people like you...Vince, your daughter doesn't stand a chance..." Her rosy lips curled into a confident smile that looked to Chris to be more of an arrogant smirk.
McMahon and the blond man exchanged glances, and slow smiles similar to that on Finley's face suddenly adorned both of theirs. Yes, Chris definitely liked Ms. Dana Finley...
*
After the meeting, which had gone on for over two hours, Irvine bid farewell to his boss and the attorney with the intention of catching a quick lunch at the hotel's downstairs cafe. As he was stepping out into the hallway, an hand suddenly grasped his shoulder.
The blond man turned around to see Dana Finley directly behind him, a smile curling her full lips.
"Mr. Irvine...Would you like some company?"
"Well, I was just going to lunch," Chris began, sort of dumbfounded that the woman had asked him that. "But sure...yes, please do join me." He smirked as his instincts told him that this woman wanted him. It didn't matter that she was Vince's lawyer, or that she knew it was inappropriate for her to have any kind of relationship with him other than him being a witness to the events that had led up to this lawsuit. She was still a woman, and therefore, she couldn't possibly resist him. His smirk deepened still as thoughts of the new Mrs. Copeland ran through his mind. There was another woman who definitely wanted him - although she played her cards in a completely different manner. She had to make her husband and everyone else believe she wanted nothing to do with him, pretend she was scared of him for appearance's sake. But Chris, of course, knew otherwise.
Dana smiled prettily at him as they made their way down the stairs to the cafe. When they entered the small restaurant, the host seated them to a table, pulling the attorney's chair out for her before handing them menus.
The woman glanced quickly through the menu, apparently already having decided what she would be ordering. She looked directly into Chris' blue eyes, a slight smirk on her own face as she thought about what she wanted to say to him.
"So, tell me, Mr. Irvine..."
"Call me Chris," the young man said. "I hate being called 'Mr.' anything."
"Okay...Chris. What's the deal with this Amy you and your father kept mentioning? I thought this trial was about Vince's daughter suing him for control of the WWE."
"It is," he responded as he closed his menu and set it down before him. He neatly folded his hand in front of him. "When you get down to the bare bones, Amy is really the entire reason for this case to begin with."
Finley arched an eyebrow. "Well, then why isn't she a co-plaintiff with Miss McMahon?" she questioned.
Irvine chuckled. "That's a good question, Dana..." He decided that, if he was going to insist she call him by his first name, she would have no problem with him referring to her by her own. "I think it has something to do with the fact that she belongs to me."
"Oh?" The blonde woman's face wore a quizzical expression. "If she 'belongs' to you, what is she doing married to this Adam guy?"
"I don't know," Chris said bitterly. He stopped speaking as the waitress came over to take their orders. When they were done and she stepped away, he resumed talking. "All I know is that she's as in love with me as I am with her, and the only reason I can think that she married him is to make me jealous."
Dana studied the man intently. Although every one of her instincts told her he was more than just a little disturbed and delusional, she couldn't help feeling attracted to him. There was a type of mysterious danger about Chris Irvine, and she liked that. She'd always been into the bad boy type, which was actually half the reason she'd chosen to become a defense attorney rather than a prosecutor.
"Well, don't you worry, Chris," she said confidently, reaching over to pat his clasped hands.
He glanced down at their hands before raising his gaze back to her gray eyes.
"We won't let this woman get away with any funny business if she takes the stand...That's a promise you can count on. We'll break her."
Irvine's face broke into a mischievous half-smile as he stared intently into the young woman's eyes. Yes, he liked Dana Finley a lot.