“So I quit the job?” Lance asked. Nora could hear the disappointment in his words, the reluctance.

“You’ll have to if you want your daughter back. You’re no longer in the Navy?”

“No. Medical discharge. Honorable discharge,” he said.

“Were you awarded any medals?”

“Maybe,” he said and left it at that.

“That’s good. I can make sure we get you a new judge, a judge who has a military background. As a veteran, a wounded and decorated veteran, you should have a very good chance for equal custody. Have you considered rejoining the Navy?”

“Not really an option. I was offered a job in defense contracting from a company that works with the Navy in Rhode Island.”

“With SPECWAR?” Nora asked.

Lance narrowed his eyes at her. “How do you know about that?”

Nora mimed locking her lips and throwing away the key.

“Don’t ask, don’t tell.” She had a rather important client there she would hate to piss off. Damn good tipper.

“How’s the pay?” the judge asked Lance.

“Stellar. But it’s a desk job. I like to be active. That’s why I wanted to work for Kingsley running security at his clubs, helping people in a hands-on way. Sitting in front of a computer isn’t my idea of serving people.”

“It might be worth swallowing your pride over. Getting your paycheck from a legitimate employer will reflect much better on you than a paycheck from Kingsley Edge. There’s no bones about it, young man. I can get you in front of a sympathetic judge, I can help you find a good lawyer, I can tell you which psychologist to call for your psych eval, but the rest is up to you. If you want your daughter back, you’re going to have to say goodbye to this world, goodbye to your job with Kingsley and goodbye to Mistress Nora.”

Lance fell silent. Nora looked up at Judge B. who could only smile apologetically at her. She leaned forward and squeezed his hand, grateful for his honesty even if his honesty hurt.

“So let me get this straight...” Lance stood up and started to pace the small cluttered office. “I have dreamed for two years about getting my daughter back. I have dreamed for sixteen years about finding the perfect woman for me. I find the perfect woman for me and find out how to get my daughter back, but...to get my daughter back, I have to give up the perfect woman.”

“If it makes you feel any better,” Nora said, turning to face him, “I’m not the perfect woman.” If Lance thought she was perfect, maybe they should go their separate ways.

“Perfect or not,” Judge B. said, “you are correct. Being involved with her would give your ex-wife’s attorney all the ammunition they need to keep you away from your daughter. Is it fair? No, not at all. I have nine grandchildren and would let Miss Nora babysit for them in a heartbeat. But what is fair is rarely a question the courts bothering answering. What is right is often thrown under the bus in favor of what looks right.”