A Healing Love
Copyright© 2025 by Marc Nobbs
Chapter 21: Exploratory Discussions
Coming of Age Sex Story: Chapter 21: Exploratory Discussions - Paul Robertson's journey continues as his past and present collide at a star-studded movie premiere, where a connection that once terrified him reignites with passion that threatens to consume them both. Fighting to forge a new future for himself and stop drifting, Paul must finally become the man he’s always been afraid to be. A beautiful, bittersweet exploration of grief, social responsibility, the healing power of love, and learning that sometimes loving someone means letting them go.
Caution: This Coming of Age Sex Story contains strong sexual content, including Ma/Fa Consensual Romantic Heterosexual Fiction
Tuesday’s exam went just about as well as I could have hoped. Afterwards, I stayed on campus and met up with six of my friends who also had a morning exam, treating them all to lunch in the Students’ Union canteen. Alannah was included, but not Lily, even though she had the same exam. I still didn’t know what was going on with her, and I needed to sort it out. If Alannah came to badminton club on Wednesday afternoon as I expected, I could walk her home afterwards, and then I could speak to Lily and find out what the problem was.
But that was for Wednesday. For now, after lunch, I had a meeting with Will at his office.
“Paul!” Paige almost yelled when I entered the atrium foyer of the building that, if all went to plan, I’d soon own.
Well, soon is a relative term. If things went to plan, my purchase was about fifteen months away.
She had been standing behind the reception desk with the two regular receptionists, but scurried around it and scampered over to meet me. She stopped abruptly in front of me, suddenly looking nervous. I held my arms open and smiled. She returned the smile, then stepped forward to hug me.
It was ... Odd.
Don’t get me wrong, it was a perfectly pleasant hug, but it was ... Chaste. She didn’t press her body against mine. I couldn’t feel her breasts pressing against my chest. But I suppose that was appropriate, right? She wasn’t my girlfriend anymore, and as far as I knew, she was with someone else now. And this was her workplace.
But still...
She stepped away from me, smiled and said, “So ... er ... How have you been? I’ve not seen you since...”
She left the last time we’d seen each other unsaid.
“I’m good,” I replied. “Busy, you know? But good.”
“Good.”
“And you? Did that ... er, you never told me his name. Did he get around to asking you out?”
She nodded. “Gary. His name is Gary. And yes, he asked me out the weekend after we ... You know. We’ve been together nearly three months now.”
“And you’re happy?”
She nodded again. “And you?”
I nodded back. “I’m doing okay.”
She smiled and nodded. Then twisted her body away from me and back again. “I should ... I have to get back to work.”
“Yeah. Well, it was nice to see you.”
“Nice to see you too. Later.”
I watched her walk away. She still carried off that ‘Lady in the Street’ vibe she’d always had. Classy. Elegant. My mind briefly drifted back to the times she’d shown me how much of a ‘Freak in the Sheets’ that ‘Lady’ could be.
I shook my head to clear it and went over to the reception desk.
“Good afternoon, Paul,” said Helen, the receptionist who Will had told me had been at the firm longer than he had. “Nice to see you again. You’re here to see Will and his guests, that right?”
“Guests? I thought it was going to be just me and Will.”
“Oh? Well, he took two lawyers from another firm into Meeting Room Four about an hour ago and told me to let him know when you arrived. I’ll call him now.”
“Okay.”
What was going on? The plan had been for Will to call Sarah Ward and introduce me, vouch for my situation, and then leave me to discuss the investment in Kayla’s album.
Helen told me to have a seat while she called the meeting room and let Will know I’d arrived. He came out to meet me a little after that—about the time it would take to walk down two flights of stairs. The building had four floors, and I knew from my time here in the summer that Meeting Room Four was on the third floor. The Conference Room—where Will had delivered his news about the branch office’s closure to his staff—was on the ground floor. Meeting Rooms One and Two were on the second floor, Three and Four on the third floor, and the Board Room on the top floor.
Will strode over to me, his hand extended. “Paul, right on time.”
I shook his hand. “I try to be.”
“I know you do. Good trait to have. Come on, we’re in Four. Sorry about that, but it was the only one available at such short notice.”
I walked alongside him towards the stairs at the back of the atrium. “Helen said you had guests. Been with them for an hour already. What’s going on?”
He glanced at me. “Sarah and James both came down from London. I think they’d been looking for an excuse to do so, and you provided it. I’ll explain when we get there. Sally and Jeremy are with them now, so it will be cramped at first, although we had Carole and Theresa in there too earlier, and we coped. But we’ll leave you and Sarah alone to discuss this deal after I’ve made the introductions and explained a couple of things.”
We arrived at Meeting Room Four, which was not a small room, but neither was it as big as the Board Room on the floor above. There was a large table in the middle of the room and a large television screen on one wall. The table was slightly smaller than Will’s dining room table. You could probably fit eight people around it instead of ten. There were certainly eight chairs in the room, although two of them were pushed against a wall.
The four people already in the room stood as we entered. I already knew Jeremy and Sally. They were Partners in JMS just like Will and would be, in a little over a year, my partners. I didn’t know either of them very well, and I knew I probably needed to change that before next March rolled around.
The other two people I didn’t recognise, but Will had already told me who they were.
“Paul,” Jeremy said, extending his hand. He had been sitting closest to the door. “Good to see you again. How are you keeping?”
I shook his hand. “Good. I’m good. You?”
“Never better, chap. Never better.” He was grinning widely. “You know how it is. Business is good. Lots going on. Fees rolling in. All good. Look, Paul, once you’re done here, I wouldn’t mind fifteen minutes with you if you can spare the time.”
“Sure. What about?”
“This place. The plan is for you to buy it, right? I’m happy to do the legal work for you for the purchase.”
“Wouldn’t that be a conflict of interest?”
“Not really. If I drew up the subsequent lease, it would be, but I have someone who can do that for us and remain impartial.”
“In that case, sure, let’s talk.”
Sally offered me her hand next. She was sitting on the other side of the table from Jeremy, and the other two were sitting next to her. “I don’t need to meet with you,” she said with a grin. “Not unless you’re getting divorced or planning on adopting any children.”
I grinned. “Wouldn’t have to get married first? For both of those.”
“For the divorce, certainly. But you’d be surprised how many single people are trying to adopt.”
“Paul, this is James Harrison,” Will said. “Partner at Harrison and Ward, and Head of ... What did you call your department again?”
James smiled. “Image and Reputation Management. Nice to meet you, Paul.” He held out his hand and I shook it.
“And this is Sarah Ward. Also a Partner at Harrison and Ward and Head of ... What was it?”
“Media Business, Copyright and Rights Management.” She also extended her hand for me to shake. Will then gestured to one of the two empty seats on the side of the table closest to the door. I chose the one next to Jeremy, while Will took the seat on the other side of me.
“I know this wasn’t what you were expecting, Paul, and I’m sorry for springing another meeting bigger than you expected on you, so let me explain.
“I called Sarah this morning to arrange our call this afternoon, and she told me that she and James had been meaning to call me for some time. We’ll get to the reason for that. So, I invited them down. It’s better for you to meet Sarah in person anyway if she’s going to do some work for you, and it afforded them both the opportunity to discuss with Jeremy, Sally, and me a not-insignificant matter that will ultimately concern you as well.”
I looked at him but didn’t say anything.
I admired Will. He was always so calm, confident, and in control. But I was beginning to realise more and more that he was also secretive, manipulative, and more than a little cunning. And it was the right decision not to appoint him as a Director of Wintersmith.
He was a good man, no doubt about it. I would always want him on my side in any argument. But that’s kind of my point. I wouldn’t want to be on the other side of any disagreement with him. And it was clear that he put the best interests of his family, his firm, and himself first. In that order. How could he have been a Wintersmith Director while also running the firm in which Wintersmith was investing? The conflict of interest was clear.
“What’s going on, Will? And don’t try and explain it to me like I’m a kid. We’re going to be partners, right?” I paused to glance at first Sally and then Jeremy. “So, start treating me like one.”
Will nodded. “Of course. You’re right, of course. You’re a smart person, and you’re risking a lot. And if it weren’t for you, the three of us and all our staff could well be looking for new jobs or, at best, new homes closer to one of the JMS London branches.”
I nodded.
Will looked across the table. “James?”
The other man nodded, then leaned forward, clasped his hands together on the table, and addressed me.
“Paul, Sarah and I left JMS two years ago to set up on our own. We had our reasons and don’t need to go into them here. Not important. And we are doing well. We are profitable. But...”
He took a breath.
The nature of the work we both do means that our fees are not spread evenly throughout the year. Speaking for myself, I could go three or four months or longer billing fairly paltry amounts; then, when a client encounters a crisis, we kick into gear, and the whole team works twenty-four seven for days on end, allowing us to bill a year’s worth of fees in just a few weeks.
“My work is the same,” Sarah said. “Small bills throughout the year, but then commission on one rights sale or winning a copyright dispute, and we’re quids in.”
“But that also means that our cash flow is erratic,” James said. “And as we all know, cash flow is king.”
Will added, “Typically, when a business fails, it’s down to poor cash flow. If you can’t pay your staff because there’s not enough money in the bank, they won’t stick around. Miss electricity or broadband bills, and you get cut off. Bank loans? Tax bills? They all need settling. And you need cash in the bank for that. I think it’s something like eighty percent of bankruptcies are caused by running out of cash, rather than making a loss.”
“Yeah,” I said, “I get that. So, why are you telling me this?” The question was directed at James and Sarah.
James was about to answer, but Will beat him to it.
“Truly successful law firms engage in a wide range of work. JMS covers, or did cover until this restructure plan, just about every type of legal work. Here in Westmouth, what will become our firm has six distinct practice areas. I’m Head of Private Client, which includes wills, powers of attorney, trusts, estates—all of that personal legal work. But I’m sure you already know that, since that’s the area of law you want to specialise in. Sally is our Head of Family Law. Jeremy is Head of Corporate Law and Commercial Property. Those two areas are distinct yet related. We also have a Residential Property department and an Agricultural Property and Rural Business department.
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