I’d told him I’d move faster.Which I’d done.“What made you rush down the hallway and barge into Dominick’s office like that?” He turned his chair toward me, spreading his fingers wide and pressing them together, like he was palming a basketball. “Why couldn’t you have waited to show me the folder when I came back to my office?”I straightened, holding a hand on my hip, the stack of folders resting in my other arm.He was looking for an argument.I wasn’t going to give him one.“I won’t do it again.”“You’re not the lawyer on this case, Hannah. You’re not the one who has to stand in the courtroom and present a believable argument. I can’t for the fucking life of me figure out why you did what you did today.”I felt the same way about how he was acting and what had warranted this kind of reaction.“I was excited for you,” I admitted. “I’ve watched how hard you’ve been working on this case, and I wanted to offer some relief.”“Relief?” His eyes narrowed, his hands dropping as his arms
“You haven’t even gone to trial yet,” Dominick countered.“I’m telling you”—I ground my teeth—“we would have won without it.”I would have done everything in my fucking power, but I did question if that would have been enough to persuade the jury. Hannah’s findings certainly made it easier, and now, I wouldn’t have to work so hard.That changed nothing.I wasn’t going to give her a goddamn medal for snooping through my files and bringing something to my attention that I would have figured out at some point anyway.I brought the tumbler of scotch up to my lips. “Reassign her, I beg you.”“Dude, relax.” Jenner rubbed my shoulder like he was a masseur. “You’ll survive, I promise.”Dominick looked at Camden and added, “He’s been chirping since the moment we even mentioned he was getting an intern. If it wasn’t Hannah, he’d be bitching about someone else.”“Not true.” I sighed. “She’s going to be the death of me.”“I spent eighteen years under the same roof as her,” Camden said, checking o
I put my hand up in the air, not at all surprised he’d assumed it was a female. “I’m saying I might have benefited from sleeping with her a few years ago when she worked at my firm.”“Does anyone know about this? Hannah? Your team—”“Fuck no. No one knows.” I pounded his chest as I sensed his worry. I would never incriminate any of his employees—that was what he was asking and why there was concern in his voice. “Even you don’t know, Dominick, because we never had this conversation.” I pulled my hand back. “I don’t always play fair, but Kennedy is going to win because he deserves to.”“Jesus, this could get you disbarred.”“It won’t, I assure you.”He glanced around the bar, finally looking at me. “I give you a lot of shit for being an asshole, but deep down, you’re a good man, Declan, and you’re doing right by my client.” He clinked his glass against mine. “I appreciate that.”“You know me; I don’t fucking lose.”At least when it came to law.When it came to Hannah … that was a whole
“I don’t know; your cupcakes are pretty serious, but—” Oaklyn licked the Nutella off her lip. “Hannah, what the heck are these?” She looked at the brownie in her hand as though it were an alien. “My God, girl. Damn.”“I know.” I took another bite, eyeing my next victim—a middle piece in the center of the plate that was gooey on all four sides. “Everything about them is everything I need at this moment.” I took a drink of my wine.“If you weren’t such a good attorney, I’d be telling you to open a bakery,” my brother said, going in for his second brownie.“Calm down with the attorney title. Neither of us can use that quite yet.” I licked the chocolate off my fingers as I finished. “Besides, I might not even pass the bar—ever. So, there’s a chance I might never get that title.” I picked up the brownie I’d been eyeing and took a bite. “If all else fails, you can loan me the money to open the bakery. With you billing out at least four hundred an hour, you’ll definitely be rich enough.”He
I probably shouldn’t have said that.But the wine was making my lips a little looser than normal.“Am I supposed to feel bad for you?” His brows rose. “Welcome to the life of a lawyer, Hannah. This is what happens when you’re successful. Things come up at all hours, and you have to make yourself available.”I cleared my throat, holding the doorway, wishing I hadn’t barked back at him. “What do you need me for?”He pointed at one of the chairs. “Sit.”I set the bag on my lap as I settled in the seat.He placed his arms on the desk, his teeth piercing his bottom lip as he looked at me. “We have a problem.”God, I wished he weren’t so good-looking.His hair was a tad messy on the top, his tie loosened.His scruff was even thicker than it had been this morning.Those were the only problems I could see.There was a folder in front of him that he pushed toward me. “Read.”I lifted it into my hands and opened the top, scanning the first few lines. “What is this?”“Evidence.”There were only
“I used the microwave.” She set the container she’d taken from the chair onto the table and pushed it toward me. “Here, have one.” She licked a chunk of something off her thumb that must have accidentally dipped into the dessert. “Before you say it, I wasn’t getting distracted by my stomach or paying more attention to my hunger instead of this case. Chocolate actually helps me focus.”That fucking mouth.That was my distraction.Not what was coming out of it, but what it looked like.The thickness of her lips. The way she licked them.How she chewed the inside of her cheek when she feared what my response was going to be.“Tell me how chocolate helps you focus.”She pointed toward the container. “Try one. Trust me.”“You want me to trust you?” I chuckled.Trust wasn’t what had been built between us.There was a brownie sitting in front of her, resting on a napkin, and she lifted it toward her mouth. “I didn’t poison them, if that’s what you’re worried about.”I wasn’t worried.I just
“Yes.” I waited until her stare met mine. “Now, take it further. Did I put that brownie there for my advantage? Or because there were too many in the container and I wanted to make room for something else?” I paused, waiting. “Not everything is what it seems.”Her mouth opened, teeth stabbing her bottom lip.“Remember, there’s going to be times when the opposition presents something you’re unprepared for. You have to go into court, expecting this, or you’ll risk the chance of being destroyed. So, when it happens, are you going to roll onto your back and take it?”Goose bumps rose over her bare arms.“Or are you going to spin what’s presented and dominate the trial?” I lowered my voice and said, “What kind of lawyer are you going to be?”She turned her body toward me, releasing the lip she’d been gnawing. “The kind that wins.”“Show me.” I placed my hand on the folder she was still holding. “I’ll be in my office.”I walked out of the conference room and stopped the second I reached the
“Fuck you, Declan.” Her stare changed to a glare. “Not that it’s any of your business, but it was my roommate. The fire alarm had gone off in our building. She’s hanging out with my brother, and they had to evacuate. She was just letting me know.” Her hands balled into fists. “She sounded stressed, and I told her I loved her—that’s what you heard.”Fuck … me?She was playing naughty—and I liked it.At the same time, the relief came in hard and fast.I didn’t know why. It shouldn’t matter.But it did.“Stop deviating. You’re wasting my time.” I nodded toward the stack of papers. “What does this revelation—as you would call it—have to do with the evidence?” I ignored the way my hard-on was pressing against my zipper. “Our client has two email addresses. Most of us do. So what?”As she took a deep inhale, I glanced down her body, seeing her nipples were even harder than they had been before.She caught me staring, and I pushed the chair back, getting ready to stand.“Maybe you called me