by M. S. Parker
She was all over me in the cab, and it didn't stop when we reached her apartment. It wasn't in the best neighborhood, but it was far from the worst. I had a vague recollection of her saying that she worked as a pharmaceutical rep. Her apartment seemed nice, but I wasn't really paying attention to much of anything. Fortunately, judging by the way she was rubbing herself all over me, she wasn't interested in anything else either.
She peeled off the dress in record time, revealing a strapless bra that barely managed to contain everything, and a pair of panties that were little more than a strip of lace and silk that covered nothing. I barely had time to kick off my shoes and remove my shirt before she was on her knees and reaching for my belt.
When I pulled out a condom, Carmen pouted a little. I didn't doubt that she normally had men begging for that mouth, but I wasn't even tempted.
“Sorry,” I said. “It’s this or I leave.”
Presented with that, she took the condom from me and yanked down my pants and underwear. With a glance up at me through her lashes, she tore open the wrapper and proceeded to roll the condom on with her mouth. It was an erotic sight and, finally, some real interest in her stirred.
It couldn't compare to the image in my head though. Someone petite, with very little curves. But a mouth that could get me off in seconds. Eyes that I couldn't forget.
I was a class-act bastard, I knew, thinking of another woman while I had this beautiful one in front of me, but I couldn’t banish the thoughts of Dena, no matter what I did.
Carmen stood and reached for me, intending to draw me closer, but I didn't want that, didn't want to have to look her in the eyes and lie to her even more than I already was. I grabbed her hips and spun her around, pulling her ass back against my cock for a moment. She giggled a little as I bent her over the couch, then gasped as I nudged her ankles apart, not bothering to be gentle about it. She didn't seem to want gentle, and I definitely didn't want to be it.
Keeping one hand on the small of Carmen's back, I wrapped my hand around my cock and slid the head between her legs. I hooked a finger around the essentially non-existent crotch of her panties and pulled them aside. A moment later, I found her entrance and, without any finesse, pushed inside.
She was tight and hot, which is all I cared about. Blocking out the squeals she made as I began to thrust, I thought of Dena.
The throaty way she moaned, the way I had to drag each bit of submission from her. The way she curled against me after I made her come.
Perfection.
This...this was just release.
Still, I was enough of a gentleman to make sure Carmen got hers. When I felt my balls start to tighten, I slid my hand under her and found her clit. She was panting as she pushed back against me and I knew she was close.
“Come,” I growled as I rubbed her clit.
“More,” she begged. “More, baby. Please, more.”
I gritted my teeth and tried not to think about how Dena would've reacted to a command to come. I moved my other hand to one of Carmen's breasts, pulling down the cup of her bra so I could get my fingers on her nipple. When I pinched it, her pussy clenched around me and I knew I'd found her sweet spot.
Less than a minute later, she was coming, her muscles clamping tight around me. I squeezed my eyes closed and allowed myself to picture Dena bent over in front of me. Allowed myself to imagine that it was her gripping me.
The release was brief, and as soon as it was over, I pulled out. I was done.
I pulled off the condom and disposed of it down the toilet in the small bathroom off the hall, grabbing up my pants as I passed.
Carmen was stretching and smiling as I drew up my trousers. She'd adjusted her panties and bra, but made no attempt to cover herself.
I gave her a nod as I headed toward the door. Fortunately, it wasn't far, and I was able to get it closed before whatever she'd thrown at me hit it. She called me something in Spanish that I was sure wasn't complimentary, but I didn't bother to attempt to translate it. Whatever it was, I was sure she wasn’t off base. I really was an asshole. This was just further proof.
Chapter 4
Dena
“What is this?”
Bethany’s eyes were as cold as her voice. She was clearly trying to pull out all the intimidation stops. I could've told her not to bother. I wasn't someone easily bullied on a good day. And this was definitely not a good day.
I had a brutal headache, like an icepick was slowly rotating into my skull right at the base of my neck.
Still, I’d rather deal with the icepick than my boss.
Sadly, I didn’t have the luxury of choice. I had to put up with both, and the acknowledgement stretched my patience to the breaking point.
Glancing at the paper she held, I pursed my lips for a moment, and then looked back at her. “It appears to be the report you asked for.” I somehow managed to keep my tone polite.
“This is bullshit,” Bethany snapped. “It’s whitewashed bullshit. You basically have nothing to report. What the fuck, Dena? Do you want to be a prosecutor or not?”
I made myself take a slow breath before I responded. It wouldn't do to lose my temper. I did, however, ask sweetly, “Would you like me to fabricate something?”
Her lids flickered, and I wondered if I'd gone too far.
When she didn’t answer, I continued, my head pulsing. I figured I might as well say it all. “Shall I expand the report to include something along the lines of the defendant’s home was surrounded by numerous mafia types and I observed her whispering into the ear of her lawyer?”
A dark flush was creeping its way up Bethany's neck.
“Perhaps I should include something about how I saw her passing money to the officers who’d shown up to take the report.”
“Did you?” She bit off the words.
“No.” I rubbed my forehead. “And you should know that I've filed several copies of this report, so if one happens to...go missing, we have backups.”
“That was hardly necessary.” Bethany’s voice was stiff now, but she clutched her pen so tightly, it was a wonder it didn’t snap in two. “It’s not like I would ask you to falsify a report. I just wish you'd been more observant.”
I took a slow breath. I'd already pushed things too far. I needed to dial back some, or I was going to be looking for a new job.
“I noted, to the number, how many paintings were in the house, how many items had been destroyed, and the value. I noted when Ms. Mance believed she’d left, and when she’d returned. I gathered as much information as I could from the cops without having an official report. I even made a few calls to get the value of the damage. I have no idea what else you want me to provide.”
Her jaw was set, expression livid. For several seconds, she said nothing, and then she took the report, closed it up inside a folder and set it aside.
Flicking a hand at Pierce who'd been watching the exchange without a word, she said, “You’ll be working with Pierce. We need to keep this from being introduced at trial. Unless we can prove that she did this herself to gain sympathy, it has nothing to do with her killing her husband.”
I frowned. “What if someone is trying to threaten her?”
“Threaten her why?” Bethany rolled her eyes. “If it walks like a duck and talks like a duck.”
I glanced at Pierce, but his face was impassive.
“It was a random B&E, Dena. That's all. Don't let the defense turn it into something it isn't.”
“You don't know that it was random. The police have barely begun investigating,” I protested.
“Yes, Dena, I do know.” She turned back to her computer. “You two, get to work.”
We’d been dismissed. Glancing over at Pierce, I bit back a sigh and turned to go.
I was almost at the door when she spoke again, “Dena, it was very...thorough of you to copy the DA on the report, but it was hardly necessary. I keep very good records.”
I looked back at her and gave her a wide, empty sm
ile. “It’s habit, I’m afraid. We always copied all parties at the old firm. After all, we didn’t want to take a chance of a report being...lost. More than once, having multiple back-ups saved my ass.”
***
We’d spent nearly two hours working and not speaking outside what was necessary for the case, but there was enough to do that I didn't mind the silence.
We had a fairly expansive history to draw on, building a motion in which to have the break-in kept from being introduced at trial, but I knew any decent defense attorney would have an equally compelling argument to say the break-in was evidence supporting an alternate theory of the crime.
And Arik was far from just a “decent” lawyer.
Arik.
I hadn’t told Bethany that I'd met him before.
I probably should have, but it wasn’t like we actually had a personal relationship. Sex wasn’t personal. Sex could be terribly intimate, but what we’d had hadn't been part of a relationship. It'd been an arrangement that fulfilled a basic need. It wasn’t much different than...
You’re fooling yourself. It was personal. You’re not involved, but it was personal.
That little voice would be the death of me.
“You know, you’re not doing yourself any favors, jabbing at Bethany like that,” Pierce said, his voice low.
Jerking my head up, I stared at him, but he wasn’t looking at me.
“You said she was a man-eater and you’re not wrong.” He hesitated, and then kept going, “But you’re not really right, either. She doesn't limit it to men. She's an eater. A shark, through and through, and you’re probably looking really tasty to her right now.” Finally, he lifted his head and met my eyes.
For the first time since I met him, he looked real. The slime and sleaze that he'd worn like a second skin was gone. Something in his eyes looked heavy. Like he felt almost the same way I did, that the career he’d been reaching for was slowly slipping out of his hands.
He reached out and touched my fingers with the tips of his. “You need to back off,” he said softly.
Lowering my gaze, I stared at his hand. He wasn't hitting on me. The gesture felt more like he was trying to convey how important this was.
I started to pull back, but before I could, I felt an eerie crawling sensation on my skin. Lifting my head, I slid my eyes to the side and found Bethany looking in the window of the conference room. Staring at us.
Staring at the way Pierce was touching my hand.
He swore under his breath and jerked his hand back, but she’d already turned and walked away.
There was one thing I had to know. “Why in the hell are you sleeping with her if you’re so damned scared of her?”
Pierce stared at me, eyes wide. “Just leave it, Dena. Okay? Just leave it.”
Chapter 5
Dena
When my alarm went off, I was already awake.
I had been for close to an hour.
Smacking at my annoying clock to get it to stop, I closed my eyes and wished for a few more minutes of sleep, but it wasn’t going to happen. I'd never used a snooze button and didn't intend to start now.
Still...
I turned my head and stared at the soft blue numbers glowing dimly from the clock. Another minute ticked by before I actually sat up and swung my legs out of bed.
Yesterday had been one of the worst Mondays on record, and I doubted today would be much better. Pierce and I managed to get the brief that Bethany had wanted drafted, although I doubted it would work to keep the break-in from being presented at trial. We'd included everything we could, but I knew that anything Arik argued would convince a half-way competent judge.
Hell, even I was starting to think that we'd jumped the gun arresting and arraigning Leayna Mance, even if she had been found at the crime scene with her husband's blood on her clothes.
I hadn't shared any of my doubts, however. Pierce had hauled ass out of there as soon as we’d finished, and for the last hour or so we’d been working, he’d kept checking his phone as it buzzed, looking more and more harassed by the minute. Somebody had been texting him. I hadn't needed to ask who it was.
When Bethany had sent him the final text, he slammed the phone down with enough force that I was surprised it hadn't broken. He hadn’t responded when I’d asked if he was okay.
I hadn't really needed to.
He definitely wasn’t okay.
***
I was going to kick his pathetic ass.
And probably hers too.
Staring at Bethany for a long moment, I forced myself to take a deep breath. Then a few more for good measure. Pierce wouldn’t look at me, and it was clear why. Son of a bitch couldn’t stand the idea of facing me while Bethany laid this trumped up shit down at my feet.
After a few more seconds, my pulse slowed to a near-normal pace, and I looked over at him for a few moments. His eyes flicked in my direction, but he never once actually looked away from the surface of Bethany’s desk.
Fine. He could be a coward.
I wasn’t one, though. I wasn't confrontational by nature, but I also wasn't going to be a doormat. Especially not for something like this.
Piling on scut work was one thing. I might not like an unfair playing field, but the whole missing police report, and now this...Bethany hadn't just crossed the line. She'd obliterated it.
“Would you care to repeat that?” I asked calmly.
“Which part?” Bethany gave me a close-lipped smile.
“All of it. I want to make sure I understood you correctly.”
She gave me a suffering sort of sigh. “We both know you understood it all well enough, Dena. Look, you're very lucky that Pierce came to me instead of filing an official complaint–”
“Not really,” I interrupted.
She tensed. “Excuse me?”
“You heard me. If he’d filed an official complaint, then I’d be able to file an official response. There’s a process that allows everyone to have an official say. You’re not giving me any sort of process.”
Her eyes narrowed, and I watched as her shoulders stiffened minutely under the pale lavender of her silk blouse. “Dena, you need to be careful here. I’m trying to be lenient. But if you persist in this unprofessional behavior of yours, then you just may well find yourself gone before you get your first real case.”
“Unprofessional.” I echoed her word choice, hardly able to believe the balls she had, after all she'd done, referring to me as unprofessional. “My behavior is unprofessional because I would like to be part of a process that allows for a response to false allegations? And yet your behavior...” I looked from her to Pierce and cocked an eyebrow. “The behavior between you and the subordinate – one who's been given a better office, as well as second chair on a headline case – who's now making a false allegation, isn't unprofessional?”
“Just what are you implying?” Her skin flushed.
“I'm not implying anything, just being tactful.” I'd officially reached my limit. I took a step forward. “Go ahead and terminate my employment, Bethany. See where that gets you. Because I do know where to file official complaints. And I won't be as tactful then.”
There was a weird, almost choking noise that came from Pierce, but when Bethany and I both glanced at him, his face was bland. He stared straight ahead, looking at neither of us.
After another tense moment, Bethany said, “I hardly think it’s necessary to terminate your employment simply because you made an advance on a co-worker, and didn’t react well when he rebuffed you.”
Her voice was stilted, eyes fixed at a point somewhere just over my shoulder.
“Really.” I didn’t call her out on the bullshit lie she’d spun together. And that’s what it was. All three of us knew it. I wasn't even sure Pierce had anything to do with it, other than the fact that he was too whipped to refute what Bethany was claiming.
“However,” she continued. “I think it would be best for you to step down from the case for n
ow. We don't need any additional tension on the team. You’ll work with the paralegals.” The smile on her face looked forced, almost plastic. “Is that a workable solution?”
I wanted to ask her if kissing my ass was a workable solution, but decided not to. I knew the difference between taking a stand and going too far. Most of the time anyway. To keep myself from doing anything stupid, I turned on my heel and strode to the door.
Before I could open it, however, she said my name.
I stopped, but didn’t look back, not trusting myself.
“You need to understand something. I can be a powerful ally in this office. Perhaps you're a decent lawyer, but you need allies working in this field if you want to make something of yourself. Do you really want to start off your career by alienating people?”
I finally looked back at her. “My ambition is less important to me than my ethics, Ms. McDermott.”
I left rather than waiting for a response. I forced myself to keep my pace even as I made my way down the hall. Once back in my office, I started writing up a report of everything that had transpired since I started working for Bethany.
I wasn’t filing anything, but I needed a chronological log of the problems I’d had and it was best to get it all down while things were still fairly clear in my mind. I didn’t want anything to go on record officially, so I saved all the data to my Google docs drive under my personal email. It would be there if I needed it.
It took over an hour.
It was a quiet hour, too. Nobody called me. Nobody knocked on the door. Nobody came by with a file of reports that needed to be addressed or demands that I look into something.
When I finally decided to take a break, I glanced down the hall toward Pierce’s office. I should have just turned and walked away, but instead, I found myself walking toward it. The door wasn’t completely closed, which wasn't strange, but it also wasn't welcoming either. I almost turned back, but instead, I walked sedately by, casually looking over my shoulder as I did so.