In Your Corner

by Sarah Castille

  Another groan. I imagine him in his office in his suit, pants undone, and his cock hot and heavy in his hand. My sex clenches and I writhe on the bed.

  “Now your nipples, pinch them, roll them between your thumb and forefinger until they peak, ready for me.”

  Already hard, the tingle in my nipples becomes a deep ache as I imagine Jake’s mouth sucking and nipping until I am frenzied with lust. A whine escapes my lips, so soft I don’t think he can hear.

  But he does.

  “Good girl. Are you wet for me?”

  “So wet.”

  “Are you hot for me?”

  “So hot.”

  “I’m so hard, baby, so damn hard for you. When you go off, I’m coming with you.”

  “Now?” I tremble with need.

  “Now. Two fingers in your pussy. Tell me how you feel.”

  I exhale a relieved breath, and my fingers slide through the wetness between my thighs. I dip two fingers deep inside my throbbing center. “Wet, slick, tight.”

  A growl tears from his throat and his breathing becomes raw, ragged. “Thumb over your clit. Slick that wetness around. Pump your fingers.” His voice cracks, breaks. “Tell me when.”

  My body tightens as I ease my thumb around my swollen clit. Need coils tighter and tighter until I am only one touch away.

  “When,” I whisper. I slide my thumb over my clit as my orgasm rips through me like a firestorm. Back arching, core pulsing, desire unwinding, I scream my release into the phone.

  “Christ. Fuck. Oh God, baby.” Jake chokes back his own release, as my orgasm washes through me, rippling down to my fingers and toes.

  Sated, wrung out, limp, and desperately lonely, I press the phone to my ear. “Jake?”

  Silence.

  “Jake?” My voice wavers this time, and a sliver of fear works its way through my chest.

  “Someone’s at the door. I gotta go. Fuck. We shouldn’t have…I don’t want…you’re just… Fuck.”

  A bruise of sadness forms in my chest, and I steel myself to pretend nonchalance. “Hey, it’s not like only one of us was involved. It was…fun. After a stressful night, we both needed to blow off some steam.”

  More silence. And then he says, “I don’t want you to think my feelings have changed.”

  My breath leaves me in a rush as he drives the sword home and it takes me a minute to get myself together. “Sure.”

  We say good-bye.

  In the end, I did have something left to lose: the chance to tell him how I really feel. I love him.

  I know that now. Too late.

  ***

  “Ah, there’s the quitter now, draggin’ her sorry ass into the office ten minutes late.” Ray rattles his newspaper as I walk past Penny’s desk and over to the coffee pot.

  “If you’re going to insult me, Ray, do it to my face. I had a bad weekend. Normal people do. And when they have a bad weekend, sometimes they’re late for work. Normal people don’t get up at four am, run a marathon, eat a healthy breakfast, then work out for two hours, do all their work, and then swan into the office to laze around reading the paper.”

  His eyes flash with amusement. “Mornin’, quitter.”

  I pour my coffee and then settle myself on the blue couch across from him, inhaling the rich, buttery aroma of Ray’s favorite Columbian roast. “That’s nice. Just what I need when the world is dumping on me and I’m facing Evil Reid in court this afternoon. I’ve been trying to dig up some dirt on Farnsworth with discovery requests for HR and personnel files, and they’ve blocked me at every turn, so today I’m taking my requests to a judge. How about giving me your unequivocal support? Rah, rah. Go, team, go.”

  “More like ‘Run, team, run,’” he says evenly. “Isn’t that what quitters do?”

  The blue couch, now returned to its rightful place front and center in my corporate office, is damned uncomfortable. Hard as nails. How the hell does he sit on it for so long? I shift on my seat and then put my feet up on the coffee table to distribute my weight just as Penny shuffles into the office.

  “Another one late.” Ray huffs through his nose. “No wonder you’re throwing in the towel. Can’t run a viable business when no one gets here on time.”

  I glance over at Penny, but she’s already sitting down and hidden behind her giant computer screen.

  “How was your weekend, Penny?”

  “Fine.”

  Curious at her unusually quiet tone of voice, I round her desk. “You don’t sound like it was really fine. Last week when you said ‘fine’ it was in a completely different tone of voice.”

  She turns to look at me, her face hidden behind an enormous pair of sunglasses. “Really. It was fine.”

  A chill races through my veins and I drop my voice to a whisper. “Why the sunglasses?”

  “Screen’s too bright.”

  I gently tug the sunglasses off her face, knowing before they slide into my hand what I will see. My stomach clenches at the sight of her eye, bruised and swollen. Gently, I tug at the scarf around her neck only to gasp at the sight of finger-shaped bruises around her throat. My vision turns red. But because Ray is across the room, I keep my voice low. “Who did this to you?”

  She shakes her head and snatches the sunglasses away. “Walked into a door.”

  Glancing over my shoulder at Ray, directly behind me, I whisper, “You know the community legal center is partnered with the battered women’s shelter. I’ve seen bruises like this before. You’ve assisted on those files. So you know that excuse doesn’t cut it with me. Was it Vetch?”

  Penny’s shoulders sag and her eyes glitter with tears. “He’s different when he’s not around the band. He’s really sweet and kind, and we have a good laugh together. It’s just when he’s with the band, he has to keep up appearances and things get a bit crazy. But he’s always sorry, and this time he was appalled when he saw my eye. He promised it would never happen again. He even bought me a…”

  “Ray will go crazy.” I interrupt her with a warning shake of my head. “You know he’s got a protective streak a mile wide.”

  But I’m too late. The couch creaks and I spin around, perching on the side of Penny’s desk to keep her completely hidden from view.

  “Why you sittin’ there staring at me?” he says from behind his paper as if he has X-ray vision.

  “Nothing better to do.”

  He lowers his paper and glares. “Don’t give me that lame-ass excuse. Never once saw you with nothing to do. What are you hiding?”

  Penny gives a squeak of fear and I slide off the desk. “Nothing. I just need Penny in my office for a minute.” I cover for her as she slips out of her chair and heads to my office.

  “Stop right there, Penelope Ann McDonald,” Ray barks.

  But Penny doesn’t stop. She runs into my office and slams the door.

  Ray’s eyes slide over to me. “What’s going on? A man can’t get any peace at your office. A man likes peace first thing in the morning. Man like me, more.”

  “It’s a woman issue.”

  Ray snorts a laugh. “Amanda, you can’t lie for fuck.”

  “Watch your language,” I snap. “This is a law firm, not…”

  He cuts me off. “Was a law firm.”

  My lips tighten. “It’s not closed yet. I have to finish the Redemption case, make my court appearance today, and deal with the pro bono files. I can’t just wave a magic wand and shut everything down. I also have all the legalities to deal with.”

  “Humph.” His eyes flick to my office door and back to me, and then his voice softens. “He hurt her, didn’t he?”

  I open my mouth to cover for her, but the planned lie doesn’t come out. Instead, a wave of anger washes over me. Poor Penny. I may have spent a lifetime looking for love, but I never once thought I was unworthy of it.

>   Ray pushes himself off the couch and grabs his leather jacket from the coat stand. “Got someplace I need to be. Something I need to do.”

  “Ray…” I follow him out the door. “Can I come with you?”

  His eyebrows lift. “Thought you weren’t a fighter.”

  “Maybe I was wrong.”

  A smile spreads across his face. “Good to hear, but I can’t let you—”

  “There’s more than one way to fight. You do what you do outside, and I’ll do what I do inside. I need to go to the courthouse and then to the police station and then the community law center. Talk to a few people. Collect a few documents. Then I’ll sit down with Penny and see if she wants to go ahead with civil or criminal prosecution.”

  Ray scratches his head. “Guess I should leave him alive then.”

  “Yeah, Ray. I guess you should.”

  ***

  “Westwood. Good to see you. Ready for a beating? I thought for sure after you got all those applications you would run away with your tail between your legs.”

  Evil Reid smirks beside the courtroom door, a vision of overly tanned, vicious elegance in an Armani suit, crisp white shirt, silver cuffs, and red silk tie.

  “You thought wrong. I’m a fighter, and I’m fighting this all the way.”

  “Well, this is one fight you’re going to lose.” He folds his arms over his chest. “Farnsworth golfs with Judge Vickers every Friday. He knows how the judge thinks, and he says there’s no way the judge is going to make us respond to your interrogatories or produce all the documents you requested.”

  I check my watch and motion toward the door. Regardless of who golfs with whom, neither of us can afford to be late. Evil Reid pulls open the door to the courtroom and holds it, gesturing for me to precede him.

  “There’s no way he can’t refuse my request.” I glance over my shoulder at Evil Reid and sigh loudly when his gaze does not lift from my ass as he follows me down the aisle. “You just slapped the same boilerplate objection on every request I’ve made. Everything can’t be covered by privilege. And I know you did it to buy time because there are documents Farnsworth doesn’t want me to see. I’ve been there, Reid. I’ve played the game. But this time I’m on the other side.”

  Evil Reid’s lips curl into a snarl. “You’re forgetting I have something you want. I can make this all go away. I can get Farnsworth to settle. But you know the price.”

  “What price?” I spin around to face him, and for the first time, I am unnerved by his cold, dark gaze and the determined set to his jaw.

  He steps into my personal space, his face only inches from mine. “I get what I should have gotten the first day we met. I get what you promised with every brush of your hand on my arm, every surreptitious touch, every giggle and smile and tease. I get what you gave everyone else but me.”

  Every instinct screams for me to retreat, but I stand my ground. “I never promised you anything, Reid. I never led you on, and if you think I did, or if I said or did anything to make you think I saw you as anything other than a professional colleague, then I apologize.”

  We take our seats and the judge arrives. After listening to our arguments, he peppers Reid with questions about the documents I’ve requested and Farnsworth’s reasons for refusing to produce them. After an interminable silence, the judge says he will have a decision for us next week. Court dismissed.

  Reid immediately whips out his phone, no doubt to call Farnsworth and report a possible defeat. Apparently, Farnsworth didn’t know the judge’s mind quite so well, or maybe it was the other way around and the judge knew him. Either way, Farnsworth will be worried. If those files contain complaints of harassment from staff and associates, as I think they do, he’ll definitely not want them to fall into my hands.

  Humming a happy tune, I pack up my stuff and join Ray at the elevator. But before I can tell him the reason for my good mood, Evil Reid catches up to us, his hair slightly mussed and his tie askew, as if he’d been running. “I need to talk to you.” He slicks his hand over his hair, smoothing everything into place. “I just got off the phone with Farnsworth. Although he has nothing to hide, and he is not at all concerned about the outcome of the hearing today, he wants to make an offer to make this lawsuit go away.”

  My breath catches in my throat, and for a moment I can’t believe my ears. Farnsworth never settles. Never. He litigates everything to the death. Why break the tradition for me?

  “He’s afraid of what’s in those files, isn’t he?” I try and fail to repress a smile. “Farnsworth & Tillman would certainly get some bad press if the managing partner was found to have engaged in sexual harassment and blackmail. And it would be especially bad if I found some witnesses who would testify against him.”

  Reid snorts his derision. “He’s an upstanding member of the legal community. You won’t find anyone willing to drag his name through the mud. Guaranteed.”

  His conviction and the emphasis he puts on the word guaranteed niggle at my brain. Maybe Farnsworth or Reid were somehow involved with the break-in at my office. A quick glance at an unusually silent Ray confirms my suspicions. He’s thinking the same thing, too.

  “What’s the offer?”

  Evil Reid shifts from one foot to the other and then sighs. “It’s not that simple. There’s a catch.”

  “Of course there’s a catch. We’re talking about Farnsworth. What is it?”

  “Timing. He’s flying to Kuala Lumpur later tonight and he wants it wrapped up by then. Quick and dirty.”

  So tempting. Settle with Farnsworth. Make the stress go away. Vindication. Revenge. “I might be interested if I saw the terms.”

  Evil Reid glances over his shoulder and then turns his gaze to me. “His secretary is typing something up now and will fax it to your office. I can meet you there and we can go over it and, if you’re happy, we can draft up a settlement agreement I can take to Farnsworth at the airport.”

  Anticipation ratchets through me, but I hold it at bay. Something about this doesn’t feel right. It can’t be this easy. If Farnsworth really wanted to keep the documents out of my hands, he would find a way to destroy them. Nothing stops the Barracuda. Nothing gets in his way. Especially not a former junior associate with no money and only one trick up her sleeve.

  Still, it can’t hurt to take a little peek. “Think you can handle slumming it in Hippie Land?”

  Reid’s eyes darken, taking on an almost feral gleam. “Actually, I’m looking forward to it.”

  Chapter 22

  THIS IS NOT ME

  “I don’t like it.” Ray paces across the reception room. “Cravath can’t be trusted. Not only that, my contact at the police department thinks they have a match on the prints from the break-in. He’s pretty sure it’s Farnsworth’s PI, Eugene. He’s got a criminal record, so his prints came up in the database search. I would stay, but I’ve got an urgent meeting after I drop Penny off.”

  “I’ll be fine.” I give his shoulder a reassuring pat. “I’ll work at Penny’s computer so we’re out in the open. And I’m a fighter. If he tries anything funny, I’ll twist him up in a quick triangle.”

  “I’m sorry I can’t stay either,” Penny says. “My mum jumped on the first plane from London when I told her what happened, and I’m picking her up at the airport this evening.”

  Almost giddy at the thought of settling the case, I give them a reassuring smile. “You guys go and do what you have to do, and hopefully tomorrow we’ll be celebrating the end of Farnsworth and the start of a whole new law firm.”

  Ray gripes for another ten seconds and then shouts something unintelligible at me before following Penny down the hallway. I pull out my files and then fire up Penny’s computer. Although I’m not worried about being alone with Evil Reid, I wouldn’t want him in my office. Too personal and too far from the front door, as I learned the other night.

 
Reid arrives five minutes later with his briefcase in his hand and a grimace on his face. “Ready to do business?”

  “I haven’t received anything from Farnsworth. Do you have the terms of the offer?” My hands hover over the keyboard, shaking slightly with nervous anticipation.

  “One hundred grand.”

  My shoulders slump. “That’s it? What about an apology? Or stepping down from his position? It’s not about the money. It’s about the principle. Sexual harassment. Blackmail. He has to be stopped. And I know he’s been spreading rumors. That has to be addressed as well. My reputation is worth something to me.”

  Reid reaches into his briefcase and pulls out the blue file. “According to this, you have quite the reputation, but not the kind that can be saved.”

  My blood chills and the hair on the back of my neck stands on end. “Where did you get that?”

  “I’m on the case. I have access to all the documents.” He perches on the desk and drums his fingers over the file.

  “What’s this all about, Reid?” I push my chair away from the desk, away from him. “Is there a settlement offer, or are you here to blackmail me just like he did? Because if you are, the answer is still no. I don’t do blackmail. I also have nothing to lose. I have no job. No employer. No reputation. Soon I will have no house. And my friends wouldn’t give a damn.”

  “But your parents would,” he says softly. “Farnsworth told me about them. And what about your fighter boyfriend? What would he think if he found out what kind of person you really are? I don’t know any man who would be too happy to know his girlfriend was intimately familiar with most of the eligible males in the Bay Area. Makes her hard to trust, don’t you think? The kind of girl who would be with him one minute and someone else the next? The kind of girl who can’t commit.” He shoves the file across the desk toward me, and I push myself to my feet and back up to the wall.

  “I’m not ashamed of anything in that file, Reid. In fact, all the time I spent looking for love made me realize what love really is. Plus, Jake and I broke up. So if that’s why you’re here, then it’s time for you to leave. But if there really is an offer, then it’s time for us to work.”