TEMPTED
A Player Brother Novel
By Claire Adams
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places and incidents are products of the writer's imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2015 Claire Adams
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Chapter One
I couldn’t decide if I felt the most excited as I have ever been in my life, or the most nervous.
I pulled up into the parking lot of the small apartment building where I would be sharing a unit with my friend whom I had known in high school, Kelsey Anderson. I had been driving for three days from my parent’s home in Iowa. We had both decided to move out here together over the summer. She had already been here for a week, but she would have my room available whenever I got here, she had said.
Honestly, this was the first venture towards my life as an adult, having just graduated law school in Florida and college before that.
The sun beamed down on me and I felt grateful that I had heeded the advice to buy a high quality pair of sunglasses. My home state of Iowa may have been part of Big Sky Country, but the intense blue of the sky was unlike any color I had seen before. California didn’t mess around with the heat or the brightness, that much I had learned quickly. Though everyone insisted that it's a dry heat so it's not that bad.
That is yet to be seen.
I looked up the side of the building, finding the small wooden porch that would be ours. Kelsey had a small cheerful potted plant sitting on the edge of the railing. Seeing it perched in that precarious position made me nervous that it would fall.
Aside from college in Florida, I had never been this far away from my home in Iowa. What brought me to California was the once in a life time chance at joining a premier law firm specializing in my field. I had applied about halfway though my final year in law school on the recommendation of my mentor and academic adviser.
Of course that meant I had to also pass my California boards too.
I did but it wasn’t easy not confusing Florida law from California law.
Sure, it may not be the top law firm in the country or anything, but I really liked the area and the job seemed to be a good fit for starting out. They said I would start part time and then I would be eligible to compete for the full time position once it became available. One of the senior partners would be retiring soon and they wanted to fill some of the gaps with more fulltime lawyers. So if I played my cards right I could become high profile fairly quickly.
I hoped.
What new law student wouldn't jump at it?
It was literally my dream job. My mother had laughed when I received my acceptance letter, because I had jumped up and down squealing and flailing my arms. She had calmly explained that she never doubted I would be accepted.
The heat enveloped me as I opened my car door. Across the parking lot, I saw a couple of young women wearing cut off jeans and bikini tops, bedecked in flip flops and sun glasses strolling comfortably towards the Jeep in one of the other spaces. This type of sight I would eventually grow used to. The warm weather made for a different mindset in wardrobe, I discovered.
I had been lucky enough to find a parking spot right next to the open stair cases which would lead to the walk up.
Dry heat indeed.
I pulled my suitcase out of the truck, slamming shut the hatchback of my small blue Toyota, the very same car that I had purchased in high school with my summer fast-food money. It had been used when I got it, but I paid for it outright and it was mine one hundred percent. I knew that one day I would have to trade it in for a more reliable car.
Maybe once I nailed down this job at the firm.
I lugged my bag up the stairs, pulling it behind me one at a time. I had a bundle of cash with me that I planned on getting household things with. But for the time being all my personal belongings were in the suitcase.
Apartment Thirty four.
I saw the cheerful little metal numbers and tapped on the door. I hadn’t seen Kelsey since graduation other than online. I had remembered her as the stunning red head with a smattering of freckles across her nose. The butterflies in my stomach had as much to do with reconnecting with an old friend than with starting a new life.
The door opened.
"Blair!" she shrieked extending her arms out and grabbing me in a huge embrace.
"Hi, Kelsey," I mumbled into her curly auburn hair that filled my face in her firm hug. She pulled back and held me at arm’s length with her hands on my shoulders.
"You look gorgeous!" she gushed.
That was quite a compliment coming from her. She had always been pretty in high school, but she had filled out to womanhood and her bright blue eyes accented her delicate facial features.
I supposed I must have looked different than when she had seen me last. I had always been a bookish sort back in high school. But I had since gotten contacts and my once mousy brown hair had developed into a rich brunette over the years and hung in waves past my shoulders. I wore a white tee shirt, a pair of denim cut offs and flip flops.
"Are you kidding? I'm a mess,” I said with a laugh.
"Oh my gosh, come in!" she said. "What am I thinking? I set up some of the furniture in the living room. I hope you don't mind."
"Not at all,” I said. "The place looks great!"
It really did.
The ramshackle couch had been covered with a hand crocheted quilt in a rainbow of colorful granny squares. A small wooden coffee table had a collection of different sized candles in various shades of purple as the center piece. In the far corner I saw a huge roll top desk with a large floor lamp next to it. That looked like the perfect study nook. I walked over to the desk and touched my fingers on the surface of the edge.
"My mom made me bring the desk,” she said. "It was mine in my room when I was a kid, but I don't think I'll be using it. I figured you could use it with your job and stuff. "
"Of course I’ll take it. I don’t have anything like that," I said.
"Let me show you your room,” she said.
We walked down the hallway and she showed me the kitchen just off the living room, the bathroom which contained far more space that I could have imagined. The large bathtub looked like almost big enough to be a spa.
Then finally we arrived at my room.
There wasn’t anything in it as of yet, but the large window let the coastal sun stream in making a small offset rectangle on the lavender carpet, giving the room a cheerful, welcoming feel.
"Thanks, Kelsey," I said as I stepped into the room.
I took a deep breath taking in the fresh scent of the clean room. This had to be my favorite feeling, standing in a
n empty room, as if it were welcoming me to my new home. I raised my arms, through back my head and spun around.
I turned to her. "This place is great."
"Isn't it?" she said with a twinkling grin.
"You know what I'm going to do next?"
"What?"
"I’m exhausted from traveling, so I’m going to take a bath in that fabulous bathtub. I have a week before my job starts, so maybe tomorrow I can go shopping."
"That sounds awesome,” she said, hugging me. We wondered back to the kitchen and she handed me a soda, grabbing one for herself. "Are you excited about your new job?"
"Well,” I said, swallowing the hesitation I felt. "When I was driving across the border into California. I couldn't decide if I wanted to leap for joy or run away. But now that I’m here... I guess it's just a little bit overwhelming. I can tell you one thing though. I'm going to get that job. Game on."
Kelsey laughed and raised her soda can. "To new beginnings," she said. I clicked my can against hers feeling a grin break across my face.
"To new beginnings,” I said.
The following week consisted of getting furniture for my room and mentally preparing for the first day of my upcoming job. I had settled on a futon so I would have both a sleeping area and a place to sit if I decided to do any work in my room. Even though Kelsey had offered me the use of the desk, I liked to have my options open. I also invested in a cute bean bag chair and a fun colorful throw rug to give the place a homey vibe. I placed a few pictures of me with my parents from my college graduation on the top of my bookshelf. I felt pretty good about how it turned out, as I collapsed on the futon, having spent the day putting it together.
I glanced over at my closet ruminating on what to wear next week when I would meet my competition.
I wanted to wear something professional, slick and maybe even a little intimidating.
I could do that.
I stood up and stepped over to the closet, pulling open the sliding door to reveal my wardrobe. As I slid the hangers across the metal bar, I wondered if I needed to go shopping again except with an eye for clothing this time. I had plenty of casual items as my life up to this point had consisted of college classes and high school before that.
I wondered briefly if there would be any significant drawback to being a female competing against a male.
I hoped not.
My closet was filled with tops, blouses that could be dressed up, but I needed a few more skirts and pairs of pants to do so. Maybe I could ask Kelsey if she wanted to go shopping tomorrow. She had wanted to show me the neighborhood since she had already been here for a few days before me.
It felt pretty good to have a friend here, otherwise I would have been battling loneliness along with the butterflies of the new situation.
Kelsey and I had known each other in high school, but ran in different circles. She had been one of the charismatic and popular kids, always with the starring role in the school play. I was more of a book worm, an introvert who liked to keep to myself. I didn’t speak to many people while at school except for my best friend Aiden, who also lived a few houses down from me.
Oddly enough, Kelsey and I didn’t become close until after high school, when we stayed in touch through social media. It had started just as a social nicety on my part, with a few comments on various posts that we both liked.
Then one day I had gotten trolled and she defended my argument with panache. She messaged me and the conversation had never really ended. We had stayed in touch through college, and when circumstances revealed that we were both coming to California, albeit for different reasons, we decided that it only made sense for us to get a place together.
I was glad that we did.
The transition already felt better with her here.
I thought about my old friend Aiden Player, and wondered briefly what he had been up to. I found it amusing that someone who I barely crossed paths with had become a close friend, but someone who I spent every spare moment with had fallen completely out of my life.
Aiden had been a scrawny kid, but full of life and energy. We had been polar opposites for the most part. Where I was an only child he came from a huge family. I had always joked that he looked like a toothbrush, with his thin build and shock of blond hair that stuck out over his forehead and into his eyes.
Two peas in a pod is what my mother called us.
I thought through a mental list of what I would need to do over the next few days to prepare. I needed to brush up on California Law even more because I wanted to be prepared. Luckily I had brought my text books with me, despite my peers telling me to sell them back and pocket the little bit of cash that I would get. I treasured my textbooks and the knowledge they contained, stating that there wasn’t dollar amount that could replace them. Besides, I had said, give me a book over a website any day.
I would be starting next Monday, so I had plenty of time.
I relaxed on the futon the next day while Kelsey was out. I couldn’t help but wonder what the background of the man I would be competing against. Probably some over blown rich kid who got the opportunity through family connections, much like the arrogant frat boys that graced the halls of my college, strutting around as if they owned the buildings. Depending on which last name they had some of them did.
"Blair!" I heard my roommate’s voice from the living room, having just returned from a series of auditions.
"I'm in here," I called staying put on my comfortable futon.
Kelsey stuck her head through the door.
"Some friends of mine are going out to dinner,” she said. "You should come. I'll show you around the city."
"I don’t know," I said. "It sounds like fun, but—"
"You need a night out,” she said with a grin. "You won't have much time when you become a big hot shot lawyer."
She was right…
“Fine, but not too late because I need to stay on some type of normal sleeping schedule so I’m prepared for work.”
“Sweet!” she shouted.
She helped me pick out a more casual outfit, a blue sundress with strappy heels. I checked my reflection as she stood behind me looking me over. I could go professional any day, but I always felt awkward wearing casual trendy clothes.
I let Kelsey inform me in situations such as these.
"Why don't you let me do your make up!" she said.
"We don't have to do all of that,” I said. "It's just dinner with friends."
"Maybe, maybe not,” she said as she took me by the shoulders and steered me to the living room.
"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked.
"Sit down and I'll be right back,” she said ignoring my question.
She disappeared and returned with her large plastic make up case. It looked like a tackle box with various cubbies and fold out compartments. Each one contained a small pallet of color.
Kelsey pulled out a small plastic bag of makeup brushes. She stood back and looked at my face as if it were a blank canvas, picked up a brush, loaded it with color and stroked the bristles across my cheekbones. A dab here and a blending fingertip there. Twenty minutes later, she laid down her brush and a smile spread across her face from ear to ear.
"You look gorgeous!"
I rolled my eyes. "Do I need to look gorgeous?" I asked.
She glanced at her watch. "We should go,” she said. "Like I said, some friends of mine from school are meeting up with us. There is this adorable little Shabu Shabu restaurant just across from the sign."
"I've never been to the sign,” I said.
"There's a lot you haven't seen," she said. "You’re going to love living here, I swear,” she gushed.
I watched her casual enthusiasm. Maybe I did need a night out. My job hadn't even started yet and I was already tightly wound.
Okay fine, I said to myself.
I'm going to have fun tonight.
I'm going to have fun tonight.
I'm going to have fun tonight.
<
br /> I smoothed my dress and stood, grabbing my purse and following Kelsey out the door.
When we arrived at the restaurant, I soon figured out Kelsey's true motive for dolling me up. Her friends had already arrived and had gathered around one of the large round tables. Three girls about our age and two guys, one with brown dreadlocks and another with shoulder length surfer locks, blond and cocky. All three of the women looked like models, long flowing sun kissed hair and tan skin.
I felt very out of place amongst her actor friends.
"Everyone I'd like you to meet my roommate, Blair." Kelsey ushered me to the side of the booth with the cute surfer looking guy.
"Hi everyone," I said.
"Are you the lawyer?" the girl with the nose ring asked, extending her hand to greet me. "I'm Angie."
"Yes," I answered. "I guess I’m."
"Righteous," said the guy next to me.
"Blair, this is Blake,” Kelsey said giving me a side glance.
I rolled my eyes in response.
He wasn’t my type.
No one was.
I ended up spending most of the night having polite conversation while simultaneously trying to angle my body so Blake would not succeed at putting his arm around me. Kelsey's friends were pleasant and friendly but I still felt out of place being the only one there not involved in the arts scene.
"So what brought you to California?" Angie asked over appetizers.
"Well I'm originally from Iowa,” I explained. "But I went to school in Florida both college and then finished with law school. I fell in love with the sunshine and the balmy beaches. Then when this job opportunity came along, I thought why not? I already knew I'd love the weather, and I didn't want to go back to Iowa."
"Who could blame you,” she said, giggling.
"Exactly," I said. "I didn't really fit in back home, if you know what I mean."
"I think we all escaped our oppressive small town background,” the girl with the tattoo on her shoulder said with a smile.
Tempted (A Player Brother Romance Book) (A Standalone Novel) (Player Brothers Book 1) Page 1