by Jamie Pope
There was pain in her voice. Regina seemed unfeeling but it was clear to Sunny that she was hurting. Julian was tense. She couldn’t read him, but she didn’t see sadness or longing in his eyes. He seemed a little angry.
It was an uncomfortable moment. One that Sunny wished she wasn’t there to witness.
“This is neither the time nor place to discuss this,” he said to Regina, and Sunny felt a little pressure on her hand.
His fingers were still locked with hers on his lap, hidden from view but she wasn’t sure if he realized that his hand was there.
“Oh, I don’t mind,” Sunny spoke up, wanting the tension to break. “I love hearing other people’s drama. I’m nosy by nature. It’s why I became a social worker.”
One corner of Julian’s mouth curled. “That may be but I’ll spare you.”
“You’re right. You know how to reach me.” Regina replaced her sunglasses and walked away.
“I take it you two used to be a couple.”
“Yes. Until recently.”
“I didn’t expect her to be your ex. She’s quite a bit older than you.”
Julian shook his head. “She would be very offended by your remark.”
“Why? I didn’t say she looks bad. She looks fantastic. She’s just older.”
“Are you suggesting she’s too old for me?”
“I applaud women who date younger men. If I’m single in fifteen years, I’m going to find a muscular sex god in his twenties to be at my beck and call. I just question that she’s right for you.”
“I like my women mature. They know what they want from life. They’re more emotionally and financially secure. I don’t have to worry about getting trapped.”
“Ah.” Sunny nodded. “You are gorgeous, successful, and rich. You’re avoiding gold diggers who can keep you on the hook for child support for the next twenty-one years.”
“I’m not going to lie. That is partly why I choose to date the women I do. My brother-in-law and I first became friends when I defended him in a child support lawsuit. A woman produced a five-year-old child, claiming it was his and asking for millions of dollars in back child support. The kid wasn’t his. But it could have been. I only played pro for a little while, but I have seen women throw themselves at athletes just to elevate their lives.”
“And now you’re cynical.”
“I’m realistic. I see the ugly side of people every day. I avoid those type of entanglements where I can.”
“If Regina had all the things you were looking for in a woman then why aren’t you together? From what I gathered, you’re the one who ended it.”
“She doesn’t want to marry me.” He just stated it, as if it were a simple fact. “I must not have everything she requires in a partner.”
“How did you propose? Was it romantic? Did you whisk her away and ply her with flowers and expensive wine and tell her that you can’t bear to go through the rest of your life without her?”
“No. I was on my lunch break. We have been together off and on for a few years. I told her that it was time we take the next step and get married. She turned me down.”
“Of course, she turned you down. I would have turned you down too. You don’t love her. Or at least you’re not showing her you love her. She wants you to be in love with her. Most humans need to feel that. That’s why she won’t marry you.”
He shook his head. “That’s not why we were together. Neither one of us were looking for love. I was very upfront about that. And I’ve done enough divorces to know that love doesn’t make marriages work. Mutual respect and common interests make marriages work.”
Sunny shook her head. She had seen the worst side of people but she knew that love worked. She had seen it heal. She had seen it get people through terrible times. Everyone wanted to be loved. It was as simple as that. “She loves you, you jackass.”
He shook his head. “No, she doesn’t.”
“That woman loves you and if you can’t see that then you don’t know what love is.”
His eyes narrowed. “How would you know what love is? You confuse love with romance. Romance doesn’t last. After all your cuteness is gone and the flowers dry up, what are you going to be left with? Someone whose flaws you finally see clearly and probably can’t stand. That’s why you don’t choose a partner based on emotion. You choose one you can live with. One that complements your lifestyle. Regina and I would work well together.”
Logically that made sense and he delivered his argument as perfectly as any lawyer could. But Sunny wasn’t buying it. He had to want more than that. Everyone wanted more than that.
“Well, counselor, if it was that simple then why didn’t she want to marry you?”
Chapter 5
Julian looked up at his computer when he heard a knock on his office door. It was David Connor, another junior partner at the firm, who was competing with him for the senior partner position.
They didn’t like each other. They never had. Julian had been hired later and rose through the ranks faster than David. He thought Julian was a hack and a token hire. Julian thought he was a brown-nose kiss ass who got there through his father’s connections.
“What’s up?”
“I have a client who would like tickets for the season opener in September. I need you to get them for him.”
“I haven’t played in almost ten years. What makes you think I could get those tickets? Especially the kind of tickets you’re expecting.”
“Cut the bullshit. You represent half your former team as well as two coaches. You could get any tickets at any time. It’s one of the few reasons they keep you around.”
Dave never bothered to hide his disdain for Julian. They hated each other, but they were often forced to work together on very high-profile cases.
“They keep me around because I bring in the most billable hours and I have the highest percent of success rates when I go to court. Can you say the same thing?”
“I’m right on your ass in both areas. We both know you do so well in court because people are surprised that a pro athlete who has been hit in the head so many times can string two logical sentences together. They’re so shocked they give you the win just for effort.”
“I got into law school, was top of my class, and passed the bar after getting hit in the head. Imagine how much more better I would be than you if I hadn’t played football. I also never have to worry about the other side trying to physically attack me. How’s your face feeling? I heard your head snapped back when Mr. Roswell punched you after the settlement was read.”
“Face is fine. But in order for him to want to punch me, you know I must have gotten his ex a ton of money in that divorce? Billionaire divorce cases give me a rush. I guess you don’t get too many of those. You seem to be busy defending your football playing buddies on assault charges or the trashy celebrities when they go off the deep end.”
It was true. He defended people he knew were guilty for the stupidest offenses. Sometimes the work felt hollow. Sometimes he wanted to smack the hell out of his clients. But he couldn’t do or say a damn thing because those people’s bad behavior propelled him to the top of his firm. “I’m at the top of my game and I’ll never run out of clients.”
“But new money runs out fast. Old money never dies.”
“But your old money wants something that my new money can provide. Why the hell should I help you?”
“I’ll go over your head if you don’t. Wouldn’t you rather seem like a team player than a selfish prick to the partners?”
“Why? You never seem to mind coming across that way.”
Dave’s nostrils flared. “Are you going to help me or not?”
“No promises. I’ll see what I can do,” he told Dave just before he left.
He could get the tickets. He could get any tickets but it annoyed the hell out of him that that’s what half the firm, including some of the partners, only thought he was good for.
He looked back at his computer, shaking
off his annoyance that started to creep up more and more as the months went on. But this time he wasn’t able to shake it off as quickly. He was having a hard time concentrating. It was after official business hours had ended. The offices had gotten quieter, most of the assistants and other personnel had been gone for a couple of hours.
He thought about going home himself. He usually didn’t leave for another hour, but it was hard for him to concentrate. But then he was faced with going home to his big empty apartment. At first he thought it was because he missed Regina. But that wasn’t true. They had dinner or drinks a couple times a week. They never slept over at each other’s apartments. He didn’t actually find himself missing her company. He missed the idea of her. He was a man in his prime. He liked women. He enjoyed good sex. He needed to start dating again. But frankly the idea exhausted him. He would have to go out to meet a woman who was in a similar place as Regina. He wanted someone who was mature and independent. He wanted someone who was perfectly happy not needing much from him.
“Hello, Mr. King.”
He looked up at the mention of his name to see a woman leaning against his door jamb. For a moment he didn’t recognize her. Her hair was short. Her dress hugged her curvy body and showed smooth, touchable-looking legs.
But that skin was that same beautiful rich caramel color and those eyes were still huge and dark brown and innocent.
Sunny was standing before him, no longer looking like the girl he had mistaken her for the first time she came to his office.
She was a woman and she was sexy.
“What the hell happened to you?”
“I was expecting, ‘hello, Sunny. How are you today? You’re looking well.’ You work in this fancy office but apparently you don’t have any manners.” She walked farther into his office and he couldn’t help but to notice the swish of her hips as she did so.
“I’m sorry. I just wasn’t expecting you to look so . . . so . . .” Mouth-watering. Incredible. Edible. “Different.”
“I got a haircut. One of my former clients just graduated from cosmetology school and she cut my hair for free. She’s taking a master class and wanted to try some techniques out.” She touched her hair self-consciously. Her ringlets were gone, but the cut she had was sophisticated and sassy. “Do you hate it?”
“I don’t hate it,” he said quietly. “What about the clothes?” She was wearing heels. Not the sky-high kind that his ex wore. But just high enough. Just sexy enough to make her legs look phenomenal.
“This?” She looked down at herself like she had no clue that she looked like a bombshell in a red wrap dress. She wore a denim jacket over it but that didn’t take away from the sexiness of it. “My best friend is pregnant and is getting rid of some things she doesn’t think she’ll be wearing anytime soon. She never liked this color on her.”
He swallowed as she walked closer and sat on the edge of his desk. He had realized last week that he was attracted to her, but he didn’t think it was physical at first. He was attracted to her energy. He wanted to say that she reminded him of his sister, but that wasn’t it. He enjoyed speaking to her. He enjoyed eating with her. She was someone he might have as a friend under different circumstances. But he had found himself touching her a lot during those couple of hours, not meaning to. A touch of the hand here, a squeeze of a shoulder. Their knees had been touching while they ate. He was feeling something more toward her that would be hard to ignore for long.
And when they parted ways that afternoon after seeing Regina he thought his ex would have been the one on his mind, but it was Sunny he thought about. He knew that he couldn’t see her again. But he guessed he wasn’t the one who could decide that.
“What’s the matter?” She touched his face with the backs of her fingers in an almost motherly way. “You look ill.”
“I’m fine.” He removed her hand from his face but didn’t immediately let it go like he should. Her hands were so much smaller than his. They were soft. Her nails were bare. Not perfectly manicured like Regina’s always were. “I’ve been thinking about your case.”
“You have?”
“I can’t take it.”
“I truly need help. I wouldn’t have come to you unless I did.”
“I know and that’s why I’m going to personally introduce you to a classmate of mine. Her name is Maria Cordova. She’s brilliant and her specialty is family law. I can’t promise that she can give you a lot of time, but she will meet with you free of charge and offer advice.”
“I don’t have the energy to break in another lawyer when I’m so close to breaking you.”
“I’ll go with you to meet her. And you’re not close to breaking me. So get that out of your head right now.”
“Aren’t I? You care and that means I somehow got to you. I need more than just a quick consultation. I need real help.”
“Why me?” he asked seriously.
“You probably don’t remember this but at Clive’s party someone had bumped into one of the waitresses and knocked a tray of food all over her and on the floor. Unlike everyone else, you put your drink down. You asked her if she was okay and you helped her clean it up, even though she was mortified and tried to send you away. But she was grateful because you could have just ignored her like everyone else. But you got on your knees in your fancy suit and you helped that girl and right then and there I knew that you were kind. I was shocked when I found out you were a lawyer because you people aren’t known for your kindness, but I knew if I ever needed legal help I would go to you.”
“It had nothing to do with my professional football playing career?”
“I actually didn’t know about that until after the fact. And who cares? You passed the bar exam. You work here. That’s what matters.”
Since he became a lawyer he had been wanting that kind of validation. Someone who thought he was good enough to work with, simply on his merits and not because of his celebrity status.
He didn’t expect it to come from her.
“No one has ever accused me of being kind before.”
“Maybe you should practice being kind more often by helping me.”
“No. But I will go with you to meet Maria and if she can’t help you I’ll find another classmate who can.”
“This Maria person is good?”
He started to feel the stirrings of hope in his chest. He needed to get Sunny out of his hair. He was in a weird place right now. His life wasn’t going according to plan and he needed to get his head together. But she was clouding his judgment. She was calling him kind when he wanted to be known as sharp and brutal. Regina’s abrupt coldness kept him on his toes. Sunny just disoriented him.
“She’s brilliant.”
“I’ll make you a deal.” She leaned closer and spoke into his ear. “If you lock your door and show me how your colleagues blow off some steam, I’ll go to her. Just give me tonight. I promise I won’t bother you again.”
He pulled away from her and looked into her eyes to see a mischievous twinkle there. “Are you suggesting we have sex?”
“Yup. Right here on this desk.” She glanced behind her. “Or on your couch. Even in your chair. You won’t even have to take all your clothes off, but that would be a pity because I would like to see what’s under that suit.”
“God damn it, Sunny.” He grew painfully hard right then and there. He had never had sex in his office. He wasn’t like some of his colleagues. He had more self-control, but there was that primal side of him that was dangerously close to taking her up on her offer.
He had seen a glimpse of this side of her in the park that day. This naughty, fun kind of sexy that most women he knew lacked. It would be so easy to close his door. It would be so easy for him to pull up her dress, grab her behind, and pull her down on top of him. He was just thinking about missing good sex. She was offering him this opportunity no-strings-attached.
But when an offer sounded too good to be true it was. There was something mischievous about her.
> “Stop trying to fuck with my head.”
“I’m not.” She kept her face neutral.
“You’re such a bad liar.”
“Oh, come on!” She paced away from him and plopped herself down on his leather sofa. “There’s a reason we met at that party. There’s a reason I bumped into you in front of your apartment that day. You need to help me.”
“Come on. Don’t tell me you believe in fate. It’s bullshit.”
“I have to believe in something. Don’t you? Don’t we all?”
“You sound so . . .” Innocent. Naïve. Sweet. “Ridiculous.”
“Give me three good reasons why you won’t help me and I’ll go. You must think there is something to this case if you went through the trouble of contacting your friend.”
“You have no money. I have no expertise and most important I don’t want to be saddled with you any longer than possible.”
“Not good enough.” She folded her legs beneath her, her dress riding up to expose her thighs. “I’m just going to have to stay here until you change your mind.”
He almost didn’t hear what she said because he was so distracted by her legs. He wanted to run his hand over them just to feel the softness. He usually had so much self-control, so much discipline. It was how he made it to the NFL as a first round draft pick. It was how he did so well in law school. It was how he landed this job and rose through the ranks in this firm.
He shook his head and forced his eyes to her face. “So you’re just going to park yourself on my couch until I change my mind?”
“Yup.”
“Grow up. You’re exactly the reason I only date older women.”
“You date older women because you’re afraid of commitment.”
“I wanted to get married. If that’s not the definition of commitment I don’t know what is.”
“You picked a woman you couldn’t possibly fall in love with to be your wife. You don’t want to risk your heart so you choose not to love.”
“What the hell would you know about anything? And I’m not discussing this with you. Sit there. I don’t care. I have work to do.”