“Come inside,” I said to her. She did so reluctantly, taking a seat across from my desk. That shy look on her face was achingly sexy, something I tried to ignore but found that I couldn’t.
“What’s the verdict on your ankle?” I asked, instead of bringing up the kiss right away. I wasn’t sure if I should bring it up at all or if it was something I should leave alone and pretend never happened. It hung in the air, making things tense between us in a way that they hadn’t been before.
“Not broken. Bad sprain,” she said, looking down at her cast. “I can get this thing off in three weeks.”
“You ought to make it more fashionable in the meantime,” I said. She smiled at that, her first smile since she’d walked through the door.
“How would I do that?” she asked.
I reached into my desk, pulling out a sheet of star stickers that I sometimes used to highlight areas in my folder. She laughed and pulled them toward her.
“What are these for?” she asked.
“Good girls,” I said to her, and almost winced at how the words sounded. But I noticed her shift in her seat a little bit, her skin flushing pink, and I wondered just what she was thinking. She passed the stickers back over the desk.
“I don’t really think I’ve earned them,” she said.
“Right,” I said. “So—”
“It just happened,” she blurted out. “I have no idea how it happened.”
“That’s what he said,” I told her. She blushed even deeper. She looked mortified, completely humiliated. “It’s not that big a deal,” I said to her.
“It’s a huge deal,” she said. “That’s not the kind of woman I am, Mr. Sylvester. I don’t kiss my bosses. I don’t—I don’t even like him. I think he’s rude.”
“That’s a hell of a way to treat somebody you don’t like,” I said.
She sighed, glancing away from me. “I don’t know what to say,” she said.
“Hey, look at me,” I said. She turned to meet my eye then, a look of shame on her face. “I’m not judging you,” I told her. “I don’t think there’s anything wrong with you. And I believe you when you say you don’t normally do this. I do.”
She gave me a small smile, some relief washing over her features.
“You probably don’t have this problem with Kelly,” she said.
“Kelly hasn’t shown up yet, actually,” I said, frowning. “She doesn’t have your diligence.”
“Maybe that’s a good thing.”
I grinned at her. “I don’t think Xavier is going to make it in this morning,” I said. “Would you like to run an errand with me?”
“What?” she asked, her brow furrowing. “An errand?”
“You seem like you need to get out of here,” I said, though I wasn’t sure why I was offering to take her with me. As a general rule, the lower associates didn’t meet our biggest clients. They worked on the cases, but we preferred to present those clients with the very best—we made sure they always dealt with one of the partners. In this case, though, I had a feeling that Mrs. Walker would take to Victoria’s sweetness and personality. It might make her day to have someone new come along to help brighten up the place.
“What kind of errand?”
“We’re going to see a client. Lisa Walker. Have you heard about her?”
“Everybody’s heard of Lisa Walker,” Victoria said, her voice filled with awe. “The heiress?”
I nodded. “That’s her. I think you’ll like her. She’s a pretty interesting character.”
“I heard about that,” she said. “She has a penchant for shoplifting.”
“That she does,” I said, sighing. “It gets her into trouble. Keeps us very busy.”
“I’ll bet,” she said, grinning. “I’d love to go.”
“Good,” I said, feeling relieved that she hadn’t turned me down. I would have been embarrassed if it was something that she didn’t feel comfortable doing. I stood up and grabbed my keys, slipping into my coat. Victoria fumbled with her crutches and I hurried to help her, finding myself taking her waist to steady her when she slipped. I pulled back quickly, my eyes on hers, and she bit her lip as she looked at me.
“Thanks,” she breathed.
“Of course,” I said, smiling as we left the office. When we got outside to my car, I helped her in, enjoying being close to her no matter what the reason. I tried to ignore it as I got in the car, suppressing the feeling as I started toward Mrs. Walker’s mansion.
“So I feel like I should warn you about something,” I said to her.
She raised her eyebrows. “Uh oh.”
“It’s not that bad. But, uh—Mrs. Walker is quite amorous,” I said. “She’s very fond of me.”
“So she flirts with you?”
“Uh,” I said, running my hand through my hair. “Among other things.”
She stared at me for a moment. “Do you—are you involved with her?”
I laughed, glancing over at her. “Mrs. Walker is eighty-nine years old.”
She put her hands up. “I don’t know what you’re into.”
“She’s not really my type,” I said. “But she’s sweet. And harmless. Whatever makes her like me—”
“Does that mean you flirt back?” she asked me.
“Maybe a little,” I said to her, grinning.
“That’s something I’m interested in seeing.”
We pulled up to the house and got out of the car. Victoria stared up at it, her mouth slightly open. It was a grand old place—a Victorian mansion with several stories and two wings that sprawled over most of a block. It was big enough to get lost in.
“Amazing,” she said as we approached the porch. I didn’t have to ring the doorbell before the door opened and I looked down to see Mrs. Walker standing there, looking up at me with a lascivious grin.
“Hello, handsome,” she purred. As usual, she was made up from head to toe, wearing a big fur coat and blue eyeshadow to emphasize her large pale eyes. She invited me in but stood in the doorway when she saw Victoria, frowning.
“Who is this, Louis?” she asked, a pout in her voice. “Is this—is this your woman?”
“No,” I said to her. “No, this is one of my associates, Victoria Eaves. I thought I’d bring her along today. I think you’ll like her.”
“Depends,” said the old lady, eyeing Victoria with a wary look. “Is she going to get between us?”
“No,” said Victoria quickly, trying to stifle a smile. “No, ma’am. The last thing I’m interested in is getting between you two.”
I chuckled, and Mrs. Walker turned to me.
“Good,” she said with a smirk and finally allowed Victoria to come inside. She led us into the front room, where she rang a small bell as soon as we sat down. A tiny maid came in, young and nervous, and waited for Mrs. Walker to give her a command. It took the old woman a moment to remember why she’d called the maid in.
“Sylvia,” she said, although I knew for a fact that the girl’s name was Sabrina. “Can you bring us some tea, please?”
“Yes, ma’am,” said the girl, and she actually bowed before she left the room.
I looked at Mrs. Walker then. “How are you doing?” I asked her.
“I’m well. I’ve been waiting for you to visit. I think you should come more than weekly.”
“I don’t visit most of my clients weekly, Mrs. Walker. But you know you’re my favorite.”
She blushed, giving me a delighted look while waving me off. “You flatter an old woman.”
“I can’t help it,” I said to her. “Forgive me.”
“By all means, keep going,” she said, looking over at Victoria. “What’s your story, darling?”
“I’ve just been hired at the firm. I’ve been working with a social worker for the past few years on adoption cases. I’m pretty excited to be doing this.”
“Adoption cases,” said the woman. “Why, I adopted three children, myself.”
I shook my head. It wasn’t true,
but Mrs. Walker had a habit of making things up in order to make herself seem more impressive.
“That’s wonderful,” Victoria said. Her smile was sweet and sincere, and I could tell she wasn’t just brushing Mrs. Walker off as a crazy old woman. She was genuinely interested in what she had to say.
“What exactly are you doing at the firm?”
“Right now, I’m working with Mr. Kyle,” Victoria said, and I winced inwardly, knowing exactly what Mrs. Walker’s reaction would be.
She frowned. “Xavier,” she said in a disgusted voice. “Is that old grump still working there, Louis?”
I gave her a chiding look. “You know that Xavier isn’t going anywhere, Lisa. He’s a good man, I promise.”
“He’s an asshole,” she said. I had to laugh. So did Victoria. “What do you think of him?” Mrs. Walker asked Victoria, peering at her as if it was a test.
“I, um, also think he’s an asshole,” said Victoria. Mrs. Walker laughed and slapped her knee.
“I like her,” she said to me. “She’s a good girl. Too bad you’re taken.”
“Too bad,” I said, my eyes meeting Victoria’s. Her eyes were sparkling with laughter, lively and beautiful. I’d rarely seen someone with so much life in their expression. I cleared my throat and forced myself to look away from her.
“So you know what I’m here for this week, Lisa,” I said to her in a stern voice. She gave me a bashful look.
“I didn’t mean to do it,” she said, sticking her thin bottom lip out.
“You didn’t mean to walk off with over three thousand dollars in jewelry?” I asked her, raising my eyebrow. “You sure about that?”
“It’s not a big deal,” she said in an aloof voice. “It wasn’t even designer jewelry.”
I sighed, exasperated. “That doesn’t make a difference, Lisa.”
She reached forward and touched my cheek with her cold, thin fingers.
“Am I in trouble?” she asked.
“You most certainly are,” I said to her. “Do you know how much work this is going to be for me?”
“At least you get to see me,” said the old woman. “My cases are more fun than most.”
“You’re right about that,” I said. Lately I’d had only the grimmest of cases and it was starting to wear on me. “So what are we going to do this time?”
“Oh, I’ll pay a fine,” she said dismissively. “Whatever they want.”
“What if they want jail time this time, Lisa?” I asked her. “You’ve been warned before.”
“You won’t let that happen, darling,” she cooed. “I know you won’t. You’re too good at your job.”
“I’m glad you have faith in me.”
“I do,” she said. “And I have faith in her, too. She’s a good judge of character.”
“Xavier isn’t that bad,” I said, shaking my head. “He’s a good guy. You just have to get to know him.”
“I definitely don’t want to get to know him,” the old woman said.
Victoria laughed. “Me neither,” she said.
“You two are hard to please,” I said to them. “I wonder how you’d talk about me while I wasn’t in the room.”
“We’d talk about how handsome you are,” Mrs. Walker said. “Don’t you think he’s handsome, Victoria?”
Victoria blushed, but her eyes were on mine. “He’s okay,” she said with a grin, shrugging.
“He’s gorgeous,” the old woman gushed, but I couldn’t take my eyes off Victoria and the sweet, mischievous smile on her face.
“I’m going to do my best to avoid jail time for you, Lisa. But I can’t make any promises this time. You know what the judge said last month.”
“I’m not worried about it,” she said.
I shook my head again, standing up. Victoria stood with me, clambering to her feet with her crutches. We told the woman good afternoon and left. I helped Victoria get into the car, my hand brushing her hip. Our eyes were connected, had been through the last half of our meeting. When I got in the car, I didn’t look at her, afraid that I wouldn’t be able to stop.
“So what do you think?” I asked her.
“She’s fun,” she said. “I like her.”
“I thought you’d get along. You have similar opinions.”
“You mean on Xavier?”
I nodded. “He really isn’t that bad, you know.”
“I just can’t stand people who are so serious and unhappy all the time,” she said. “Why is he so miserable?”
I didn’t answer. It wasn’t my place to tell her about what had happened to Tracy, the tragedy he had suffered just months ago.
“Things aren’t easy for him,” was all I said.
“Look at our job,” she said. “Look at what we do for a living. Things aren’t easy for anybody.”
I nodded, glancing over at her. “Are you feeling any better?”
“Yes,” she said softly. “Thank you for today.”
“I’m glad you came with me.”
“Why?” she asked curiously.
“Because I think you’re good at your job,” I said to her. “I have a gut feeling. And from what I’ve seen, you are an asset.”
“Even given what happened with Xavier?”
“I don’t blame you for that. Shit happens,” I said. “I can, uh… I can see why he might be tempted.”
She chewed on her lip, a pleased smile passing over her face. She looked out the window, trying to hide it, trying to pretend that it wasn’t happening.
We pulled up to the office building and she was quiet as she got out of the car.
“I’d better go find Xavier,” she said with a sigh when we got upstairs.
“Thanks again,” I said.
She smiled and disappeared with a reluctant look on her face, and I put my face in my hands and took a deep breath. Alarm bells were going off in my head, nagging me over and over about the uneasiness in the pit of my stomach. Something in me wanted Victoria in a way that felt desperate and raw. It was a terrible idea; even disregarding the fact she was my employee, she’d somehow gotten involved with Xavier.
I sighed and tried to get to work, not thinking about it, glad for the time being that I hadn’t been assigned to work with her directly.
7
Victoria
I sat silently in Xavier’s office while he gazed at his computer, scrolling down, looking over his glasses at the screen. I would occasionally sneak a glance at him, unable to help myself. He looked absolutely mouthwatering doing his job, a serious look on his face, sharp and focused. I didn’t like him—it had been silent the entire time between us, and yet I couldn’t deny I found something about him to be almost irresistible. I thought about how Louis had defended Xavier; he’d said Xavier was kind, a good man. So far, I hadn’t seen any real evidence of that, but I wondered if maybe it was something I could try to find in him.
“Mr. Kyle,” I said to him. He looked up from his computer. “Maybe you should take a break,” I said.
He raised his eyebrows. “And do what, may I ask?”
“Nothing,” I said. “That’s the point of a break.”
“I do not generally take breaks,” he said. “Not unless I have something to do.”
“Maybe you should find something to do right now,” I said to him. “You’ve been staring at that computer all day.”
“What do you suggest?”
I shrugged. “You could talk to me?”
I thought I saw a smile flicker over his face. “Tempting.”
“Are you ever in a good mood?” I asked him. “Do you laugh? Smile?”
He stared at me. “What exactly is the point of all of that?”
“In smiling?” I asked. “Are you kidding?”
“I enjoy my life and the work that I do. That’s enough.”
“You might enjoy it more if you relaxed a little,” I said to him.
“You might be right,” he said stiffly.
I sighed, rolling my eyes. He gave me a qu
estioning look. “You’re impossible to deal with,” I said to him.
“So are you,” he said.
“Why are you determined to be so cold to me? You’re not like that with anybody else.”
His jaw tensed and he glanced away from me. “It’s nothing,” he said.
“No, there’s some reason you don’t like me. You don’t even want to get to know me. Why?”
“Because every time I speak to you, I can’t stop looking at your mouth,” he said. “And remembering what you taste like.”
“Oh,” I said.
“Is that what you wanted to hear?” he asked.
“I didn’t—”
“I’m sorry,” he said. “But from the moment I met you, I’ve thought about what it would be like to touch your skin.”
I didn’t answer. I couldn’t respond to him. All I could do was stare at him, at the hungry look in his eyes that was mixed with anger and frustration.
“Would you mind running down the hall to get Louis for me?” he asked suddenly.
“Sure,” I said, almost breathless. His words had filled me with a desire that felt needy and just as hungry as the look in his eyes. I’d been remembering the kiss vividly over and over, feeling guilty and hot about it all at once. I got up, turning away and leaving the office, relieved that I would get to take a break to speak to Louis. He always seemed to be able to relieve some of my tension just by being around me; he was kind and funny, understanding and easy to talk to—the complete opposite of his partner in every way other than the fact that they were both distractingly sexy.
I nearly collided with Zachary as I left the room, stumbling back slightly on my crutches as he appeared in the hallway in front of me. He was smirking at me, an ugly look on his boyish face. He had round features that made him look like a smug ten-year-old.
“What is it?” I asked him. “Can I help you?”
“Oh, I think you can definitely help me,” he said and held up his phone to show that he was recording something.
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