The feel of his cock penetrating her combined with the vibrations inside her sent Julie over the edge into bliss once more. And when she came back to herself, she found herself climbing the peak again as he thrust into her again and again. There was a desperation in his movements that let Juliet know that Matt was also enjoying the toy inside her.
One more time, she felt her body moving of its own volition, pressing back against Matt while his thrusts began to get more erratic.
“I’m coming,” he gasped, gripping her hips as he slammed into her. And Julie, her own crisis upon her, braced herself as the pulsing of her body around his combined with the vibrations inside her to jolt her into the most powerful orgasm of her life. Through the fog of pleasure, she felt Matt still inside her, pressing hard into her as she felt the heat of his release fill her.
Spent, they collapsed together onto the bed, neither of them able to move or talk for several minutes.
Finally, Matt disengaged his body from hers and turned over onto his back.
“That,” he said, still slightly out of breath, “was unlike anything I’ve ever experienced.”
Julie sat up and turned her back to him for a moment while she removed the vibrator and switched it off. Placing it on the nightstand, she turned back and snuggled up to Matt.
“When you give a girl a new experience,” she said, kissing his shoulder, “you don’t mess around.”
At his lack of response, she looked up to see that he’d fallen asleep. Shrugging slightly, she lay her head down on him. He deserved a nap, she supposed, yawning herself. After all, he’d just worked awfully hard. Utterly sated, she closed her own eyes and went to sleep.
***
The next day, Julie didn’t even see Matt until lunchtime, when he came into the break room with Clay.
“I think he’s telling the truth,” Clay said, pouring himself a cup of coffee. “John Winston hasn’t deviated from his first statement about Lyon’s behavior that morning.”
“But that’s what makes me think he’s lying.” Matt sat down opposite the small table, where Julie was eating her lunch and working on the crossword puzzle. “Jules, what do you think? You’ve read all the documents for the Lyon’s case.”
Aware that Clay was there, Julie flinched at his use of her nickname, but put down her pen. “Well, his story does seem a bit rehearsed, but it’s been corroborated by everyone else involved in the case. Even if he is lying there’s nothing we can do about it if he won’t recant his testimony.”
“But that’s my point,” Matt, said, warming to his argument. “If we can get Winston to deviate even a little bit from his story, we can prove that he’s been coached by Lyon’s attorneys. And I definitely wouldn’t put it past Bill Preston to feed his witness a story. That guy is a snake.”
“Since I’m the one who’s gonna be cross-examining him then I’m the one who has to decide,” Clay snapped. “And what Julie thinks is beside the point. She can’t make a legal determination. She’s not a lawyer.”
Even though she’d heard it plenty of times from the other attorneys, coming from Clay, who couldn’t argue his way out of a potato sack, the dismissal was particularly infuriating.
“Come on, man,” Matt said. “That’s not fair. She’s all but got her law degree. And besides that she’s a damn smart woman. She has a right to her opinion.”
“Look, Matt, you don’t have to defend her to me. I’ve worked with Julie since I got out of law school. I’m not denying she’s smart. But she’s never stood up in court and cross-examined a witness. And you know that what happens in the courtroom can make or break a case.”
Julie stood up.
“Since you two seem to be able to talk about me without my input, I’ll just take off now.”
“But,” she said, turning to Matt, “for what it’s worth, he’s right, I haven’t faced a witness in the courtroom, so I’m not the best person to ask about stuff like this. I’m best at examining the evidence and organizing it so that he’s got what he needs when it comes time to go to court.”
Unable to look either of the men in the eye, she took her dish to the sink and rinsed it out.
“We’ll talk about this later,” Clay said, looking at his watch. “I’ve got a conference call in fifteen minutes.”
With Clay gone, Julie could feel Matt’s eyes like a laser on her back.
“What was that?” he demanded, coming up behind her, touching her lightly above her hip.
She stepped away from his touch.
“What was what?”
“That ‘I’m not a lawyer’ bullshit?”
She turned, and found him disconcertingly close. “I’m not a lawyer—sometimes I feel the need to remind my bosses of that fact. Especially when they themselves don’t know what they’re talking about and start asking me to make legal judgments. Judgments that might get them into serious trouble.”
“Give me a break, Julie,” Matt said, his tone harsh. “The only person getting into trouble here is you for refusing to acknowledge your own worth. If I didn’t know better, I’d say you were afraid.”
His words stung.
Mostly because they were true.
“So what if I am afraid,” she snapped. “I don’t want to get sued for practicing law without a license. There is a reason why I haven’t gone back to finish my degree. Maybe it’s because I don’t want the responsibility of actually putting myself on the line for the case. Maybe it’s because I like working behind the scenes.”
“Yeah, just what I said. You’re afraid. Afraid of putting yourself out there and trying a case on your own.”
“This coming from a corporate lawyer?” she huffed. “Tell me, Matt, what part of playing puppet master to local counsel all over the country appeals to you? The bossing around hick lawyers in Anytown, USA or the girl in every port? Because from what I can see you’re all about keeping it behind the scenes.”
“That is not fair,” he hissed, keeping his voice down. “We both agreed that this thing between us was best on a temporary basis. And I don’t have a girl in every goddamn port.”
He reached out to grab her arm, but she jerked away.
“Well, why don’t we just go ahead and call it quits on this thing right now,” she said. “Obviously it’s interfering with our work relationship. And unlike you, I can’t fall back on family money to keep up my lifestyle.”
It was unfair and she knew it. But, hearing him accuse her of being a coward had been a wake-up-call of sorts. She had to end things with him before she risked losing any more of her heart to him. Because she knew in her gut that once she was fell for this man, leaving him would be impossible.
“Why are you doing this?” he asked, his eyes narrowed, as if he were trying to see into her soul. “Last night we were fine, and today you’re shutting me out. Something is up.”
“Nothing is up,” she said, desperate to get out of there before he pressed her into revealing the truth. “This little episode just gave me some clarity, that’s all.”
She took his hand. “Look, we’ve had fun together, but we both knew it wasn’t going to be a forever thing.”
“So what?” he asked, his tone bitter, “It’s not me it’s you? You can do better than that tired line.”
Well, she’d tried. “I have to get back to work, Matt. I’ll see you later at the team meeting.”
Her legs shaking, Julie hurried from the break room to the blessedly empty ladies room, where she shut herself in a stall and gave in to the tears she’d been holding back all morning. She didn’t regret her decision to end things, but doing so felt like she’d just ripped out a major organ with a spork.
She thought she was being quiet, but Cissy’s voice on the other side of the door told her better.
“Julie, sweetheart? Are you okay?”
Her silent sob morphing into a sighing hiccup, Julie swallowed. “I’m fine, Cissy. Just a…an allergy attack,” she said.
“Honey, unless you’re allergic to a tall b
lond hunk, I sincerely doubt that,” the other woman replied. “Come on out here and tell me about it.”
Knowing resistance was futile, Julie inhaled through her stuffy nose, and wiped her eyes, hoping her mascara hadn’t run too badly.
Cissy reached out and gave her a strong hug. “Darlin’ we’ve all been here at some point in our lives. Just tell me about is so I can tell whether I need to get Luke to load the shotgun.”
“He doesn’t need to be shot,” Julie sighed. “It’s my fault anyway.”
“I sincerely doubt that,” Cissy returned. “I’ve seen the way you look at him and if ever there was a woman in love, it’s you. So, what did he do? Break it off? Is he engaged? God, is he married?”
“No! God no!” Julie sank down onto the rattan sofa that made the ladies room less of a public restroom than a lounge where they could get away from the guys. “He’s been sweet. Honestly.”
“Well, being sweet doesn’t usually induce tears. Unless you’re…oh my god! Are you pregnant?”
“Jesus! No! I’m not. We haven’t. I mean, we have, but…” She could hear the abject fear in her voice. There was no possible way. Well, it was possible she supposed, but highly unlikely. She counted backwards from her last period. Too early to tell. “Just no.”
“What is it then?”
Julie closed her eyes and leaned back against the sofa cushion. “I broke things off.”
“What? Why?” Cissy demanded. “Honey, if you could see how much happier you’ve been these last couple of weeks. And he’s obviously smitten with you, too. I’ve seen how you two lock eyes in meetings.”
“It’s not him. He’s a great guy. A nice guy. But he’s going back to D.C. soon and it’s silly for me to become too attached. Especially when what we’ve got is only temporary.”
“That’s ridiculous, Julie. And so what if it is temporary? Don’t you want to spend as much time as possible with him before he goes? And maybe you two can keep on seeing each other after he goes back. There’s this great invention called the airplane.”
Julie smiled despite her sadness. “That’s what Lily said.”
“That’s because you raised her to be brilliant, like you,” the other woman said.
“It’s just too hard, Cis. I do like him. I even…well, I feel something more powerful for him than I’ve felt in a long time. But who’s to say I won’t find that with someone else. Someone who lives in Birmingham. Someone who doesn’t happen to belong to a profession I’ve been trying to get away from for years.”
“Oh, come on! Pull the other one. The only thing about the law you don’t like is the fact that you can’t practice it.”
God, not again. “For the last time, I am not a wannabe—”
“How long have you worked here?” Cissy interrupted.
“What?”
“How long have you worked for this firm?” she repeated.
“Seven years?” she said it with a questioning tone, though she knew how long she’d worked here down to the day.
“And in all that time, how many vacations have you taken?”
“I don’t know. Two?”
“Nope,” the secretary said with a frown. “One. And that was to help Lily move into her dorm.”
“Julie,” she continued. “You’ve put in more overtime at this firm and produced more billable hours than any first year associate ever has. The only thing you don’t like about this place is the fact that we represent the big guy against the little guy.”
That did surprise her. She thought she’d kept her distaste for their clients to herself.
“Maybe,” she conceded, not willing to agree for fear that Cissy would crow in triumph. Cissy could be loud when she won an argument.
“Well, then why don’t you go finish your degree and go get a job helping the little guy like you want to?”
“But I don’t…” She shook her head. She’d been so used to scaling down her ambitions to fit her position here that she hadn’t even considered the possibility. “What about Lily?” she finally asked.
“What about her?” Cissy, stood, and put her hands on her ample hips. “I’ll bet Lily would cheer if you went back and got your degree. She’d probably love not having your watchful eye on her 24/7.”
Which was true, Julie admitted silently. What would happen if she went back to school? Could she even do it? Had too much time passed?
“You might be right,” she told the other woman.
“Of course, I’m right. I just wish you hadn’t given Matt the kiss off. Now you’re going to have to do some serious groveling to get him back.”
“Damn it, Cissy, I hate it when you gloat.”
“Shut up and fix your face,” was the other woman’s tart response. “You need to get in there and convince that man you made a mistake. And nobody takes a woman with puffy-eyed-cry-face seriously.”
Grateful for the tiny essentials bag she kept in the restroom, Julie set about repairing her makeup and prepared to change Matt’s mind.
Chapter Eight
Julie waited until almost five thirty that evening to seek out Matt. By that time the secretaries had gone home. And since she’d seen Gordon and Taylor heading out of the break room with beers in hand, she figured nobody would interrupt them if she happened to slip into the office Matt had been using since his arrival.
Grateful for the carpet that kept her steps stealthy, she was a couple of cubicles down from his office door when she heard his voice. He must be on the phone. Not wanting to interrupt, she slipped into the tiny area where the office’s lone typewriter was kept for those counties in Alabama that still required typed forms, and took a seat.
“I don’t think it’s her,” she heard Matt say. Quickly she ran through the RFG cases in her head that had female plaintiffs. McLendon? Wright? Lewis?
“No, Mitchell,” he said a bit louder. “I’ve checked her out and I don’t think Julie Streeter is responsible for the leak.”
What the…?
“I’m telling you I know! There is no possible way that Streeter can be the one giving the information to Albright.”
She knew he must be talking to Mitchell Starnes, the head legal counsel at RFG, and she fought to keep from running into his office to demand an explanation.
“I’m still not sure who it is. I may need more time.” Matt paused while he listened to Mitchell’s response. “I don’t know. Another week? I’ve got someone here I can sound out about the attorneys and anyone else on staff who could be feeding Albright the information.”
God, Julie fumed, he’s talking about me.
It had all been a lie. Every last moment they’d spent together flipped like a slide show in her brain. How could she have been so blind? My god. Of course someone like Matt freaking Ellis wouldn’t have any genuine interest in her. He was Matt freaking Ellis and he could have any woman eating out of the palm of his hand in minutes.
To think she’d actually been on her way in here to beg his forgiveness! Thank god she had gotten here in time to hear his little chat with Mitchell. The thought of letting a snake like Matt know that he’d actually won, that he’d actually managed to win her trust and even—she was reluctant to even admit it, but it was true—her heart, made her sick to her stomach.
“Right, Mitchell,” she heard him continue. “I’ll keep you posted and I’ll let you know as soon as I know something.”
He laughed. “No, Birmingham definitely does not have the same appeal as D.C. I can’t wait to get back.”
She listened, numb as she heard him put the phone down and a rustling that indicated he was gathering up his coat and briefcase to leave for the day.
She had to get out of there before he saw her. But she was too late. She’d only made it to the end of the row of cubicles before she heard him call her name.
“Julie, hey! Wait up.”
Anger making her heart beat faster, she turned. It was just as well. She should let him know that she’d learned his little secret before too much more
time passed, anyway. He’d need the extra time to find someone else to pump for information about the firm and whoever was leaking to Albright.
Suddenly, she was able to step back and realize what he’d actually been saying. Someone had been leaking information about their cases to the Albright firm. Someone in this firm! Was there no one in this whole freaking building she could trust? Jesus!
Her fury gave her the power to speak first. “Hi,” she said, not returning his smile. “So, what big city move are you going to try this time to butter me up?”
His brows snapped together. “What?”
“Well, I just heard your little talk with Mitchell. Don’t you need more time to wheedle information about the firm from me? Isn’t that what you were asking for?”
He blanched. So it was true. A knot of disappointment formed in her stomach. A small part of her had hoped that he would deny it. That he’d tell her that she’d misheard him. Or it was all a trick. But, the look on his face—as if he’d been caught with his hand in the cookie jar, or the nookie jar as it were, she thought cynically—was enough to tell her she’d been right the first time. This man, who had brought her back to life after a long abstinent sleep, had only been playing on her insecurities to get information from her. Thinking of the things she’d let him do to her, the things she’d done to him, she fought the bile that rose in her throat.
Matt rushed forward, catching her by the arm before she could turn tail and run.
“Jules, you have to believe me. It’s not what you think.”
“Oh please, is that the best you can do? I couldn’t have written this script any better if you paid me.”
“Look, I know you’re pissed,” he said, his voice taking on that placating tone that she’d heard him use on witnesses in depositions. How could she have been such a dumbass? “I don’t blame you, but it has nothing to do with us. As soon as we started seeing each other…”
“Seeing each other? Great use of euphemism there, Matt. Why don’t we just call it what it is. Fucking. Because that’s what we’ve been doing. Well, you were fucking me over. And fucking me. Isn’t that ironic?”
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