Dating a Lawyer (The Dating Series Book 3)

by B. T. Love

  “Oh, so we’re back to this Mr. Hunter shit now, huh?”

  “Yes. Because as I’ve said all along, it isn’t going to work between us. We’re enemies.”

  “Roxy—”

  “It’s Roxanne. And actually, better yet, it’s Ms. Balkner.” I slammed down the phone, ending our conversation.

  * * *

  It was the end of the day. I was spending my last hour shredding the Stillman file, wallowing in my sorrows. To be honest, I knew I was being a brat. I mean, who cared if my client left me for Brad. He was a great lawyer, one who I could admit was better than I was. I shouldn’t have been surprised that Robert chose him over me. But my ego was still bruised from it.

  Nancy tapped on my door. “Come in,” I said quietly.

  She poked her head in like usual. “Brad’s here.”

  My heart lifted that he cared enough to come down and talk about it. But I was still upset. “Send him away.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yeah. I don’t feel like talking. Tell him I’m in a meeting or something.”

  She nodded and bowed out. A few minutes passed and she tapped again and then popped back inside. “He said he knows you’re not in a meeting. He really wants to talk to you.”

  “Tell him maybe I would talk to him if he had told me himself that Robert had fired me for him.”

  “Oh come on, Roxy. Don’t be like this.”

  My head shot over from my shredder. “You can’t tell me what to do unless you have been in this situation before. When your boyfriend steals your client and doesn’t tell you about it then you can tell me what to do.”

  “He didn’t steal your client.”

  “Just go tell him to leave. Please.” She rolled her eyes and then left once again. Another minute passed and there was another knock. After being friends with Nancy for years I knew how she knocked, and this wasn’t hers. I knew it was Brad. “Go away Mr. Hunter, I’m in a meeting.”

  He pushed open the door. “I thought you didn’t lie.”

  I kept my eyes on my shredder. “That’s your motto, not mine.”

  He put his hands in his pockets and came around to the side of my desk. “What are you doing?”

  “Shredding the Stillman file. Why, would you like to have it? I might as well give it to you so you can have all the information I worked so hard on gathering.”

  “Are you really that upset about this?”

  “Of course I’m that upset about it. It’s a big hit to my ego.”

  “Good.”

  I looked up at him, my eyes narrowing into a glare. “What do you mean, good?”

  “It shows that your profession matters to you.”

  I swiveled around in my chair and slammed what was left in the file down on my desk. “What is it with you trying to make me prove that I’m good at my job or that my job matters to me? I love my job. And I’m very good at it.”

  “I know you are.”

  “Then why do you keep talking to me like this? Like you’re my mentor or something?”

  “Because I want you to be better.”

  “Better? So that means that you think I’m not that good apparently.”

  “I never said that.”

  “Then what are you trying to say?”

  “I’m trying to say you can be better at your job. And I only know that because your client left you. And I didn’t sway him to leave you; he decided it on his own, and then came to me for help after the fact.”

  My mouth hung open with shock. “I really don’t know what to say about this conversation we’re having. I feel like I’m being attacked.”

  “You’re not being attacked. I’m telling you how it is. You are a very talented lawyer but for whatever reason the ball was dropped on your part and you lost a client. You need to figure out what you did wrong so you can pick up and carry on and not make the same mistake again. That’s the only way you’ll better yourself.”

  “And what, be more like you? And never lose a case?”

  “No, I—”

  “Is this what our relationship is going to be like? Are you going to compare me to you every second of my professional life?”

  “No. I’m doing this because I believe in you.”

  “I already have a dad who believes in me, I don’t need another one!”

  His head dropped to his shoes. “Yeah, yeah I know what you’re trying to say.” He looked back up and I could see that his eyes were heavy with regret. “I was just trying to push you to be what I know you can be.”

  I straightened my posture and took the Stillman file back into my hands. “Well thank you for your support. Now, I’m in the middle of a meeting with my shredder.” I swiveled my seat back around and stuck more papers into the annoyingly-loud shredding machine.

  I didn’t watch him leave, but I knew he had left when I heard my door lightly close shut.

  * * *

  I looked down at the text on my phone.

  I’m sorry. Sometimes my mouth gets ahead of my brain. Can we talk?

  I ignored it and stuck my phone back in my purse. I just needed time to simmer in my pity. What he said was true about me being better. I mean, everyone could use improvement in some aspect of their life. And he did have a point about my client leaving me which in turn meant I didn’t do my job well enough. But it was still hard to hear, especially from my boyfriend.

  “Boyfriend,” I scoffed to myself. “If that’s what he even is anymore.” I took one last glance at my reflection in the mirror by my front entrance. It was Saturday night and I was going out with my girls. I really needed to vent my frustrations to them.

  I jumped as someone tapped on my door. “Who is it?” I asked, partly expecting it to be Brad.

  “It’s Paul from Fantasy Flowers. I have a delivery for Roxanne Balkner.”

  I opened the door and was met by a young man holding a vase filled with a large bouquet of long-stemmed red roses. Besides the aroma of the fresh flowers I could smell his cologne, a nice manly scent. He was pretty cute actually, with brown hair and . . . My eyes widened. Wait, he wasn’t cute at all! My lips pursed as I realized that yet again Brad was right: A woman was distracted by a man’s masculine-scented cologne, enough so to make him appear to be more attractive than he actually was.

  I shook away Brad’s winning argument in my mind. “I’m Roxanne,” I told him.

  He handed them over. “There’s a card in the middle. Have a nice day.”

  “Thanks.” I shut the door and sat the flowers on my entrance table. They were gorgeous, but I didn’t take Brad for a rose man, judging by the choice of calla lilies that were in his office. I smiled as I pulled out the small envelope that was nestled between the silky red petals. It was a nice gesture, one I couldn’t help but feel happy about. Although, I had to admit I still wasn’t ready to forgive him yet. And him just winning the cologne argument added more fuel to the fire.

  I flipped the envelope over and slid my finger under the flap, gently prying it open. Inside was a card made out to me in messy handwriting.

  Roxanne,

  Sometimes people don’t work out together in a business relationship, but that doesn’t mean you are not an amazing lawyer. You did a fine job at representing me for the short period we were working together, I just felt we weren’t quite the right fit. I hope there are no hurt feelings.

  -Robert Stillman

  My eyebrows lifted with surprise. First off, I expected them to be from Brad, not an ex-client. And secondly for Robert to offer such a nice gesture was, well, it was nice. I buried my nose in one of the blossoms and then pulled my purse onto my shoulder. “Time to see my girls.”

  * * *

  “And then she was like, ‘Send him away.’”

  Suzie laughed. “You did not tell Nancy to send him away . . .”

  I downed the rest of the cold beer in my glass. “Yep. I did.”

  “She did,” Nancy confirmed it. “And then I went out and said, ‘Sorry Brad, she’s in a meet
ing,’ and he was all, ‘I know she’s not in a meeting. Please tell her I want to talk to her.’ He seemed so worried; it was sweet.”

  “And then what did he do?” Suzie asked like a wide-eyed little kid.

  “Well, after I came back the second time he said, ‘I’m not going to let the day end without talking to her face to face. I need to make sure she’s okay.’ And then he walked down the hall and knocked on her door.”

  Suzie leaned across the table. “And what happened when he was in the room with you?” she asked me.

  I shifted my empty glass back and forth on the table and stared down at the ring of moisture it was leaving on the shiny surface. “He told me I dropped the ball with the Stillman case and I needed to figure out what I did wrong so I could fix it and better myself.”

  Suzie shrugged. “I mean, it sounds harsh but it’s the truth.”

  “I know. It was just hard hearing it from the man I’m in a relationship with.”

  “Are you still even in a relationship with him?” Nancy asked.

  “I, I really don’t know.” I looked up at my two friends who were staring a hole through me. “What do you guys think?”

  “What do you mean?” Suzie asked.

  “Should I stay with a man who tells me so blatantly how things are? I mean, sometimes he seems like he doesn’t consider my feelings.”

  Suzie sighed in thought. “Well, how did he say it to you? Was he a jerk about it?”

  “No, not really. He just, I don’t know, said it. He laid the facts out on the table and told me that I needed to fix things.”

  “Well, I wasn’t there, but it sounds to me like he was just trying to offer you career advice. He wants you to succeed and better yourself. Maybe that was his way of encouraging you. It just sounds like he needs to better his communication skills, that’s all.”

  “Well I think you should stay with him,” Nancy cut in. “Any man who pushes you down on a desk and shows you who’s boss is a keeper in my book.”

  “Yeah, I figured you would say that,” I chuckled. “You’ve had the hots for him since the first day he set foot in our office.”

  “That’s right. But trust me Roxy, the man’s all eyes for you. And I think Suzie’s right, he just needs to work on how he words things to you.”

  “Maybe you guys are right,” I shrugged. “But I need some time to think about having a relationship with him still. This most likely won’t be the last time we’ll be involved with each other’s clients.”

  “And who knows,” Nancy chimed in, “maybe you’ll steal one of his clients in the future.”

  “I thought you said he didn’t steal my client,” I teased her.

  “Oh, you know what I mean. And I was right, he didn’t steal your client. He just caught the interest of Robert, and Robert decided to use his services. It doesn’t mean you’re bad at being a lawyer.”

  I smiled as I thought of the bouquet of roses that were waiting at home for me. “Yeah, that’s kind of what he said.”

  “What who said?” Suzie asked. “You talked to Brad again?”

  “No no,” I shook my head. “It was the oddest thing. Before I came here I had a bouquet of long-stemmed red roses delivered to my door. I assumed they were from Brad but when I read the note it was from Robert.”

  “Are you serious?” Nancy said.

  “Yeah. I think they were a peace offering. The note basically said that just because our business relationship didn’t work out that it didn’t mean that I wasn’t a good lawyer.”

  “See?” Suzie said. “That should make you feel better about yourself.”

  “Yeah,” I admitted. “It did. It was a nice gesture.”

  “Did you wish they were from Brad?” Nancy asked.

  “Yes, to be honest. But I don’t expect him to send me flowers every time we argue. I mean, he’d be sending me flowers every day.”

  We all chuckled. “Yeah,” Nancy agreed, “you guys will argue whether or not the sky is blue. Except you would be the one saying it was green.”

  “Oh shut up,” I laughed. “I’m not that far off with my arguments.”

  “Sometimes you are. I would say Brad is the more level-headed out of the two of you.”

  I smiled down at my glass. “Yeah, yeah he is level-headed.” I relaxed back in my chair and stared off across the room. “Maybe I’ll give him a call. He texted me earlier and I ignored it.”

  “You should call him,” Suzie said. “Make up and get on with your relationship.”

  “Make up and get on with the make-up sex,” Nancy added, of course.

  “I can’t wait for that.” As I smiled at my friends a head of platinum blonde hair on the other side of the room drew my attention. It was Claire Thompson, and she was with another woman who looked like the same type of person as she was, which was basically a washed-up no good gold-digger. “Well would you look at who’s here.”

  My friends turned in their seats. “Is that Mrs. Thompson?” Nancy asked.

  Suzie looked confused. “Who? Who am I looking for?”

  “That blonde floozy over there,” Nancy nodded in her direction. “That’s the woman Brad is representing, the one who’s trying to take Roxy’s clients beach house.”

  “Oh, that’s her? God, how does Brad concentrate on his work with those pair of jugs bouncing around in his face?”

  “Suzie!” Nancy said while slapping her arm with the back of her hand. “Roxy can hear you!”

  “No no,” I said calmly. “Suzie has a valid argument. She does have ridiculously large breasts. Breasts that I’m sure my client paid for. Maybe I should ask for the implants back at the court hearing.”

  “When’s the court hearing again?” Nancy asked.

  “Two weeks.”

  “Are you ready?”

  I shook my head. “Nope. Brad will probably win all that my client has. I can’t wait to see how that day will affect our relationship.”

  “It won’t,” Suzie reassured me. “You guys have something special. You’ll surpass any conflict that comes up. I’m sure of it.”

  I smiled warmly at my sweet friend. “Thanks.”

  Claire made her way through the cramped room filled with people and settled into an empty booth by the restrooms. She was immediately bombarded by two younger men who most likely picked up on her loose nature.

  “That’s disgusting,” Nancy said. “Can’t she at least wait until her divorce is final?”

  “Nah, that’s not her style.” I lifted my glass in front of me. “Well, this is finally making its way to my bladder. Anyone want to join me in the restroom?”

  “I will,” Suzie said as she stood up from her chair.

  “You need to go?” I asked Nancy.

  “I’ll go after the next round. I need to stay with our table anyway so no one takes it.”

  Suzie and I pushed our way through the crowd and passed by Claire unnoticed. There was a short line down the length of the wall that ended right around the corner from her booth, but I made sure to stay out of her sight.

  Claire laughed wildly with her friend, and I kept catching parts of her conversation. “I’ve got him wrapped around my finger,” I heard her say.

  I nudged Suzie. “Did you hear that?”

  “Hear what?”

  “What Claire said.”

  “No. What did she say?”

  “I don’t know, it sounded like she said she has someone wrapped around her finger.”

  I listened harder.

  “I’m getting everything I want,” Claire bragged.

  I grabbed onto Suzie. “Did you hear that?” I said quietly, excitement breaking through my voice.

  “I can’t hear anything!”

  I pulled her toward me and spun around, trading places with her. “Suzie, listen to me, I need you to listen to their conversation for me.”

  “Me?” her eyes widened. “Why me?”

  “Because Claire doesn’t know what you look like. You can get closer to their table an
d listen in on what they’re saying.”

  “Roxy, I don’t think—”

  “Please!” I begged her. “This could help me win my case!”

  Her eyes darted around my face while she considered it. “Okay,” she finally agreed. “But it’s only because I love you so much.”

  “I love you too. Now go listen to them!”

  She turned and left the end of the line. As she stepped around the corner she found a suitable spot a few feet from their table and casually leaned up against the booth behind them.

  “Lawyer . . . for me,” I partly heard Claire say. “I tried to get . . . so old or something that it . . .” I couldn’t make out everything she was saying, but as I peeked around the corner I could see Suzie’s eyes widen. “When it didn’t work . . . that’s the way I would . . .”

  Suzie slowly backed away and spun around, joining me around the corner. “Oh my god!” she said in disbelief.

  “What? What did you hear her say?”

  “You are so not going to believe this . . .”

  “Tell me!”

  “Well, when I first listened in she said that her lawyer was going to get everything for her. Then she said she tried to get pregnant with Steve’s baby so she could get child support from him, and she made a joke about his sperm being old because she never could get pregnant.”

  “Are you serious?”

  “Yeah but that’s not the worst part. She said when it didn’t work then she had the idea to fake a pregnancy and miscarriage.”

  “No freakin’ way!”

  “And,” she went on, “she figured that it was a good way to somehow get money from him.”

  I was speechless. “Suzie,” I said pulling her against me with a tight hug. “You have done me a great service my friend.”

  “Well I’m glad I didn’t get caught.”

  “Me too,” I said as I let her go.

  “So, what now?” she asked.

  I clasped my hands together. “Now I destroy my boyfriend’s case.”