Oliver nodded. “I know. I know. I hope like hell he didn’t fuck up and get some gal in that damn group pregnant. That’s the last thing I need right now.”
“I’ll look into it.”
“Would you? I don’t need some young tramp popping up thinking her bastard kid’s heir to anything of mine.”
I gritted my teeth but nodded. Oliver Wilson was an entitled piece of work, like most of my clients were. I worked with high-end business owners, CEOs, and government officials who were used to having others kiss their assess. Though I didn’t play that game, it was still a pain in the ass to be around them at times.
“Yeah, I—” I began to tell Oliver how I’d have my team proceed, but a noise from up the hall captured my attention. My door was open, so I could distinctly hear sounds coming from my office’s lobby. One of them was a female’s voice, but it wasn’t Leona. This voice was unfamiliar to me, yet I instantly needed to see the face of the person it was attached to. The need was as compelling as the need to take my next breath.
“Oliver, I’m going to have to get back to you.” Without more explanation than that, I disconnected the call and quickly exited my office. Behind me, I heard Hound following, but I didn’t pause to allow him to catch up.
The voice grew louder, the closer I got to the lobby. Oddly, the closer I drew to the sound of the woman, the quicker my heart pulsed.
“That was extremely unprofessional and rude. Especially, since I wasn’t allowed to explain what my case entailed. To be told …”
I halted as soon as my gaze landed on the woman who was standing over Leona’s desk. She was irate. And beautiful. I allowed my eyes to linger on her honey-toned face, and her oddly colored, brownish eyes as they narrowed on Leona. She stood about five-foot-eight inches, but I couldn’t tell if that was her actual height or if she was wearing heels. She was petite up top, but when I cast my eyes down the length of her body, I caught the flare of her hips. They were outlined by the denim jeans she had on.
Lifting my gaze, I peered at her perfectly plump lips moving a mile a minute. I couldn’t fully comprehend the words coming out of said lips because I was too fucking distracted by the image they made.
An inch above those lips, I caught sight of the gold septum piercing. It intrigued me. But what captivated my full attention and drew me even closer was catching sight of this woman’s completely bald, perfectly shaped head. Maybe not completely bare, but very close to it. She had less than a quarter-inch of hair on her head. She wore it that way on purpose.
I didn’t know too many women with the confidence to pull off such a look. And pull it off she did. Very well.
I couldn’tnotwatch her. Even as she continued to ream out Leona, I found myself so utterly intrigued that I remained at a loss for something to say for an unacceptable amount of time. I rarely found myself at a loss for words. Shit, I may not always utter them, but I had the words for any situation.
It wasn’t until my gaze dropped to stare at the black T-shirt she wore with the words ‘Woman Up’ emblazoned across the front, that I stepped forward.
Coming even with Leona’s desk, I folded my arms across my chest, staring down at the woman before me and questioned, “What the hell are you screaming at my office manager about?”
Her eyes widened as she glared up at me, and that was when I noticed her eyes weren’t brown. They were a dark hazel that only appeared brown from a distance.
Interesting.
“You,” she pushed free through her teeth.
I lifted my eyebrows, both thrilled to have her attention on me and curious as to what the hell I’d done to piss her off. Not that I wouldn’t have done whatever it was again. I likely would if it meant she would be here in this same position, staring at me like this.
“You’re the one who said my case wasn’t worth it. How dare you?” she lambasted, pointing her finger in my direction. “How dare you say my grandfather isn’t worth the trouble of taking my case. The least you could’ve done is pointed me in a different direction. But to say he isn’t worth it?” Her voice level rose with every sentence.
Completely unaware of what she was referring to, I peered down at Leona with a questioning expression.
“Ms. Taylor was the woman on the line not too long ago who called in about her grandfather and the missing teen girl.”
I continued to stare at Leona, still not understanding how the hell two and two equaled four.
“Ms. Taylor heard you sayshe’s not worth the trouble,and she believed you were referring to her case.”
I nodded and directed my attention to the angry woman before me. Looking her directly in the eye, I said, “So, Ms. Taylor, you mistakenly presumed that I was referring to your case, more specifically, your grandfather, when I said it wasn’t worth it.”
Her lips pressed together, and for a heartbeat, she looked contrite, as if just realizing she’d fucked up. However, this woman was not going to let a small mix-up on her part get in the way of making her point.
“That is what you said. That it wasn’t worth it, correct?”
“I did, except I wasn’t referring to you or your suspected case at all.”
She nodded slightly and pushed out a breath. “Well, then, I’m sorry.” Her eyes darted to Leona. “Please excuse my rudeness.”
Leona made a noise at the back of her throat. “Not a problem, but as I told you when you first walked in, we don’t take cases such as yours.”
