Logan interrupts me. “Hey, enough with smiling at your phone. We have work to do.”
Files and boxes litter our conference room table, and information on this case fills the whiteboard. Being a defense attorney has its luxuries, and at other times, it’s a lot of pieces we are trying to fit together. And then at any moment, everything falls into place… most of the time.
This case has us working through the afternoon. We talk about almost nothing else. Eventually, we look at each other and decide it’s time for lunch. Time is of the essence here, so we ask our executive assistant, Rylee, to order lunch and dinner for us. We’ll be working another late night on this case. There are so many boxes to sift through.
“This is fucking bullshit,” I complain, talking to no one in particular.
But Logan answers, “Stating the obvious.” He shakes his head.
It feels like we just gave Rylee our order, and she’s already walking through the conference door with lunch and, as if on cue, my stomach growls pretty loudly. We take a brief break to eat and refresh our brains. Although it’s hard to completely shut it off.
“What were you doing at the town hall?” Logan asks as he takes a bite of his sandwich.
“I heard Roland was giving a small-business owner the runaround with permits.”
“That guy! Is he ever going to learn?” He shakes his head.
“He seemed sheepish when I showed up. I’m guessing he’s up to his old shit again. I put him in his place. He’ll make it right today.”
The Italian sandwich makes my mouth water with the smell of dressing, deli meat, and veggies. A huge bite straight into my mouth just as Logan asks me, “What business was he dragging his feet on this time?”
I say through a mouth full of food, “Just a salon expansion on Main Street.”
“That’s very specific. Which one?”
Which one? I didn’t even realize there was more than one.
“Some woman I met named Kendall.”
He snaps his head to me with wide eyes. “Kendall, huh? How did you meet her?” He looks me up and down, trying to decipher whether he should continue. “You going to share more about her?”
“Nope, let’s finish our lunch and get back to work.”
“You’re being evasive. Something is up with you. You’re resisting now, but I’ll break you soon.”
I ignore him and finish my sandwich. After hours of concentrating on the case, my mind wanders to the fiery redhead with penetrating eyes that can see right through me. She is gorgeous, independent, and sassy as fuck. All the other women I’ve slept with always ask for my number right away. She didn’t even hint at it.
One night is my motto. It keeps my personal life transactional, just the way I like it. Why does it always come back to fucking Maggie? She crushed me.
But now, transactional won’t do. I want more because I’ve never met anyone like Kendall. I’m hooked and still trying to figure her out. Yeah, she’s skeptical, and for good reason—look at my life. All one-night stands, no attachments. And then she walks through my door, and I’m practically begging her to stay longer. What is wrong with me?
“Hey, where did you go? It’s like you aren’t even listening,” Logan says, waving his hands in front of my face. I must have been really out there.
“Yeah, I’m right here.”
Work is a priority for me, and that’s what I need to focus on right now. Clearing the Kendall cobwebs out of my head, I dive back into the case files. My head needs to be in the game with this case, not with the fiery redhead.
“I think we need to attack this from a different angle.” Logan stands up and writes on the whiteboard. He drones on, essentially repeating everything I said earlier today. He continues talking, and I let him believe the fresh approach was entirely his own idea.
“Logan, that’s brilliant. Who do we need to talk to?”
Brilliant, probably borderline genius, and he is quick on his feet. He does well in this dog-eat-dog world. Me, I’m here to work and do my best to defend people. Innocent until provenguilty. I listen to my gut with clients and can smell a lie from a mile away. We make a good team.
My phone is ringing, but I can’t find it. Moving files until I find my phone, I catch it just before it goes to voicemail. “Gram calling,” I say to Logan.
I look at my brother and shrug my shoulders. There are only a few reasons for her to call right now.
Answering the phone, “Gram, is everything okay?”
