“Liar. You’ve come in after me before,” Seven countered.
“Usually, coming from a morning meeting or working from my home office. Some days, I only come in because I know you’llbe there and I hate the thought of not getting to stare at you out my window all day.”
Seven flushed, his ears growing hot. “Shut up,” he murmured, giving Enzo a push.
Enzo rebounded, bumping his shoulder with his own, then capturing his hand, threading their fingers together. When they reached the lobby, Seven tried to let go, but Enzo held firm, leading him to the elevators, both of them nodding to the security guys as they passed.
They didn’t get off on their floor, but rode the elevator all the way to the top floor where the partners resided. Delaney, Lourdes’s personal assistant, eyed the two of them warily. She was dressed in jeans and an oversized sweater that made her look even shorter than she was. Right, casual Friday. Somehow, that hadn’t even occurred to Seven while they were getting dressed.
Enzo was turning him stupid.
Delaney gave them an expectant look as they approached, her mouth falling open when they breezed past her, Enzo’s movements deliberate, while Seven was just swept along by their joined hands.
“Enzo!” she shouted. “I have to announce yo?—”
Enzo closed the door on the rest of her sentence, then locked it for good measure. Lourdes was at her desk, her face a mask of irritation, her lipstick frozen in one hand and a compact in the other. She heaved a heavy sigh. Enzo was the bane of everyone’s existence around there. Doing whatever he wanted whenever he wanted. Mostly, because he was Lourdes’s favorite.
Except, maybe, right now? She somehow looked both surprised and annoyed, which was no easy feat. She coated her lips in a deep wine color, then blotted her mouth with a tissue. She wore a lace bustier under a blazer which was as “casual” asLourdes ever got. She stroked the long ponytail curled over her shoulder before narrowing her eyes at their joined hands.
Seven once more tried to pull it free, but Enzo tightened his grip. Lourdes’ mouth formed a hard line. She made them stand there as she applied her mascara, then carefully put her bag back into the desk, pulling a folder out of the same drawer. She opened it, then slid it across the desk to them, separating the papers into two stapled piles.
Enzo frowned, only dropping Seven’s hand when his curiosity got the better of him. He took two steps forward, grabbing one of the stacks. “What’s this?”
Seven joined him, reading over his shoulder.
Consensual Relationship Agreement
1.Acknowledgment of Voluntary Relationship
We, the undersigned, acknowledge and affirm that we are currently engaged in a consensual romantic and/or sexual relationship. We both affirm that this relationship is voluntary, mutual, and entered into without coercion, undue influence, or pressure.
Enzo snorted. “A love contract?”
Lourdes gave them a steely smile, her spine rigid as she said, “Don’t act like I’m an idiot, Enzo. You know how that infuriates me. You’re not even trying to hide whatever this is that you two have going on. We need to protect ourselves. Especially now that the papers are involved.”
Seven sucked in a breath. “The papers?”
“If you know about the gossip rags, I’m assuming you know about Seven’s mother,” Enzo said.
Lourdes leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms over her chest. “What I know is that one of my top attorneys blew off amajor client to go defend his boyfriend’s mother—pro bono, I’m assuming—withoutpermission from me, his superior.”
Enzo shrugged, unbothered as always. “There was no time to talk to anyone. I didn’t want her getting stuck in jail overnight or, God forbid, the weekend. We had to act quickly. Besides, since when do I have to clear clients with you?”
“Since you started thinking with your dick and not your wallet,” Lourdes countered.
“My wallet is doing just fine,” Enzo said. “And I didn’t blow off the client. They were fine rescheduling.”
Lourdes clenched her teeth until her jaw muscle ticked, like she was struggling to find her inner calm. Seven kind of wished he’d let Enzo handle this little meeting alone. After a minute passed, she said, “Sign the contracts. You’re lucky that he doesn’t work under you or this would be a whole different conversation.”
“Yeah, about that,” Enzo said. “I need you to reassign Seven to me, as my intern, so he can help me with his mother’s defense.”
“Are you trying to make me fire you?” Lourdes snapped, rocketing forward. “I’m sincerely asking because I can’t fathom any other reason for you to ask me to let your sugar baby du jour work under you.” She glanced at Seven, then tacked on, “No offense.”
“It’s pretty offensive,” Seven muttered.
Lourdes gave him a hard once-over. “If everyone here didn’t love you, I’d have already fired you for having an inappropriate relationship with an attorney. When I agreed to do Francesca a favor, it didn’t include matchmaking.”
“Lourdes,” Enzo said, her name a warning.
