Mr. Mansfield’s office was at the end, and when I reached his full-time assistant, I gave her a wobbly smile. “Hi.”
She returned a careful look and picked up her phone, tapping one of the buttons. A few seconds later she said, “Yes, sir. Mr. Shoemaker is here to see you. Yes, sir.”
When she placed the phone back on the cradle, her mouth curled in her version of a smile, which wasn’t much. She was a lovely lady, but it was rare for her to look anything but grim. I suspected working directly under Mr. Mansfield was a pain in the ass.
“He’ll see you now.”
I nodded and took a deep breath, staring at the door that led into the boss’s office. Straightening my back, I moved to the door and twisted the knob, opening it and stepping inside.
Mr. Mansfield sat behind his desk, leaning back in his chair. He stared me down as I shifted farther into the room, nerves coiling in the pit of my stomach. I stepped toward him carefully, trying to appear confident, though I wasn’t sure if I succeeded or not.
“Good afternoon, sir,” I murmured. “You wanted to see me?”
“I did. Sit.” He waved his hand at the seat in front of his desk, and I took a deep breath as I collapsed onto it, keeping my back straight. I stared at him, and he returned my focus until the air was tense and I thought I would break down and escape from his office. But finally he started talking again. “You’re a good worker, Shoemaker.”
“Thank you?” I smiled nervously. It wasn’t often Mr. Mansfield gave out compliments like this, and my suspicion about it almost made me feel guilty. Except I realized I wasn’t wrong when his grin turned smug.
“You work well with your boyfriend,” he said, moving forward to rest his elbows on the desk and interlinking his fingers together. “But you also work very well alone. That’s what I like in an employee—someone who takes the initiative and can work both independently and with a team.”
I chewed on the corner of my mouth to stop myself from saying thank you again. Wringing my hands together, I continued to stare at him while waiting.
“I suppose your boyfriend—”
“Fern.”
He stopped. “What?”
Heat boiled in my cheeks. “His name is Fern, although he doesn’t like his first name very much. He actually prefers to be called Dare. He’s not just my boyfriend, he’s also a person. You can call him Dare, notyour boyfriend.”
I’d never spoken to Mr. Mansfield like this before, and I didn’t feel sick about it, either. Dare’s encouragement was paying off.
Mr. Mansfield stared at me for a few seconds before he started laughing. I jumped in my chair in surprise but kept myself steady.
“Dare, then. I suppose Dare is a very good worker also.”
“He is,” I said, not hesitating.
He nodded and ran a finger over his mouth in thought. “There’s a reason I brought you in here, Shoemaker. You’ve won me a lot of cases with your hard work, and because of you, we’re able to expand.”
I blinked at him. “Expand? Do you mean another office?”
“That is correct.” Mr. Mansfield appeared pleased with himself, his smile transforming to something that would have done the Cheshire cat proud. “Which is why I’m promoting you to help me set it up. Have you heard of Demchenko, Weston, and Polunin?”
I frowned. “Yeah, they’re a small law firm close to city hall.” Rumors said they were damned good at their jobs, too. The primary owner, River Demchenko, was worth the money he charged because he dominated in the courtroom. The Kings of Men MC, a biker club in New Gothenburg, was one of his clients. The watercooler talk said the Harlots were theirs, too. Mr. Mansfield had reached out to the clubs, hoping to persuade them to move their business to us, but they had refused. From what I’d heard, Demchenko called to let Mr. Mansfield know what he thought about the sly attempt. I’d thought it was strange at the time because we didn’t specialize in criminal cases, but they would have brought in a lot of cash.
“That’s them. Well, I want to give Demchenko a run for his money.” Mr. Mansfield’s eyes darkened and his jaw tightened. “I want to expand into criminal defense.”
“I’ve… never done criminal defense before, sir. Not since college.” Although, I’d been very interested in the subject. I’d expected to work at a place like Demchenko’s firm, but instead was roped into Mr. Mansfield’s business with Dare.
“You’ll be fine. You got this handled.”
“Can I ask you a question, Mr. Mansfield? Why me? There are plenty of qualified employees who’ve been working here longer than me and Dare combined.” Like Tony. He was an all right guy. A little lazy at times and never liked working weekends, but he wasn’tbad.
He snorted. “Because you and Darrow—Dare—are the best I have. I need one of you here to handle this place, and one of you over there. So you’re the one I’ve chosen to help me open the new firm.”
“And when do we start?” I murmured, suppressing the excitement that was starting to bubble inside me. I’d always been proud of my work accomplishments and climbing my way up the corporate ladder had been my long-term dream.
“The building’s already underway. Nearly finished, in fact. You’ve probably seen that new skyscraper going up downtown, within sight of Demchenko’s office.” He smirked, pure joy flashing across his face. “Olivia’s ex-husband’s company is building it. It’s partially owned by the other stakeholder.” He stood abruptly, and I stared up at him. “Let’s go check it out now, Shoemaker. You, me, and Olivia. She’s going to help you set it up. She’ll be your assistant.”
