Ooooooh, fresh meat.
“Bad, Theo. She’s off limits. She’s a co-worker. You know the bosses don’t allow that. It’ll seriously fuck up your promotion if you even think about it,” Aimee scolds, rolling her eyes. “Go to the bar like any normal man.”
“Noooooo,” I exclaim, putting a hand to my head in fake upset. “How dare she be off limits?” Bringing my hand down, I raise an eyebrow at her, a smirk rolling across my face. “You know that just means it's all the hotter, right? Forbidden love? Sneaking around? Sex in?—”
Aimee pushes up out of her seat, quick as a flash. “La la la la,” she says, covering her ears. “I don’t want any part of this. You’re on your own.”
“Ugh, whatever,” I grumble. However, the idea sounds hot. I need to find this new associate and now. “Erm, so where is she?” I ask innocently, leaning my head in my hands and batting my eyelashes.
Aimee rolls her eyes again. “I’ve just left her with Frank, so you should probably get over there and introduceyourself.”
I rub my hands together, then stand up and walk around my desk. “This is gonna be so much fun.”
It really isn’t, but there’s no way I’m telling Aimee that. I’m dreading this on so many levels. I hate new people. I hate getting to know them. Lawyers are sharks. They’ll pick up on any weakness and use it against you in a fight, even if you work with them. And the mental health issues I have? Fuck, they’d ring me out to dry in an instant. The pitying looks don’t fill me with much confidence either. ‘Oh, poor Theo, he tried to kill himself that one time.’
Absolutely fucking not. I will die on the hill of keeping my mouth shut. The only person who knows anything about that time in my life is James, so you can bet your ass I ain’t saying shit to anyone. It just makes it harder to hide all of this when I’m working closely with another person.
It’s fine. Everything’s fine.
“She seems really nice,” Aimee gushes with a smile.
“I’ll be the judge of that,” I tease, grabbing my suit jacket from the back of my chair and shrugging it on.
Aimee pushes out of her chair as I head for the door. “Erm, so I need your help,” she mumbles just as I stroll past her.
I stop immediately. Aimee’s a ball buster; she doesn’t do timid. I didn’t even know she was capable of it.
“I’m listening,” I reply, turning to face her.
Her eyes dart toward the window, her cheeks flushing red as she mumbles, “I applied to be a paralegal.”
“Short stack, this is great news. You’d make a pretty awesome paralegal… but I’m detecting a hint of something here. What’s the problem?”
“I need a mentor.”
“Done,” I reply. “Ain’t no way anyone else is going to do it. Just tell me what you need, and we’ll get it done.”
She smiles before jumping up and down—yup, too much like me. “Thank you, thank you, thank you. Now, go see Frank before you get into trouble.” She starts pushing at me to leave. I laugh, kissing the top of her head.
I stride through the corridors toward Frank’s office, grinning and tossing high-fives. Why? Because I’m Theo freakin’ Moore and my name echoes through these halls. I’ve been collecting wins since I walked out of college. Law’s always been second nature to me. I can smell a lie before it’s even spoken, and the network I’ve built? Untouchable.
But they say the biggest smiles hide the deepest wounds, and they’re not wrong. I carry enough pain to fill a lifetime; I just wear it well. Too many celebrities nowadays fight battles we don’t see. Hell, even my clients are fighting them, so I get it. Iliveit.
I act strong when all I want is for someone to hold me and tell me everything’s going to be okay. For me to stay calm when all I want to do is curl up in a ball and cry for every injustice in the world. I keep everything hidden as best as I can, but I’m so freaking tired of it. James tends to ask if I’m okay, but I don’t want to be a burden to him, or to anyone, so I tell him I’m fine. I bury it all down and act as if I’m not dying on the inside. When everything feels like it’s too much, I keep going. Even if I do sometimes wish I could walk away from it all. To not feel the all-encompassing pain that tries to consume me every single day.
I shake off my pity party as I stop outside of Frank’s office. I don’t even bother knocking as I walk straight in. “Did you miss me, honey?”
Frank looks up from his desk. A woman with long dark hair in a ponytail sits in front of him with her back to me. A sense of forebodingsends chills down my spine, but I shrug it off. She doesn’t turn around, but I see her shoulders stiffen at my voice.
“Came to check on my new associate. Say hello,” I declare, my arms open in a welcoming gesture.
Frank stands up from behind his desk. He holds his hand out, and I go to shake it. “Theo. I was just about to call for you, so this is perfect timing.” He gestures toward the woman sitting in the chair. “Theo, this is Blake Adams, your new junior associate.” Frank smiles widely, and I feel like I’ve been punched in the gut.
No. Fucking. Way.
My head turns slowly, like one of those damn Chucky dolls I was so scared of as a kid. There’s gotta be a hundred Blake Adams in the country. It can’t be her.
My eyes lock on the woman sitting in the chair, and the breath leaves me.
