Page 139 of Masters of Control

But she wanted it to be her life.

“What are your plans for the rest of the day?”

“Not sure,” he replied, taking a sip of his coffee. “My friend Lexie wanted to get together, but I wasn’t sure if you had anything you wanted to do. And I need to get some things done around my house. Laundry, grocery shopping, that kind of thing.”

“The normal weekend activities,” she quipped.

“Pretty much.”

“I have an awful lot to get done, too,” she admitted reluctantly. As much as she wanted to lounge about and spend all day doing nothing—preferably with him—she needed her Sundays. She also needed some ‘her’ time in order to get through the week. Despite how well he fit in her apartment, she was still feeling the urge to play hostess and entertain him.

As refreshed as she felt and as much as she’d needed the time with him and the outing yesterday, if she didn’t get her downtime, she was going to be tired and cranky tomorrow at work.

“I’ll get out of your hair after breakfast then,” he said with a wink, as if wanting to show her he understood and was perfectly fine with having to leave. “I would love to see you again sometime very soon, though, if you’re free.”

“How about next Saturday for dinner?” As much as she wanted to spend every night with him, until the Alexanders’ divorce was completely finalized, keeping things a little more casual—and to the weekends—was probably best. Yes, they’d signed off on the new terms for the prenup, but there was always a chance Mr. Alexander would decide to find something else to quibble about.

It would also give her more time to get used to being in a relationship again. She didn’t fool herself into thinking this was casual or anything like that. The chemistry was too strong between them. Freddy was openly interested in having a relationship with her, and she felt the same way.

Thankfully, he also appeared to be on board with waiting until the weekend to see each other again. His wide smile was blinding.

“It’s a date.”

Chapter Twenty-Two

Camille

Walking out of Murdoch Family Law, Camille felt like she was walking on air, buoyed by hope. No official offer immediately on the table, but it had gone very well. Everyone she’d met had been friendly, open, and interested in listening to what she had to say.

Not only that, but it was easy to see that they were happy with their jobs in a way people at Donaldson were not. There were lots of smiles on people’s faces, even the people who looked tense had looked determined, not like they were about to burst into tears. Emily Murdoch had been confident without being arrogant. Camille had really liked her, though she put more stock in how satisfied all the ‘worker bees’ around the office appeared to be… and they all appeared to be in good spirits.

How management treated their employees said much more about a place than how they treated their clients or other management team members.

If she’d needed that reminder, walking back into her current office and feeling the aura of tension, worry, and unhappiness would have done it. People were not happy here, not just her. The only people who seemed to be satisfied with themselves were the partners. There were very few smiles, and all of them disappeared the moment a partner walked down the hall.

Yeah. She needed to get out of here.

She really hoped Murdoch decided they wanted her because that was where she wanted to work. She already knew it. That wouldn’t stop her from going on interviews with other firms, but Murdoch was her top choice if she had any say in it.

As she walked through the hallway, a familiar voice made her spine stiffen, though thankfully, Mr. Alexander wasn’t talking to her.

“I think it’s really going to improve my swing—” His sentence cut off as he came around the corner with Junior, his lip lifting in a sneer the moment he saw her.

Camille met his gaze, staring back at him evenly without flinching.

“Mr. Alexander. Mr. Donaldson.” She kept her voice neutral and slightly warm, giving away none of her real feelings about either of them. It was easier to do than usual after her interview, that little bit of hope keeping her uplifted.

“Camille.” Junior nodded at her. Mr. Alexander didn’t bother to answer, just made an odd noise in his throat as his gaze skittered away from hers, his smirk disappearing when he realized she wasn’t intimidated by him.

They must be on their way to get lunch, then play some golf. At least he wouldn’t be hanging around the office.

Her muscles slowly relaxed again as she went into her office and firmly shut the door behind her. Taking out her phone, she checked her messages. As soon as she’d left Murdoch, she’d texted Freddy to let him know she was out of her interview, and it had gone well. She wanted to see if he’d texted her back.

Of course, he had. She already knew it never took him long to respond unless he was in the middle of something, but she still grinned seeing it. Between him and the interview, she was feeling downright giddy.

Freddy: I’m sure you blew their socks off! They’d be fools not to hire you. You’ve got this.

His belief in her made her feel even better. Having a cheerleader in her corner, who was not only supportive but also knew her capabilities as a lawyer, was a huge boost to her ego. She knew he wasn’t just saying it to be nice or out of ignorance. He knew what he was talking about and still believed in her.