Total pages in book: 113
Estimated words: 107608 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 538(@200wpm)___ 430(@250wpm)___ 359(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107608 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 538(@200wpm)___ 430(@250wpm)___ 359(@300wpm)
I had actually thought the same thing until very, very recently. “Hmm.” I say noncommittally.
“I’ll get to the bottom of that hmm tomorrow. Talk to you later.” She ends the call.
A shadow crosses my office door, and Joseph Cage walks inside to set down three heaping boxes full of file folders and trial notebooks on one of my guest chairs. “I brought you the Miles casefiles for the last ten years.”
“Thanks.” I need more time in a day.
Cage leans against my desk, a little closer than usual. “Do you think the eldest Sokolov was set up?”
“I think it’s possible his brother or stepmother bribed the judge and the prosecuting attorney.” I look over at the box of files. “Those were all Miles’s?”
Cage’s gaze remains warm on me. A little too warm. “Yeah—just from the last ten years. You said you wanted to look into his cases. You don’t believe he was dirty, too?”
“I really don’t know, but we should find out,” I say. “Just in case.”
“If you want a project, you just found one.” Cage reaches out and brushes a lock of my hair off of my face. “How about dinner tonight?”
I blink, startled. “Um, I thought we decided us dating was a bad idea.” We only went out a few times and had a few kisses that basically didn’t do a thing for me.
“I think we should try again. I can’t stop thinking about you.”
“Why?” I shake my head.
His gaze drops to my chest. “I don’t know. Lately, there’s just something about you, something electric.”
That something about me is named Alexei Sokolov but I can’t say that. Sleeping with a client will get me disbarred. Cage is a good-looking man, but apparently, I like sizzle. Dangerous, deadly, over-the-top sizzle. But it’s not just that. Alexei has unlocked something in me. A wildness that contrasts with my need to be in control. Letting go as someone else takes control is addicting. Nobody else has ever figured me out like that. “It’s not a good idea, Cage. I like my career as it is.”
My phone buzzes and I pick it up. “Hi, Eloise. What’s up?”
“Blythe Fairfax is here to see you,” she says.
I have been calling Mrs. Fairfax for days to set up an appointment. Apparently, she likes to set the tone. “All right, send her back. No problem.”
Cage pushes away from my desk and looks down, today dressed in a nice black suit. “How about you think about it? I would love another shot with you.”
“I believe I’ve already said no twice, Cage,” I murmur. Besides being a risk to my career, the guy is at least twenty years older than me. It’s just not a good idea. There’s a knock on my door. “Come in,” I say, surprised when Blythe Fairfax walks in with Jaqueline Lion on her heels. Oh, this is going to be interesting.
Cage looks at the women. “Are we having a meeting?”
“No.” Jaqueline looks from me to Cage, her black hair up in a bun and her suit a red Chanel. In her mid-fifties, she has a spectacular body. “Why are you in here with the door closed?”
“I have a case with Rosalie,” he says smoothly.
Jaqueline’s eyes narrow, and she looks at me. “I see. We’re here for a meeting.”
I sit back and look at the women. “Do we have a conflict of interest?”
“No,” Jaqueline says, taking a step to the side. “Cage, if you’ll excuse us.”
“Very well.” He walks by them, condescending irritation in his wake.
Jaqueline shuts the door. “The firm does represent Blythe, but she’s a witness in the case we’ve given you, so I wanted to be here while you interview her.”
This is weird and probably inappropriate. “If there’s an issue with Mrs. Fairfax’s testimony, she should seek outside counsel, since we’re representing Alexei,” I say calmly.
Blythe is a beautiful woman, and I can see what Alexei saw in her. Today she’s wearing a light-gray suit with spectacular gold jewelry, and her hair curls around her lovely face. She lifts one eyebrow. “It’s Alexei, is it, instead of Mr. Sokolov?”
Considering I carry his bite marks on several places of my body, yes. “Mrs. Fairfax, would you like to sit down?” I gesture to the chairs on the other side of my desk. She smiles, even as her eyes narrow and she takes a seat. Jaqueline sits next to her.
“Like I was saying,”—I can’t believe I have to explain this to my senior partner—“if there’s any issue with Mrs. Fairfax’s testimony that could get her into trouble, or if there’s a possibility she committed a crime, we need to obtain outside counsel for her.”
“I don’t want outside counsel,” Blythe snaps. “Jaqueline’s been my attorney for years.”
“Well then,” I say. “I’ll have to advise Mr. Sokolov to obtain outside counsel.”
Blythe’s gaze rakes me from the top of my head to my chest and then back up. “Somehow, I don’t think he’ll agree. He’s hell in bed, isn’t he?”