Total pages in book: 49
Estimated words: 47606 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 238(@200wpm)___ 190(@250wpm)___ 159(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 47606 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 238(@200wpm)___ 190(@250wpm)___ 159(@300wpm)
“You know who would be good working for Dumont?” Koji began, smiling at me.
“No,” I said flatly.
“You would totally get him in line,” Natalie insisted, “and that’s what he needs. My personal opinion is that since his divorce, he’s floundering.”
“Are you all forgetting about Toby?”
Daisy coughed then, and we all turned to her. “There might be an opening.”
“No,” Natalie said breathlessly, making the connection first.
“Oh yes,” Daisy affirmed.
I felt so bad for Toby, though maybe working for Drummond Burgess would be a good thing. He would definitely get great visibility working for the boss’s kid, plus he might be able to leave for lunch once in a blue moon.
“I forgot to tell you the best part,” Daisy began, smiling evilly. “They’re putting Drummond’s office on the third floor with me and the other thirds and fourths, not on the second with you all.”
After a moment, Koji nearly yelled, “What?”
I was worried his brain was going to explode, but I understood. The associates got promoted and actually moved up—literally—in our historic building downtown in the Loop on LaSalle. There were five stories and the basement. The latter held pro bono, investigation, IT, and human resources. The first floor was reception, the firm’s library, and the paralegals—so they’d be close to all the paper files. Second floor was for first- and second-year associates, third floor was for third- and fourth-year associates, fourth floor held the partners’ offices, and the fifth floor was solely for Mr. Mayhew, Mr. Burgess, Mr. Somerset, and their assistants. I liked the building far better than the high-rises we often had to visit. I loved that the floors creaked and that the building itself was built before the Second World War. The moldings were all original wood, and there was marble wainscoting starting on the first floor. Even the basement was beautiful, and the elevator was one of those ancient ones you had to pull the gate open and closed. And though it went to the basement, we always took the stairs. Colton didn’t trust it at all.
“Oh look, there’s Jonah,” Libby pointed out. “Since Tobias is going to work for Burgess junior, now’s your chance to chat him up.”
“I would rather have a root canal,” I told her.
“You wouldn’t have to stay long,” Libby promised me. “I’ll have Brize snap you up in three months tops.”
“She’s right,” Natalie conceded. “You’re never going to move up working for Gates, but you will with Brize. People would actually see you. Jonah is an excellent stepping stone.”
“I don’t know why you haven’t moved already,” Koji said. “I mean, we all know you’re loyal, and you came with Gates to the firm, but it’s time to go.”
“Though, if he does transfer to a new department, he’ll definitely miss the view,” Daisy said with an eyebrow waggle.
“That’s true,” Natalie said. “Gates is gorgeous in a rumpled, just-rolled-out-of-somebody’s-bed way, and I too would enjoy looking at his shoulders and those biceps and—”
“Oh, same,” Daisy mused, sounding more than a bit smitten. “He’s got that whole cowboy vibe going for him.”
I scowled at her.
“What? He does. And those jeans he wears to the office on Friday are—”
“Sinful,” Libby whispered. “That man looks like trouble, but he’s gorgeous.”
We all looked at her.
“What? I’m fifty-two, not dead.”
“Please stop,” I begged them all. “I haven’t eaten yet.”
“It’s those eyes of his too,” Natalie gushed. “What do you call that color, amber?”
“They’re gold with pretty sepia chips in them.” Daisy sighed deeply.
“Oh, I’m gonna be sick,” I muttered.
“When I first saw them, I couldn’t even speak,” Natalie confessed. “Honestly, how often do you see gold eyes?”
“They’re so pretty,” Daisy asserted. “And that dirty-blond mane of his, and back to the jeans…the man’s thighs are—”
“I think I puked in my mouth a little,” I let them know.
“All the men at this firm besides Villa—”
“Now that is a beautiful man,” I murmured. The firm’s lead investigator’s department was next to ours, and he always stopped on his way to his office to say good morning. He had two others working for him, and they were always busy, but regardless if he was on his phone, he’d make an effort to greet me. I loved that about him. I also very much enjoyed watching him walk away. The only thing better was listening to that mellifluous voice of his converse in Italian or Mandarin or French. It was very sexy.
Natalie chuckled. “The line of people lusting after Raúl Villa forms behind me,” she stated. “First day I came to the firm, I thought, who’s the gorgeous man in the cargo pants?”
“What makes Raúl sexy is that illegal voice of his and his kindness. He really cares about people,” Libby gushed.
Natalie nodded.
“All of you are deluded,” Koji apprised us. “That man can’t even remember the names of all the women he’s slept with. I love it when someone shows up and he’s diving behind desks or other office furniture because he told whoever that he went to work in Paris for the year.”