“Look, it’s no big deal. You have a spare bedroom or something right?”
“Yeah.”
“I can sleep in there for a bit, help you around here until you’re well enough to go back to work. You actually live closer to the courthouse than I do, so it may help me out to be closer for my next few cases.”
“You know how crazy that sounds, right?”
“Not if I make it worth your time.”
“What does that mean?”
“You just said you feel stuck here while your work is being done by others. What if I gave you some of my resources to help you?”
“Isn’t that a conflict of interest? If not, it should be.”
“As long I and my firm don’t represent the people you’re fighting, it has nothing to do with us. Therefore it can’t be a conflict of interest.”
“I don’t know.” She sounded like she was on the verge of saying no.
“Just think of me as your assistant. I’m here to help for the next week or so until you can get back to doing things on your own, okay? I won’t be any trouble and only help when you need me. You can keep your independence around here and use me when you need to.”
“I’ll admit you’ve got me curious about these resources,” she said.
“Then it’s settled,” he said.
“I didn’t say yes.”
“But you want to, so I’m agreeing before you have to. That way, if anyone asks, you can say you had no part in it.”
“Even when you say it like that, it sounds sketchy.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll take good care of you.” Andrei was a man of his word. Plus, he couldn’t leave her like that. He wanted to spend time with her, and the perfect opportunity presented itself. Who was he to turn it down?
After dinner, he went home to pack some clothes and his paperwork for court. On the way back to her place, he did a little grocery shopping for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. He bought some sirloin steak and fish along with deli meat, vegetables for salad, and fruit. He tried to get various things in case he got something she didn’t like.
He returned and raided her fridge. “You have nothing here,” he said.
“I’m a takeout girl,” she said.
He started putting food away. “I’ll remember that.”
“Did you really shop for groceries?”
“Yeah. That’s what most people do. Except you, from what I’m hearing.”
“Did you buy enough for an army or something? Are we having a party?”
“I didn’t know what you liked, so I got a little bit of everything.”
“At least we’ll be ready for the zombie apocalypse,” she said, picking up a few things he hadn’t put away yet.
“Or world hunger, whichever hits us first. I’m making some ham and cheese, tuna fish, and chicken salad sandwiches for tomorrow. You may not need them all, but if you get hungry while I’m gone, you can just grab one. I also got you some salads, but I bought three different salad dressings in case you don’t like one or two.”
“I may surprise you and eat everything,” she teased.
“Good. I like a woman with a healthy appetite.”
She bit her lip, and he wanted nothing more than to bite it for her.