“You have an emergency hearing with Judge Whittaker in thirty minutes.” He taps the face of his large silver wristwatch. “I worked magic to make that happen so get your ass down to his chambers now.”
Griffin turns to me. “I have to cut this short, but we’re meeting for a drink after class tomorrow.”
I glance at the floor before I answer. “I have plans with Rufus.”
He rounds the desk to grab his suit jacket from the back of his chair. “Cancel your plans with him. You and I are having a drink tomorrow night.”
He’s wrong. We’re not.
Whatever happened just now between Griffin and I can’t happen again. I need to keep my eye on my career. A man as intense as Griffin Kent can derail my future and I’m not about to take that chance.
Chapter 16
Griffin
“So now you’re an artist?” Dylan picks up a bottle of imported beer. “When exactly did you decide to take an art class?”
I may be closer to Dylan than I am to my brother, but I’m not about to tell him that I enrolled in Piper’s class because I want a taste of her. He’ll use that information against me for the next ten years. “I’m trying to broaden my horizons.”
“Don’t bullshit me, Griffin.” He takes a healthy swig. “Did Draven put you up to this?”
My older brother has more influence over me than I’ll readily admit, but I haven’t heard from him in weeks. That’s expected. Draven runs his own home construction business. He pushes himself physically until he’s bone weary, day after day after day. “Draven has nothing to do with this. It’s not a big deal. You play basketball a couple of nights a week. I take an art class. What’s the difference?”
“No one I play basketball with looks like Piper Ellis.” He squints at me. “Did you sign up for that class because of her?”
I want him to drop the subject so we can move on to the reason we met at this restaurant in the first place. Work. It’s what we talk about ninety-nine percent of the time. “She’s interesting.”
“She’s gorgeous.” He laughs. “Did you try and pick her up and she turned you down? Is that why you’re chasing after her like a stalker?”
“She came to see me today.” I point out with a tilt of my bottle in the air. “I’m not stalking her.”
“You looked about ready to fuck her against your desk.” He raises his bottle and taps it against mine. “Cheers to my untimely arrival in your office.”
Piper wasn’t even close to kissing me when Dylan barged into my office earlier. Her resistance was melting, but she was holding back. I have no idea if that’s related to whatever the hell is going on between her and Rufus, or not. “That wouldn’t have happened. She’s been hanging out with the model from class. Rufus is the guy’s name.”
“Rufus,” he echoes. “What kind of class are you taking?”
I look down at the table. If I don’t tell him, he’ll be on his phone in a minute flat looking up Piper’s name. He’ll find the class, and the non-stop ribbing will commence. I can’t win this. “Human figure drawing. We draw nudes with charcoal.”
He freezes in place with the bottle of beer resting against his bottom lip. “Repeat that.”
“You’re an asshole.” I finish my beer. “You heard me.”
He puts his bottle on the table. “Let me get this straight. You signed up for an art class in order to fuck a woman, but now you’re drawing her boyfriend’s dick?”
“Jesus.” I shake my head as I laugh. “It sounds fucked up when you put it that way.”
“It is fucked up.” He leans back when the server places our meals on the table. “I’m not going to tell you how to live your life, Griffin, but old wounds can take years to heal. Don’t fuck yourself over just to get a woman into bed.”
I don’t need the reminder of my past. “Thanks for the advice, but I’m good. I came here for a breakdown of the Johnson case. If you’re serious about me taking it over, I need to get up to speed.”
Dylan can read between the lines. He knows I’m telling him to back the hell off. He picks up his fork and knife. “Understood. Let’s eat and then it’s all business.”
***
“What’s that thing on his nose?” Brenda points at the paper in front of me. “Is that a wart? Did you draw a wart on his nose?”
I was going to draw it on the side of his dick, but I’m not a jealous teenager with a warped sense of humor. I’m a professional who has no problem controlling his temper in a court of law, yet I can’t push back the irritation I feel every time I glance at Rufus to see his eyes pinned to Piper’s body.