Erika cut into her private thoughts with, “You aren’t even thirty yet, are you?”
“My birthday is in a few weeks.”
“Remarkable. You are living the dream.” Erika winced. “Well, almost. You work longer hours than practically anyone else here. When I go home, you’re still in your office, and I happen to know for a fact you spend most of your weekends at your desk. You won’t be young forever. Trust me.”
Office gossip insisted Erika used to be a top runway model. When she got too old—some thought twenty-five was old for a model, but she’d been well over that—Erika had taken a job at their prestigious law firm. Still stunning, she ran the front office with ease, and the clients loved her.
Erika added, “Don’t forget to have fun. When is the last time you grabbed a sexy stranger and rocked his world?”
The receptionist would probably go into shock if Anna told her. The only time Anna had hooked up with a stranger had been in college, and she’d regretted it in the morning. Knowing if her parents could see her they’d be disappointed, she vowed to never repeat that mistake.
“The only men allowed in my bedroom are Jimmy Choo, Louis Vuitton, and Valentino.”
“That’s clever.” Erika snorted. “I’ll have to remember that one.” Then her expression sobered. “Honey, if you’re serious, you need to add some more gents to that list... and some ladies too. What about Versace and Tom Ford and Vera Wang and—”
“I was kidding. I’m well aware there are other designers. I got the memo.” Anna sighed. “Doesn’t it bother you that wehaveto buy clothing that costs more than most people spend on utilities all year?”
Erika leaned forward and whispered even though they were alone in the elevator. “The bosses tell us who to purchase, but they’ve never said where we have to shop. I’ve got a guy. He gets all his stuff second-hand and sells it for less than half price. A lot of it was worn just once in fashion shoots. I can hook you up if you want.”
“That would be amazing.” Anna smiled. “Thank you.”
The lights above the door lit up to their floor number, and the elevator bell dinged. The door slid open; Anna leaped out. With a quick goodbye over her shoulder, Erika hurried to the break room to start the coffee.
Anna raced to her new office, giving the barest of greetings to coworkers in the long stretch of hallway. It was later than she’d thought. She realized Erika must have also been running behind schedule. Anna didn’t slow down for anyone. The senior partners were probably already gathered in the conference room for their mandatory Friday meeting even though it was Wednesday. Almost everyone was excited about Thanksgiving and their four-day weekend. She had no idea what she would do with herself. Her vacation hadn’t started, and she was already bored out of her mind.
She stopped to admire the nameplate on her door.Anna Burkhart. Excitement shivered through her. She entered her new office, and her breath caught. Spacious and airy, the room boasted a floor-to-ceiling glass exterior wall. Her old office had been a glorified windowless closet, and she’d shared it with two other people. In fact, her old office could fit into the new one with plenty of space left over.
Three huge bouquets brightened the room atop a new mahogany desk polished to the point it glowed. The first, a mix of white flowers, including her favorite caught her eye. Lilies. She gently cupped her hand around a flower and took a moment to enjoy the lovely scent. Her eyes briefly closed. A second later she opened them to peruse the card.You earned this. All three senior partners had signed it. That was nice of them.
Her sorority sisters had sent the second bouquet, a variety of orange, red, and yellow blossoms. She continued to keep in touch with the girls even though college seemed a lifetime ago. They rarely got together, but they continued to support each other as sisters should.
The third bouquet stopped her cold. As she inched forward, her eyes widened. Disbelief washed over her. Someone had used condoms in colorful wrappers to make a bouquet. She snatched the card from the plastic holder and read it twice:We know how you made partner… on your back. Be safe out there. Which senior partner are you sleeping with? We have a pool going.
The card wasn’t signed. It could have been anybody. The backs of her eyes stung, and she blinked rapidly to stop the tears before they formed. She grabbed the offensive bouquet and threw it in the trash. Her hands balled into fists. She wanted to send out a scathing memo to her so-called colleagues, blasting them for their stupidity. She workedextralong hours while they were partying with friends, cultivating a love life, and enjoying various hobbies.
It also didn’t hurt that she’d won her first huge case recently and made the firm gobs of money. That was why they’d offered her a partnership. They knew other firms had been circling her for months, hoping to get her attention. One of those firms made her an offer last week. The fact was she was happy with her current situation... until today. Apparently, her coworkers believed she had slept her way to a promotion. She didn’t know how to change their minds. If they didn’t recognize all the work she’d put in, nothing she could say would convince them.
Her new secretary—finally she didn’t have to share one—entered her office with a short stack of papers. The plump middle-aged woman smelled like she bathed in ten bottles of perfume each day. Bubbly as usual, Ms. Grace beamed at her as she handed her the papers. “Here is the Lowell contract for you to look over when you get the chance.”
Anna couldn’t concentrate on contracts at the moment. She pointed at the two bouquets left on her desk. “Did you see who delivered these? Did you sign for them?”
Ms. Grace shook her head. “Nope. Just got here myself. They are beautiful, aren’t they?”
“Yes,” Anna agreed.
“You’d better hurry. They’re waiting for you down in the conference room. You’re running late.”
Anna took a deep breath. How could she face all those people when they thought she was having sex with a senior partner? They might paint smiles on and congratulate her out of necessity, but the whole time they would be wondering whose bed she was warming. They would be watching her every glance, looking for a clue.
She walked around her office while shaking her arms to get rid of the tension. It was too bad she didn’t have time for meditation or yoga. That always calmed her nerves. The best she could do at the moment was concentrate on what she planned to say. She was close to reeling in a huge whale. A multi-million dollar business had just fired their old lawyers, and she was in talks with them over making Griffin, Hyde, and Pierce their new law firm.
♥♥♥
Life was too short to work for his father another day.
Skylar Griffin tossed his personal belongings into the waiting box on top of his desk. His hand closed over a three-year sobriety chip. He tightened his fingers around it until they went numb from the loss of circulation. He thought about how close he’d come to taking that first drink last night, the drink that would have undone everything he’d managed to accomplish over the past forty months. No one but his father could send him into a tailspin like that. Even now, hours later the argument replayed in his mind.
“You never cease to disappoint me, Skylar.”