Numbers arrived back with two glasses of cold water. He held up his finger. “Wait a minute. One more thing.” He jogged out and came back in with a jug full of water.
“It’s that kind of day, that’s for sure. I must say I’m dying to know what your offer is?” I flipped my hair over my shoulder trying to ignore his irresistible scent. I could inhale him all day, but I thought I was doing well at hiding my feelings at this point.
“Take a look at some figures. We would like to offer you a position with the Rebel Saints as legal counsel. I’ve included the breakdown of retainer rates that I know to be pretty competitive for your field,” he said, politely matching my tone as he slid the folder towards me.
“Hmm.” I licked my lips as I opened it. I ran a finger over the figures. They weren’t bad at all. Nothing near what I was being offered from Devil Riders, but very reasonable. This time the stab in my stomach was from guilt. I would have loved to take the gig, but I knew I couldn’t.
His expression looked eager as he waited for my response.
“Umm. I already have a better offer. This is nowhere near the price,” I delivered the blow neutrally, hoping he wouldn’t ask me too many questions. I ran my hands over my knees with nervousness, my palms starting to become hot. I wanted to go, because I didn’t like lying, and if Numbers knew about Doc I would be screwed.
“Yikes! Can we negotiate here? I mean they can’t be better than us.”
The way he declared it so boldly sent me into a spiral of laughter which I desperately needed.
He placed his hand on mine and laughed with me.
I guess this was a little break in my icy jacket. I felt the sparks fly off my hand from the heat exchange as he lifted it away. “I can’t tell you the exact figures I’ve been paid, but you would have to jump up by at least another 25% in order to be in the ballpark,” I confirmed.
“Shit! What are they throwing in, a house and a Bentley as well? What am I up against here?”
You have no idea, was what I wanted to say as I let my eyes land on the wood table for a moment. I didn’t want him to look deeper into my eyes and figure out the ugly truth. “No. I appreciate it. Best we leave it there.”
“So my charm isn’t working for you right now?” he teased with a glint in his ocean colored eyes.
I gulped down the water as I worked my eyes over him. Today he was wearing glasses, which made him look even hotter. “I have a heavy client load already, and it’s not the type of client work I typically take on anyway,” I murmured as I clasped my hands together in front of me.
“Can’t you give it a try? I think you might enjoy the role,” he cajoled.
I giggled a little as he jutted out his bottom lip. He was really trying and it was kind of cute. His face had this sweet and rugged quality that made me want to stroke it. I refrained of course. Something told me if I took the chance to do it, he wouldn’t have minded. “I’m sure I would, unfortunately, I already have a heavy load. I’m sorry. Thanks for thinking of me,” I said warmly.
“I’ve been thinking of you a lot. You’re hard to forget,” he said as his voice softened.
“You have?” It almost came out in a squeak when I said it. I hadn’t felt this feeling over a man for such a long time. Most of my love life ended in disaster or it fizzled out and was over. I barely knew him, so it was a surprise to hear.
“Yes, I want to hire you because you did such a great job with that detective. She had it out for me. Don’t you want to think about it overnight? Maybe you could give it a go?”
My stomach dropped. Oh. He was talking about the potential arrest I got him out of. There was no way I could represent him, it would cause mayhem.
Relax Mia. You’re reading too much into this.
I chuckled as I ran a hand through my hair. That stabbing pain coming back into my stomach as the guilt settled in. “I wish I could, but I can’t commit to working for you. I have too much to deal with,” I lied. I twirled the bottom of my hair. I stopped abruptly as I realized the gesture looked flirtatious. “I think that detective was going in harder on you because of your rep, but you did good bringing the receipts along with you. That made a difference,” I commended him as I crossed my legs under the table.
Number’s eyes made a shift to the bottom of my legs and laser-like heat beamed from his mischievous blue eyes. “I’m clever like that. That’s why I thought you might want to work with me,” he pushed.
I took a sip of my water. He kept flirting outrageously, and it was making me flush red hot. It took my mind off the fact that Doc knew a little too much about me. Now it was to the point where I felt scared. He knew about my mother. He’d called me yesterday to twist the knife in.
I was making good progress with a domestic violence case when the phone call rang through. I didn’t bother looking at my cell phone to see who rang, I just picked it up. “Hello?”
“Hey there, it’s Doc. I wanted to check in on you and see that you hadn’t run off anywhere. I thought we could get together soon to talk about a few things. Legal-wise, of course,” he said.
The man’s voice sent chills up my spine and the faster I could get off the call the better. “I’m not entirely comfortable with the situation, but no, I haven’t skipped town or anything,” I replied as a hard lump formed in my throat.
“Good to hear. I figured you wouldn’t anyway,” he said nonchalantly.
I stayed silent for a beat. I thought he would say something else so I waited. Nothing. “Why’s that?”
“How’s your mother? Must be rough trying to look after her and being a defense attorney. You got a lot on your plate. I can see why it would be a good deal to work for us. I’m glad I was able to help you out of a bind,” he said with a wry chuckle.