“Can I make you a cup of coffee?” he asked. His eyes dragged over her. It was on the tip of my tongue to tell him to keep it in his pants, but Alex barely glanced his way and the reprimand died in my throat.
She held up the travel cup in her hands. “I’ve got it covered,” she said. “Thanks.”
“You bring your own from home? How environmentally friendly of you,” Trevor said.
Alex snorted. “I stopped at the Starbucks by my house,” she said. “I just hate their cups, so I have them fill up mine.”
I snorted and tried to cover it with a cough. “We’ll be working on the Pritchard lawsuit,” I told Trevor. “Let me know if someone calls.”
Trevor touched his forehead in a mock-salute. “Aye, aye, Captain,” he said. “Alex, if there’s anything I can get you, please let me know.” She gave him a stiff nod before disappearing through the inner office’s door. “She isfine,” Trevor said as the door shut behind her.
“She is a coworker,” I said.
He shrugged his too-developed shoulders. “There’s an HR form for that,” he countered. “Besides, it’s not like I’m her boss.”
While Trevor wasn’t technically wrong, there were still so many reasons to avoid sleeping with a coworker. “Justlook after the phones, all right?” I asked and followed after Alex.
On the small conference table that I had shoved to the side of my office, Alex and I spread out the case notes for the lawsuit. “You said you were ready to file these?” she asked.
“Yes.”
Alex looked at me, trying to bite back a frown. “Did your former paralegal help with these?” she asked. “They're a little... sloppy.”
Sloppy? I’d never had any complaints about my files before. “Tell me what’s wrong with them.”
“The word choice is juvenile, for one,” she pointed out. “Honestly? It reads like you don’t like your clients very much. You’re basically calling them morons in legalese.”
I looked down at where she was pointing and read over the lines. “I went with a more direct approach, sure.”
She jerked her head around to look at me. “Did you do this yourself?” Her face flooded with color. “I’m so sorry.”
I laughed at her expression. “It’s okay,” I told her. “Some of the other associates may get their panties in a twist, but you don’t need to worry about that with me.” I gestured back to the brief. “Talk me through your thought process. How could I make this better?”
Alex’s suggestions, much to my chagrin, did make sense, and she helped me to soften my blunt edges so that it didn’t sound so... condemning. “I’m glad you don’t like them,” she said softly.
“Who?”
“The landlords,” she said, eyes still on her work. “I agree that everyone deserves representation, and we don’t always get a choice to represent who we most agree with... but I’m glad you don’t actually agree with them.”
“I’m not completely heartless,” I said and tried not to feel the sting of her unspoken recrimination.
“I didn’t say that you were,” she retorted.
“But you might have thought it if I truly sided with the landlords, right?”
She shrugged. “Mr. Porter—”
“Thomas,” I interrupted, and she nodded.
“Okay, Thomas,” she agreed and then continued, “I’m not here to be your moral compass. I’m just helping with the paperwork.”
Dammit, I like her. I didn’t just find her attractive. I liked her compassion and her ability to call out bullshit without being abrasive about it. But I was in an even worse position than Trevor when it came to dating anyone I worked with—IwasAlex’s boss.
Not that I thought I’d have a shot with her. She was half my damn age.
The door opened behind us, and Trevor stuck his head in. “Hey, Thomas? Mr. Jacobs needs to speak with you.”
I waved him on. “Send him in, Trev.”