“I don’t want to though,” she said, adjusting the jacket. “We’ll make it work.”
“Sure,” he said, coming back into the room with a crisp white button-up, undone to reveal his toned abs.
She just stared at him. “You’re going to make me even later,” she whispered, eyeing his body.
He smiled and walked over to her. She trailed her hands down the defined muscles and to the waistline of his pants.
“You’re going to get out of your obligations?” he asked, pushing his hands up into her still damp bun and bringing his lips down onto hers.
“Of course I am,” she murmured as she pulled away. “I’m a good girlfriend.”
“Yes, you are.” He brushed his nose against hers. “Now, get out of here before you’re actually late,” he said, smacking her ass.
The day at court was as grueling as ever. She had gotten a job in corporate law, and she had spent more time in court working with ass**les than she ever thought possible. This week though was really hitting her quota for the amount of time she could spend dealing with such stupidity. Her nerves were constantly on edge, and she had been returning home just to spend more time working on the one case she didn’t want to think about. She had hoped she would get out of court early, but the likelihood of that happening was practically impossible. She had never met anyone who could bicker so fiercely. Half the time, she felt more like a babysitter than a lawyer.
She would have handed the case over to a colleague long ago if it hadn’t been such a good commission, and she wanted to prove she could get through it. The last thing she wanted to be seen as in the firm was the girl who couldn’t hack it. She hadn’t been there long enough for them to take her seriously.
By lunch, she wanted to pull her hair out. Nothing was going as she had planned, and her client was being completely uncooperative. She kept trying to give the company the legal advice they were paying her for, but then they would go in the opposite direction of her judgment.
Pulling her phone out of her purse, she walked down the hallway as far away from everyone in the courtroom as possible. She knew she should be spending her break devouring her lunch and reviewing her materials, but she just wanted to forget everything else.
The line clicked over, and Jack’s voice filled her phone. “Hey, Lexi. I thought you didn’t have time for lunch.”
He sounded like himself again, and she breathed a sigh of relief.
“I don’t,” she told him, opening up a side door to a meeting room before locking herself away from the outside world.
“You sound tired,” he mused.
“Thanks,” she grumbled. “I appreciate it.”
“Just an observation.”
“Well, keep it to yourself.”
“Are you okay, Lexi?”
“Yeah,” she said, leaning her head against the doorframe. “Just stressed.”
“I know you are. If you ever need to talk and take your mind off the case, you know I’m free,” he told her.
“I know, Jack,” she murmured softly.
“If you want me to be here for you, I am.”
She held her breath and closed her eyes, counting to ten before releasing the breath. This wasn’t why she had called him. She knew he would be there for her if she needed him to be.
“I just called because I can’t meet after work. I forgot that I already have plans,” she vaguely told him.
“You can’t meet?” he asked, the need filling his voice once more. “Lex, I really need to talk to you.”
“I know, I know. And I want to talk, but I can’t tonight. Can you wait until tomorrow?” she asked, struggling to turn him down. She had completely forgotten about her plans with Ramsey, and she didn’t get enough time with him as it was. She couldn’t cancel everything just because Jack needed her.
“Yeah,” he whispered. “Yeah, it can wait.”
She could almost see the defeated look on his face—those blue eyes begging and pleading, the forward tilt of his head. “I’ll…I’ll talk to you tomorrow then.”
“Yeah, all right,” he muttered into the phone.
“Are you going to be all right until then?” she couldn’t help asking, knowing he was going to shrug it off regardless.
“I’ll survive. Will you make it through court?”
It was Lexi’s turn to shrug. “Can I murder my clients?”
“Can you be your own defense attorney?”
“Yes?”
“Then, do it. You’re the best.”
Lexi chuckled, loving the easy banter between them. Today was one of those days when she wished she could get out of work to go have lunch with Jack. When he was around to lighten her mood, it was easier to forget the headache that had become all but a constant fixture from this job.
“You’re silly,” she told him through her laughter.
“There’s that smile. That’s better.”
She could tell his own smile had returned.
“Thanks, Jack.”
“Anytime. I’m here.”
“See you tomorrow.”
“Bye, Lex.”
She hung up the phone, her mission accomplished, and she went back to the insufferable job of working with these corporate hacks. Sometimes, on days like today, she wanted to turn them all in and make them handle their cases on their own. They weren’t worth the trouble she had to go through for them.
Knowing she had plans made the day drag on longer than usual. Her client even noticed how antsy she was to be dismissed from court for the day. Her feet were tapping under the table, her legs were bouncing up and down, and she couldn’t help continually checking her watch. She practically sprinted out of the courtroom as soon as the judge released them.
She found a place to change into something more appropriate and raced across town on autopilot. She floored the car, weaving through traffic, on her way to the restaurant.
Snatching her phone out of her purse, she pressed the button for Chyna.
She answered on the first ring. “Chica!” Chyna cried over the background noise.
Lexi rolled her eyes. She loved her party-animal best friend. “Hey, C. Are you drunk already?”
“Well on my way,” she said with a giggle. “What’s wrong?”
“Wrong?” Lexi asked. How did Chyna always know these things?