“Um . . . yeah . . . not long after that first motion to dismiss I had to argue,” I say hesitantly. “And the thing is, Jenna—”
“Oh my God . . . this is fantastic. You’re a tough nut to crack, but he definitely looks like the type of guy that could totally crack you,” she says with a mercurial laugh.
“But Jenna, the thing you have to consider is—”
“Is he good in bed? Please tell me he’s good in bed. It’s been so long that I can’t remember what good in bed feels like,” she chatters away at me.
“Jenna!” I exclaim.
“What?”
“You need to listen to me for a minute,” I say with exasperation.
“Jeez. I’m listening,” she snaps.
“What I’m doing . . . being involved with the opposing counsel in your case . . . it has certain ethical implications,” I begin, choosing my words carefully so she has no misunderstanding over what I’m saying.
“Have you shared any info on our case with him?” she asks quickly.
“No, but—”
“Are you going to throw my case because you don’t want it to impact your relationship?”
“Of course not,” I say adamantly.
“Is anything about your relationship going to negatively harm my case?”
“No,” I say quietly. “I swear to you we do not discuss the case outside the normal bounds of professional communication. But I had to let you know what was going on. You are more important right now, and if you want me to break it off with him until after the trial, I will do it in a heartbeat. Reeve would understand, too.”
“Oh, sweet girl,” Jenna says, and I can hear the smile in her voice. “I trust you implicitly. I’m not worried about it, and I know if you think it’s a problem, you’ll do what’s right.”
“Are you sure?” I ask, chewing on my bottom lip.
“Positive,” she validates.
I breathe out a swift gust of air, and with it my anxiety, and I close my eyes in thanks. I would break things off with Reeve—temporarily, of course—if Jenna was uncomfortable with this. But I’m immensely happy that she trusts me to do what’s right.
That means I can still have my cake and eat it, too.
CHAPTER 18
REEVE
I step off the elevator onto the twenty-first floor and turn left toward the civil superior courtrooms and the judges’ chambers that are ensconced in the hallway behind said courtrooms. Leary and I are supposed to meet with Judge Henry this afternoon for our pretrial conference to go over our final list of issues for the jury to decide as well as the witnesses and exhibits. The judge will also try to lean on us to settle the case, but good luck with that. Tom Collier is barely speaking to me, but there’s one thing he relayed loud and clear.
There will be no settlement offers made to Jenna LaPietra.
Not ever.
I take a quick peek through the glass cutouts of the wooden doors to courtroom 21C and see that Judge Henry is still on the bench, listening as an attorney stands at counsel table and makes his argument. Judge Henry’s secretary sent word over to my office—as well as Leary’s, I assume—that he got called in to an emergency restraining-order hearing and would be running about fifteen minutes late to our pretrial conference. I still show up on time, mainly hoping Leary would, too, and I could just hang with her for a little bit. She left my house seven hours ago and will be back at my house tonight, yet I still want to take as much opportunity as possible to be near her.
During the trial I’m going to destroy Jenna’s case and Leary in the process. It’s a thought that keeps me awake at night, makes me snap at the tiniest of provocations at work, and makes me desperate to steal every precious moment with Leary that I can.
She’s promised me that she won’t hold my job and what I have to do in the courtroom against me, which I might have believed at one point, but not after she took me to Lauren’s grave.
Not after she shared with me the nature of her relationship with Jenna.
Not after I learned what Jenna did for Lauren.
Turning away from the courtroom, I head through a set of double doors and enter into the back halls of the civil superior court division. Pulling out my phone, I try to call Rhonda Valasquez again.
As expected, I get her voice mail.
“Ms. Valasquez, this is Reeve Holloway again. I’d really, really like to talk to you. I do represent Dr. Summerland, but even if you know something that could hurt my case, I’d still like to hear it. It could help settle the case, spare Jenna LaPietra a stressful trial. Please call me back. You have my number.”
I hang up, knowing deep down that this woman won’t call me back. I have no clue what she knows about Dr. Summerland, but she knows something. The funny thing is, I’m not seeking the information hoping I can use the knowledge to protect Dr. Summerland. I think I’m really hoping she’ll tell me something that would help Leary’s case. Not that I could ever disclose that to Leary. That would be as big of an ethical violation as if I told her about the rebuttal witnesses I’m going to call to attack Jenna. I have no clue what I’m hoping to accomplish, but I feel that Valasquez is important for some reason.
I walk into Judge Henry’s office suite and smile at his secretary, who sits at a small cherrywood desk outside the judge’s chambers.
“Good afternoon, Mr. Holloway,” she says with a warm smile.
Sneaking a quick look at the nameplate on her desk, I say, “Good afternoon, Mary.”
“Judge Henry is still hearing a motion right now, but Miss Michaels is already in his office. You can go in. He shouldn’t be but ten more minutes or so.”
I nod at her and head into the interior office, knowing that in about two seconds I’ll be looking at Leary’s beautiful face, and my oxygen will feel a little sweeter once I’m in her air space.
I’ve been in Judge Henry’s office before. It has typical dark paneled-wood walls, commercial-grade burgundy carpet, and dark-cherry furniture that matches his secretary’s desk. He has two leather wing-back chairs, also in burgundy, that sit opposite his desk, and at the sound of my entrance, Leary leans to the side and peeks her face around the side of one. Her eyes rake over me quickly, and her lips curve upward in a sinful smile.
I close the door and she says, “Hey, stud.”
Striding over to her, I don’t bother with a response. Instead, I place my left hand on the back of her chair and lean over the top. Her face tilts up and I give her an upside-down kiss. “Hey, beautiful.”
She snakes a hand up, and it curves around the back of my neck, pulling me back down. She kisses me this time, slipping her tongue deep in my mouth, and the sweet sensations of pleasure and peace run through me.
This woman riles me up like no other, yet makes me entirely calm at the same time.
Unreal.
I pull slowly away from her, loving the way her eyes are closed and a satisfied smile is left behind.
Stepping to the side of the chair and squatting down beside her, I bring my hand up and rest it on her knee. “What are you doing the rest of the day after we finish this conference? Want to knock off early and go do something?”
“I have a partners’ meeting at four p.m. We’re voting on next year’s partnership candidates,” she says, a wistful tone in her voice.
“Bummer,” I say with a sad smile. “Are you coming over tonight?”
“You know I am,” she says, and the promise in her voice has me wishing for time to go wonky and fast-forward by about five hours.