Total pages in book: 98
Estimated words: 95421 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 477(@200wpm)___ 382(@250wpm)___ 318(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 95421 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 477(@200wpm)___ 382(@250wpm)___ 318(@300wpm)
“Me? Why would I think it’s not a good idea? I’m not the one who’s going to screw myself again by fucking around with someone at work. That’s your specialty.”
I shook my head, staring down at the carpet. “What the hell was I thinking offering her the job?”
“You were thinking with the wrong head, my friend.”
After ten minutes of standing on the street, trying to figure out why the hell I’d done what I’d just done, I walked back to Ben and Lily’s from the bar. Why had I panicked at the thought of not seeing Naomi again? The obvious answer was that I liked her, which I couldn’t deny that I did, but I liked the women I slept with too, and never wanted to spend eight hours a day around them. Lord knows, Emily could attest to that.
Ben laid his hand on my shoulder. “She’ll do great.”
That wasn’t the issue. I had no doubt Naomi was intelligent and could do the job. But…but…she’d gotten disbarred for assaulting a criminal. How was she going to deal with some of my dirtbag clients? Mr. Wendell had been indicted for bribing a public official, but when his wife didn’t back his story, he’d pushed her down a flight of stairs. That would surely hit close to home. And Dr. Elgin was charged with Medicare fraud for billing for reconstructive surgery after car accidents when he was really doing nose jobs and chin implants. When his face hit the news, twelve women came forward to claim he’d fondled them during their exams. My clients were the people Naomi loved to put behind bars, not help set free.
“What if she attacks a client?”
Ben shook his head. “You’re just fishing for a reason to get yourself out of the mess you made by hiring a woman you’re already attracted to. Naomi is good people. She’s not violent. That guy just got under her skin.”
“What if one of my clients gets under her skin?”
“What if one of them gets under yours one day? Lord knows you used to have a temper when we were kids. Anything can happen.”
“Yeah, but it hasn’t to me. I don’t have a track record like she does.”
Ben went into the fridge and pulled out two bottles of beer. He twisted the cap off one and passed it to me, then put the cap between his thumb and pointer and snapped his fingers. It flew directly into the garbage can.
“Nice shot.”
“Thank you. You want to know what I think?”
“Definitely not.”
He smirked. “That’s because you know I’m going to say something you don’t want to hear.”
“Then maybe you should keep it to yourself.”
“That’s not how our friendship works. We not only call each other on our bullshit, but we trust the other will. It’s our version of checks and balances.”
I groaned. “Why did I come back here? I should’ve just gone home.”
“I think you hired her because you feel something for her, something more than just a physical attraction.”
“I don’t do feelings.”
“No, you don’t want to do feelings. But sometimes you can’t stop them, my friend.”
“I’m keeping my distance from her—at least ten feet at all times.”
Ben smiled. “Good luck with that. Especially since her desk is about two feet from the door of your office.”
Chapter 11
* * *
DAWSON
“What are you doing here at this hour?”
A week later, I got off the elevator on the fourteenth floor at six forty-five AM to find Naomi waiting outside the office.
“I wanted to get an early start,” she said.
“An early start to nine o’clock would be eight thirty.”
She smiled. “I was anxious.”
I dug my keys out of my pocket, trying not to notice how smooth her legs looked sticking out from that black pencil skirt, and grumbled. “I had new locks installed last week. I’ll get you a set of keys made today.” Inside the office, I flicked the lights on. “Your cast is gone?”
She opened and closed her hand. “Came off Friday morning. At my last appointment, the doctor had said it would probably come off, but he wanted to X-ray first, and there was a chance it might need to stay on another two weeks. Thankfully that didn’t happen, because I’d already googled removing a cast with a hex saw more than once.”
I smiled. Naomi had been here before, so she knew the way to my office. I started to extend a hand for her to go first, but stopped. “Do you smell that?”
Naomi cocked her head to the side. “Smell what?”
“Do you have hand cream on, maybe?”
“I put lotion on after I got out of the shower this morning.”
“What scent is it?”
“Freesia.”
I leaned in and attempted to sniff inconspicuously, but failed. My mouth salivated as the scent grew stronger. Naomi pulled back, her face wrinkled. “What are you doing?”
There had to be coconut in something she used, even if she didn’t realize it. Or maybe I was coming down with something. I remembered reading an article in a workout magazine once that said a change in olfactory response is often the first sign of illness, but most people ignore it. Maybe I should make a doctor’s appointment?