Page 86 of Necessary Evil

Chapter 19

Lucy was called into Albert’s office almost as soon as her ass hit her chair the next morning. She was in too good a mood to let his harping ruin it. The thought of last night and Evan made her grin so wide, her cheeks hurt. She was running on adrenaline and espresso, though. If she made it to 3:00 p.m. today without a nap, it would be a miracle. But worth it. Totally worth it, even if Evan hadn’t said he loved her back.

“I need to see Travis Munson in about twenty minutes,” she said, popping her head into her boss’s office. “If you need longer, can we reschedule for after lunch?”

“This won’t take long. Please sit.”

Lucy rearranged her skirt and tried not to feel like she was in the principal’s office. She was sore in all the right places, and if she closed her eyes, she could almost feel Evan inside of her.

“Are you all right? Jenny and your brother were very concerned about you yesterday.”

Bobby had been concerned? That was a switch.

“There was a little miscommunication. I’m sorry if I worried you.”

Albert sighed. “Lucy, we’ve known each other a long time, and I’d like to think that I’m more than a boss to you.”

Lucy smiled. “I hold you in the highest regard.”

“Then please take this with the care that I intend it to convey. I want you to stop seeing this Evil character. He’s dangerous and I’m afraid for your safety.”

Lucy’s smile dropped. “His real name is Evan Villiers. He was a cop for twenty years. You know that.” She fought to stay polite, but she said the last part through gritted teeth.

“And now look at him.” Albert shook his head.

“He has done nothing wrong,” she said. “He would never hurt me.”

“It’s because of him your car was vandalized.”

What a nice way of saying a lunatic threw a flaming bottle at me.

“That wasn’t Evil’s fault. My car gets vandalized all the time. Sometimes by detectives who are still on the force.” Lucy scowled, thinking of McKinley and the taillight incident.

Albert frowned. “That’s not to be tolerated. Did you file a report?”

“I was able to settle it without going through official channels.” When that didn’t seem to satisfy him, she said, “Travis Munson helped.”

His face cleared. “What does Travis think of this Evil character?”

Well, that was the million-dollar question, wasn’t it? She was caught between telling a lie to her boss and feeding into his anti-Evil hysteria. Lucy decided a non-answer was her best bet in this situation, and she pretended she was addressing a jury. “Evan Villiers is a respected member of the community and runs a successful local business.” If it sounded a little stiff and lawyerly, well, that was the language both she and Albert spoke.

“Yet his business partner comes into your office and terrifies your secretary,” Albert volleyed back at her.

“Paralegal,” Lucy corrected, with ice in her voice. If he wanted a courtroom battle in his office, he’d get one.

Albert shook his hand in a whatever gesture that nearly made her blow a gasket. “I got a few complaints about him giving you a ride to work on his motorcycle yesterday.”

“Who’s doing the complaining?” She’d have a nice little chat with them about minding their own damned business.

“It’s a loud machine and it drew attention from everyone. I want our office to have a sense of decorum and respectability. You slinging your leg off a motorcycle doesn’t have the professionalism we’re looking for.”

It was as though he’d slapped her in the face with a wet towel. The sting of his words was so unexpected, she blinked back tears. “I was in a Dior pants suit,” she managed to get out. It wasn’t as if she had been wearing leather chaps.

“I’m only telling you this as a friend. This isn’t the impression you want to make on colleagues and clients. Being with this thug could impact your career.”

“I don’t see how,” she said. “As long as I’m winning cases, it shouldn’t matter if I skydive out of a plane to get to work.” Lucy couldn’t believe the words that were coming out of his mouth. It was as though her ex-husband had suddenly burst back into her life. She half expected Albert to tell her she should cut her hair in a short style because it was more professional and wear the pearl set instead of the flashier gemstones she preferred.

“People are watching. You don’t want to miss a political opportunity because you chose your friends poorly. A defense attorney can’t afford to be seen fraternizing with the wrong element.”

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