Page 77 of My Bossy Billionaire Attorney

I could do with that.

“Plus,” she smiles, “you can get drunk. I’ll be your designated driver. Don’t worry about life for today, and drink your worries away.”

I don’t have to be told twice.

We exit the car and head for the beachfront restaurant. The coastal theme decor when we step in, the buzz of conversation from people living in the moment, and the drinks that I see on the tables put me at ease.

Alice and I head for a table, going to sit near the end to get a good view of the ocean.

“What do you want to drink?”

“Anything. Anything strong enough to knock me out.”

She grins. “Okay! Give me a minute, and I’ll be back with your order, miss.”

When she leaves, I turn to take in the view of the ocean—the people lazing on the sand—couples, singles, and families alike. The ones in the water, splashing and laughing.

The wind carries their voices to where I sit, and I sigh heavily.

“I should have taken the time to live my life,” I mutter under my breath. “Instead, I worked all my life, trying to be the person my father was certain I couldn’t be.”

I tried so hard to please him, to be better than Peter, and forgot about living in the moment. Alice returns with a bottle of Booker’s Bourbon and two glasses with ice in them.

She places all three on the table.

“I wasn’t sure if you wanted whisky or bourbon, so I went with bourbon.”

I snag a glass and pour myself some until it’s almost to the top—then I down half the glass in one long, forced gulp.

“Are you sure that’s ok?” Alice asks.

“But if you want to,” she continues when I glare at her, “then you should. Like I said, I’m your chaperone tonight.”

I drink the rest and then pour some more. And then some more. And then some more. Before long, I feel the thoughts in my brain getting slurred, and my attention is no longer focused on the people outside but the ones in my head.

“You know,” I open my mouth,” my lawyer quit on me today.”

“What?” She says astonished.

I nod.

“Yup. You can’t believe it, either. That was the same reaction I had when Peter told me.”

“Peter? Your brother?”

“Stepbrother,” I correct.

“Right,” she accepts the correction. “You two…I thought you hated him. When did you reconcile?”

I snicker. “Reconcile? He tricked me, more like. After working his way into my heart, that devious Michael Stone made me think that I had been too harsh on Peter.”

“So, I decided to give him a chance. He had tears in his eyes the day we met, he promised to help me with my case. Do you know that they are best friends?”

Alice takes a sip from her glass and I notice that it’s the first time she’s touched it.

Chaperone. Right.

“I didn’t. I’ve met him a couple of times, but we never said anything more than hi or bye. So, Michael is the lawyer, right?” She seems interested.

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