Page 22 of Dissension

Despite the heat of his body, the words he whispers in her ear send chills down her spine, a splash of arctic cold across her whole body. “Have you ever considered that perhaps you’re just as sick as your dear old man?”

Kara wakes, a shudder of discomfort slithering through her like poison.

Chapter 11

The week is not getting any better. In fact, Kara is wondering how it can get any worse after Ray’s insane revelation that someone is stalking her shadow. She barely slept that night, double-checking all the locks on every door and window, feeling eyes on her.

Glancing out her window, trying to see someone looking at her from the darkness.

Unnerving. Thanks for fucking with my mind, Ray.

Then, this morning, Derrick calls her into his office.

“I saw you on the local news yesterday,” Derrick says as his opener when she sits down across from him. He gives her a wry smile. “High profile clients can be such a nightmare. The money is what makes them worth it when they have you on retainer.”

Ah, Kara senses an awkward conversation coming. It’s already dicey, working for Derrick and also having a client outside of his sphere of business. Derrick had been fine with it, so long as it didn’t interfere with her operations for him…but…

“The media certainly has a flair for trying to get comments from Dieter, unfortunately. They all want to know if he’s involved with Paxton Brooker’s...legal problems.” Kara swallows thickly, trying not to remember his pale green eyes on her lips before he left her there on the sidewalk.

It had made her feel a strange coil of arousal and disgust in herself, all at once.You can’t move from Nick to Dieter, you simplycan’t. That would just prove that Nick was right all along.

“He’s going to take up a lot more of your time soon, you know.” Derrick’s mouth flickers with a weak smile, watery in nature. He sighs, a long, heaving sound. Derrick folds his handin front of him neatly, another serious, not-so-good sign of what’s to come. Kara shifts in her seat. What is he gearing up for?

“Look. You’re a hard worker. A go-getter. I value the time and effort you’ve put into my firm. But right now, you’re being pulled in two directions, Kara. It’s not good for business. Dietrich Bittinger’s account is a heavy lift; it’swhymen like him often have multiple lawyers on retainer.”

Her stomach sinks. So. It’s come to this finally.

“You’re firing me?” Kara’s voice comes out much smaller than she expected it would, lost and sad. The version of herself from nearly two years ago had been so thrilled,so proudto have landed a job at Benson’s law firm.

He shifts in his cushioned desk chair, looking distinctly uncomfortable for so plush a seat. “I’m not firing you; I’m giving you a choice. You can either be an associate here with my clients or you can work for Dietrich Bittinger. You can’t have both; you can’t scale with the work I have for you here. And, before you say anything, I understand the opportunity he represents. It isn’t often that someone is given a chance to work with a client of his caliber. I’m not going to hold it against you.”

It's hard to meet his gaze. It feels like rejection, even though she knows that it isn’t. It’s hard to not take it personally. “Are you saying I should choose Dieter?”

“I’m saying I alreadyknowwho you chose, Kara.” There’s a dry little smile on Derrick’s mouth.

God, he’s right. The money isokayat Derrick’s firm, but it’s nothing compared to what she’s getting from Dieter. But how long will that last? “…but what about us consulting on the Paxton Brooker case? What about-”

“Worry about your client. TheDark Miragecase has been transitioned from my firm already; it doesn’t matter to me anymore, aside from the fact that I hope they find the bastardscommitting the crimes in Paxton Brooker’s creepy warehouses. And who killed X.” He pauses for a moment before finishing with. “I do wish the best for you. And if you want to come back in the future, I’d welcome you with open arms.”

Feeling shell-shocked, Kara bids him farewell and goes to her desk in a daze.

She just lost her job.

Her phone rings as she’s packing up her desk. Numb, Kara picks it up, answering with her clipped, professional tone.

A female voice replies. “Hello, Kara.”

Dammit, this day is going to shit, isn’t it? A shiver of horror walks its way down Kara’s spine. “How did you get this number?”

She can practically hear Claire smiling on the other end. “Oh, I have my ways of snooping around. I hope you don’t mind. You don’t, do you?”

Oh, that’s a loaded effing question, lady. Kara stares blankly at one of the cubes in the office, unsure of how to respond. It almost sounded like a thinly veiled threat, but she’s never been good at reading women and their more subversive actions. “Yes. I mean. It’s fine. Totally fine.” It’s not, really freaking not. “Did you need representation…or something?” What a stupid question, the woman is engaged to the partner of a big law firm. “A referral? How can I help?”

That charming, yet practiced laugh sounds out on the other end of the phone. “Nothing quite so official. I actually wanted to get to know you a bit better, seeing as you’re a new addition to my…social circle, as it were.”

This day keeps getting better and better. This is the last thing Kara could even think of happening to her. “Um, today isn’t…”

“I won’t take up too much of your time. Let’s go shopping. We’ll stay close to the office.”

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