Page 22 of Cocky Counsel

Eleven

Ethan

I was relieved that Kate was back in the office Monday morning but disappointed that Eva was still feeling under the weather and had to miss another day. I’d spent the weekend trying to catch up on work and felt a slight relief that I had a little more time to work on things for Graham. He texted me on Friday afternoon, after his meeting with Genevieve, to confirm that she had agreed to a paternity test to see if Chloe, the child who looked identical to him, was his biological daughter.

He had gone over the details with me on Thursday, and I listened in agony as he told me how much this little girl at his former best friend's funeral looked like him. He was struggling with not knowing whether or not she was his and needed to know what options would be best before moving forward with Gainesworth Investments. If it turned out that Chloe was his child, then that would impact the business deal with Genevieve. Graham was known for being all sorts of things, but I knew that he wasn’t the kind of guy who would do anything to hurt the mother of his child, regardless of how he felt about her.

The last update that I’d received said that the lab was sending someone over to his office this morning to collect a DNA sample before collecting one from Chloe. Graham had requested to rush the results and expected to have them by Wednesday afternoon. I was holding off on doing anything until I knew what direction we needed to go in.

By Wednesday morning, I was pleasantly surprised to see Eva walk down the hallway to her office, giving me a small wave as she passed by. I had tried to keep my distance from her while she was out, convincing myself that it was because I wanted her to rest, but in reality, I was afraid of how much we had already crossed the line of being professional with each other. I knew that I was risking a lot by staying with her on Wednesday, but she was so sick that I couldn’t in good conscience leave her by herself. What if something happened to her?

I’d asked Kate to check in with her on Monday and after she reported back to me that Eva was still ill, I’d requested that she order lunch and have it delivered to her apartment. Kate gave me an odd look when I asked her, and I imagined that I probably seemed like I was going crazy. Everyone knew that I wasn’t the nice guy in the office who worried about the employees, and I sure as hell wasn’t known as the one who would send the new girl chicken noodle soup when she was sick. Something was wrong with me, and that something was sitting directly across from me, wearing a tight black skirt that stretched perfectly across her ass.

I responded to the last few emails that had come in before pushing away from my desk and made my way to the board room for a meeting with Regina and Garrett. I walked into the room and felt the tension that was radiating off of them, adjusting my tie that suddenly felt too tight around my neck. They didn’t bother with smiling or standing to greet me. This wasn’t a meeting to discuss something good that had happened or to talk about the charity ball that we were supposed to be participating in. This was a meeting to discuss the problem that had been a thorn in my side for weeks. I took my seat and folded my hands on the table in front of me.

“Ethan,” Regina said, clearing her throat. “Thank you for meeting with us this morning, I know your schedule is very tight today.”

I nodded curtly and glanced over at Garrett. He was fidgeting with his tie, a nervous habit that I very clearly remembered from my dad when he’d stumble in the house after working late at the office. Only his paychecks never reflected these extra hours and the only thing he was working was the prostitute behind the dumpster at the 7-Eleven.

“What’s the update?” I asked, cutting straight to the chase.

“Cora is filing a sexual harassment lawsuit,” Regina said with a heavy sigh, pushing a stack of papers across the table to me. I reached over and took them.

“I’ll let you look over the paperwork when you have the time—and I need you to make the time. But long story short, she’s claiming that you forced her to have sex with you in the board room after hours in exchange for the raise she was given.” Regina leaned back in her chair and tapped her pen on the table.

I discreetly glanced around, looking at the floor-to-ceiling glass windows that surrounded the room, and recalled the night that Cora and I had stayed late to work on a case. The day had been long and exhausting, the frustration of the week overwhelming. Cora hadn’t worked for Roberts and Associates that long before she was assigned to help me with the case I was working on. She was eager to help, to say the least, but I didn’t have time to stop and question what her motives were before she was under the table, sucking my dick in an effort to help me relax.

Did I know better? Fuck yeah, I did. Was I thinking clearly? Obviously not. A sloppy blow job had quickly turned into her hiking up her skirt and bending over the table, showing me how wet her pussy was while sliding her fingers inside before I slammed my dick in her. I’ve been with plenty of women in my life and have never met someone as willing and determined to have sex with me as Cora. That was the first red flag that I should have seen, had I been paying attention.

The next day, things went from good—or I guess I should say mediocre—to bad. She had come into my office and closed the door before she started to unbutton her shirt. When I told her no, something inside of her snapped and she became this devil woman that I couldn’t get rid of. I’d tried to keep things professional and keep my distance from her, but she was persistent. When I realized that she had started to become obsessed, I’d asked Regina to give her a raise and promote her to a position on Garrett’s team.

I looked at the stack of papers, the regret of that night sinking in my stomach. This was a problem that I didn’t need right now, and I ground my teeth in frustration.

“I can read through all of this, but we already know that it’s my word against hers. And honestly, given that we did have sex after hours, I don’t know any judge who isn’t going to rule in her favor. So, what options do we have at this point?” I asked, pushing the papers away from me.

“I’m working with our legal team to find out. As soon as I know, I’ll let you know,” she assured me. “Until then, I suggest keeping your head down and proceed with business as usual. Keep your office door open for any meetings you have, and if you need the privacy for a client, have Eva present for it.”

I glanced over at Garrett and found him watching me, a lack of expression on his face. I wondered if he was sitting there, judging me, thinking that his little brother had turned into a sex-crazed pervert, just like our dad. Garrett and I had never been close, probably because he was ten years older than me, but I always felt like he resented me for something that I wasn’t aware of. Maybe it was because I was too young to really understand what was happening when my mom first found out about my dad’s affairs. Or maybe it was because I was almost forty and had yet to settle down and start a family as he had. He was a man of few words, so it was hard to tell.

I blew out a breath and thought about how all of this could blow up in my face even further if anyone found out about me and Eva. What had happened with Cora was a mistake, and I regretted it as soon as it happened. I wasn’t the kind of guy who mixed business and pleasure. There was so much at stake as it was with the lawsuit from Cora, I couldn’t risk jeopardizing my career if anyone found out about Eva.

But with Eva, it was different. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t stay away from her and that scared the shit out of me.

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