Page 25 of Cocky Counsel

Thirteen

Ethan

“How’s your soup?” I asked before lifting my club sandwich to my mouth and taking a bite. The diner was busy with a line out the door. Thankfully, we snuck in right as another table had cleared out and were given the last empty booth before the rush popped in. I wasn’t sure whether Eva was in the mood for Chinese food, or rather egg drop soup, but it didn’t matter either way since the restaurant was currently closed due to a pipe that had burst this morning.

“It’s delicious,” she replied, spooning another bite into her mouth. I glanced at her lips, remembering our kiss in the elevator. The kiss that shouldn’t have happened, yet it did. I was feeling incredibly frustrated with myself for it and knew that I needed to do something about my attraction to her before it was too late. There was too much at risk right now, and I couldn’t jeopardize my career because my dick refused to stay down when she was around.

We ate in silence. I tried to convince myself that it was because we were starving, that it had nothing to do with what had happened. It was the constant elephant in the room that we couldn’t seem to get around. I was debating whether or not to take the time while we were out of the office to talk about it when I felt my phone vibrate against my thigh in my pocket. Saved by the bell.

I pulled it out and found a text message from Graham, confirming that they had gotten the paternity test results back a few minutes ago. Chloe was his biological daughter. I ran a hand down the scruff on my face and closed my eyes. I needed to reach out to him once I was back at the office and see how he was doing with all of this.

“Is everything okay?” Eva asked, pushing her empty soup bowl to the side and taking a drink of water. I set my phone down and leaned back against the booth.

“Yeah, Graham got the paternity test results back. Chloe is his biological daughter.” I had caught Eva up on everything briefly when we first got to the diner, hoping to fill some of the awkward tension between us with conversation.

“Wow. How’s he taking the news?”

“I’m not sure, I’ll call him when we get back to the office and check in.”

“So, how will this affect his decision on Gainesworth Investments?” she asked, leaning back and laying her head against the padded seat of the booth. I was happy to see that she seemed to be feeling better, but she still looked exhausted and weak.

“I can’t imagine that it will have that much of an impact other than Graham dealing with the details of his estate and updating beneficiaries. He still wants Gainesworth Investments so he can gain the twenty-three percent stake in Pembrooke Industries which will give him fifty-one percent ownership and controlling interest. That’s what he’s been after all along.” I bit into a french fry and watched as her eyes narrowed at me.

“I thought he was holding off on deciding until he knew whether or not she was his biological daughter?”

“He was…” I wasn’t sure where she was going with this or why she was so angry.

“Then why isn’t he concerned about doing what’s right for her mother? Does he just plan to take her away from her and raise her on his own? Forget the mom, his money can buy him whatever he wants?!” She slammed her fist down on the table, glancing up to look at the few heads that had turned to see what the commotion was about.

“I don’t think Graham cares about doing what’s right for Genevieve after she cheated on him with his best friend and has kept the fact that they had a child together hidden for four years,” I snorted, feeling her anger and frustration boil over at me.

“So, she made a mistake, that doesn’t mean that he shouldn’t do what’s in the best interest for both of them. If he really cared about his daughter, he would make sure that her mother was taken care of instead of putting his own selfish needs first,” she hissed.

I put my hands up in front of me to stop her before she went off again.

“Where in the hell is this coming from?” I asked, narrowing my eyes at her.

She shook her head and looked off to the side, avoiding eye contact with me. There was something personal about this, I could feel it. It didn’t make sense otherwise, given that we worked in corporate law and our main objective was to help Graham with the business deal of purchasing Gainesworth Investments.

“Eva,” I pried, forcing her attention back to me when she refused to answer. “What’s going on?”

“Nothing.” She worked her jaw back and forth. “I’m just really sick of wealthy men thinking that they can control women by throwing their money around to get what they want. Especially when there is a child involved.”

“In all fairness, you don’t even know Graham. You don’t know what kind of person he is.”

“He’s cocky and arrogant. That’s all I need to know.”

I raised an eyebrow at her as she looked away again and folded her arms across her chest.

“Well, if that’s the case then I’ll gladly ask Regina to reconsider your position.”

I watched as she whipped her head around to glare at me, the heat of her anger radiating off her.

“You’re going to fire me because I don’t agree with you?” she sneered.

“No, Eva. However, I do feel that if you’re unable to do the job that you were hired for because you’re unable to separate your personal feelings, then maybe we need to reconsider whether you’re the best fit for us. We work in corporate law, Eva, not family law. What Graham decides to do with Genevieve and any custody arrangements is none of our business. Our job is to guide him with the purchase of the company and move on. If you’re not able to do that then you need to let me know now.”

Her nostrils flared as she exhaled, continuing to glare at me.

“I’m fully capable of doing my job,” she bit out.

“Good,” I said, as I grabbed the check from the corner of the table after the waitress dropped it off. I glanced at it then pulled a few twenties from my wallet and threw them on the table. “Then let’s get back to work.” I stood up and walked out of the diner, unsure of whether she was coming behind me.

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