Page 17 of Cocky Counsel

Nine

Ethan

I rushed to the office and changed into a fresh suit before grabbing the files that I needed before Graham arrived. It felt odd not having Kate up front to keep an eye out for him. Instead, I was going to have to rely on the elderly woman who had been pressed against the computer, trying to see the screen through her bifocals, when I got off the elevator this morning. She attempted to greet me when she saw me, but after calling me Mr. Robbins, I didn’t have much faith in her abilities after that. Thank God it was Thursday, and Kate should be back next week. It seemed like Eva was already feeling better so I held out hope that Kate would recover just as quickly.

My stomach growled as I slid behind my desk, a harsh reminder that I hadn’t had time to stop for coffee or breakfast on my way in. I reached over to press the button to call up to Kate’s desk and then quickly removed my finger when I remembered that she wasn’t there. On a whim, I got up and wandered over to Eva’s office and opened her top desk drawer. I had seen her sneak a few granola bars out of it and hoped that maybe there was one left that I could steal and replace for her later.

I slid my hand further back into the drawer, feeling satisfied when my fingers brushed along the foil wrapper. I grabbed it and pulled it out, a victorious smile on my face when I looked up and found Graham watching me from the hallway between our offices. He arched a brow in response but said nothing. Embarrassed, I held it up in front of me and offered an awkward smile.

“Breakfast,” I tried to explain as I walked around from her desk and met him in the hallway. We shook hands quickly before heading into my office and closing the door.

“I didn’t peg you as the guy who went searching for granola bars in other people’s offices,” Graham joked as he slid his jacket off and laid it on the back of the chair. He took the seat across from me as I walked around and sat behind the dark mahogany desk.

“I’m not,” I chuckled as I moved the mouse around the screen to open the files that I needed. “Kate is out sick, and I didn’t have time to stop for breakfast this morning.”

“So you resorted to stealing?”

I could hear him trying to keep the laughter out of his voice as he said it.

“So it would seem,” I laughed and pushed the mouse to the side after I had everything pulled up. I slid the granola bar off to the side as well, hoping that my stomach wouldn’t be obnoxious and embarrass me during the meeting. Right before I could speak, the door opened and the woman from up front—whatever her name was, popped her head in and smiled. She reminded me of the warm, loving grandma that walked around with a pocket full of candy that she passed out to everyone she talked to which made it a tad bit harder to be so annoyed with her.

“Would you boys like some coffee?” Her voice was as soft and instantly made me bite my tongue. There was no need to be a dick and correct her that we weren’t boys. We were two of Manhattan’s most prestigious businessmen who people admired and respected. I waited for Graham to answer before declining her offer and waited for her to close the door as she went back to her desk.

“Alright, where were we?” I muttered, shuffling the papers beside me as I looked for the copies of the information that Eva had prepared for him.

“You were stealing other people’s food while trying to get your head on straight this morning,” Graham offered, leaning back against the chair as he straightened his navy blue and white pinstripe tie. “What’s going on with you? You seem different…”

I felt a quick blush creep across my face, wondering if he was able to tell that something had happened between Eva and me. I had known Graham longer than any of my other clients, and he knew that I wasn’t the type of guy to settle down and consider having feelings for a woman. That was one thing that we had in common from the very start—we didn’t do commitment.

“I’m fine, just a little off this morning. It’s always hard when Kate is out.” I kept my eyes down and pretended to focus on the papers in front of me.

“You sure it has nothing to do with the beautiful new lawyer that started working for you? The one whose granola bar you’re eating?”

My hand froze in place as my body tensed. I heard the low chuckle that escaped his throat before he shook his head. He had chosen his words perfectly and added the right tone to get the reaction out of me that he wanted. I could feel the heat spread through me, the panic that I had been fighting for days every time I thought about Eva. The dread that quickly followed when I had to remind myself that a relationship with her wasn’t possible. No matter how great the sex was between us or how much I liked spending time with her—it didn’t matter. I had to keep things professional and remember why I didn’t ever allow myself to cross that line.

“Things with Eva and I are strictly professional,” I lied, still refusing to meet his eyes that were fixed on me. After a few minutes, when he still hadn’t said anything, I pushed the papers away and leaned back to look at him. He was smirking, and I knew that he knew.

“Alright, fine. So maybe not completely professional, but we’re trying not to cross that line again.”

“Again?”

“We might have been together a few times,” I sighed and ran a hand down my face. Over the years, Graham had confided plenty in me and it felt oddly satisfying to do the same. Granted his confessions were regarding his business endeavors and not sexual conquests. It wasn’t like I had a best friend or siblings that I talked to about the personal shit in my life. There was a reason that I drew those lines as well.

“You gotta be careful with that,” Graham warned, his tone more serious than before. “Once you blur the line too much, it’s difficult to go back.”

“That’s what I keep telling myself,” I groaned, thinking back to yesterday when I spent the day trying to work remotely from her apartment while taking care of her and unexpectedly spending the night on her couch.

“So, what’s the problem?” he asked cautiously.

“The problem?” I quirked a brow. “The problem is that she’s one of the most incredible women that I’ve ever met. She’s beautiful and independent. Confident and assertive. She’s fearless and the only woman that I’ve been around who wasn’t either intimidated by me or simply using me to see what she could get out of me. I checked her personnel file and she definitely doesn’t need me to take care of her.” I felt a smile tug at the corners of my mouth, impressed with the notes I had seen from Regina regarding the first offer that had been made to Eva, followed by her counteroffer and demand for higher pay along with a detailed list of why she felt she deserved it.

“I’m not going to lie—I was rather impressed with her when we spoke on Tuesday. You have an amazing attorney working for you. Don’t fuck it up.” He gave me a pointed look, and I laughed.

“Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence,” I laughed before switching gears and getting back to business. I knew that Graham was as busy as I was and his time was something that I wasn’t willing to waste. “Speaking of your conversation, did she go over the contents of what she had prepared in the folder for you?” I asked as I reached over and grabbed my copy. When I looked up, I found Graham giving me an odd look.

“Have you not spoken to her about what she and I discussed?”

I felt embarrassed that I hadn’t bothered to do so and didn’t want to admit it.

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