Page 26 of Cocky Counsel

Fourteen

Eva

I had spent the rest of the week avoiding Ethan, even though I knew that I needed to apologize to him. The deal with Graham and Genevieve was really getting under my skin, and I knew that it was because of everything happening with my sister. The last update that I had from Lucy confirmed that Lance was picking up Jackson this afternoon and taking him for the weekend, while Lucy picked up a few shifts at the hospital where she worked as a receptionist. She assured me that they were trying to remain civil with each other, but Gabi had told me that it had been nothing but constant fighting.

My mind tried to separate what was happening with Lucy from what was happening with Graham, but all I could see was a rich man, throwing around his money until he got what he wanted. For Graham, it was purchasing Genevieve’s company—I mean technically it was hers now and taking it from her without worrying about how she would continue to take care of her daughter. With Lance, he had already met with one of the most aggressive family law lawyers in Manhattan who jumped at the opportunity to take his case. Money didn’t mean a damn thing to Lance and he would pay whatever he needed to if it meant that he kept Lucy right where he wanted her.

It was almost five, and I watched as Kate packed up her stuff to leave for the day. Ethan was still in his office, head down as he read through the stack of papers on his desk. I felt bad for ruining his birthday lunch the other day and hated that it had already taken me this long to apologize. My temper had always gotten the better of me, and it was worse when my family was involved.

I pushed away from my desk and pulled at the hem of my skirt, making sure it wasn’t stuck to my ass before walking over to his office. I tapped on the door, waiting for him to invite me before I just waltzed in. He looked up, a brief look of happiness on his face that was immediately replaced with something that I couldn’t read. Maybe anger? Possibly frustration? It was hard to tell.

“Do you have a minute?” I asked, looking down the hallway as the last few people cleared out of their offices and waited in the lobby for the elevator.

“Sure,” he said as he dropped the piece of paper he was looking at and leaned back in his chair. He looked so confident and collected which made me feel even more nervous and anxious.

“I wanted to apologize for the other day,” I said quietly, fidgeting with my fingers as I looked down. “I was really out of line, and I didn’t mean to ruin lunch.”

“Don’t worry about it,” he said coolly, then went back to the stack of papers on his desk.

I could feel my irritation growing at his lack of interest and the way he was blowing me off. I was genuinely trying to apologize, and he was acting like an ass about it. My foot tapped on the carpet below me as I stood in the doorway, staring at him.

“Is there something else that I can help you with?” he asked without looking up at me.

“You really have some nerve, you know that?” I blurted out angrily.

“Excuse me?” he said, letting the paper fall from his hands as he stood up and leaned over the desk to look at me.

“I’m standing here, trying to apologize and you can barely even acknowledge me.” I folded my arms over my chest and straightened my spine.

“What exactly were you wanting from this?” He raised his brows. “You apologized. I said it was fine. Yet, you’re still not happy with it.” He stood upright and held his hands up in front of him. “Tell me what I’m missing here.”

“Nothing,” I said with an edge of irritation in my voice. “Just forget about it.”

I turned to walk back to my office when I heard his footsteps behind me as he walked over and grabbed my arm, spinning me around to where my back was pinned up against the door.

“What do you want, Eva?” His eyes searched mine as he held me against the door, our bodies inches away from each other.

“I want you to care!” I exclaimed, feeling all of the pent-up frustration from the past few weeks suddenly coming to the surface. “Stop dismissing me and everything that happens between us and just care for once!”

“I do care, Eva,” he growled, stepping closer to me. “I care so much that it takes everything inside of me to try to stay away from you.”

I swallowed hard, the air around us hot and thick. My chest was heaving as the scent of his cologne filled my senses, making me want to reach out and touch him.

“Maybe you should stop trying,” I whispered.

“I’m not good for you, Eva,” he countered, leaning his forehead against mine and closing his eyes. “You’d be smart to walk away from me and never look back.”

“You don’t scare me,” I said, grabbing his face in my hands and turning it to look at me. Our eyes locked onto each other’s, and I knew there was no going back. I pulled him close to me and kissed him. He groaned silently before wrapping his arms around my waist and pulling me into the office before he gently pushed the door shut with his foot. His hands grabbed my ass, pushing my skirt up as I worked the buttons on his dress shirt, desperate to get it off of him.

Within seconds, it was completely unbuttoned, revealing his perfectly sculpted abs and tanned skin. I stepped back for a second to admire his body as he pulled the shirt off and tossed it to the floor. He kicked off his shoes before undoing his black leather belt, his fingers moving slowly as he watched me studying his every movement.

“Take off your shirt,” he commanded, pulling his belt through the loops then holding it in his hands. I chewed my bottom lip as I watched him fold it in half before whipping it across his palm to get my attention. I reached down and pulled the bottom of my black silk tank top up and over my head. His eyes traveled down my body while he licked his lips. I wanted him, right here, right now.

“What next?” I pleaded, enjoying the way he was looking at me.

“Take off your skirt, then turn and face the window.”

I glanced behind me, taking in the wall of floor-to-ceiling windows that would surely give anyone in one of the neighboring buildings the perfect view of what we were about to do.

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