Page 63 of Cocky Counsel

“See, they’re screwing you,” Eva said, followed by a heavy sigh.

“Just because they’re fucking doesn’t mean that they’re screwing me.” I could feel the tension building in my shoulders.

“Think about it,” Eva insisted, showing me the phone again. “Why would Cora do you if she’s into women? They want something from you, that’s why they filed reports.”

“It doesn’t make sense. What does this have to do with me? Why would they file sexual harassment claims against me if they’re seeing each other?”

“I don’t know,” Eva admitted. “But something doesn’t feel right.”

Someone walked out down the hallway, pulling our attention directly to them. I let out the breath I was holding when I saw that it was just the cleaning crew, wheeling their supplies down the corridor. I wasn’t in the mood to try to deal with the Kate and Cora bullshit that had just landed in my lap, so I decided to change the subject.

“So, I heard that we have a new employee starting on Monday,” I said, hoping to lighten the mood, even though I knew it was near impossible given where we were and what had happened. The problem was that I didn’t have any other good news to talk about.

“Are you mad that I didn’t ask you before I recommended my sister for the job?” she asked nervously, chewing her nail.

“Honestly?” I asked, my eyebrows raised. I watched as the color drained from her face, a look of worry plastered across her beautiful face. “No, I’m not mad. I was a little blindsided by it, that’s all.”

She smiled, and her shoulders dropped as she relaxed a little.

“Do you think she’ll be a good fit for our office?” I asked. While I didn’t doubt that Eva was a good judge of character, I knew how easy it was for the lines to get blurred when you tried to have a professional relationship with family. It took Garrett and me a few years before we were able to iron out that wrinkle at work.

“I really do,” she said and nodded. “Lucy is the youngest, but she’s also the most mature and independent. She’s a natural-born leader, never breaks the rules, and genuinely cares about the job she does. Unfortunately, it’s also been the reason that she’s stayed with Lance for so long, but you can’t blame her for wanting to try to make her marriage work when there was a child involved.”

I smiled knowing what kind of personality she was talking about. My mother stayed in a bad marriage for years because she thought it was what would be best for me and my brother. I wish I could go back in time and convince her that she was worth so much more than she ever gave herself credit for.

“Well, then, I’m happy to have her work for us.”

“How did you hear about her getting the job anyway?” Eva asked, her brows pinched together.

“Regina called me before she brought her in for the interview. We discussed the struggle that she’s had with finding a personal assistant for Luis and she was worried that it would take weeks, if not months before she could find someone qualified to replace Kate. By moving her to Luis’s department, it solved one problem but left her with another. We agreed that if she felt like Lucy would be a good fit, she should go ahead and offer her the position. Obviously, we didn’t need to check in with you since you had recommended her.”

“Can I confess something?” She shifted in her seat, making sure she was still facing the doors to the emergency room.

“Sure,” I said.

“I hate the idea that Kate is still going to be working there.”

I sighed and pushed the air out forcefully.

“Yeah, me too. But it’s not like we can fire her. She would immediately turn on us and come back with a wrongful termination lawsuit.”

“How can she? New York is an At-Will state.”

“You don’t think she’ll use the recent sexual harassment claim as proof that she was terminated as a means of retaliation?”

Eva paused for a moment and then shook her head.

“You’re right. They would probably rule in her favor too.”

“Trust me, I hate it just as much as you do, but unless we had proof that she wasn’t performing her job or violated one of the rules in the employee handbook, our hands are tied.”

“You’re right,” she muttered as we saw Gabi heading back.

“Where’s Jackson?” Gabi asked, sitting down beside Eva.

“He’s with mom and dad. They had just got home when everything had happened. Lance took off right around the same time and left Jackson crying for him in the front yard without looking back. If only he knew what a real monster his dad was,” Eva said, her hands starting to shake.

“Have you started a police report yet?” I asked, interrupting. My blood was boiling as my anger raged through me.

“I don’t know if my parents have or not. I came in the ambulance with Lucy.”

“I’ll check in with mom and see if they’ve had a chance to,” Gabi offered, pulling her phone out of her back pocket.

“What’s Lance’s last name?” My voice was harder than usual, the strain of getting the words out evident.

“Why?” Eva asked at the same time her sister blurted out, “Conner.”

“Thank you,” I said with a warm smile as I pulled my cell phone out of my pocket. I was already dialing the number that I needed when I looked up and found Eva watching me. “Be sure to get some food in you and drink some water. I’ll be back soon.” I nodded to Eva as I turned and walked away, the phone pressed to my ear.

“Nate—I need a favor.”

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