Page 3 of Take What You Want

Not able to take it, I exit the office building and step out in the warm, May afternoon. The sidewalk is busy as people rush out on their lunch hour, everyone having places to be and things to do. I slip a pair of sunglasses on and push my hair off my forehead, wanting to call Jane here and now because I finally have an excuse to hear her voice and seek her out.

But all it takes is for one of these people to dig their heads out of their phones and take notice of me to turn into a swarm of photos and an alert that Nikolai Brooks is out in the open.

So instead, I duck my head and make my way over to my bike parked out front. Illegally, I might add, but I don’t see a ticket anywhere on it so a win for me today. I quickly pull my helmet over my head because while some may say I’m reckless, I’m not stupid. The visor flips down with a quick flick of my wrist, and I straddle the seat, relishing in the way the leather molds to my thighs.

Revving the engine a few times for good measure, I peel off the curb and weave my way through the streets of downtown LA with a smile, thinking about the phone call I get to make when I return home.

Because even though I broke Jane Walker’s heart, I know she’ll always have my back. Even when I don’t deserve it. I’vemade a lot of mistakes in my life, but none causes the self-loathing like hurting her did.

2

JANE

Missed call from Nikolai

Me: I’m in a meeting. Do you need something?

Nikolai: Call me when you’re done

Me: Is it an emergency? What’s wrong?

Nikolai: I have a job for you

Me: And you can’t tell me what that is over text because…?

Nikolai: Because I want to hear your voice ;)

Ugh. I wish I could say that seeing Nikolai’s name pop up on my phone, whether a phone call or text, has no effect on me whatsoever. But I can’t keep still in my chair anymore, a fresh buzz simmering under my skin.

It could also be chalked up to the fact that this is the most exciting thing that has happened to me in this two-hour meeting from hell. The afternoons already drag on, but being stuck in a conference room with some of the most insufferable men I’ve ever encountered…I’ll take the momentary distraction from Nikolai. Even if I know I need to keep that in check.

My boss, Chester Ford, sucks up every remaining bit of oxygen in the room before regurgitating information back out to all of us associates just to hear himself speak. I swear, if the man was sitting here by himself, he’d still manage to carry on a conversation with an empty chair.

I share a look of boredom with my best friend, and only other woman in the firm, Hallie, from across the table. She stifles a smile at my exasperated expression and pretends to be taking notes. Even Chester’s biggest ass kissers are all starting to lose focus. A few gazes out the window, looking over the bustling streets of Boston, while others snap their heads up every few minutes as if catching themselves dozing off.

“Last order of business,” Chester says, re-energizing the group with the hope of an end in sight to this meeting. “Once again, I’d like for you all to welcome Liam Culle into the fold. I’ve already integrated him in with numerous clients, and he’s going to be a great asset for us moving forward.” He gestures toward the other head of the table where I have purposely been avoiding looking toward this entire meeting.

Liam rises from his seat with an air of superiority that he was given at birth and wears like a second skin. I used to find it attractive. The self-assured way he moved and spoke, like the world was his to mold and play with. Now, I see it for what it is. See him for who he is.

A spoiled, entitled brat who has never had to work for anything because of his family name and the connections his father forged for him. His brown hair is perfectly styled awayfrom his forehead, kept in place by gel that I used to relish the scent of but now makes me want to gag. His blue eyes sparkle with insincerity as he takes in the room and soaks up thewelcome’sandhappy to have you here’sthat are rained upon him like he’s some god and not a twenty-eight-year-old lawyer who barely made it through law school and spent the last couple of years floundering at his previous job until his dad stepped in and got him connected with his old pal, Chester.

He buttons his charcoal gray suit and straightens his cuffs as he looks around the table, eyes purposefully pausing on mine for an extended moment, before he clears his throat. “Thank you all for the kind welcome, and, Chester, happy to be here and representing your firm. I couldn’t be more excited to be a part of this team and I already feel at home with the family you have cultivated.”

Fucking choke me.

“Please let me know if there is anything I can assist anyone with. Chester has already integrated me with a few of our clients, but I’m always happy to help out where I can.”

Only if it benefits him.

“Thank you,” he says, giving everyone that charming smile, before he takes his seat again and leans back in it with a casualness that isn’t befitting of the new guy on the team.

Chester beams like a proud parent. “Liam has already forged great connections with NHL clientele, and hopefully”—he winks at Liam—“bring some more in for us.”

The pen whines as I grip it for dear life. Did I just hear that correctly? Liam is already working face-to-face with our professional athlete clientele in his first couple of weeks here?

I’ve been here for almost three years and that’s a market I haven’t even been able to come close to. Chester’s firm specializes in entertainment law; something I always wanted topractice. Ever since I decided I would go to law school, I always knew this was the route I wanted to take.

My twin brother, Walker, is a successful musician and I saw firsthand the kind of contracts that were slid in front of him and his bandmates. It’s insane the type of shit that people try to hide where excited and impressionable artists wouldn’t notice, and before they know it, they’ve signed their entire careers away. I never wanted to see that happen to my brother, or anyone else for that matter.

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