Page 32 of Indiscretion

“Are you still mad at me?”

It was the first time we’d spoken since I’d called to ream him out from the sidewalk outside Dawson’s office last week.

“I should be, but no. I get that you were only trying to help.”

Ben kissed the top of my head. “He’s an idiot for not jumping on the chance to hire you.”

I smiled sadly. “I was just telling Lily, I’m thinking of going back to school and changing careers completely. If a criminal defense attorney won’t hire me—people who representcriminalsfor a living—then no one is going to hire me.”

“You’ll find something.”

The first guest rang the doorbell, so it brought our conversation to an end, and I was grateful. Lately, that felt like the only thing people asked me about.Any luck on your interview?Did you find a job yet?When I said no, they’d smile and tell me something would pop up. They meant well. I knew that. But I wanted a few hours to pretend I had something more going on in my life.

Half an hour later, there were twenty or so people mingling in Ben and Lily’s kitchen and living room. One particular man hadn’t arrived yet, and my eyes kept finding their way to the front door every time it opened. A glass of wine and another half hour helped me relax, and eventually I started to wonder if Dawson was going to show up. At least until the front door opened and a certain gorgeous attorney walked in—with an equally gorgeous woman who looked barely old enough to drink.

My stomach dropped.Ugh.It was bad enough that he didn’t want to hire me; now I had to see him with a date. I attempted to ignore him and keep myself engaged in my conversation with a coworker of Lily’s, but my eyes had a mind of their own. And the second time they wandered where they didn’t belong, they met Dawson’s.

Ben walked over and handed him a beer, passing his date a glass of wine. Dawson kept his eyes trained on me the entire time. He tipped his Coors bottle toward me, and I forced my eyes back to the woman currently talking about…something.

A little while later I went to the bathroom, and when I came out, I walked straight into someone waiting in the narrow hall.

“God, I’m so sor…” My voice trailed off, and I frowned. “Oh. It’s just you.”

Dawson lifted a brow. “Does that mean you aren’t sorry?”

“You should really stop startling people. Though I guess it’s easy for you to forget what can happen now that your eye is healed…”

Dawson looked down at my hand. “Still have the cast on, huh?”

“It comes off this Friday, hopefully.”

A guy I hadn’t met yet came down the hall. He pointed to the door behind me. “Are you waiting for the bathroom?”

“I just finished.” I gestured to Dawson. “But he is.”

“What’s up, Jake?” Dawson lifted his chin. “It’s all yours. I don’t need to use the bathroom.”

“Great, thanks.” The guy nodded to me as he passed.

Once the door was locked, I looked to Dawson. “So you were just standing in front of the bathroom for fun?”

His lip twitched. “I wanted to talk to you.”

“About what?”

“I feel bad about the way I acted when you came into the office last week.”

“How do you think you acted?”

“I might’ve come off as rude because I was caught off guard, as I didn’t know Ben had told you to come in for an interview.”

“I didn’t really notice. I guess that just seems like your general personality to me.”

Dawson cracked a smile. “Thanks.”

“No problem.”

We stood looking at each other for a few uncomfortable seconds. Dawson stuffed his hands into his pockets. “Did you find anything yet?”

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