Page 19 of Legal Attraction

She turned to Trey. “Were our instructions different from theirs?”

“I don’t know.” Trey held out his papers. “Swap?”

She scanned his. They were the same as hers. “Who knows. This is definitely a different sort of first day than I was expecting.”

“It’s way better. Can you believe I get to have the Caster Arena as a client? Court side seats is right.” He held out a hand. “And I owe it to you. Want to go with me?”

“Sure! I’m in!”

“And you. Who is your client? Do you think it’s like royalty somewhere? Or some eccentric billionaire?” He laughed and Coral laughed with him, though she knew she sounded strained.

“I have no idea. I feel like the real file is going to have some warning. “This message will self-destruct…”

“Right. If you can, tell me all about it.”

“I will. And maybe I can get in on your arena work too.”

He held out his hand again. “Here’s to collaboration.”

“Agreed.”

The two others walked out of the corner office looking a bit more sour but smiled and waved to them.

“Hey, our offices are next to each other too.” He waved a hand with a flourish and she entered her new office for the first time as an attorney.

“See you on the flip side.” She lifted her fingers to say goodbye but she was already focused on what was in front of her. A large clean desk, a tall floor to ceiling window, a set of cabinets, an empty shelf… the phone rang.

“Hello, this is Coral Anastas.”

“Ms. Anastas. This is Cass Taylor. I understand you’ve been given one of my clients to work on?”

“Excellent. I’m happy to hear that.”

“Come on down to my office and I’ll fill you in. I’m in the East corner.”

“On my way.” She hung up and then groaned. Rand was right next to the East corner office. For a brief second, she considered going the long way around so she didn’t have to walk in front of his office. But no. She could be professional. She could walk in front of a man’s office. They would talk. And it would all be fine. She assumed. But what did this mean? Would he want to pick up where they left off? Her cursed heart raced at the thought. That was probably a terrible idea. A relationship with a partner at her law firm from the first day, prior to the first day, was one of the most terribly epically bad ideas she’d had. But she was tempted. She couldn’t help it. Just the thought of Rand set her skin on high awareness.

She snagged her laptop from off her desk and a notebook and her very uninformative file and made her way down the hall.

“You getting started already?” Trey’s head poked out of his office like an eager Boy Scout.

She laughed. “Yep. I guess so.”

“Lunch? I already want to know how your morning goes.”

“Lunch. Unless they have something for us.”

“Right. And then we might be together anyway.”

“True. Good luck today with yours.”

“You too.”

She liked this guy. He at least gave her a boost of cheer to get her through this next stretch of hallway. What on earth was Rand doing at her same law firm? What were the chances she would meet her future boss at The Palisades? And how were her two worlds colliding so immediately upon arrival at Goldstein and Smithson? The frown that lowered her eyebrows came naturally. It wasn’t Rand’s fault but suddenly he became the focus of intense frustration. She’d worked really hard to keep her royal life as far away from her life in America as possible. And now here one of the partners already knew. She supposed they all knew. But up until now, there had been no reason to focus on it at all. She picked up her pace, all her training and instincts from years as a royal kicked in. Her head lifted. Her shoulders dropped in pretend relaxed confidence. Her steps were carefully placed and her face open and engaging. She could be professional in the face of any situation. Her mother had made certain of it.

But as soon as she rounded the corner and Rand’s office was in view, her knees felt wobbly. She tightened her core and kept walking. She would be fine. If she hadn’t spent the last twenty-four hours reliving all their moments on the beach together, things would certainly be simpler. But she could do this. She straightened her spine further and kept walking. Maybe she would walk right by without looking in. That would be too obvious. So she had to look in, as if to say hello. Maybe she could be really casual about it. “You work here? Me too. Imagine that.” She laughed at herself. And then she was walking right by his office. Not too eager, she waited three steps and then glanced inside. He was not in there. But the two new women Jaden and Mel were, and they both wore incredibly pleased smiles. She looked away before they would notice her watching and continued down to the corner office. Cass Taylor had an impeccable reputation in the attorney world, and Coral was looking forward to working with her. As soon as she stepped up to her door, Rand’s voice carried out to Coral. “She’s new, untested, untried. At least put someone with a little experience behind them.”

“You know I have nothing to do with these decisions.”

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