Page 42 of Legal Attraction

“I am not alone.” She sighed. “And Rand. Do you really think we know each other well enough for you to come swooping in here and saving me? Moving in? As what? My personal bodyguard?”

“It wouldn’t be such a bad job…” He winked.

And then she laughed, which is what he hoped to accomplish. “You think I’m crazy, but the offer stands.” He shrugged. “And now. I think the most important thing we can do is play Speed.” He pulled a deck of cards out of his back pocket and tossed it on the table.

“Rand. No.” She shook her head. “I have case files to read.”

“Then we’ll read them together.”

She was about to say no again but he held up his hands. “I’ll not force myself of course. I just think it would be a good idea to have some company tonight. You’ve had some weird news. Let me stay a little while.”

She dipped her head and then a small smile appeared. “Okay. Thank you.”

ChapterSeventeen

Rand stayed way too late, but Coral could only feel grateful, even when morning arrived too early and she had tired lines on her face as she headed to meet with Muskanza over lunch. She was missing another new attorney lunch. The others had looked at her strangely, especially Trey, but he was soon distracted by Mel and Jaden, and Coral didn’t worry about it. Goldstein and Smithson was situated in the older historic part of town. The houses and buildings had been around for a hundred years at least. As she drove through the newer, more densely populated parts of Richmond, the traffic grew more congested and she checked more than once to be sure that her security was still following.

She’d been nervous to leave, thoughts of terrorists around every building plagued her, and she didn’t fully admit even to herself that she wished Rand had stayed the night, wished he was going to the client lunch with her, and basically wished that she had a reason to ask him to be a constant part of her life.

He’d offered as much. The man must have a superhero complex or something. A lady in distress triggered all his saving instincts. She sighed. It was difficult to make sense of her feelings for Rand. Because they’d definitely started things off on that exact vibe. She was not used to being a lady in distress. But she was accustomed to having people around to keep her safe, and she was grateful to have the black sedan behind her that went wherever she went.

She parked at a Mediterranean restaurant downtown that Muskanza had suggested. The guys followed her in, but as if coming together for their own lunch. She left her name at the hostess table. “I’m actually here with Muskanza. Do you know if they have arrived?”

“Oh yes, come this way.” Coral was led through the main room of the restaurant, out a side door and into a quaint whole separate section. The walls and floors were padded with thick luxurious blues and velvety reds. The tables had thick wood chairs. The chandeliers hung low and the lighting was intimate.

“What a beautiful room.”

“Oh yes, this is our special reserve room. Muskanza is at that corner table there.” She pointed to two men and a woman seated at a round table. They were smiling and laughing. If Coral didn’t suspect them of international terrorism, she was be inclined to like them.

As soon as she approached, the woman stood. “Coral Anastas?” She held out her hands. “Come join us.” She leaned in and kissed her cheeks. “I’m Juliet Strong. This is Thomas Handy and Stefan Santori. We’re so happy to meet you.”

“Thank you. It’s good of you to take the time. I always feel better knowing the face behind the name when I work with someone.”

“Of course. And we feel the same. Besides, we’ve had enough meetings with Mr. Goldstein. It’s time we got to know a few of the associates.”

Coral nodded, logging that bit of information away. They apparently never met with the associates.

As soon as they got situated and ordered their drinks, Coral leaned forward. “Tell me more about yourselves. I find so little in the case files. The current file I’m working on involves your manufacturing plants. Textiles?”

“Yes, we are highly diversified. I’m glad they have you on the textile line. It’s the most exciting to be honest.”

Coral’s eyes widened. And then Juliette laughed. “Only we would think textiles exciting.”

“And our attorney. I would love our attorney to be as enamored with new combinations of fabrics as we are. We’ve got more than a few patents submitted. We can own the market in poly urethane blends.” Stefan waved his hands to emphasize something coming.

Coral couldn’t help but laugh and feel his energy. “Sounds like I need to get in on the intellectual side to this case.”

“Oh don’t worry about that. They’ve got it mostly finished; Ms. Taylor has it in great stead. We need you on the legal actions taken against us.”

“I just so far am not seeing why you’d be a target for any of these legal actions.”

He shrugged. “Maybe a few jealous would-be competitors? I don’t think like the typical petty law suit creator. I couldn’t begin to tell you what they have going on in their thoughts.”

“I’ll try to delve into that mind for you and see what we can figure out.”

Stefan mock shivered. “Not a friendly place to be.”

Coral’s laugh bubbled up spontaneously. “Hopefully I’ll come out unscathed. Either way, we will do our best for you.”

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