Page 15 of When You Give a Lawyer a Kiss

“Reese, get in here, now,” he barks. “And bring my breakfast with you. I’m starving.”

His voice carries across the open floor plan, with desks spread across the space and offices lining the perimeter. Several heads turn, curious about the commotion.

“Coming.” I grab his coffee and the cheese Danish and rush into his office.

Rob stands at the door, tapping his foot impatiently, and I move past him inside and place his breakfast on the desk.

“What can I do for you?” I ask, the words feeling like sandpaper on my tongue.

He eyes me warily as he takes a seat in his leather chair. “I’ve been assigned to the Irving case. Since it’s high-stakes and he’s one of our longest-standing clients, all the other associates wanted to work on it, but I’m the one who got it,” he brags as he takes a big bite of his Danish.

He has a glob of pastry filling smeared on his face, but I say nothing.

Instead, I force a smile and say, “That’s great news.”

High-stakes cases are considered the golden ticket for paralegals. The increased workload provides the chance to gain valuable experience, however, I doubt Rob will let me do much more than run errands and file paperwork.

“Hardly,” Rob mutters through another mouthful. “It means I’m stuck working with Dawson. It’s not fair that he keeps the best cases for himself. Chances are, he’ll try to pawn off the worthless grunt work to me. At least I have you.”

Which is another way of saying I’ll be stuck doing all the menial tasks.

I raise my eyebrows. “Wait, Dawson is working on this case too?”

“Yeah, he’s the lead counsel, but he asked me to assist. Not that it’s any of your business,” Rob adds, asserting his authority. “The bastard told me he wants you to split your time between him and me since his previous paralegal left last month, and according to him, he can’t find anyone else suitable. Whatever the hell that means. I shouldn’t be surprised, since he’s an asshole. No one in the office can stand him,” he mutters under his breath.

You’re one to talk.

“How am I expected to divide my time?” I ask, keeping my unfiltered opinion to myself.

I’m already stretched thin and worried about how I’ll be able to manage it all if I have to work longer hours at the firm.

“Dawson said he’ll make the final call,” Rob grumbles. “But remember, you’remyemployee. Step out of line, and you’ll regret it,” he threatens, jabbing a pudgy finger at me.

I resist the urge to roll my eyes, suspecting Dawson won’t tolerate Rob’s attempted power play.

“Understood. Will that be all for now?”

“Dawson wants to see you, but don’t take too long. Those files won’t sort themselves.” He nods to a cart of documents in the corner.

I swallow the lump in my throat as I head toward the elevators. Why would Dawson change my job responsibilities when I told him no last week. The last thing I needed was for Rob to find another reason to resent me.

When I get to Dawson’s office, the door is ajar. I don’t bother knocking and head inside. He’s at his desk, buried in paperwork, not bothering to look up.

“Sit.”

Looks like we’re skipping the social pleasantries this morning.

“Do I get a special treat if I do?” I deadpan.

I make sure to keep my smile sickly sweet, an eyebrow raised in silent reprimand.

Dawson’s fingers tapping away at his laptop freeze, curling in on themselves, as his jaw clenches in what I assume is frustration.

“Take a seat.Please.” He motions to the chair in front of his desk. “I take it Rob shared the news?”

I lower myself into the chair and clasp my hands as my nerves attempt to stage a coup on my newly discovered courage. “I appreciate the offer from Friday, but I turned it down, remember? I’m happy to assist Rob with his part of the Irving case, but it’s best if you and I keep our distance. There are plenty of other paralegals in the firm you can assign to work with you directly.” I mentally give myself a high-five for standing my ground.

Dawson looks up from his computer, his piercing blue eye meeting mine. “Let me make one thing clear. Rob Thompson is an idiot, and there’s no chance I’d let him touch this case with a ten-foot pole.”

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