Page 71 of When You Give a Lawyer a Kiss

After my confrontation with Rob last week, I had my team start digging into his background. I should have done it sooner. I’ve wanted him out for a while now, but his treatment of Reese was the last nail in his coffin, and he’s lucky I didn’t leave him with a broken nose to match his reputation. No one messes with my woman and gets away with it. Especially not a privileged trust fund brat who’s never earned anything in his life.

Whether she admits it or not, Reese Taylor is mine, and I’ll go to any lengths to keep her safe. She deserves nothing less.

Maxwell hesitantly riffles through the dossier, his eyes growing round with shock as he scans each page. When he’s finished, he rips a handful of the documents from the binder and tosses them to the floor. “How dare you,” he shouts. “I should never have let a lowlife posing as a lawyer into my firm.”

“But you did,” I remind him, my lips curving into a sickly sweet smile. “And now it’s time to finally pay the consequences.” I slide another stack of documents toward Maxwell. “I’m leavingthe company, but this is the list of clients that are coming with me.” I nod toward the top page.

His eyes widen as he scans the long list. “This is almost every high-profile client we have.” When he gets to the second page, his jaw drops. “You expect me to waive our employees’ non-disclosure agreements so they can join your new firm? You can’t be serious.”

I lean back in my chair with my hands behind my head, soaking in the satisfaction of having the upper hand. “Try to stop me, and I’ll leak all the evidence that I’ve been collecting. I’m sure your family, friends, and colleagues would be interested to hear what kind of lowlifeyouare. Your weaselly nephew too.” He glares at me when I place a pen in front of him.

“This is your last chance. If you don’t approve my buyout agreement, client transfers, and waive the non-disclosures for our employee, every major news outlet in the city will have the dossier I put together before you’ve left the building.”

Maxwell hesitates, realizing that there’s no getting out of this unscathed. He finally bends forward as he reads through and signs each document. With every passing second, his face flushes crimson, betraying his growing agitation. When he finishes signing the last page, he throws the pen down in fury.

“I hope you’re happy about single-handedly dismantling this firm,” He spits out.

“I’ve never felt better,” I respond, grinning devilishly. “Don’t forget, Maxwell, you’re the one who said you wanted me to resign.”

“Dawson, I have the contract you—” Reese stops short in the doorway when she spots Maxwell. “I’m sorry, sir, I can come back later.” She throws me a sideways glance.

I shake my head. “Stay. Mr. Thompson was just leaving.”

Maxwell glares at Reese before storming out and slamming my office door behind him.

“What’s going on?” she asks. “I heard raised voices and saw that you didn’t have any meetings scheduled. I wanted to make sure everything was okay.”

I get up from my chair, meeting her halfway across the room.

“Were you worried about me, Ms. Taylor?” I ask, my tone teasing.

I wind my arm around her waist, kissing her deeply, groaning with satisfaction when she slips her tongue inside my mouth.

Every kiss we’ve shared has led to this one—all-consuming, ravenous, passionate. Nothing feels better than having her secured in my arms. There’s no chance I’m letting her go and I want everyone to know that Reese Taylor belongs to me.

She breaks our connection, breathless, and places her hand on my chest. “Dawson, we have to stop. We’re at work” she reminds me. “Who just stormed out of your office?”

“That was Maxwell Thompson, the firm’s founding partner.” She’s seen his name on paperwork, but has never met him in person. “He hired a PI to follow me and tried blackmailing me with photos of us outside of Oak Ridge, Georgia’s assisted living facility.”

Reese’s face goes pale, her hand flying to her mouth. “Oh my god, this can’t be happening. We shouldn’t have been so reckless; this could ruin everything.” Her eyes are glassy and unfocused as her gaze darts between me and the door.

I place my hand on her shoulder to reassure her, turning her to look at me. “Reese, everything is going to be okay, I promise.” I cup her cheek, waiting until her focus is on me. “Maxwell underestimated me. Both he and Rob have been doing things they shouldn’t, and I’ve been collecting evidence to use when the opportunity presented itself.”

Reese tugs her bottom lip between her teeth, processing the news. “What if one of them reports us to HR and they fire me? My chances of going to law school will be ruined, and I won’thave enough money to pay for Grams’s care. I can’t believe I’ve been so stupid.” A tear forms and slides down her cheek, and my chest tightens at the sight.

“Red, I’d never allow that to happen.” I wipe away the tear and kiss her forehead. “I’d walk out before I let our relationship tarnish your reputation.” I suppress the amused smile that tugs at the corner of my mouth. “In fact, that’s exactly what I did.”

Reese snaps her gaze to meet mine, her mouth slightly parted “What do you mean?”

I shrug. “I quit, and I’m taking my clients with me.” I motion to the list on the desk. “At the new firm, we’ll adopt a more lenient policy on relationships in the workplace. We’ll have to sign a consensual relationship agreement, and you’ll have a different boss, but it’s a small price to pay to balance our personal and professional lives.”

Reese’s expression is unreadable as she processes the news. “How long have you been planning this?”

“I initially intended to have Maxwell removed from the company when the chance presented itself.; however, over the past few weeks, I realized that a clean slate would be a better solution. Starting a new firm would give me more control over policies and how things are run.”

“Why wouldn’t you tell me about it?”

“You’ve been dealing with a lot, and I wanted to finalize things before I asked you to move in with me.”

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