Page 27 of Theirs to Take

“Oh?” he asked, “how so? What do you do for a living?”

“Well, I’m a paralegal. At least, I was. That’s how I met Nova. We both worked at her ex-husband’s firm.”

“You wouldn’t happen to be her spy, would you?” he asked.

“Ahh, so you know about the whole spy thing then?” she asked.

“I helped my brother on her case to get Jack back, and yes, I knew about you spying for her. Your information was very helpful in helping Alex get custody of Jack back.”

“I just told her about her ex’s illegal activity, Alex, and well, you did the rest as her lawyers,” Evie insisted. Honestly, she was just happy to help her best friend get her little boy back. Nova’s ex had no interest in being a father. He held onto their son just to spite Nova and that made him a complete asshole in her book.

“You said that you were a paralegal,” he said. “What do you do now?” he asked.

“Well, I’m sort of in between jobs right now,” she admitted. “After what happened at the firm, I was blackballed for helping Nova. I shared documents that went against my NDA and well, that meant an automatic termination of my contract. I’ve been trying to find something for a few months now.”

“Why not apply at Alex’s firm?” he asked.

“Because I don’t want any favors, you know? I want to get a job on my own merit, not because my best friend’s new husband just gave me one,” she said. “It’s silly, probably.”

“Not at all,” he said. “I know how it feels to have everyone think that you’ve only been hired because you’re related to the boss. Everyone thinks that Alex gave me the job because I’m his brother, not because I passed the bar and he’s looking to expand his firm. He’s looking for young, new lawyers to help grow his business. Hell, his own wife works for him as a junior lawyer, but no one questions her being hired because she’s sleeping with the boss.”

Evie giggled, “I can’t imagine anyone saying that about Nova. She worked so hard to pass the bar after they were married. Alex would kill the person who’d dare to say something like that.”

Rod chuckled, “You’re right, he would. He’s very protective of her, and rightly so. She’s pretty fantastic.”

“She is,” Evie agreed. “I love her as if she was my own sister.” The waitress brought back their drinks and asked if they were ready to order. Rod looked like he was trying to decide what to do next, and she wondered if he only wanted to have drinks tonight on their date.

“Why not?” he asked. “You have time for dinner, Evie?” he asked. She wanted to point out that was what she had agreed to for their date, but she found herself nodding instead.

“Sure,” she agreed.

“Do you mind if I order for us?” he asked.

“Not at all. The menu is in French, and I have no idea what to order,” she admitted. He ordered their meals, and she said a little prayer that she wasn’t going to end up with a bowlful of snails or something gross.

“You didn’t order me snails, right?” she asked, leaning across the table to whisper her question to him.

He threw back his head, barking out his laugh, and she was sure that he was the sexiest man that she’d ever met. “No,” he said. “I wouldn’t do that to you, Evie—not when I have a proposition for you.” Crap, this was the part where he was going to ask her for one night together and she was going to have to explain to him that she was a virgin. That was the very last thing she wanted to do on their first date—even if it ended up being their only date.

“Proposition?” she questioned.

“Yep,” he said. “Come work for me. I know that I’m only a junior-level lawyer, but I don’t plan on staying where I am forever. I have a detailed plan for growing my clientele and working my way up quickly. I need a paralegal that I can trust to help me out. How about it?” he asked.

“How do you know you can trust me?” she asked, sending him her sly smile.

“Well, you trust me, or you wouldn’t have let me order your dinner in French for you. And you were Nova’s spy and helped to get her kid back. I think that makes you pretty trustworthy,” he said.

Evie sat back and looked him over, trying to decide if she trusted him and his job offer or if she’d be better off continuing her job search. She had been at it for months now, and she had to admit, it was exhausting trying to find a firm she hadn’t been blacklisted in for breaking her NDA. Word spread quickly about what she had done to help Nova and Alex with the case and the bigwigs didn’t like it. They turned her down at every interview as soon as they saw her name on their schedule. She’d be turned away as soon as she entered the building at most places. One asshole had her brought up to his office to tell her personally why he’d never hire her. Of course, she took his berating with her chin up and when he sent her on her way, she told him to have a good day. Who the hell does stuff like that? She couldn’t seem to bring herself to be mean to other people no matter how mean they were in return to her. That’s why she had dropped out of law school and only became a paralegal. She didn’t think she’d be able to handle the nasty parts of what came with being a lawyer. What did she have to lose by telling him, yes?

“Come on, Evie,” he insisted. “I’ll make sure that my brother has nothing to do with hiring you. It’ll be great,” he promised.

She smiled over at him and nodded. “All right,” she agreed. “I’ll take the job.”

“Great,” he said, “then this can be a celebratory dinner. When can you start?” he asked.

“Tomorrow morning?” she asked.

He laughed again and Evie wondered what she had said that was so funny. “Um, you are eager, and I love that, Evie, but tomorrow’s Saturday.”

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