Page 28 of Theirs to Take

She sunk back into her chair and rolled her eyes at herself. “Sorry,” she mumbled. “When you don’t have to report to an office every day, you kind of lose track of what day it is,” she admitted.

“I’m sure,” he said, “how about starting Monday?” he asked.

“Monday works for me,” she agreed.

Rodrick

Rod wasn’t sure how he was going to tell not only Nova but his brother that he had hired Evie. He was going to call them on Friday, after his supposed date, but he chickened out as soon as he got home for the evening. He spent the whole weekend hiding out at his penthouse, for fear of running into either Alex or Nova and having to answer a million questions for them. They set him up to date her, not hire her to be his new paralegal. He’d never date his assistant, even if that was how his brother met his new wife. They were happy, but Rod was sure that starting something with Evie wouldn’t end so well for either of them.

He got off of the elevator and walked back to his office. When Alex first asked him to join the firm, he agreed thinking that he’d be down with the rest of the lawyers on the seventh floor. But then, Alex went and asked Rod to join him on the top floor that he reserved for himself. Of course, Rod protested, but Alex insisted and when he did shit like that, there was no going back. So, he moved up to the top floor and had his own corner office that most of the junior lawyers on the seventh floor would have killed for.

“Hey,” Nova said, standing from behind her desk. “How did it go on your date with Evie?” she asked. Rod knew that his sister-in-law would have already called her best friend and gotten the scoop about their date. He knew that her asking him was a trap, and he didn’t plan on falling for it.

He turned around and smirked at her. “You can’t tell me that you haven’t already called Evie and gotten every last detail,” he said.

“I did call Evie and she’s been avoiding me, just like you’ve been avoiding your brother’s calls.” She was right, he had been avoiding his brother’s calls. He had let every one of Alex’s calls go directly to voicemail trying to avoid having to tell his brother that he’d hired Evie and wouldn’t be dating her.

“So, you haven’t talked to her then?” he asked.

“No,” she breathed. “How about you give me the scoop and I’ll track down my so-called best friend to talk to her later.”

“Well, we went out to dinner and had a very nice time,” Rod said.

“So, you’re going to see her again then, right?” Nova asked.

“Yes, I’m definitely going to see her again,” he agreed. He wasn’t lying. He planned on seeing her in just minutes when she was supposed to show up for her first day of work.

“That’s great,” Nova said. “I’m so happy that things worked out for you both. I knew that you two would hit things off.”

“Yep—she’s great,” he agreed. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to get back to my office. I’ve hired a new assistant and I want to be ready for her.”

“Assistant?” Nova asked. “You need an assistant?”

“Well, not really,” he admitted. “She’s more like a paralegal,” he said.

“Is she an assistant or a paralegal?” Nova asked. “You do know that there is a difference, right?”

“Of course I do, but I need someone who can do a bit of both job descriptions and I hope that I’ve found her,” he said. “Have a good day, Nova.”

“You too, Rod,” she said. He didn’t bother to look back to see if she was watching him—he could feel Nova’s eyes boring holes into his back. She’d figure it out sooner or later. He was guessing sooner since, according to his watch, Evie was due in the office in the next five minutes.

Rod called down to HR to let them know to expect a new hire and got the empty office next to his own ready for Evie to move into. It had the basics—a desk, chair, computer, printer, and even two chairs in front of her desk, for when clients came in. He hoped that it suited her needs, but he’d help her find something else if that was necessary.

“Hey,” Evie said from the doorway to her new office.

“Hi,” Rod said. “Um, I hope that you’re okay with this. I was planning on it being your new office.”

“It’s perfect,” she said. Evie walked in and dumped her bag onto her new desk.

“I’ve also called HR and you are due to meet with them, on the second floor, in the next hour,” Rod said.

“What’s going on here?” Nova asked. She was standing in the doorway and Evie’s new office was starting to feel smaller and smaller by the second. “Why are you here, Evie?”

“To start my new job,” Evie said.

“Wait—she’s your new assistant/paralegal?” Nova asked.

“Yes,” Evie said. “I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you sooner, I’ve just been so busy.”

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