Page 24 of Tangled Hearts

Fuck, I'd rather be back in bed with Dylan than here right now. We spent the whole weekend together. He hung around while I worked, alternating between feeding me, giving me mind-blowing orgasms, and watching reality TV. What more could a girl ask for?

“Do you see my face, Natalie?” Morris points to the mark under his eyes.

"Yes." I force myself to suppress a smile. She nailed him good. I wish that had been captured on video. I would play it on repeat.

“Give her half.”

“I would advise against that. I assure you that this lawsuit will make headlines before the courthouse clerk has it in the system."

“Offer the cunt half and say I’m thinking of my own lawsuit against her.”

Oh my God. That headache is starting to throb now.

“Let’s conference in Shelly.” I pull out my phone, and Morris rolls his eyes. "You hired them and us to perform a job. You have to let us do that. We’re the professionals here. What is the point of hiring us if you don't take our advice?” I try to reason with him. This is going nowhere fast.

“Right,” he scoffs, and I grit my teeth because he’s never spoken to my boss or the other male lawyers that way. I think the only reason he doesn’t demand to have another lawyer in here and me off the case is because he keeps trying to get a peek down my blouse.

And this fucker is so damn cocky. I’m pretty sure he’s still trying to get me to go out with him on a date that is only for sex in the end. I get Shelly on the phone, and it takes us an hour to get him to agree.

“I just want you to know I’m not happy about this,” Morris mutters, pulling out his phone.

"Drake will make a few calls after I inform the woman’s lawyer of your agreement. He’s confident he will have the charges dropped by the end of the day tomorrow.” My boss is friendly with the DA.

Once they get word, the witness is out; everything will get dropped, but Drake can fast-line it. Hell, he might have it doneby the end of the day, but I don’t want Morris blowing up my phone tonight if he doesn't.

“There never should have been any.” I ignore his comment.

“Shelly is going to send me over the new statement about this all being a misunderstanding.”

“An accident,” Morris adds.

“I'll go over it, and it should be good to go.”

“Still not happy about this.”

“Is there anything else we should cover today?” I ask while wondering if I’ll get to see Dylan tonight. That would turn this day around.

“You know what would make me happy.” That smirk he thinks is charming pulls at his lips. “If we got a bite to eat. I’m starving.” He licks his lips.

“No. I have to get this all wrapped. We want it done as quickly as possible.” I’m trying not to be rude to him, but I’m finding I may have to put him in his place sooner rather than later.

“You really have a stick up your ass,” Morris grumbles, standing. “If you replaced it with a dick, you might smile more.” It takes everything I have to remain professional, but I somehow manage it.

“I think we’re done for today, Mr. Morris,” I tell him as he makes his way to the door.

“Oh, we’re not done, Natalie.” Morris winks at me. “Far from it,” he adds before stepping out of the conference room. That unease creeps up my spine because we all know men like him never handle the word “no” well.

Chapter Nineteen

DYLAN

“It’s cases like these that make me want to quit law,” Natalie says. Tonight we’re at my place. I made sure to clean up all the knitting paraphernalia and bought groceries to make chicken parmesan. Brooks gave me a container of red sauce and suggested I pair it with a deep red from his cellar. It cost me a fortune, but the pleased expression on Natalie’s face as she savors the wine makes it worth every nickel spent.

“Morris sounds like he’s not worth the fee.” She hasn’t told me much because attorney-client privilege exists but enough for me to know that working for him is bruising her soul, not her ego.

“He isn’t. I wouldn’t have taken the case myself. My senior partner did it as a favor.” She wrinkles her nose. I pour a little more wine in her glass. She needs it. “Did you have a case that made you decide to pack it all in?”

“No. It was my mom. She got diagnosed with cancer. Dad died when I was fourteen in a car accident. Black ice. Semi.” I pound the boneless chicken a little harder than necessary.“Couldn’t avoid it, and it’s been Mom and me ever since. When she was diagnosed, I had just started my own law practice, and I kept missing her doctor’s appointments. A chemo IV infusion can take hours. Sometimes she was alone, and it just didn’t sit right with me. No case was more important than her.” I throw salt and pepper on the flattened white meat before dredging the chicken in egg first then bread crumbs.

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