Page 46 of Christmas Candy

I dropped my equipment in my passenger seat and knocked the rest of the sand from my legs and feet. A burst of movement to my right caught my attention. The familiar flash of sun on a lens told me what was going on. The paparazzi were here.

“So, Michael, you and Sadie together now?” The paparazzo yelled from what he likely considered was a “safe” distance. I wanted to wring his neck. How long had he been spying?

“Get bent, motherfucker.” I flipped him off and took a few menacing steps toward his car. He dropped inside in a hurry, slamming his door.

I snatched up a rock from the lot and tossed it at him. It pinged off the roof of his car as he backed up and sped out onto the highway in a swirl of dust and screeching tires. I wanted to drag him out and crush his camera under my heel, but I couldn’t. Even though I’d changed my ways and hadn’t done anything interesting in years, the paparazzi still shadowed me, especially when I was spending the day with models. And now, thanks to Sadie’s exuberance, they had some ammunition.Fuck.

Stalking to my car, I sank into the driver seat and pounded the steering wheel with my palm. Of all the days for this sort of a fuck up. Just forty-eight hours before our wedding, I would have to explain to Jess that I wasn’t fucking a model.

Jess

Ihurried down the hallway. It was already long past five, but the partner I worked for was staying late and expected me to do the same. I’d wanted to leave early and do something special for Michael, especially with all the hectic wedding planning we’d been doing lately, but it wasn’t going to happen. Mr. Avery had exacting standards, and I needed to meet them if I had any chance of a future at his law firm.

The office was empty for the day, most of the staff having already left right at five and the overworked associates leaving soon after. I hoped I wouldn’t have to stay too much later.

The click clack of my heels echoed down the marble hall as I made my way past the cubicles and offices toward the corner where Mr. Avery was located. His dark wooden door was shut, so I knocked.

“Jess?” he called.

“Yes sir.”

“Come in.”

I opened the door and crossed the short distance to his mahogany desk. His office was mostly windows, looking out onto the city from the thirty-third floor. He was one of the firm’s founders, and I was lucky he’d hired me straight out of law school.

“I have all the pleadings you asked for, including their discovery responses from March of last year.” I placed the neat stack of pages on the corner of his well-organized desk.

He leaned back in his plush leather chair. “Have a seat, Jess.”

Shit. At this rate, I’d barely get to see Michael at all and the next day would be filled with tons of pre-wedding preparation. I did as instructed and sank onto his leather couch, but perched on the edge. Maybe he would notice my anxiousness and let me go for the evening.

Mr. Avery was a fit fifty, attractive with only light graying in his dark hair. He wore a dark gray suit and a tie, always impeccably dressed.

“Jess, as you know, I’ll need someone to help me cover the depositions in the Frost case next month.”

I couldn’t stop my smile. The Frost case concerned an electrical infrastructure project that had gone bad based on improper voltage specifications. Seemed boring, but the case—and all the witnesses—was located on the island of Maui. I had never dreamt of getting such a plum assignment so early in my career, though I’d daydreamed about it with Michael. He’d assured me that if I got a chance to go, he’d come along with me and show me the sights. He’d been to Maui several times for shoots.

“So, is that something you’d be interested in?” He stood and walked around his desk before sitting beside me on the sofa.

“Yes!” I exclaimed before calming my tone. “I mean, yes, Mr. Avery. I’d love that.”

“I would need you to be available at all hours. The contract workers with the most information about the project problems work all sorts of different shifts. We’ll have to take testimony on their time. So it’s a twenty-four hour job while we’re out there. Can you handle that?”

“I can do that.” I tucked a lock of my dark brown hair behind my ear. “I’m so excited.”

“I’m glad. You’ve been an exceptional associate so far.” He smiled, something he rarely did.

I didn’t think I could grin any bigger, but I did. He rarely praised anyone. “Thank you, sir.”

“And I hope that on this trip.” He put his hand on my knee, meeting the bare skin beneath the hem of my black skirt. “We can get to know each other even better.”

My grin faded and my cheeks heated with something other than excitement.Oh, god.“Mr. Avery, I don’t think you mean—”

“I know exactly what I mean.” His grip tightened on my leg. “You’re exceptional. We’ll be spending a couple of weeks in the most beautiful spot on the planet. When I said I needed you at all hours, Jess, I meant it.”

I batted his hand off my leg and rose, my heart racing. “I think we’ve had a misunderstanding.” Disappointment warred with anger inside me, and I couldn’t look him in the eye.

He stood. “Come now, Jess. Walking around here in those short skirts, batting your eyelashes at me—I haven’t been imagining these things have I?”

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