Page 3 of Miss Understood

Jesse’s jaw stiffens as he grinds his teeth. I watch his eyes visibly darken—rain clouds might as well be settling overhead. It’s no secret that Jesse actively avoids working with me. So to have one of his cases passed to my desk forreview… He’s pissed.

Technically, as a managing partner, Jesse could swing his dick around and get me removed from it if he really wanted to, but that might make waves with Brad. And I might be a dumb blonde in Jesse’s eyes, but I’m smart enough to know how to use their animosity toward each other to my advantage.

“I’m consulting on the case,” I say casually, ignoring the fact that there’s a man-shaped grenade in my office that’s about to blow.

“Taking it over, you mean?” Jesse tosses the folder into one of the chairs and turns that temperature-dropping gaze on me.

It’s the kind of look that dominates the courtroom, stripping people to their bare souls and making no apologies.

I nod. “Most likely.”

Brad hasn’t told me as much yet, but I know it’s coming. Whenever Brad asks me toconsult,it means he’s not happy with the current direction and wants me to take over. Unfortunately, Brad seems to have made this particular decision without consulting Jesse, putting me directly in the stream of their pissing contest.

Jesse closes in on me, cornering me against my desk. He’s breathing heavily, and I can feel the raw heat radiating off his body. His eyes flick back and forth between mine, but for some reason he’s biting his tongue and not saying anything.

“Not sure why you care,” I say, poking the beast, knowing it’ll get him to stir. But instead of rage, something else crosses his face.Nerves? Panic?It’s a look I’ve never seen on Jesse before. He’s visibly shaken.

After a long pause, he points a finger at me. It’s inches from my chest, but it might as well be a knife cutting straight through. “You know why I do,” he says before storming out of my office.

I might not like Jesse, but what I said was a low blow, even for me. I know exactly why he doesn’t want me near the Marchetto case—his sister is on the witness list. And if there’s anywhere Jesse Davis does not want me poking around, it’s his personal life.

Then there’s the fact that he’s lost three cases in the past couple months. Brad going behind Jesse’s back won’t go unnoticed. Even if it’s not his fault that he’s been riding a bit of a rough streak professionally, people will talk.

Appearances and all.

But that’s not my problem. I’m the right woman for this job.

The perfect woman, in fact.

After all, I’m not thehold-your-hand-and-comfort-you-through-thiskind of attorney. I’m the ruthless, gets-dead-flowers-with-“die bitch”-written-on-the-cardkind of attorney. And if that’s what it takes to be successful in navigating the cesspool of heartbreak, then I’ll embrace it.

So if Jesse has to lick his wounds, flip the fuck out, or flat-out hate me—fine.

My golden-brick road to success is paved with broken hearts. Bring on the next one.

2

Jesse

“Remindmeagainwhyyou hired her?” I storm into Brad’s office, and he doesn’t even bother to look up from his laptop. We might both be managing partners now, but he still treats me like the new kid on the block.

Brad started the firm, something he has no problem reminding me every time we disagree on something. But I’m the one who elevated it to the next level five years ago, drawing in bigger clients, doubling our size. Making us relevant.

Unfortunately, that doesn’t prevent our partnership from feeling more like a war between corner offices.

“Good afternoon to you too,” Brad says, finally slapping the laptop shut.

He sits back against his ridiculously large chair and makes a steeple with his fingers under his chin. He looks more like the Godfather than an attorney, middle-aged but good-looking. Flaunting his well-earned money in his sleek suits and his luxury watches.

“Good afternoon?” I laugh. “Goodwould be a meeting in which Luce doesn’t go off her leash with a client.Goodwould be you giving me a heads up before handing over the Marchetto case to another attorney.Goodwould not be how I would describe today.”

There’s a fine line between control and chaos, and I’m definitely riding it right now. All because of Lucille fucking Stevens. A pain in my ass for the past two years, with her sharp tongue and ice-queen personality. I thought I was a control freak, but that woman takes it to another level. I don’t care if she has everyone else here in a trance from waving her ass around in those pencil skirts—I see right through it. Luce is a she-devil in a pretty package, and she’s going to drive me mad.

“We both know Marcus wasn’t putting in the work that had to be done.” Brad rakes a hand through his salt-and-pepper hair with a look that says he’s annoyed with me.

“Then you ask me to recommend someone else,” I snap. “You don’t go behind my back and hand the file over to Luce. This isn’t just any case—”

“Exactly.” He cuts me off. “Thisisn’tjust any case. Our firm has a lot on the line here, and your team has messed up the last few rounds in the courtroom.”

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