Page 47 of The Lawyer
My feet skitter across the floor as I rush to answer him. I’m so nervous I even knock on the door. Ironic, considering I haven't done that in weeks.
As I walk in, my heart skips and panic starts to twist in my gut. He’s pacing in his office, striding back and forth, his hands in his pockets and his shirt sleeves rolled up. Annoyingly sexy, but not important right now.
“Let's discuss your name. What is it this morning?” He doesn’t stop walking, and thankfully he doesn’t look me in the eye either. He knows. Of course, he knows.
“I’m Willow Etherington,” I reply shakily.
“Willow Etherington, also known as Juniper,” he replies in challenge. This time he’s stopped right in front of me, crowding me and waiting for my answer.
“Well, it seems you already know.” I push the words out, feeling trapped by my own lie of omission.
“What the fuck, Willow!”
He runs his hands through his hair, walks towards his desk and leans his hands on it, his back to me. A huge part of me wants to offer comfort, to plead my sorrow for lying, but instead, my feet are glued to position, preventing me from moving.
“You screwed me over. All this time?” he seethes. His anger catches in his words, but still, I can’t find anything to say in response. What is there? “And the night when Ash was arrested? You could have told me everything then, but you let me believe … Jesus Christ, that outfit. I was fucking jealous, and you were wearing it for me all along.” His words slay me, breaking down any pretence I might have had. All I feel is guilt and regret, muddled together.
“Things got complicated, Landon. I’m sorry,” I start, but my voice sounds fragile and weak.
“Understatement, Willow. Fucking hell. How many others?”
“What?” I ask, not keeping up with him. He’s back to pacing the office, and my eyes obediently follow him.
“How many others do you dance for? Actually, I don’t want to know.” He picks up a paperweight on one of the shelves at the far end of his office and hurls it at the wall. My whole frame jumps at the fury, and I watch as it dents the wall with a dull thud before cracking on the floor.
“Only you, Landon. I’ve never done that for anyone else.” It’s the truth. But right now, the truth is in short supply.
He turns and paces towards me, the same furious glare in place as the paperweight just got. My feet back up until I hit the door. “You know how pathetic that sounds—such a cliché. You’re the only one. I’ve watched you dance for months, Juniper.” He sneers as he says my name, disdain dripping from the word as if it’s poison to him now. “As has every other fucking man in that place.”
“It’s the truth.” I stand tall, holding onto what I can in this argument, including the solid breadth of the door behind me. “You're the first I’ve ever seen outside of The Priory.”
I don't know whether that sinks in or not, but something about his face changes. I can only hope it's enough for him to calm down.
He shakes his head, after staring at me, and backs away to lean on his desk. “However you plead this, you lied to me, and now I can’t trust you.”
“I only lied about this. Nothing else, and that was to protect myself from this reaction."
“I don’t fucking care. You can’t work for me. Astrippercan’t work for me.” It’s clear how he really feels about what I do, for his benefit, in his terse tone. “It's bad enough that you do what you do, but to dare come into my fucking office after you've done it, pretending you're something you're clearly not, and attempt playing with me, your boss, is so fucking unacceptable, I can't even begin to quantify my contempt.”
If he was looking for a way to hurt me, he just found it.
My head lowers, the thought of his disgust rattling what little nerve I have left.
“Get your things. You'll leave immediately.”
My head flies up. “You’re firing me?” The shock is easy to hear. Although, I shouldn’t be shocked. I knew this would be a possibility. It’s part of the reason I didn’t tell him in the first place.
He narrows his glare at me, and that confirms it, but all I can see is his bruised ego, and I’m not taking that. No matter how much I might be in the wrong.
“Well, fuck you. You wanted to fuck me and Juniper. You got it. You don’t get everything on your terms.” My feet finally cooperate and walk me towards him, and I don’t stop until we’re face to face.
“Every fucking thing is on my terms,” he counters. “Especially when it comes to my company. Get out.”
Despite the anger, there’s that fiery connection between us drawing us together like there has been since we met. I stall in place, part needing him, part hating his guts at the moment.
“You can’t do this to me, Landon. I’ve done nothing wrong, and you know it. You’ve got what you wanted. You fucked us both. You can take your contempt and shove it up your arse.”
I watch for his reaction, seeking anything from his cold, blue eyes.
