Page 5 of Bonus Daddy
More than that, I needed it.
I had no life of my own.
No wife.
No kids.
No pets. Except the damn cat. I’d tried my hardest to stay away, but since the day Cal brought him home, the menace had decided that I was his human servant.
My entire existence revolved around my job. I’d long ago given up on having more than this. But I could make her life a little better. Even if it would be an uphill battle.
“Can you take the case?” With her head lowered in uncertainty, she had to look at me through those long, dark lashes again.
The answer should have been no. My workload was barely manageable as it was. Relocation cases were time-consuming, and I couldn’t in good conscience bill this single mom my usual rate. Especially when she’d already spent so much money on the parent coordinator and guardian ad litem.
But there was no universe in which I wouldn’t help her. From the little information I had, it was clear she’d been in a bad marriage and then suffered through an even worse divorce.
“Yes.”
The smile that spread slowly across her face was worth every late night I’d endure while prepping this motion.
Eyes crinkling and dimple appearing, she stood. “Thank you, Brian.” Her voice wobbled on my name, and once again, her tears got the best of her.
“Happy to help,” I said as I guided her to the door. “And I’m sorry about earlier. Seeing you was kind of a shock.”
She smiled, and I felt warmth spread through my chest. “Don’t worry about it. I gotta say, though, between this office and you running off, I was planning to climb out that window.”
She gestured to the old metal-crank window on the side of my office.
“Joke’s on you,” I said. “That thing hasn’t opened for twenty years.”
She narrowed her eyes. “Isn’t that a fire hazard?”
“This entire building is a fire hazard, and I’ll save the story of why we’re here for our next meeting. I want to call the court and see if I can file the notice of representation before it closes in an hour.”
Her face brightened, and before I could realize what was happening, she threw her arms around me and crushed me in a hug. She was a lot shorter than me, but she was strong, her body toned in some places but soft in others. The feel of her lit up emotions I no longer thought I was capable of experiencing.
I froze, my breath held. I didn’t hug my clients.
But the warmth of her body and the strange familiarity felt right. Maybe it was muscle memory. Maybe it was some strange response from my olfactory system as her scent washed over me.
But nothing had felt this right in a long, long time.
Wrapped in her arms, it felt like I was finally home after years and years away.
So I hugged her back, closing my eyes and inhaling deeply.
Knowing full well she would be my downfall.
Chapter 3
Jess
My meeting at the law office this morning was confusing, to say the least. I was still processing how my college boyfriend, who was, strangely, wearing a tiara with his Tom Ford suit, had run out of the room after seeing me for the first time in almost twenty years.
Maybe it would have been a hit to my ego if my ego hadn’t long ago been destroyed by my ex-husband, along with my self-esteem, my confidence, and my financial future.
And if that wasn’t bad enough, I’d had the strangest interaction when I walked out the door. Madame Esmeralda, who was a regular at my vinyasa classes, had appeared on the sidewalk. Instead of the brightly colored yoga sets she wore to my class, she was decked out in a long floral skirt, a knit scarf, and several pounds of jewelry. She returned my friendly wave by grabbing my forearm forcefully.
