Page 55 of Any Cowboy of Mine
There were two sheets, and she took her time with the first. When she was done, she bit her bottom lip and shook her head.
“Drew, what is this? It was just supposed to be this case. I’m just a consultant.” Her voice rose, and she hated that her question bordered on ungrateful.
“It’s exactly what it looks like.”
“What it looks like is a pity offer because you felt bad about how pathetic your last one was.”
“It’s more than that, Sophie. Sure, I feel guilty for lowballing you last time, but this offer has nothing to do with that, I promise. It merely reflects your value. Sophie, our phones have been ringing off the hook since you left with cases just like that woman up there. We’ve got no one who’ll touch them, and frankly, I wouldn’t want anyone in that office to. You’re too good to waste away at that boutique. Think of all the women like Analise you could help. Bottom line is you’re the right person for the job, and that’s all the offer you’re holding there is supposed to show. Is it enough, or do you want more? I don’t want you to feel like I’m selling you short again, Sophie.”
She stared at him, not caring how big her eyes must look, or that her tongue wanted to fall out of her head. Was itenough? She wanted to laugh out loud, if she weren’t in just the sort of place that it would be wildly inappropriate to do so. The compensation package for the job he’d offered her was enough to feed a small country for a decade. It was more than enough, bordering on too much. Not that she would ever tell him that, of course.
“It’s fine, Drew. Very generous, but why now? Why tonight?”
“Well, honestly, it’s been sitting in my pocket for a week now, but I haven’t really had the courage to track you down. I was worried whatever you threw at me would be stronger than a drink.”
Now it was Sophie’s turn to laugh.
“Are you sure about this? I mean, the money looks good, but I’ll want certain things to happen if I come back,” Sophie said. “For starters, a timeline to becoming a partner. None of this ‘half partner’ crap. I’ll also want to talk about a firm-run pro bono office where we can house women and their children while we take on their cases. That poor excuse for a shelter is doing more harm than good. It’ll kill more women than it helps from exposure alone,” she said. She was rambling, biting off more than they could chew, but what did she have to lose? The worst she could do is lay it all out on the table at this point and have him tell her to jump in a frozen lake.
“Read the back page before we get too far down this line of conversation,” Drew said. The corners of his lips played in a smile. She remembered why she’d first been attracted to him when she saw him like this, and though those feelings were long gone now, it was good to see the man happy.
Sophie flipped the first page over, and her eyes darted over the second, not believing what she was seeing.
“Are you kidding?” she asked, her voice a whisper almost lost in the wind. He shook his head, no. “Really, are youkiddingme with this?”
Drew shook his head more emphatically this time, his smile reaching all the way to his eyes in a way Sophie had never seen. He looked ten years younger. She closed the gap between them and hugged him hard, the papers in her hand crunching against his back.
“So, you really mean this?” she asked him, her voice soft against his chest. She was afraid she might start sobbing again.
“I do. We all do. It was unanimous, Soph. The board wouldn’t even think about asking you back unless you came in as an equal partner from the start. Plus, if you look closely, you’ll see you have a dedicated budget for projects just like the one you described. It’s all yours, Soph, if you just agree to give me a second chance as your boss. Partner, I mean. Your partner.”
Sophie laughed, a couple stray tears leaking out from the corners of her eyes. She dabbed at them, nodding fervently.
“Of course. How can I pass this up?” She waved the papers around and Drew hugged her once more. She had everything she’d ever wanted in a career in her hands, and in perfect timing, since she was about to read her new boutique firm the riot act before she gave her notice there.
“You were really great up there, Sophie. I’ve always known it, but I promise I’ll be better about saying it, okay?”
“I won’t complain one bit. But one more thing, Drew, and this one is a deal breaker for me.”
His smile didn’t completely disappear, but Sophie saw the lawyer in Drew sneak back up to the surface. He was all business, which she appreciated.
“You have to promise me this offer is strictly professional, Drew. I, um, I met someone, and while I cherish what you and I—” Drew held his hand up to her, silencing her. She stuck out her bottom lip, this not-so-sweet trait of his flooding her memory. Every time she was about to explainwhyshe’d been eating ice cream before dinner, orwhyshe wasn’t ready for their very important luncheon yet, Drew would hold up that traffic-signaling hand, directing her to shut up. She always felt like a chastised schoolgirl when he did that.
“Drew,” she began, but this time was met with a head shake and the hand.Ugh.He was so infuriating. He grinned ear to ear like he enjoyed every moment.
“Sophie, I’m dating someone, too,” he said.
Nothing he could have told her would have surprised her more. She stood there with her head tilted, mouth agape, staring at him like he had monkeys coming out from behind his ears. That would have been less of a shock to her system.
“You,what?” she asked. She was fully aware she must look ridiculous.
“I’ve been seeing this amazing woman, Marjorie, for a few weeks now. She and I met at one of those dinners you used to despise. We talked all night, and well, it’s getting pretty serious. That doesn’t bother you, does it?”
Sophie let out a brief laugh.
“Not at all! I’m not going to lie, Drew, this whole thing, from the start of the evening with you to now has thrown me for a loop, but none of it in a bad way. I’m happy for you. Is she a lawyer?”
“No, surprisingly enough. She’s the head of a foundation that helps place kids into forever homes. She raises money, and I’m not ashamed to admit she took quite a chunk out of my retirement when she asked me to donate at the dinner. I wanted to impress her, and, well, I guess it worked, but we laugh about it now—she says we’ll have to give up the honeymoon if I follow through on the donation.”
