Page 20 of A Legal Affair
“The injured party needs to be put in the position it would have been in were it not for the wrong of the injurer.”
“Which means?” he prompted.
Daniela moistened her lips with the tip of her tongue. Her mouth felt dry as dust. “If we apply this rule to the case at hand, the plaintiffs should get the market value of the livestock, as well as the loss of use in the time before they could have reasonably replaced the livestock.”
Caleb nodded slowly, those fathomless dark eyes fastened on hers in a way that made it increasingly difficult to concentrate. “If the facts of the case were changed so that, say, the Navajo lost a herd of cats instead of highly trained horses, would the court rule the same?”
“That depends,” Daniela hedged.
“On what, Miss Moreau?”
“On whether the judge was a cat lover, thereby placing greater importance on the loss of cats over livestock.”
Her classmates, who’d been heretofore watching the spirited exchange like spectators at a Wimbledon match, now erupted in laughter.
A ghost of a smile played around the edges of Caleb’s mouth. He straightened from the table and sauntered around the podium to turn a page in his textbook. “Good job, Miss Moreau,” he said in a deep voice tinged with humor. “Although you probably should have quit while you were ahead.”
Daniela grinned sheepishly as more laughter rumbled across the room.
After class, she was approached by two guys inviting her to join their study group.
“Nice work briefing theHatahleycase,” they complimented her, eyes glued to her cleavage. She wore a low-cut red shirt and a high-slitted denim skirt that hugged her body like a glove.
“How many people are in your study group?” she asked, leaning over the table to unplug her charging laptop.
“Four so far,” answered the taller of the pair, an attractive blond whose gray eyes immediately latched onto her ass. “We’re trying to keep it at six, like they suggested in summer orientation.”
“Good,” Daniela said briskly. “April and I will make it six, then.”
Two pairs of eyes shifted toward April, who stood almost shyly beside Daniela.
“Cool,” said the other student, a cute redhead with green eyes and freckles. “Do you guys wanna meet now? We’ve got some time before Contracts at eleven.”
“Can’t,” said Daniela, with a surreptitious glance toward the front of the room where Caleb stood talking to a group of students. “I’ve got something to take care of first. Maybe after class on Friday.”
“Sounds good. Catch you ladies later.”
As the pair moved off, April giggled. “This is going to be a great year. With you by my side, I’ll get to meet all the hotties on campus.”
Daniela grinned, but there was only one hottie on her mind at the moment.
“Hey, did you check out the seating chart?” April asked, thrusting her copy forward for Daniela’s inspection. “It’s in alphabetical order, but look where it places you. Smack dab in the middle of the second row, right in front of Professor Thorne’s lectern. He’ll have an up-close-and-personal view of youallthe time.”
“Hmm,” Daniela murmured, both pleased and terrified at the prospect.
“I, on the other hand, have been banished to the far end of the second row, to languish in utter obscurity.” April gave a wistful sigh. “You lucky woman.”
Daniela laughed. “Maybe not. Being in that seat puts me in his crosshairs, and we all know howthatgoes.”
“Yeah, but he’s already cold-called you, so theoretically, you should be safe for a while. Besides, you did great. I think he was really impressed. I know the rest of us were. Anyway, I’m going to the library to get some reading done before class. I’m nowhere near as prepared as you obviously are.” Stifling a yawn, the girl stepped into the aisle and headed up the stairs. “See you at eleven.”
Daniela stayed behind and waited for Caleb to finish talking to students. She couldn’t afford to let him out of her sight,knowing that Shara Adler was probably camped outside the lecture hall waiting to invite him for coffee.
This time Daniela would beat her to the chase.
Gradually the last of her classmates dispersed, and Caleb and his assistant, Emma, started up the stairs together. As they conversed, the woman gazed up at him with pure adoration, leading Daniela to wonder ifanywoman on campus was immune to the man.
As the pair drew nearer to where she stood, Caleb’s dark eyes locked on hers, making her mouth go dry.
