Page 15 of Legal Attraction
CHAPTER FIVE
TOOBADTHEREhadn’t been a security camera in the elevator. Then Ronan would have been able to watch the tape and verify that he hadn’t just dreamed what had happened that night over a week ago. He would have known for certain that he had actually had sex with Muriel Sanz, the most beautiful woman in the world.
He wasn’t being romantic or fanciful when he thought that. He was just repeating the fact that the world had already declared. She had recently been voted The Most Beautiful Woman in the World by Celebrity International, and she was on the cover of every magazine and all over the internet. He couldn’t get away from her.
And yet he hadn’t seen her in several days. Now he wasn’t sure that what had happened had actually happened. He hadn’t gotten any release from the tension that gripped his body even now.
But maybe he was tense because of this meeting his partners had called. Before anyone at the conference table spoke, he knew what it was about: him.
Tuesday was their usual day to discuss Street Legal business. This was Friday. Of course, the meeting could have been about their partner Stone Michaelsen’s upcoming murder trial. It was the highest profile case he’d had yet—representing a billionaire accused of killing his young bride. What if his case had been compromised? They suspected they had a mole in the office. Some notes from Ronan’s partner, Trevor Sinclair’s case files had been given to his opposing counsel. Trev still won the trial against the major pharmaceutical company, so it hadn’t been a big issue for him.
Not like thosenotesabout Ronan that had been turned over to the bar association. Even though those had been forged, they could still affect him. He could lose his license or at least be sanctioned. And if that happened, it could affect the practice, as well.
He glanced around the table at his three partners. These guys were more than business associates. They were friends—longtime friends. If not for them, he wouldn’t have survived the time he’d spent on the streets as a teenage runaway. And because they were his friends, he needed to fix this so it didn’t affect them at all.
“Don’t worry,” he told them, because it was clear from their somber gazes and rigid jaws that they were worried. “I’ve got this handled.”
“You know who the mole is?” Simon asked hopefully. As the managing partner, he’d taken it upon himself to find the source of the leaked information, but he’d found love, instead.
Ronan would have preferred, and not just for selfish reasons, that Simon had found the mole. It would have been less dangerous for his friend than risking his heart.
“No.” Ronan shook his head. “I don’t know that...” The source had to be someone in their office, someone who had access to their case files.
“We need to find out,” Trevor said. He was still pissed that his big civil trial had nearly been compromised. Then he added, “You need to find out, so you know who the hell is behind this mess with the bar association.”
Warmth flooded Ronan. Trev cared about him. They all did. And he, despite his reputation for caring about nothing but winning, cared about them.
“I’m sorry,” he said.
“I’m the one who was supposed to find the mole,” Simon said.
“And it’s not like Muriel Sanz’s claims are true,” Stone added with unwavering support. “There’s no way you would ever suborn perjury.”
He was glad that they knew that, that they believed in him. If only Muriel could do the same...
She had to know the truth, or she wouldn’t have had to forge the documents. And despite her claims to the contrary, she must have been the one who’d forged them. But if they were credible enough for the bar to investigate, they must have looked authentic. How had she pulled off that without some help?
“Thanks,” Ronan said. “Glad you guys know that.”
“You don’t have to cheat to win,” Trevor said.
“Not anymore,” Simon murmured. He’d been a con artist, trained by his father at an early age to deceive people. Without Simon’s cunning and charm, Ronan and his partners wouldn’t have survived the streets. “But someone else is cheating. It was one thing to take notes from our files, but to forge them?”
“Maybe they only took the letterhead,” Trevor said, “and that model forged the documents.”
That was what Ronan believed—or had believed. After their interlude in the elevator, he wasn’t sure what he believed anymore. He wasn’t even sure he believedthathad happened. He was still so damn tense and needy—for her. He hadn’t even bothered trying to ease that ache and tension with another woman. He knew only Muriel would satisfy him now—until he’d had enough of her.
Stone snorted derisively. “You think she’s smart enough to do that?”
Ronan tensed even more. “She’s not some empty-headed bimbo!” he snapped in her defense. It wasn’t like his friend to stereotype just because of her job. Ronan had known and dated plenty of smart models and so had Stone. “She’s not an idiot.”
Stone shook his head. “I looked over your case file. She had to be an idiot to marrythatguy.”
“A lot of intelligent people marry the wrong people,” Ronan said. His father had been one of them, and he was a brilliant man in all matters but love.
“I don’t doubt that,” Stone said. “But you’re the one who painted her as the empty-headed bimbo.”
“He and Allison McCann,” Trevor said with a sigh that sounded almost regretful.
