Page 22 of Legal Passion
Stone peered at his friend through eyes bleary from lack of sleep. “Funny, but you don’t look like my assistant.”
Trev chuckled. “Seems like you need one for this trial. And, lucky for you, I happen to be between cases of my own.”
Allison glanced at him with just a flicker of an expression. Stone couldn’t be certain but she seemed faintly surprised. He wasn’t. He knew Trev was just weighing which case he wanted to tackle next. He had plenty of requests for representation. But he was looking for something that excited him.
Like Stone’s case excited him. Or was it just Hillary that excited him?
Unfortunately, she—and the trial—had also exhausted him. So maybe he could use Trev’s help. He settled back onto his chair, trying not to flinch as his muscles protested how much time he’d already spent at his desk. He waved Trev and Allison into the chairs in front of him.
He turned toward his partner. “So you called this meeting. What’s on the agenda?”
Before Trev could open his mouth, Allison spoke. “You need to do some damage control. You’re losing your trial in court and in the press.”
“Have you been in court?” Stone asked.
“Yes, I have attended a couple of sessions this week,” she said.
He hadn’t noticed her. But then, Hillary was the only woman he’d been noticing for a while now. When she was near, she totally distracted him.
“Oh” was all he managed.
“You’re not arguing with her,” Trev said. He’d also observed a couple of sessions.
“You know Hillary is kicking my ass.” Stone was not too proud to admit it.
“Is that all she’s doing?” Trev asked, his green eyes gleaming with speculation.
If the publicist hadn’t been present, Stone might have admitted the truth to his friend. But they weren’t alone. And he didn’t want to embarrass Hillary publicly. He saved that for private. Of course, she’d been careful to not allow him any more private time with her for the rest of the week.
He nearly groaned over how much he missed her.
Then Trev chuckled. “Guess that’s my answer, huh?”
“I didn’t answer you,” Stone reminded him.
“And that was an answer in itself.”
“God, I hate lawyers.” The words slipped out of Allison McCann almost as if unbidden. She looked as shocked as Stone and Trev were when they turned toward her.
“I’m sorry,” she said, and her pale skin flushed with embarrassment.
Guess she hadn’t meant to say that aloud—especially as Street Legal had to be one of her biggest clients, or else why would she have shown up on a Saturday?
Instead of being offended, Stone laughed. Trev had his same sense of humor and importance, and he laughed even harder.
“It’s just that you—that lawyers in general,” she said, “seem to find it hard to answer a question directly.”
“Stone isn’t always like that,” Trev defended him. “He’s probably the most direct one of the four of us.” He turned back toward him and narrowed his eyes as he studied Stone’s face. “That’s why I know something’s going on with him and Hillary Bellows.”
“It’s not,” Stone replied. At least it wasn’t anymore, and he doubted that she would let it go on again.
“That’s good,” Allison replied.
“What?” Trev asked. “You got a thing for Stone?”
She narrowed her eyes in a glare that she turned on Trev. But Stone nearly shivered from the coldness of it.
“What?” Trev asked. “I thought you liked directness.”
