Confessions of a Litigation God: A Legal Affairs Full Length Erotic Novel (16 page)

Fucking bitch.
Throwing that shit at Mac. It’s true we were fucking, yes, but
she really doesn’t know that for sure. She’s taking a
wild stab in the dark and only saying it to hurt Mac.

And I’m not
liking that at all. Try to hurt me all you want, but stay the fuck
away from Mac.

There’s no
mistaking the vehemence in my voice. “You need to leave right
now, Lorraine, before I change my mind about sticking to our deal.”

Spinning away from
Mac and glaring daggers at me, she sneers, “Try to go back on
your word, and I’ll sue you.”

I’ve learned a
long time ago that people like Lorraine are happiest when you sink
down to fight on their level. So I rise above and speak calmly. “I’d
like to see you try that, but I’m giving you to the count of
three to get out of this office… or I’ll have security
escort you out.”

Lorraine looks at
Mac, issues a deep-throated snarl, and then stomps past me to leave.
I don’t spare Mac a glance, closing the door and walking to my
desk. Picking up my phone, I dial Karen, who I know is still here.
She never leaves before I do. “Please go to Miss Cummings’
office and watch her pack up. Do not let her on her computer and
escort her out of the building. Get her key before she leaves.”

I disconnect the
call and drop down into my chair with a heavy sigh. Raising my eyes
to Mac, I say, “I’m sorry you had to go through that.”

She narrows her eyes
at me. “Sorry I had to go through that? You just fired someone
because we had a little fight. You’re an asshole.”

What. The. Fuck?

I can’t win
with this woman, so I decide to just shut this conversation down. But
before I can get a word out, Mac looks at me suspiciously, “Wait…
you didn’t fire her out of some misplaced sense of obligation
to me because we were having sex, did you?”

“Absolutely
not,” I tell her firmly, and because I’m still halfway
pissed at her, I add, “While I enjoyed your charms immensely, I
don’t make business decisions based on how good my last fuck
was. And watch who you call an ‘asshole’. I just fired
someone for practically the same thing.”

Mac flinches over my
words, and I immediately feel terrible. It seems that I just don’t
know how to effectively communicate with her, which may be all the
proof I need that it’s best to let her go. While we are
dynamite in the bedroom, it seems between Monday’s Cal fiasco
and today’s Lorraine fiasco, I don’t seem to be able to
say anything correctly.

Taking a deep breath
and gentling my voice, I tell her, “Look Mac… I didn’t
fire her because of you. Lorraine had been exhibiting some very bad
behavior the last two weeks. She’s been yelling and screaming
at the staff left and right, and she’s pissed off a few of my
clients to the point they’re threatening to fire our firm.
She’s not a good fit here.”

“And what was
the deal that you mentioned to her? Or is that none of my business?”

“It’s
none of your business,” I tell her firmly, but gently, “but…
for the sake of making sure you understand that Lorraine being fired
wasn’t your fault, I’ll tell you. Bill and I decided this
weekend to let her go. But we were generous… we offered to buy
out her caseload and give her a severance package to help get her on
her feet if she wanted to start her firm back up again.”

Mac’s eyes go
wide. “That’s why you took her out to dinner… why
you bought her champagne?”

Hmmm. Wonder how she
knew I bought Lorraine champagne? My bet is on Lorraine telling her,
probably making it sound like we were on a date, which I’m sure
hasn’t done anything to make me look better in Mac’s
eyes.

“I took her
out to dinner because I didn’t want to do it at the office, in
case she made a scene, which I’m betting she would have. And
yes, I bought champagne so she would understand what a sweet deal I
was offering her. We weren’t going to have the deal go into
effect until the end of the month, so she could make some plans to
re-open her firm. But I’m not going to leave poison in this
firm to cause discontent. And she
is
poison.”

Looking down at the
floor, Mac absently nods her head at what I’m saying. She seems
to be contemplating the virtue of my words and hopefully, I’ve
managed to say one thing right this evening.

In fact, I might be
on a roll, so I continue, “It’s also why I couldn’t
cancel my dinner with her Monday, and because it was firm business, I
couldn’t tell you what it was about.”

Mac’s head
snaps up and her eyes blaze. I have a sinking feeling I’ve
managed to say the wrong thing again.

“Wrong, Matt,”
she grits out. “You could have just said I’m taking her
out for a business matter. You could have said that, and it would
have been fine. I would have been fine.”

Fuck, I know the
truth of that now, but you think I’m about to admit my weakness
to her? Think I’m about to apologize?

No fucking way. I’m
going to argue my way out of this. I’m a litigation god, after
all.

“You should
have trusted me it was about business. I shouldn’t have had to
explain myself.”

Mac starts laughing,
almost maniacally. “Trust? What trust? You pointedly told me
over and over again that it was just sex. We’ve never even had
a real discussion other than over the five minutes it took to wolf
your pancakes down. You don’t do relationships, Matt…
remember? So tell me… why should there have been trust?”

Man, it burns me
that she’s completely right. For all of my education, for all
of my parenting skills, for all of my courtroom experience, for all
of the women I’ve had begging before me, it appears I haven’t
learned a fucking thing when it comes to communication.

It was nothing more
than a mind game for me on Monday… trying to get Mac to bend
to my will. To prove that I was the one calling the shots and that
she was not getting under my skin. That she was nothing to me except
a great lay. To try and force her to accept my command to stay away
from Cal, and for her to accept that Lorraine was none of her
business.

Except it was her
business. I knew Lorraine probably made enough innuendo to Mac to
make it sound like we were going on a date. And seeing as how Mac and
I had just fucked the rafters down in her apartment two days before,
she had a right… I grudgingly suppose… to question if I
was going out with another woman so soon.

Mac stands up and it
startles me, as I had been so immersed in my self-chastising
thoughts. She turns toward my door, averting her gaze. “You’re
late for dinner. Better get going.”

I nod my head at
her, but I doubt she sees me. She’s already walking away, and
I’m not going to stop her.

This thing with Mac
had disaster written all over it from the start.

First, she was
supposed to be a one-night stand because I only do one-night stands.
I made a mistake in taking it further, just because it was some
fucking amazing sex.

And so what if it
was amazing sex? Best ever, in fact. But it’s not like I won’t
have great sex again. May not be the best ever, but seriously…
even mediocre sex is still good sex in the end. Right?

Second, this was a
disaster in the making because she’s my fucking employee. I
should have my head examined for ever crossing that line. If Mac had
been a different type of woman, my ass probably would have been sued
for sexual harassment. I could have lost my business, my law license…
my reputation. Pure idiocy on my part, and I’m fortunate that
Mac
isn’t
that type of woman. She’s got more grace
and fortitude than any other woman I know.

Third, and probably
most importantly, she was causing me to change. I made exceptions and
broke my own rules, just for the chance to be with her. She made me
feel things and even made me laugh. She was making me soft, and that
is not something Matt Connover can afford to become. I think if I
actually repeat this over and over again, I’ll accept the
wisdom I’m trying to impart to myself.

Yes, it’s best
I let her walk out that door without telling her the truth. That she
was right, and I was wrong. If I were to tell her that, it would give
Mac hope that maybe there is something real between us, and I’ve
come to learn a lot about her lately. She would take that, and like a
dog with a bone, she’d never let it go. She would persistently
push at me to continue this odyssey with her, and if I were to do
that, I would risk losing myself.

The man that I have
built myself up to be.

Protected.

Sheltered from harm.

Ruthlessly alone.

It’s worked
for me well in the past. It will continue to work for me in the
future.

Melody is telling me
a story about her husband, Richard… something about his flight
getting delayed and having to spend the night in an airport. I’m
not sure why she thinks that’s interesting to me, but I nod
every so often like I’m fascinated.

We’re walking
into the main ballroom at the Four Seasons where this year’s
Patrons Gala will be held. I’m all dressed in my tuxedo,
feeling like James Bond. Melody said I looked very “Christian
Grey” when I picked her up, and I was like, “Who the fuck
is that?”

She just laughed at
me and said, “Never mind.”

Scanning the massive
room, I see several half-empty tables and search for someone
interesting I know to sit next to. I see a few good candidates, one
extremely boring judge, and a hot woman in a black evening dress and
no wedding ring sitting all alone. That could prove to be
interesting, and Melody wouldn’t mind.

Then my eye catches
a flash of red dress and long, black hair, and the hot woman sitting
alone is forgotten. Instead, my focus is on Mac… sitting at a
table with fucking Cal Carson. I knew they had gone out to lunch last
week, but I’m stunned to see them here together.

On a date,
apparently.

My heart starts
beating madly, from seeing Mac… from seeing her with Cal…
both, but it feels like it’s about to explode.

I start walking that
way, like a fucking beacon pulling me in. Melody has to lengthen her
strides to keep up with me since her hand is tucked into the crook of
my elbow.

As we walk up to the
table I spotted her at, I take a moment to just let the beauty of Mac
seep into me. Her gown is full length, blood red, and strapless,
although the material pulls straight across her breasts, showing not
an ounce of cleavage. That’s all right by me… I don’t
want Cal looking at that anyway. Still, the skin on her shoulders
gleams in the ambient lighting, and I’m hoping I’m the
only one in the immediate vicinity that knows just how soft that skin
is.

Her head is bent in
toward Cal, and he says something that puts a soft smile on her face.

Fucker.

I walk right up to
the table and before she even sees me, I let her hear my voice first.
“Mind if we join you?”

Mac’s eyes fly
toward mine and I only give her a moment’s glance, before I
turn to Cal and give him a tight smile. As expected, Cal does the
mannerly thing and stands in acknowledgment of another lady at the
table.

“Sure…
it’s open seating so help yourself.” Looking at Melody,
Cal sticks his hand out. “I’m Cal Carson.”

“Melody,”
is all she supplies as she shakes his hand, during which time I sneak
another glance at Mac. She’s looking at Melody… eyeing
her up and down, actually, and if I’m not mistaken… that
grim look on her face may be displeasure at seeing me with someone
else.

Awesome.

Let me rub that in a
bit more. “Mel… this is McKayla. She’s an
associate in our firm. McKayla, this is Melody. She’s a partner
over at Weinstein Fannerty.”

I have no clue
what’s running through Mac’s head right now, but she
gives a smile and a nod of greeting to Melody, but doesn’t
offer to shake her hand.

Dislodging Melody’s
hand from my arm, I pull out a chair, conveniently placing her in the
chair that leaves the one next to Mac empty. That’s my chair,
and as soon as my butt touches the cushion, I turn to Mac and say,
“You look nice tonight.”

Mac smirks at me and
says drily. “Thanks, Matt. You clean up well yourself.”

I shoot her a
friendly smile, and then give her my back, so I can talk to Melody.
Not that I want to talk to her, but to show Mac that I don’t
need to talk to
her
. That may be juvenile, but so be it. She’s
been indifferent to me for the last week and a half; it’s about
time she got some back.

While Melody
launches back into her story about Richard being delayed in an
airport, which got only slightly more interesting by the fact it
happened in New Dehli, I try to listen in on Mac and Cal’s
conversation.

Except there is no
conversation. Mac immediately asks Cal if he wants to dance, and they
head off to the dance floor. Fortuitously, they are within my line of
sight, and I keep an eye on them while listening to Melody.

“Seriously,
Matt… you have a crush on your associate attorney?”

My eyes, which had
been pinned on Cal and the way I think he may be holding Mac just a
little too close, fly back to Melody. “What? No way.”

She laughs at me,
and it’s a laugh that says,
Oh, you pathetic fool
.
“You’re so obvious. Why didn’t you just ask her to
come to this thing with you?”

I start to open my
mouth to deny again that there’s anything between Mac and me,
but before I can, her eyes go wide and she places a sympathetic hand
on my arm. “Oh God… I’m sorry. She’s not
into you? She’s into that other guy?”

My eyes go back out
to the floor again, watching as Mac and Cal dance. Heads bent in
close, intimate conversation. She definitely looks into him, and I
get ready to just go ahead and admit as much to Melody… when
Cal spins her so that she’s facing me.