It’s packed.
This is not a courthouse. This is a fucking circus. And Felix, he’s the ringleader.
It’s a who’s who in attendance.
First, I spot the hungry newscaster from channel five. She’s a pretty young thing. Perfect shoulder-length blond hair styled to perfection, with a bubble gum smile, and still wet behind the ears. I can practically see her salivating in her seat to get the story.
Little does she know, her boss probably sent her to save himself a headache. There won’t be a story today.
Looking across the room, I notice Gideon. He’s already waiting right where he told me he’d be.
Dressed in a suit, he acts the part of a legit businessman. But seeing him here still feels wrong. Men like him—men like me—spend little time in court. Normally, we are covered in blood while holding some poor bastard’s insides in our hands.
Taking the seat beside him, I nod in greeting but don’t speak. He probably appreciates it. Gideon is a man of few words, and when he speaks, it’s often to scoff or make a snide, sarcastic comment.
A quick glance around has me taking in my surroundings, my gaze finding my target.
Bernard.
He oozes wealth.
He’s not an ugly man—quite the contrary. If I were a woman, I could see the appeal. Tanned skin with salt-and-pepper hair.
Always dressed to perfection, he plays the role of a distinguished businessman to a T.
I should know. I play it just as well.
But I also know it’s bullshit.
We both walk the line, lurking in the underworld in equal measures.
Felix, too, is glancing around the space as if searching for someone. Once he assesses the crowd, he looks over to where his lawyers are standing, one man and a woman.
I pay the man no mind, but it’s the woman who has me curious.
From the way she’s angled, I can’t see her face, but what I can see, I already like. Long wavy brown hair bounces down her back as she speaks to her client.
She’s dressed for court, but she’d be just as comfortable going out to dinner in her outfit. A fitted blazer over an equally fitted dress adorns her body. She moves to lift her sleeve, and an image peeks back at me. A tattoo?
Interesting. Also, surprising.
Who is your lawyer, Bernard?
That’s when she turns toward the back of the room, and my actual fucking breath leaves my body.
Fuuuuck.
“Everything okay over there?” I hear Gideon say beside me, but his words sound as though he’s speaking underwater. I’m transfixed, and I can’t pull away.
Soft lips, that’s the first thing I see. Not too large, but large enough to get the job done. She’s not like the women I’m usually attracted to. She’s a natural beauty, as if she doesn’t wear a bit of makeup and is just gorgeous without the additional help. My gaze continues its perusal of her.
Until I land on her eyes. Eyes that look haunted. Which I can understand because I’m haunted just the same.
“Tobias.” The words filter in, but I still can’t break away.
A tap on my arm hits me next, but I still don’t sever our connection.
She looks familiar.
Eyes I can’t place.
She reminds me of a girl I once met.
Maybe it’s her.
I wait to see if she recognizes me. Not only because I believe we met once, but because everyone does eventually. My face has littered many a magazine. Speculation on where my money comes from. On my bachelor status.
But there’s nothing there . . .
A blank slate.
My teeth clench. She doesn’t know who I am.
Maybe I’m wrong? Maybe it’s not her.
No.
A flare of anger seeps into my veins as I stare her down. We’re locked in a battle of wills. Who will end this first? She does, finally, after long seconds, breaking the connection to turn back to her client.
The muscles in my back tighten. Her dismissal pisses me off even more. I narrow my eyes and continue to watch her. That’s when she does it. She looks back at me.
Couldn’t help herself.
I wink at her and even from here, I can see her cheeks redden. Her eyes go wide. She didn’t think I’d catch her.
Good.
She blinks before her head gives a little shake, and she turns back to her client.
Gideon says something else, but he could tell me the world is about to end, and it would make no difference.
The hearing commences, and I watch her for hours without pulling my gaze away. As time goes on, her arguments become more powerful and heated.
Her voice rising through the air with authority.
She’s dynamic as she speaks. A force to be reckoned with.
“The prosecutor has dragged my client into this courtroom as if he is a common criminal—” But it’s when her gaze meets mine, and her lip tips up into a smirk followed by a wink do I feel my breath leave my body.
Fuck.
There is a strength about her that is admirable. She’s a spitfire. Time passes, but it feels as if it flies by.
The next thing I know, I’m being nudged by Gideon, alerting me that it’s time to go.
The court has erupted in chatter, and Bernard’s lawyers are speaking to him. The case will not proceed to trial. Not that this is a shocker. She’s good.
The client can go because of this woman. I watch them shake hands. I watch him smile at her. Felix Bernard looks at her the way I did, the way every man in this room is.
With lust in his snake-like eyes, narrowing and imagining her beneath him.
My fist clenches at the way she smiles back at him. It’s professional and reserved. Nevertheless, the look she gives him stirs something primitive inside me.
I’ll have her. Snatch her right out from his grasp. Then, when that is said and done, parade her in front of him, all while trying to pilfer information from her on him.
Yes, that’s exactly what I’ll do. I make my decision. Now to make it happen.
“What’s going on?” Gideon watches me intently.
“Her,” I respond, inclining my chin in her direction.
“Skye Matthews?”
My curiosity is piqued. Is she the girl I think she is? She sure as fuck reminds me of her. My past batters against my brain, pushing her image into my mind.
Thrust back into the past, I see a girl. The smile she gave me. No, not a smile but a smirk, coupled with a wink . . .
It has to be her. “Details.”
“She’s with Stuarts, Finkel, and Williams.” One of the best firms in New York City. “She’s a junior associate. I’m actually surprised the senior partner is letting her take lead.”
“Interesting.” This could benefit me. Seth Williams is a weasel, a weasel who, for the right price, will sell Felix Bernard out to the highest bidder, and that bidder is me.
“What do you have in mind?”
My lips part into a smile. I want to hire her.
“With me retiring, I will need a lawyer to help me. . .” I trail off. A plan is settling in place. “I want to hire her.”
“And how do you plan on doing that? They aren’t accepting new clients.”
“Let me worry about it.”
“Seeing as I’m involved in your retirement plans, I think I deserve a better answer than that bullshit one.”
He’s right. Whatever the fallout is, he will probably have to clean up the pieces.