“My gut feeling says she will.” I groan, pressing the heels of my palms into my eyes. “With you and The Lantern. With me? I have a feeling there’s hell to pay.”
“Yeah.” Gabe laughs, but it’s abrasive and void of warmth as if he isn’t keen on the prospect of Phoebe making me pay for what I did, even though he knows just as well as I do that I’ll deserve every bit of punishment she throws my way. “You seem to get off on that shit, though.”
“She always made me earn it.” I smile fondly as memories of our time together surface, accepting the pill and water Gabe hands me.
“You still think it’s worth the effort?” Gabe wonders. “You’re not the same people you used to be.”
“Doesn’t matter, she’s worth it.”
“Okay, it’s settled then.” He claps me on the shoulder.
“Hey, what’s the deal with Leanne?” I ask, suddenly remembering the weird encounter earlier today, and Gabe freezes on his way to the bathroom.
“Remember the guy Cheryl cheated with?” I nod. “It was Leanne’s husband.”
“Oh. Awkward.” I cringe, and Gabe nods.
“She had a photo of her kid at her station. If I’m guessing his age right, she was pregnant when I blew up the whole affair.” Gabe’s voice is dry, informative, but his eyes betray him. He’s torn up about wrecking a family.
“Gabe, that’s not on you.” I stand and place a firm hand on his shoulder. “You didn’t cheat, you didn’t force her husband or Cheryl to cheat.”
“I sent her the photos, Andrew, of Cheryl and that asshole.” Gabe shakes off my hand. “It was pure vindictiveness. I didn’t have to do that, ruin her marriage as well. It was a douche thing to do.”
“Gabe, come on. You saw the lady.” I smirk when he blushes, knowing full well Leanne is his type with a capital T, down to the pencil hair holder. “She’s a gorgeous, funny, nurturing, southern firecracker. Her ex is the only douche in this story if he cheated on a woman like that, and if it makes you feel better, next opportunity you get just apologize.”
“No!” Gabe cringes at his own panicked response. “I don’t want her to know yet. We have enough on our plate without another scary-ass woman hating on us.”
“Phoebe is not that bad!” I protest. “She’s strong-willed and stubborn as fuck, sure, but she’s smart and kind. She always fights for what’s right, and as much as she adores her ice-queen reputation, if you’re lucky enough to have her in your corner, she will burn the world for you.”
A slow grin spreads across Gabe’s face as he backs up toward the bathroom, lifting his arm and bringing it down while making the sound of a cracking whip, before running to the bathroom and locking the door.
“You’re an immature idiot!” I yell after him, pulling my phone out of my pocket as I retreat to the small sofa in our hotel room.
“Okay.” I exhale as I pull up Phoebe’s contact info. “Let’s get this show on the road.”
Phoebe
“He’s out of his mind!” I declare, rising from my seat and walking to the full wall glass window.
Usually, the view from this room is enough to distract me from anything, the entire city open beneath our feet takes my breath away. But right now, it’s doing nothing to calm my raging and conflicting emotions.
“No, just shrewd.” Hirsch comes to stand next to me, his amused leer fueling my anger further.
“Not everyone is a sneaky SOB like you, Al,” I shoot at him with venom. “What were you thinking, making a dirty move like that, and without giving me a heads up?”
“I’m surprised it took you so long to bring it up. I was curious if your silence somehow indicated you agree to it?” He leans on the window, folding his hands, and I answer by pursing my lips. “Thought so. Look, Phoebe, you’re a great lawyer, probably the best junior we’ve had in years. You’re cold and calculated, ruthless.”
“Thank you,” I reply, though it doesn’t feel like a compliment coming from a man like Albert Hirsch.
“But you also walk on a moral high ground that stops you from doing what it takes to get the job done, no matter what.”
“I’m still here, aren’t I?”
“Yes, and it makes me hopeful that you’re starting to understand what being a partner in this firm will require of you,” he replies, leaning forward, his face gravely serious. “Hamond Zane is a strategic client. More than his money, we need his connections, so do whatever it takes to make him stay.”
“Albert—” I start protesting.
“I’m not saying seduce Atkins and stomp all over his heart in your Louboutin’s, Jenkins. But you have personal insight that could help throw him off his game long enough for us to find a loophole while he isn’t paying attention.”
“Everything on the level, right?” I ask, forcing down the need to chew on my fingernails. “Nothing illicit, just a legal way out of the Will?”
“On the level, Miss Jenkins,” Hirsch assures me. A fierce protective instinct explodes in my chest at his satisfied grin, and I realize something at that moment, cold steel climbing up my spine and reaching my eyes.
“Don’t worry, Mr. Hirsch, I’ll take care of Andy,” I pledge. Hirsch’s hyena-like smirk falters under my gaze. “I’ll take very good care of him.”
My mind is racing as I make my way back to my office.
This whole situation is a tangled web of lies and deceit built on mine and Andy’s heartache and pain. I cannot put myself in a situation where Andy inserts himself into my life again, because then I’ll never be able to detach my heart from him and move on.
But how can I walk away when every fiber of my being is screaming with the need to keep Andy safe from whatever these sad excuses for human beings I call my bosses have planned for him?
And I can’t help but wonder what Gabe has planned for me, or how much of an active role Andy’s playing in it all. Would he still feel the need to protect me as well, or have five years apart erased everything we once shared?
The thought causes a wave of nausea to wash over me, so I decide to focus on the smaller picture. I need to call him. I really don’t want to, but it’s inevitable at this point. And as if reading my mind, my phone rings and his name flashes on the screen.
Karma is a kind mistress, I think to myself as I swipe the green button.
“I was just thinking about you.” I walk into my office, making sure it's closed before taking a seat behind my desk.
“Naked?” I can practically hear the boyish grin in his voice and can’t stop the smile.
“You’re such a predictable cliché,” I throw at him, and Andy laughs.
“So, what’s up?” he asks, and I glower at the phone.
“You called me.”
“Yeah, because you had something to tell me,” he replies. “I could feel it.”
“Right. I forgot about your psychic powers.” I snort into the receiver with an eye roll.
“Funny thing, they only work with you.” I hear a creak and a sigh, presumably Andy sat down.