He laughs. 揑抳e never brought a woman home for Thanksgiving. And you sound jealous.?
揧ou wish.?
揧eah,?he says, 揑 guess I do.?
I don抰 know how to reply to that, so I tell him Keeley is waiting. The office feels even emptier after we hang up.
I work for several hours, enjoying a pathetic little Thanksgiving feast of coffee and cereal bars, and head home after dark. I抦 climbing into my cold, lonely bed when my mother calls.
She抯 on her way home from the bar. Something dies inside me at the exhaustion in her voice.
揇id you have a good day??she asks, struggling to sound cheerful.
揑抦 so stuffed,?I reply. The lie about going to Keeley抯 dad抯 house has worked out well for me this year. 揟hey made two kinds of turkey. How was the bar??
揤ery festive. Lots of drinkers on Thanksgiving, it seems. And the owner brought in Thanksgiving dinner for all of us, and it was a thousand times better than cooking it myself.?
She抯 trying so hard to convince me she抯 happy, and I抦 doing the same. I wonder what would happen if we just put that effort into making it true.
Ben texts on Sunday morning.
Ben: Coming back early because I miss you. And I haven抰 slept since I left. Please tell me you抮e not going into the office.
I lean against the door of my apartment, which has just swung shut behind me because I was, indeed, going to the office. I read those words again: Coming back early because I miss you. They make me feel like a balloon is expanding in my lungs桰抦 delighted, lighter than air, and terrified at the same time of the moment that balloon will pop.
I can抰 help it, though. Today, delight wins out. I unlock my door and kick off my shoes.
Me: I can be persuaded not to go in.
Oh, so casual, when my heart is beating like a drum.
I listen for his knock, and when it finally comes I want to leap over the couch to reach him faster.
I open the door, and he takes me in, wearing next to nothing before him. His eyes go from pleased to feral in a second flat.
揢ndress,?I command as the door shuts behind him.
揧ou first,?he growls, closing the distance between us.
We don抰 make it out of the kitchen for the first round. The minute we抮e done I pull him to the bedroom and position him exactly how I want him.
揧ou抮e not done,?I warn as he collapses on the pillow beside me twenty minutes later. 揝o don抰 get any ideas about sleep.?
His nose burrows into my neck, then his lips press a sweet kiss to my skin. 揥hat抯 up with you today??
揥hat do you mean??I ask, already defensive.
He raises his head to look at me, mouth turned up in a quizzical smile. 揧ou抮e卆ffectionate.?
揑s that a euphemism for horny? Are we suddenly being delicate with each other? Because I抳e got your cum all over my chest, so it抯 a little late for delicacy.?
He laughs. 揘o. I meant affectionate. It抯 almost like you missed me.?
My eyes flicker to his and away. 揑 guess crazier things have happened.?
30
At the next meeting of partners and senior associates, Fields announces that Natalie Brenner and her husband are dissolving both their marriage and multimillion-dollar production company. She is looking for a firm that can handle the divorce and financial proceedings, and FMG is one of several she wants to interview.
My spine straightens, as if electrified. Representing a critically acclaimed actress in her divorce would make my career. I抎 need help with the dissolution of the production company, but it抯 too much work for one lawyer anyway. My first thought, to be honest, is Ben: he oversaw Drew抯 fight with her managers and record company a while ago. He抯 got a lot more experience than I do with the business side of things.
Our gaze meets for a half second, and I can see he抯 thinking what I am: we抎 crush this, together. Fiducia will likely settle once they see how much dirt we have on them桰抎 like to share another case with Ben when it抯 done.
揑抎 be very interested in getting in on that,?I tell Fields.
His gaze cuts to me without turning his head, as if I抦 a small child distracting him and the other grown-ups with my noise.
揅raig,?he says, 揑抎 like you to meet with her.?
It抯 a slap in the face. If Fields had yelled at me to shut the fuck up, it couldn抰 be more cutting than it is. Everyone looks away, aside from Ben, who turns toward Fields with narrowed eyes.
揥ith all due respect, Arvin,?Ben says, his mouth a grim line, 揋emma抯 got more family law experience than the rest of us combined. It would help to have her in on this too.?
揋emma was given two shots at a very lucrative job, which has now gone to another firm,?he says. 揑抦 sure she抣l be happy to assist Craig if necessary.?