by Ivy Nelson
Hoping to salvage a bit of their connection, she slid her robe off and went to him.
“I can be professional out there, but in here, I’m yours,” she whispered as she dropped to her knees.
He gave her a pained smile, but she could see the dominance in his eyes when he cupped her cheek. “You’re mine out there too, baby girl. We just can’t let them know that.”
Chapter Fourteen
The next morning, Austin left Patrick sleeping in his hotel suite and slipped into a waiting car at the back of the hotel. It wasn’t quite light out when she left and she wore dark glasses and a hat, hoping to disguise herself so the press didn’t spot her. Glancing around, it looked like she made her escape.
In her office, she got to work on pre-trial motions she wanted to file in her open cases and did some research with the information the paralegal team had gathered for her. Despite the early hour, there were several other attorneys already in their offices as well. It was a quiet time to get work done since they didn’t open for business for another two hours.
An hour before opening time, her phone rang. A glance at the caller ID told her it was her boss.
“Good morning, Mr. Thorley.”
“What the fuck is this about you taking Patrick Sutton on as a client?”
Austin frowned. Why would he have a problem with that?
“I did, Sir. I’ve done work for his company a few times. He needed someone quickly, so I took him on.”
“This case is going to be a media nightmare, Miss Yates. We don’t need those kinds of clients. I think it would be best if you tell Mr. Sutton you can no longer represent him. You need to focus on the case I gave you.”
“All due respect, sir, but I can’t do that. I’m perfectly capable of juggling multiple cases and the one you gave me is a cakewalk. Mr. Sutton hasn’t even been charged yet. I’m just on retainer in the event that he is.”
Her boss growled. “Next time you want to take on a client like Patrick Sutton, you run it through the partners first. High profile clients are supposed to be a group effort. Set up a meeting with Mike and Jack to fill them in on the details.”
Austin shook her head, even though her boss couldn’t see her. “Sorry. I want to fly solo on this one. I think I’ve earned that much.”
“I mean it. Mike and Jack better be read in on this case. And set up a meeting with the three of you and your new client. I’m letting you run solo on the case I gave you. Don’t make me regret that, young lady.”
Austin drew in a deep breath. “Don’t call me young lady. I have to go, Mr. Thorley.” She slammed the phone into its cradle and closed her eyes. He was such a sexist bastard sometimes.
Two hours later, she was neck deep in research and feeling rather disgusted with the world when her phone rang.
“Why is Jack Desmond calling to set up a meeting with me about my case?”
Austin swore. “Sorry about that. When is he wanting to meet?”
“I told him I needed to work some things out in my schedule, and I would call him back. What’s going on, Austin?”
She sighed. “My boss is pissed that I took you on. Says your case is going to be a media shitstorm, and we don’t need that. Since I insisted on keeping you, he’s making me bring Mike, the guy he fucking promoted over me, and Jack, the guy who will probably get promoted over me next, on board.”
Patrick whistled. “I know you won’t want to hear this, but it might not be such a bad idea. It would mean we aren’t crossing ethical boundaries if you let one of them take lead, and the media wouldn’t go quite as crazy if they find out I’m dating you.”
“No,” Austin bit out. “There are no ethical violations with me taking you on as a client. I’m not letting those two ass hats take control of your case. I have a higher win rate than they do. A higher win rate in court. They’re going to get you to make some kind of plea deal. I don’t think Jack’s been in a courtroom in over a year and Mike… don’t even get me started on him.”
Patrick laughed. “So why did he get promoted over you?”
Austin sighed, “As far as I can tell, it’s because he has a dick and I don’t.”
Patrick gave a low growl. “Why are you working there again? You could have your own firm and give them a run for their money.”
Austin snorted. “Chadwick Thorley would bury me. There’s no way I compete with him.”
“We’ll have to disagree on that for now. So, do I take this meeting or not?”
Austin sighed. “Let me think about how to handle it. I’ll call you back.”
When she ended the call, she stood and marched to the elevator to ride up to Thorley’s office.
It was an unspoken rule that you didn’t interfere with another person’s client if they had been the one to bring them in. Why was Thorley doing this to her?
She ignored his assistant and knocked on his door. When her boss opened it, he scowled. “Miss Yates, to what do I owe the pleasure?” he asked.
“I want to know why you’re interfering with a client I brought in. It’s not what we do around here.”
“It is if that client could cause damage to this firm’s reputation. Do you know who his father is? That’s not the kind of client we represent.”
Austin clenched her fists. “Patrick Sutton is nothing like his father and we’ve represented far worse clients.”
Chadwick raised an eyebrow. “How would you know if he’s like his father or not?”
Austin knew she was skating on thin ice. Given his reaction, her boss definitely could not know about her sexual relationship with Patrick. “I’ve told you, I’ve done work for his company before.”
“About that,” her boss said, crossing the room to his computer. “I did some digging, and I don’t see any record of that. What’s his company?”
“Eastman Enterprises.”
“I thought that was David Eastman’s company. You did a good job bringing him on as a client.”
Austin nodded. “Patrick has been working there for several years and took over a year and a half ago.”
Thorley frowned as if he didn’t believe her, which just pissed her off more.
“Fine, but I still want Mike and Jack helping you with this.”
“I have more experience than Mike, and Jack hasn’t tried a case in the last year.”
“I’m sorry, Austin, but you don’t understand the nuances of a high-profile case like this. You need the extra help.”
Austin clenched her fists. She wanted to punch him.
Thorley liked to pretend his firm was the only place she’d ever worked, but she also had five years as a prosecutor under her belt and had been with Thorley and Associates for the past four. She knew what she was doing.
Jack came from a wealthy family and had been out of law school for just over three years. Mike failed the bar twice before he barely passed it. Yet somehow, he was better suited as a partner at the firm than she was.
“I’m sitting first chair on this one. I brought him in. He’s my client, and you’re not taking that from me.”
Thorley’s phone rang before he could respond, and Austin took the opportunity to escape.
On the way back to her office, she sent Patrick a text.
Set up the fucking meeting
Her phone rang as she was stepping off the elevator. “Hello.”
“Is something wrong? I can only guess there is for you to be speaking to me that way.” Patrick’s commanding tone went straight to her clit and had her fighting a needy whimper.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I just got out of a frustrating meeting with my boss and I was pissed.”
“Do I need to put my foot down about you being my attorney when I meet this Jack character?”
Austin sighed. “No. I’m a big girl. I can fight my own battles.”
“Hey, I’m not saying you can’t, but this is kind of my battle too, baby.”
“You’re right. I’ll leave it up to you then. If you haven’t punched him in t
he face by the end of the meeting, I’ll consider it a win.”
Patrick laughed. “That bad, huh?”
“Pretty much.”
“I still don’t understand why you continue working there.”
“I don’t want to talk about my job right now, please.”
“OK, baby girl. I’m calling Jack back, but I want you in the meeting with us. What time is best for you?”
“I have a pre-trial hearing just after lunch. I’m heading to the courthouse now. I should be out by four.”
“I’ll call you when I have something on the books then.”
After they said their goodbyes, Austin grabbed her files and stuffed them into her briefcase before heading downstairs to get a car to the courthouse.
The hearings didn’t take long, and Austin had two of her motions granted and one thrown out. Fairly typical of pre-trial motions. Back in her office, she read the text that said Patrick and Jack would be in her office at four-thirty. Mike was unavailable. The email from Jack was terse. He was not happy about meeting on her territory, but Patrick insisted.
She hit reply and started to say they could meet in the conference room instead but decided against it. If Patrick wanted to meet in her office, she would take it and enjoy making Jack uncomfortable.
Patrick arrived just after four, looking fucking hot in another one of his bespoke suits. God, she wanted to gobble him up. But Jack walked in five minutes after Patrick did, and she didn’t get the chance.
“Mr. Sutton, you’re early,” Jack said. He’d clearly intended to arrive before the client in hopes of gaining control of the room.
Patrick gave him a cold smile and offered his hand. “Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Desmond. I wanted a few minutes to speak with my attorney before you arrived. I’m still not sure I understand the need for this meeting.”
Jack gave a stiff smile of his own. “We take all our clients seriously at Thorley and Associates. We wanted to make sure you saw that, by allowing you to meet with those leading your case. Miss Yates is simply assisting us, though she’s a competent lawyer in her own right.”
Competent? Austin squared her shoulders and did her best not to be a smart ass. Before she could speak, Patrick stood.
“I’m afraid there’s been a misunderstanding. I hired Miss Yates, not you, and I won’t have anyone else at this firm taking the lead on my case. If I need to, I will take my business elsewhere.”
Jack frowned. “I assure you, your case is in good hands, Mr. Sutton. The law allows you to choose your own attorney, but the contract you signed does allow us to have a partner supervising the case. We just want you to have the best.”
“And Miss Yates is the best. I’ve worked with her on a number of projects. I’ve also done my research, Mr. Desmond, and Miss Yates has double the experience you do and has a higher win rate. She’s taking the lead. Perhaps you can assist and learn a thing or two.”
Jack’s mouth opened and closed again. It was rare for a client to do that much research into an attorney at a firm like Thorley and Associates.
Austin cleared her throat. “Was there anything specific you wanted to talk about today, Jack? You are the one who asked for this meeting after all.”
Jack shook his head. “It appears you have things under control, so I’ll just let you two continue. Mike would like daily updates on the progress of the case, though.”
“Oh, I’ll be sending those directly to Mr. Thorley. I know how Mike likes to summarize reports for him. I would rather he gets the full picture.
Austin gave him a sugary sweet smile and stood to shake his hand. I’ll see you at the next staff meeting. So sorry about you not getting that promotion, by the way.”
When Jack left, Austin burst into laughter. “Thank you for that. I didn’t think I could get under his skin so easily.”
Patrick’s expression remained stern. “Your coworkers are assholes.”
Austin smirked. “Believe me, I know.”
“So why stay here? You’re brilliant, Austin. You could work anywhere you wanted.”
Austin cringed. That wasn’t exactly true. There were a number of places she knew she would never be good enough for. “I plan to open my own firm someday. The time just isn’t right.”
“When will the time be right?”
Austin shrugged. “Can we talk about something else, please?”
Patrick sighed. “Fine. What’s our plan for the next few days?”
“We monitor the police investigation and we wait. It may not be a bad idea to get out in front of the media speculation by giving a press conference. It might satisfy them enough to quit stalking you.”
Patrick shook his head. “I’m not interested in talking to the press again. They’re rabid dogs.”
Austin knew he wasn’t wrong, but sometimes you still had to throw them a bone to get them out of your way.
“We could pick a news outlet and a reporter we trust. Do an exclusive interview.”
Patrick shook his head and scowled. “No. I’m not doing it. Just drop it.”
Austin heaved a heavy sigh. “Fine. I’m almost done with work if you want to get out of here. It’s better for us to leave separately. I need to go to my apartment anyway.”
Patrick stood. “That’s fine. I’ll see you at the hotel in a couple of hours then.”
“Are we OK?” she asked quietly as his hand landed on her doorknob. “You seem irritated with me.”
Patrick’s shoulders sagged. “We’re fine, baby girl. This just has me tense, and I really don’t like the way you’re treated around here.”
Austin gave him a sad smile. “Sometimes that’s just how it is when you’re a woman working in a man’s world.”
“That’s complete bullshit. I want you to stand up for yourself, but I can’t make you. I am here to help if you ever decide you want to strike out on your own. Not that I think you actually need the help.”
“You’re sweet,” she said. “Now get out of here. I’ll see you tonight.”
This time, Patrick rounded her desk and pressed a soft kiss to her lips before leaving. Austin tried to put his words out of her head as she finished up her work, but she knew he was right. This place would never treat her right. In the back of her mind, Austin couldn’t help but think she might just deserve the position she was in. She tamped those thoughts down. Once she went down the rabbit hole of the past, it was difficult to dig herself back out.
Chapter Fifteen
Patrick stared down at Austin as she took him into her mouth. Playing the waiting game while his fingerprints were being processed hadn’t been all bad. They had spent the last few nights cocooned in his hotel suite where he funneled all of his pent-up energy into dominating her. They fit well together in the bedroom, and she took everything he wanted to give her. They’d even worked up to the next size anal plug in the training kit he’d purchased.
“How does it make you feel sucking my cock with a plug in your ass?” he asked as he ran a hand through her long hair.
“Dirty, Sir,” she said when she pulled her lips away from his erection.
“Good. I like it when you’re dirty for me. Get my cock back in your mouth and play with yourself.”
She whimpered as she slid a hand obediently between her thighs and began stroking her clit, as she sucked him into her mouth.
He knew it wouldn’t take her long to get to the brink. It had been three days since her last orgasm, and he was enjoying drawing her need out. He would give in to her tonight, but she didn’t need to know that.
“You better not fucking come or you’re in big trouble,” he bit out as he sank into her mouth again.
She squeezed her eyes shut and he knew she was trying to focus on his cock instead of the burning need at her core. When she tensed and her fingers slowed on her clit, he knew she’d nearly lost control. He chuckled. “Very good girl. You’re learning.”
Her eyes opened and she beamed at him. Praise worked well with Austin. Patrick thought it worked wel
l with most subs, though he knew a few who got off on humiliation.
“How sore is your ass?” he asked, pulling free from her mouth.
“Feels like it might actually be on fire,” she confessed.
Patrick grinned. “Is that good or bad?”
Austin gave him a heated smile. “Good, Sir.”
His laugh was sensual as he gave her shoulder a squeeze. “Up on the bed on all fours. I’m going to fuck you and you’re going to hold back until I say you can let go.”
“But you are…”
“I’m going to stop you right there and save you from yourself. Do you really need a reminder of how I feel about you asking if I’m going to let you come?”
Austin sucked in a breath. “No, Sir.”
“Good girl. To the bed with you.”
When she was in position, he settled behind her and rolled the condom on. “I’m going to fuck you hard, baby girl. Just the way you like it.”
He slammed into her and she let out a garbled cry of pleasured pain.
“Please,” she begged as he found his rhythm, fucking her hard and fast. “I’m not sure I can hold back.”
Patrick slowed long enough to fist a hand into her hair. “I believe in you. I’ll help you out, though. You can come when you feel me pull the plug out, but not a second sooner.”
He felt her relax at the knowledge that he would indeed give her the orgasm she’d been chasing for three days.
When he felt his own balls tighten, he rested a hand at the flared base of the silver plug.
“Get ready,” he ordered. With a gentle tug, the toy came free and he slammed into her pussy one final time, as the orgasm took them both over the edge. She cried out as wave after wave of pleasure rolled through her.
“Holy fuck,” she whispered as she lay face down on the bed. “That was the strongest orgasm I’ve ever had in my life.”
Patrick stroked her back. “Now you see why orgasm denial can be so fun. Not to mention how hard it gets me to hear you beg.”
