Rapid Pulse: A Limited Edition Spicy Romance Collection

by Gina Kincade

  "Kendall. What did you do?" Mr. Banner yelled.

  My mom came out of the conference room, her face flush.

  "Kendall, sweetheart." She grabbed my arms and pulled me toward her. "What happened?"

  "She fucked my lawyer, that's what happened."

  I cringed.

  "Norman, don't be ridiculous."

  "I can't believe you, Deborah. Using your daughter to get to my lawyer."

  "I did no such thing. Norman, that's disgusting."

  "Stop," I yelled.

  The other lawyers and the stenographer all stood inside the foyer watching our little family drama.

  "Was Ethan in on it? You seduced him and got him to fuck up my case. Here I thought he wasn't aggressive enough. I thought he was too nice to be the kind of lawyer I needed to keep my money away from your gold-digging whore of a mother."

  "How dare you?" Mrs. Banner said.

  "Turns out he was as shady as I needed him to be. Too bad he wasn't on my side."

  "No. That's not true. He is good and kind and honest." I shook my head. "I didn’t...”

  "Of course, you didn't, sweetheart." Mom wrapped her hands around my shoulder. "Come on. Let's go home."

  I shook her off.

  "You're not going anywhere until we get to the bottom of this," my stepfather yelled.

  My mother and stepfather continued to yell at each other. I stepped out of the way and headed toward the elevator. I didn't wait around for the disappointment in her eyes. I stabbed at the elevator button. I had to catch Ethan. I had to explain.

  I didn't know he was representing my stepfather. I had no clue. It never came up. I had to tell him. He had to believe me. The doors opened, and I stepped inside.

  My mother tried to follow, but I pushed her back out.

  "No. I need to get out of here," I said.

  "Sweetheart. Listen. Whatever you did, we'll figure it out," she said.

  Even she didn't believe me.

  I shook my head.

  The elevators closed, and it took three floors before I stopped hearing my stepfather’s booming voice.

  I went to Ethan's office, but the receptionist said he hadn't returned from the deposition so I went to his place.

  I knocked on the door, but no one answered.

  I dropped down on the stoop, the stone harder than I remembered. I had to make this right.

  We'd only been together for a short time, but he was the best part of my day. I couldn't imagine my life without him.

  I surveyed his street. The row houses each a different color. Ethan's was a red brick. The others on his side were a different shade of red and even a pink one on the end. Across the street, it was more colorful with a blue house sitting next to a green one with black shutters. Two white houses with red and green shutters bookended the block. I loved the neighborhood.

  Among all the scandal and drama in DC, these streets told a different story.

  Ethan had such a positive disposition. I had brought chaos into his life when normally he would be helping others navigate the chaos.

  He was the only constant in my life in the past few months, and I didn't want to lose it. I didn't want to lose him.

  I rested my head in my hands, waited, and tried not to cry.

  "What are you doing here?"

  I jumped from his gruff voice.

  He stood in front of me, one hand on the banister. The other white knuckled his messenger bag. He had taken his tie and jacket off.

  "Go home, Kendall." He stepped around me and up the stairs. "I've got nothing more to say to you."

  I jumped up and grabbed his arm.

  "No. You have to listen to me," I said. "I didn't know you were representing my stepfather. I swear."

  "That's a bit of a coincidence, don't you think."

  "It is. That's all it is," I pleaded.

  "You came after me, Kendall." He stepped back "Why?"

  "Because. I liked you. I ... I..." I stumbled over my words.

  "No," he said. "Initially."

  I dropped my head.

  "I knew you were a divorce lawyer. My mother was asking me questions, and I thought if I got to know you, I could ask you about her case. I wasn't trying to get you to do anything."

  "That's not what it feels like." He looked up.

  "I swear. I didn't know until I walked into that room this morning," I said.

  "It doesn't matter." He bowed his head.

  "What do you mean?"

  "It doesn't matter if you knew or not; it's all about perception in this town."

  "I'll tell them."

  "It won't matter." He opened his door. I walked in behind him.

  "Ethan. Listen to me." I placed my hands on his chest.

  He stiffened but didn't push me away.

  "I could get fired for this." He lifted his head. "I could get disbarred. The scandal alone is enough to make sure I never work in this town again. No offense, Kendall; your pussy’s good, but it's not that good."

  Whack.

  I slapped him.

  The force caused him to stumble to his left, and his hand flew up to his face.

  I didn't even mean to, but I saw red. He was trying to hurt me, and I didn't blame him.

  He turned back to me and adjusted his jaw. He took a step toward me but stopped. I stepped back.

  He raised his finger to my face.

  "Stay the fuck away from me." He turned around and walked into his apartment.

  The door slammed behind him and shook the whole house. I flinched and squeezed my eyes shut. When they opened, the world zoomed in and out of focus.

  My hand throbbed. I had hit him hard. I held it while I walked down the steps and back toward campus. I was numb. I felt like a zombie. As I stepped onto campus, I heard a familiar voice in the quad between the dorm and the main building. I hadn't shed a tear the whole walk home.

  It was Ian.

  I hadn't realized how much he and Ethan sounded alike. They looked similar, too.

  He had his arms around Caroline. His hand squeezed the top of her ass. I felt Ethan in my arms.

  I locked eyes with him.

  He narrowed his and stepped back. He took a few steps in my direction. I turned and ran into the dorm. I took the elevator up to the eleventh floor and made it to my room before the tears fell.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Ethan

  I crushed her. I saw it on her face, in the way her body no longer held that strong, confident, defiant stance she had when we met.

  She challenged me.

  I challenged her.

  As soon as she walked away, I wanted her back.

  I was mad and upset but not at being used. I was upset because I had thought she really liked me.

  I dropped my stuff by the door and collapsed on my couch.

  I mindlessly flipped through the television channels. I hadn't been home at this time of day in years. It felt weird.

  After I had left Bethesda, I rode the metro back to DC trying to figure out how much trouble I was in and what I needed to do to get out of it.

  I emerged near Capitol Hill and walked home.

  I stalled. I knew I needed to call my firm before Mr. Banner got to them.

  Connor Jensen, the senior partner in my office, was also my mentor. An alumnus of the law school, he was a visiting professor the year I took a family law course. It was a throwaway course, but I found it fascinating and much more interesting than the nameless, faceless cases I worked on during my summer associate position.

  I dreaded telling him more than telling my parents. They would be disappointed, but Charles would be devastated.

  I called his cell.

  "Hey, Ethan." He answered on the first ring. "I thought you were in depositions all day."

  "Yeah. I stopped it before it started," I said. I looked around. My mind went to the front of the door where I fucked her once. The few times I fucked on my couch and in the kitchen. Hell, even the floor of my bedroom wasn't safe.

>   "What happened?" Connor asked.

  "I've been..." I didn't know how to describe our relationship. "Sleeping with my client’s stepdaughter."

  The line went silent.

  "And to top it all off, she's a law student at our lovely alma mater."

  It remained silent.

  Connor wouldn't see the humor in the situation.

  "Connor?"

  "I'm here," he said. I was happy I couldn't see his face. "What the fuck were you thinking?"

  "I didn't know." I shook my head and stood. "I swear. I had no idea until she walked into the deposition this morning and sat down next to her mother."

  "And you stopped the deposition?"

  "Yes."

  "What did you tell this girl? About your case."

  "Nothing. I never discuss my cases with anyone. I had no reason to talk to her about them." I leaned against the wall. "She pursued me. She came after me."

  "What was she after?"

  "I don't know," I said. I looked down at the ground. "I swear. We never talked about her parents' case. Except..." My voice trailed off.

  "Except what?"

  "She told me things. A few times she'd met me, she was upset about her mother trying to get one over on her stepdad."

  "What did she tell you exactly?"

  "Just about how her mother had a boyfriend. A young guy who was encouraging her to challenge the prenup." She had told me that. That was information that helped my client, not her mother.

  "What did you tell her?"

  "Connor, I don't know."

  "You'd better know. You'll have to describe the conversation to an ethic's board at the least. The DC Bar Disciplinary committee if it goes that far."

  "I didn't do anything wrong."

  "Except ask your girlfriend who her people were." Connor sighed. "The file, you had information on the wife, her kids."

  "I looked. He daughter was listed at Tiffany K. Banner. She was twelve."

  That was her age when they got married.

  "I'll have Harris look into it. Find out who this Tiffany is and where Kendall fits in." Connor sounded like he was reading from a list. He'd been the senior partner of the firm for twelve years. Maybe he'd run into this type of thing before.

  "What do I do?" I needed answers

  "You do nothing until we get more information." He coughed, and I heard him snap his fingers. It was a rude habit he had when he got upset. Now I was sure I had fucked up. At least he had a plan.

  "Ethan. This is a first for me."

  Fuck.

  I hung up with Connor and took a long hot shower. When I got out, I pulled on a pair of shorts and lay down on my bed. It was the only surface Kendall, and I hadn’t defiled with our fucking.

  I watched the sun dance across the ceiling of my room. I drifted in and out of sleep.

  My phone rang. I didn't recognize the caller id. I didn't answer. My head ached, and my heart didn't fare much better.

  Something was nagging me about the whole situation.

  The look on Kendall's face when I yelled at her, accused her.

  She desperately needed me to believe her. I saw it in her eyes.

  I did to some extent, but it still didn't make it better. I could still lose my job.

  I WAS OFFICIALLY PUT on paid suspension pending the review of a complaint filed with the Bar by none other than Mr. Norman Banner. The fucker.

  My cases were passed on to another lawyer.

  Connor called to give me an update daily. They took statements from all parties involved.

  Connor seemed to think this would all blow over. I did nothing unethical. I didn't know.

  I kept busy. I surfed the internet and bought new furniture for the living room, kitchen, and bedroom. I donated the old stuff to a local charity.

  I avoided everyone, including my brother. When he showed up on my doorstep a week later, I wasn't surprised.

  "Hey, man." He knocked and let himself in.

  "Hey." I was lounging on my new overstuffed brown leather couch. "Shouldn't you be studying or something?"

  "Something." He ran his hand over the back of the couch. "Nice. When did you redecorate?"

  "I had some time on my hands." I stood. "You want a drink?"

  I headed toward the kitchen, grabbed two beers from the fridge, and flopped back on the couch. I muted the stupid lawyer movie on television. No wonder people had no clue how the legal system really worked.

  "So you get fired?" he asked.

  "No. I didn't get fired," I answered. At least not yet.

  "What happened?" he asked.

  "I don't want to discuss it with you," I said.

  His face dropped.

  I didn't mean to hurt him. My little brother was another on that list of people I didn't want to disappoint.

  "Listen, man. It's being handled. I'll be fine."

  "You know, you’re not perfect."

  "What?"

  "You, Ethan Resnick, three point eight-grade point average, law review, six figure income right out of law school. You aren't perfect. You're allowed to fuck up," he said.

  I narrowed my eyes.

  "What do you know about it?" I sat up. "I know I'm not perfect. I work my ass off and try to live up to everyone’s expectations. Not like you, little brother. You've never had to fight for anything. It's always been easy for you. I know you have no idea what I'm talking about, but sometimes when you hold something too tight, it breaks."

  "You talking about you, your career, or Kendall?"

  "What did she tell you?"

  "She told me that it was her fault and that I shouldn't think any less of you." He shrugged his shoulders.

  "What else?"

  "That's it." Ian took a swig of his beer. "I guess she already thought I knew. I didn't even know the two of you hooked up."

  "It doesn't matter." I leaned back and rubbed my eyes.

  "She likes you." He leaned over and swiped the remote. "Why else would she come to me to make sure your fuck-up didn't change my opinion of you? Sounds like a pretty dope chick, if you ask me."

  "I didn't ask."

  "Oh. What do I know? Maybe she just wants the dick back." He chuckled. "Resnick men are legendary. What can we do about it?"

  "You're an idiot."

  "I know. I learned from my big brother." He hit me on my shoulder.

  I hit him back.

  We laughed.

  A WEEK LATER, I MADE my way over to campus. In a black suit, white shirt, and black tie, I didn't quite look like a law school student, especially not a week before finals. The campus was full of students in well-worn sweatpants. Girls in messy buns with pens stuck in them. They debated with each other or had their faces buried in a book or scanning an iPad.

  I took a seat at a wooden picnic table in an alcove next to F Street outside the main building. It was my favorite spot. I had breakfast here, studied here. I was inches away from fucking Allison Manning, a cute brunette from my class before security stopped us and told me to get a room.

  I sat on the edge of the table, my feet swinging.

  I had a good time in school. Life was uncomplicated back then.

  Lost in my daydream, I almost didn't recognize her.

  Kendall walked by with another girl. It was the redhead I saw Ian and Brady with at the beginning of the semester. She talked with her hands while Kendall had her nose buried in a book.

  The girl spotted me.

  "Hey," she said and pointed. "Aren't you Ian's brother?"

  Kendall skidded to a stop.

  "Yeah." I nodded.

  "I just saw him, and Brady head off campus. To grab a bite," she said.

  "That's okay. I'm not looking for him."

  "Oh," she said and took a step toward the library but stopped when she realized Kendall wasn't with her.

  "Kendall, you coming?"

  Kendall stared at me.

  "I came here looking for you," I said.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Kendall />
  "Kendall?" Caroline said.

  "Uhm. Caroline. Why don't you go on ahead? I'll catch up," I said to her but couldn’t take my eyes off Ethan. He always looked so good in a suit.

  "Okay." Caroline elongated the word, but continued toward the library.

  "Hey," I said. I couldn't think of anything else to say.

  "How have you been?" he asked.

  "Fine." I shook my iPad at him. "Finals coming up."

  "The most important grade of your law school career," he said and chuckled.

  "That's what I hear." I tucked my iPad in my backpack and stood with my arms crossed. What I did to him was an accident, but he hurt me on purpose. I wasn't sure if I was ready to forgive him. "What are you doing here?"

  "I wanted to see you."

  "You could have called."

  "Yeah, I could have, but then I wouldn't have the opportunity to see for myself."

  "See what?"

  "Whether you still had a thing for me." He flashed me his lawyer perfect smile.

  Damn him for melting my defenses.

  "A thing for you," I said. "It's not like I'm stalking you. Staking out your house or anything."

  "I know." He stood and stepped toward me. "I'm here. I came to you because I knew you wouldn't come to me."

  "Ethan," I whispered.

  "Listen. I'm really sorry about the things I said. How I treated you." He grabbed my arm and pulled them away from my body. "I realized you had no idea who I was either. I had no right to accuse you of anything. It was just one of those things."

  "Pretty fucked-up coincidence." He nodded my head. "When did you realize I didn't know?"

  "Well, you did tell me your stepfather hit on you, but then also you told me stuff that could have actually helped my case. Your mother's boyfriend." He raised his eyebrows.

  "Yeah." A chill ran up my spine. I wanted to hug myself. His hands remained on my arms. "What happened with your job?"

  "Complaint was dismissed for no foundation."

  "I tried to get my stepdad to drop it," I said.

  "I know." He leaned in and hugged me.

  I melted against his hard body. He felt so good and smelled even better.