Lawfully His (A Dirty Business Novel Book 1)

by Michelle Betham

  “Yes. Yes, he did.”

  She leaves a couple of beats before she speaks again. “Keeping Evan in line – that can sometimes be a job nobody wants to take on. But you – you seem to be handling him just fine.” She starts to walk toward the door, but then she stops and turns to face me. “Be careful, though, Lola. Okay?”

  I want to ask what she meant by that last comment, but I know it’s best not to. I don’t have time anyway, she’s out of the door and striding back down the corridor before her words have even registered. Does she know what’s going on? Has he done this before? Am I really just the latest in a long line of employees Evan’s bedded, then fired? He’s told me that isn’t the case, that he’s never done this before, but then, why else would Dana say something like that?

  I don’t have time to dwell on it because the second I’m back at my desk Jess is there.

  “Here. This is for you.”

  She hands me a coffee from the deli across the street.

  “What’s that?”

  “A double skinny caramel latte with extra chocolate sprinkles.”

  “Not strictly skinny at all, then.”

  “And a blueberry Danish.”

  “Is it my birthday or something?”

  “Just thought you might want a sugar rush.”

  “Why?”

  “You know it’s common knowledge now, don’t you? About you and Mike.”

  “Yes, thank you, I’m aware of his unscheduled announcement. Still not sure what coffee and a Danish have got to do with anything, though.”

  “That’s just me being a caring friend. After a night working late with Evan King I thought you might need perking up. Although, I hear he paid for you to spend the night at the hotel.”

  “Where’d you hear that?”

  “Mike.”

  “Is he telling everybody everything today?”

  I’m kind of angry now. No, make that really angry, because he’s playing a game I have no interest taking part in.

  “Talk about an extravagant bonus,” Jess sighs, resting her chin in the palm of her hand as she leans against my cubicle. “Wouldn’t have done that for any of my secretaries.”

  I can’t help smiling slightly. “Remind me never to work for you, then.”

  She reaches over and helps herself to a piece of Danish. “You’re not happy though. Are you? About Mike making your past relationship today’s office gossip.”

  No, I’m not, but I can handle him. “It was going to come out eventually. It’s already reached Dana, she’s just been here to make sure it isn’t going to be a problem, me and Mike working together.”

  “And what did you tell her?”

  “That it’s going to affect everything I do, what do you think I told her?”

  Jess picks up my coffee and hands it to me again. “You need this. Drink it.”

  I sit back in my chair and sigh. “I’m sorry, Jess. It was a late one last night, and now we’ve got to make sure this meeting with Jackson Gray goes to plan this afternoon and…” I look at her. “I think I’m more tired than I’m letting on, that’s all.”

  “Evan’s got you working too hard. Try and take some time out for yourself, okay? He doesn’t get to control everything in your life.”

  She throws me a smile and heads off down the corridor, and I lean forward and push both hands through my hair, Jess’s words ringing in my ears. If only she knew just how much of my life Evan King really does control; how much I let him control. But that’s the way I want it. For now. It’s just easier that way.

  Evan King is stopping me from making a mistake I don’t want to make again.

  Or is he the biggest mistake I’ve ever made…?

  Sixteen

  Lola

  “You are kidding me. Right? I mean, this is a joke…”

  “It’s not a joke, Kat. I’m moving into the hotel for a few days because I need some breathing space. It’s bad enough having him on at me at work, but then I come home, and he’s here…”

  “So you’d rather Evan King put you up in a stupidly expensive hotel suite like some prized possession, huh?”

  “It’s not like that…”

  “Oh, it’s exactly like that, Lola, come on. Don’t be so fucking naïve.”

  I zip my case shut and wheel it to the door. Evan’s sending Frank over to pick me up and take me to the hotel in a little while and I want everything ready to go. I don’t want to hang around any longer than I have to now.

  “He’s paying you to be his property, to be at his beck and call whenever the hell he feels like it.”

  “You didn’t think me and Evan King were such a bad idea before.”

  “Because you told me you had some kind of control over it all, Lola. What happened to that, huh? What happened to that control? When did this all suddenly become his way or nothing?”

  “That’s not how it is…”

  “You are so full of shit right now, do you know that?”

  “He’s always here, Kat.”

  “Because he still loves you, dumbass. He’s sorry, and believe me, you have no idea how sorry he is…”

  “So, that means, what? I should just forgive him for not turning up on our wedding day – our wedding day, Kat. Should I just fall at his feet and give him that second chance he’s angling for, is that what you want me to do?”

  “He knows what he did was wrong, Lola.”

  “I get that, I do, but I can’t go back, okay? I can’t risk him breaking my heart all over again, and if he’s hurting – Kat, if he’s hurting because I’m giving him the cold shoulder then maybe he’ll start to have some idea of the pain he put me through that day. Maybe he’ll understand just how much he damaged me, when he did what he did.”

  “Aren’t you overreacting just a little bit here?”

  “Jesus Christ… are you kidding me?”

  “What is it, Lola, huh? What is it about Evan King that’s got you acting this way? Is it his money? His power? His enigmatic charm?”

  “Don’t you dare…”

  “Mike loves you, and if you just talked to him…”

  I go over to the window and look out just as Evan’s black Lexus pulls up outside the building. “The car’s here. I’m going.”

  “Come on, Lola, think about this. Please.”

  “I’ve done nothing but think about this, Kat, believe me. And I can’t go back.”

  “He won’t hurt you again.”

  “Like he promised he would never hurt me before? And then jilted me on our wedding day? And let’s just remember whose idea this rebound fuck was, okay?”

  “You’re blaming me for this? I didn’t know your rebound fuck was going to turn out to be some twisted lawyer who’s brainwashed you into thinking being his plaything is the only way to go. This is not my fault, Lola.”

  “No, you’re right, it isn’t. It’s Mike’s fault. He’s the reason why I needed to forget, needed something to take my mind off the fact I’m a thirty-nine year old woman who spent what felt like endless nights sitting in her room, crying like a fucking teenager because her toy boy prick of a fiancé couldn’t handle commitment.”

  “He’s changed…”

  “I don’t care. I don’t care, Kat. I don’t. It’s too late. And I need to go, now.”

  “Lola…”

  She grabs my arm and I look down at her fingers grasping my wrist.

  “What’s really going on between you and Evan?”

  I raise my gaze and my eyes meet hers. “I don’t know. I just know that he’s everything I want right now. Because it means nothing. There’s no emotion, no commitment, nothing there that can hurt me the way Mike hurt me.”

  “I really wish you’d just talk to him, Lola.”

  “I’ve tried, Kat. I have. And of course a part of me still loves him but that’ll fade, in time. And right now Evan is helping me exorcise all that shit. And I don’t expect you to understand any of it but… it’s working.”

  “You don’t have to go.�
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  “I was looking for my own place anyway. And I’ll only be at the hotel for a few days, I’ve already found a handful of apartments I’m going to check out this weekend, so… I thought it would be okay, Kat. I thought I’d be okay, but then Mike came back, and I still thought it would be okay, but he’s killing me. He won’t leave it alone, won’t leave me alone and I … I just need some space. So don’t tell him where I am. Please. You’re the only person who knows where I’m staying, apart from Evan, of course. But Mike – I don’t want him to know.”

  “What am I supposed to tell him?”

  “Anything you like. Just not the truth. Look, he’s going to come and find me at work anyway, he’s going to try and find out where I’m staying, but I’m not going to tell him. And I’m begging you not to, either.”

  “Lola…”

  “Just do this for me, Kat? Please?”

  “Jesus!” She throws back her head and sighs heavily. “I still think what you’re doing is fucked up and crazy and… this is not the way rebound fucks are supposed to play out, Lola.”

  “Yeah, well, sometimes shit happens.” I kiss her quickly on the cheek. “And I’m sorry you’re stuck in the middle of my messed up crap. I really didn’t want that to happen.”

  “You’re walking a dangerous line, Lola, you know that, don’t you?”

  But I’m out of the door now. I’m wheeling my cases down the hallway and into the elevator and I’m on my way to something I still don’t fully understand. I just know that, right now, it’s where I want to be.

  Evan

  I open a fresh bottle of bourbon, grab two glasses, and pour a couple of large shots, downing mine in one. I immediately pour another one. I’ve not long left the office after a successful afternoon with Jackson Gray. We’ve now officially secured him and his company as a client and Cavendish King is in a celebratory mood, so much so that Dana sent all the associates home early – which in her book means before 10pm – before taking Jackson out for dinner at one of the city’s most expensive restaurants. I left her to it. She’s more than capable of entertaining him for a few more hours. I needed to come here, and celebrate in my own way.

  I hear the door open and voices coming from out in the hallway. Frank’s obviously helped her up with her cases, and I listen as she offers her thanks and closes the door. I make my way back into the main living area just as she’s dragging her cases inside, and when she sees me she stops and she looks at me, cocking her head slightly.

  “What’re you doing here? I thought you said you weren’t going to just let yourself in, yet, here you are.”

  “I wanted to make sure you settled in okay, that’s all.”

  She raises an eyebrow and slips off her jacket, throwing it over the back of the cream couch. “I’m only staying a few days, Evan.”

  “You’re not pleased to see me?”

  She looks at me again, and she smiles as she walks toward me, sliding her arms around my neck as she kisses me. “Oh, I’m very pleased to see you, Mr. King.”

  I pull her against me, and the second her body touches mine I feel like I can finally start to put the day – albeit a very successful one – behind me and relax. “So, I did right, then? Coming here.”

  “Yeah. You did. And I take it everything went okay with Jackson Gray?”

  “Better than okay. Cavendish King has a new client, and Jackson Gray’s bagged himself one hell of a lawyer.”

  “Even if you do say so yourself, huh?” The corner of her mouth twists up into a smirk and I push her harder against me, my hands slipping down to cup her perfect ass. “That ego just never goes to sleep, does it?”

  “It’s got way too much work to do to waste time sleeping.”

  She lets go of me and walks into the main bedroom, running her fingers over the white linen bed sheets, and I just watch her. I lean against the doorpost and I take in every inch of her, and I feel that burning need rise up in me all over again. And then she turns around and she looks at me, a slight smile on her face as she walks back over to me, reaching out to take hold of my tie. She pulls me toward her, close enough for her mouth to just rest against mine.

  “Would you like me naked, Mr. King?”

  I’ve slammed her back against the wall before either of us can get another breath out, and I’m kissing her like there’s no tomorrow as we literally tear each other’s clothes off. And I swear to God, I can’t even remember what sex was like before this woman crash landed into my life. It was always fuck ‘em and leave ‘em; no connection, nothing. But I need Lola Burrows like I need air to breathe. And we’re still not talking any kind of emotional attachment here, I just need what she can give me. And she takes what she needs from me.

  I slide my fingers between hers as I push into her, and she moans quietly and grips my fingers tight, her head falling forward as her legs lock around my hips. It’s fast and frantic sex, because I think we’re both searching for our own kind of release here. I know what Mike did today got to her, his taking it upon himself to announce their past history, I could see it in her eyes. He’s getting to her more and more, which means she needs me – needs this more, she comes to me and I help rid her of whatever shit she needs to forget.

  I’ve got her right where I want her now. And that apartment she’s looking for; her own space, I’m about to make that happen, too. She just doesn’t know it yet….

  Lola

  “Are you staying?”

  He turns around and smiles at me. “Do you want me to?”

  “I get a choice?”

  “Come here.” He jerks his head back toward himself and I walk over to him. “I’m not a monster, Lola.”

  “I never said you were. But I thought there were rules now.”

  He raises an eyebrow. “Would those be the rules you said you weren’t gonna stick to?”

  “I said that, huh?”

  “You said that.” He rests a hand on my hip and gently pulls me forward. “Do you want me to stay?”

  “I don’t think it’s a good idea.”

  “That’s not what I asked.”

  “Staying over, spending the night; that isn’t what this was ever supposed to be.”

  He looks at me, right into my eyes, and I feel a small wave of fear well up inside because sometimes, this – whatever it is – it’s confusing.

  “Just take things as they come, Lola. Don’t over think them, don’t analyze every last detail. We’re not at work now.”

  “You’re still my boss.”

  He smiles and cups my cheek, pulling me toward him for a long, slow kiss and I just fall against him. “And that’s supposed to make whatever this is all the more fun, Ms. Burrows.”

  His voice is low and husky and the shiver that wracks my body is deep and strong. He’s got me again, he’s pulling me under, and as he gently pushes my head back his mouth brushes the base of my throat and I groan quietly. I want him to stay, I just don’t know if he should. We’ve only spent one night together; last night, but I’m still not sure it should be happening at all, that it should be something we do on a regular basis, I think it’s too intimate. Too personal. Too risky.

  He pulls my head forward and his eyes burn into mine. “I said, quit with the over thinking, Lola.”

  “I’m going to take a bath.”

  He lets go of me and smiles again, and he gets the message.

  As I walk back inside I drop the robe I’m wearing because I know he likes me naked. He wants me naked, and I’m okay with that. I like to keep him happy. And when I reach behind me he’s there, and his hand slips into mine as I lead him to the main bathroom. I’ve already filled the tub with warm water and expensive raspberry-scented bubbles, courtesy of the hotel; candles are lit and the lighting’s dim and, yes, it’s a cliché but I’m living in a bubble of my own right now. Clichés are fine by me if they involve this man fucking me.

  I turn around and he pulls me against him, his thumbs flicking over my nipples as he leans in to kiss my neck, and I bury m
y fingers in his hair and I know he isn’t going anywhere tonight. That’s already been decided.

  “Are you joining me, Mr. King?”

  He looks up and he smiles that smile and I shiver again. He’s one hot, arrogant son-of-a-bitch but, right now, I have never been more attracted to him, to whatever this is; whatever he is.

  I climb into the tub and sink into the bubbles, closing my eyes as the warm water laps around me. And then I feel a hand on my back as he pushes me forward slightly and climbs in behind me, pulling me between his legs and I lie back against him, keeping my eyes closed as he kisses my shoulder.

  “I want you to stay,” I whisper, reaching back to touch him, my fingertips grazing his neck.

  “Then I’m staying,” he murmurs, and I arch my back slightly as he drops his hand below the water and slides it between my legs.

  He takes hold of my hand as his other one continues to touch me, and then he slips his fingers inside me and I cry out, and he squeezes my hand tight, Jesus, this is so wrong but I can’t let it go. And I still can’t work out how I got here, in such a short space of time, but it happened. I’m sleeping with my boss. He’s paying for me to stay here, in a place where he knows he can play with me, use me whenever he wants, and I’m not going to fight that. Because he knows how much I need it. Am I giving him too much? I don’t know. Right now I don’t care because his fingers are deep inside me, his mouth’s brushing my shoulder, and he’s murmuring dirty, filthy things in my ear that are making me crazy.

  I’m sleeping with my boss.

  My hot-as-hell, arrogant to the end boss.

  And I know I’m in trouble.

  I’m in so much trouble…

  Seventeen

  Lola

  I look up as a box is placed on the shelf of my cubicle.

  “What’s that?”

  “Cake.”

  “Why are you giving me cake, Mike?”