“Good. I have a draft of the paperwork right here. Why don’t you take a moment to read through it while I go see what’s taking so long on your tea?”
Adam took the paperwork and started reading it. Scott had provided a copy of his contract as well, highlighting the parts that talked about breaking the contract early and with references made in the sidelines of the new documents, it had those outlined to ensure they were following it. It’s one of the things Adam loved about Scott; he always made it easy for him to read the documents and make sure everything was as it should be. He knew Julia was still in the room, watching him read the documents, but at the moment he needed to focus on reading them instead of talking to her some more.
When Scott returned to the room they immediately started talking about the papers and Adam indicated the things he wanted to see changed, while Julia took notes as well and gave a suggestion here and there. Adam noticed that she was very sharp and had an excellent knowledge of the law, while it was also clear she had practically memorized his contract and the new paperwork. Adam could tell Scott was pleased with her and Adam himself had to admit it was refreshing after the last paralegal, who often sat in meetings like a lump of coal and gave little to no suggestions.
“I think that is all for today, I’d like you to come back in the next couple of days so we can go over the revisions,” Scott said once they had gone over everything.
“That’s fine. Is it time for lunch yet?”
“It is as you well know,” Scott laughed. “You always plan our meetings to have some kind of meal or at least drinks afterwards.”
“Possibly,” Adam smirked before looking at Julia. “Would you like to join us?”
“No that’s alright,” Julia replied with a sideways glance at Scott. Adam saw the glance and wondered at that before looking back at Julia.
“Oh come on, I promise the food will be excellent. I’m impressed by your input in this meeting and I usually go to lunch with Scott. I never invited the last paralegal because I couldn’t stand her, but you seem nice.”
“Actually, Julia has another meeting I asked her to cover for me,” Scott finally said. “I knew you’d mention lunch so I asked Julia to stay here in case our next appointment gets here early.”
“Alright,” Adam said, not believing it for a second. He had the feeling Scott had hired Julia for her looks and she just happened to be good at her job, which is what he had done with his last paralegal. If Julia was as smart as she appeared she likely picked up on that, and there was something in Adam that wanted to help Julia out in this. “In that case, Scott why don’t you stay here. I’d like to get to know the girl who will be doing a lot of the work on my contract and make sure she’s up for the job. We just had dinner two days ago so I doubt we have all that much to talk about anyway and I’m sure your client would appreciate not being passed off to your paralegal.”
“Are you sure?” Scott asked, sounding doubtful.
“Absolutely. Julia, would you like to go to lunch?”
“If that’s alright Scott?”
“That’s fine,” Scott said with a forced smile. “Take your time Julia.”
“I will meet you in the lobby,” Adam smiled at Julia before walking out of the room and to the lobby, where he patiently waited for Julia. He was glad she didn’t take long and soon they were walking down the street. “There is an excellent Chinese place just around the corner, is that alright or would you prefer something else?”
“Chinese is fine. So what was that back at the office, with suddenly taking me to lunch instead of Scott?”
“Be honest, and I promise I won’t tell anyone. Has he tried to ask you out?”
Julia sighed and looked at Adam, most likely trying to determine how serious he was. “I’ve suspected he just hired me for my looks. I’m hoping if I do a good enough job he’ll keep me when he finds out I’ll never go out with him. Is that why the last paralegal left?”
“She got engaged to someone else and resigned. I think Scott is great and he’s a good friend, but I would be the first to say he’s a bit of a womanizer. He’ll never cross the line if you don’t want him to, you don’t have to worry about that, but he will ask you out at some point. There is nothing in your employment contract about workplace relationships. Don’t be afraid to say no.”
“I need this job, otherwise I probably would have left already. He has a great reputation and even just a year with his firm on my resume will look good.”
“That’s true, but if you want to leave I will help you find another job,” Adam said sincerely as he held open the door to the restaurant.
“Why are you offering this? You seemed just as interested in me.”
They were shown to a table and Adam didn’t respond until they sat down. “I am interested in you, but that’s because you are not like the other women I’ve met. You don’t care about my fame or money and that is refreshing. You are bright and have both feet firmly planted on the ground. However, there is something about you that makes me very protective and I’m not sure what that is. I will tell you that the offer stands whether you agree to go out with me or not.”
“Well for starters right now you are my client, so you’ll have to wait until we are done with your retirement.”
“That’s not a no,” Adam smiled. “I’ll take it. So tell me about yourself.”
“Well, as you know I just recently moved to this area. The reason I moved was a rather nasty breakup and I just needed a change of scenery.”
“Do you mind me asking what happened?”
“He hit me,” Julia softly answered after a moment of silence. Adam was amazed at how quickly she opened up to him, but to hear that he had hit her infuriated him.
“Then he better hope he never encounters me. There is nothing worse than a man who hits a woman, at least anywhere other than her behind.”
“Excuse me?” Julia asked, stunned and flushing brightly.
“I believe a few smacks on the butt can enhance things in the bedroom, and sometimes a woman truly goes out of her way to earn a few well-placed swats. Oh don’t give me that look, I can tell by your flush that you are intrigued. However, the moment a man hits a woman in anger or anywhere other than her butt its abuse and that is never okay. I’m glad to hear you left him.”
“You would spank a woman?”
Adam almost rolled her eyes when she couldn’t move on from it, and he nodded. “If she agreed, yes. I would never do it if she didn’t agree to it. However, a woman I’m seriously with puts herself in danger and she can find herself getting her butt smacked.”
“That’s a bit high handed, don’t you think?”
“Not at all. I believe every relationship has one who is in charge. It doesn’t necessarily have to be the man, I know plenty of relationships where the woman wear’s the pants so to speak, but I’m definitely more dominant in any relationship I’m in. That doesn’t mean that I make all the decisions and I want her to be a doormat, but it does mean that I expect her to respect me enough not to put herself in danger and to respect decisions I make. I want someone who is opinionated and not afraid to voice that opinion.”
“I suppose you are right in that. I’ve never been the dominant partner in any relationship I’ve been in. So what do you do when not playing football?”
“I love to travel and see new places,” Adam smiled, glad that she was able to move on from the topic which he had not intended to discuss so quickly. “I never had much time for it during the season but I intend to do that more now that I’ll have the time. How about yourself?”
“I don’t really have too many hobbies, but I love to read. I found that after reading legal documents all day and dealing with lawyers, a cheesy book that doesn’t require any thought whatsoever and yet takes me to a world beyond reality is exactly what I need. Movies do the same thing, or TV shows that take me on their journey through life.”
“That sounds like a good way to relax but what do you do to have fun, to get ou
t there and live life?”
“Not much really. I know it sounds boring but I haven’t really gotten out much to do anything.”
“Well I’ll have to see about changing that,” Adam smiled. Their food came and for the next fifteen minutes it was completely silent as they both ate, occasional smiles sent across the table. When Adam paid, despite Julia’s protest, and they left the restaurant he couldn’t help but keep smiling. “I enjoyed lunch. Thank you for coming with me. If you need anything, call me, alright? I know my cell number is in the contacts at your office so make sure to look it up and save it.”
“Thank you Adam, both for the offer and for lunch. I will work hard on your retirement, and maybe once that’s done we can do this again.”
Adam couldn’t help but smile at that, knowing it was her way of telling him to ask her out once it was all done. After watching her walk into her office building, he walked to his car feeling better than he had that morning when he woke up. He was ready to go workout, and he was ready to burn some energy.
A week had gone by before he saw Julia again, as she had been out of the office when he had gone back to finish discussing everything with Scott, and it wasn’t in a way he had hoped to see her again. After dinner with some friends Adam had decided to for a walk before heading home, enjoying the nice evening and not quite ready to return to the solitude of his house. Since meeting Julia, he had not stopped thinking about her and he had felt even more alone in his house than he ever had before, wishing she was there with him to fill the place with love and laughter. When he had bought the house, it had been with the intent to share it with someone one day and there was something inside him that said he had done so with Julia in mind.
As he walked down the street, he took in the normal sounds of Friday night downtown with bars, music, slightly drunk people and people out to have a good time. The sound of a verbal argument wasn’t abnormal either, but when he saw the man take a swing at the woman he was arguing with, his instincts activated. In a few quick strides he was where they were and stopped the man from hitting the woman again, seeing out of the corner of his eye that she was half turned away and trying to disappear into the wall. “I would not hit her again. Get lost before I call the cops.”
The man tried to hit Adam, who easily blocked him and slammed him face first into the wall opposite. “I told you to get lost.”
The man grunted something Adam didn’t understand but as soon as he let go he scampered away from them and after one dirty look in Adam’s direction he took off, clearly having decided he didn’t stand a chance. Adam turned towards the woman and looked at her in concern. “Are you alright?”
She turned to look at him and he almost forgot to breathe when he saw who it was, and saw the bruise starting to form on her cheek. “Oh Julia, I’m so sorry. Come on, let’s get you somewhere safe and get some ice for your face.”
“Don’t worry about it, it’s nothing.”
Adam raised an eyebrow and took her by the arm, firmly but not in a way that would hurt her. He was not about to take no for an answer on this and he was going to make sure she was alright and at least pain free. “Young lady I will decide that. Come on, we need to get you ice and we need to make sure you aren’t hurt beyond a bruise.”
“I will decide for myself,” Julia said angrily before pulling her arm free and taking off in the opposite direction. Adam sighed in frustration and went after her, grumbling about stubborn women.
“You most certainly can decide for yourself but I’m not going to let you leave only for him to find you again. Think of your own safety.”
Julia apparently hadn’t thought of that yet and didn’t seem impressed that he had brought it up so she just glared at him. When they got close to where he had parked, he stopped her from walking further and turned her to look at him. “I don’t want you to get hurt any further. We don’t know where he is and I want you safe. Please come with me, please let me make sure you’re safe? I’m not leaving so if you choose to keep walking I will simply follow you, but my car is right there. My housekeeper is at the house so we won’t be alone if that’s what’s worrying you.”
“Go figure you have a housekeeper. I’ll go with you but only because I’m scared he’s still watching me and at least I know you. One attempt at anything and you will find that I’m not completely helpless.”
Adam tried very hard to contain the smile that was threatening to appear on his face at her attempt at threatening him, before guiding her to his car and helping her in on the passenger side. He was glad she had agreed and something inside him seemed to calm down. He wondered at that and not for the first time wondered if Julia was his true mate, while Cassie hadn’t been. He had felt protective of Cassie, but he had never felt this instinctual feeling that he ought to remain close to her like he had been feeling with Julia.
“So what happened?” Adam asked as he pulled out of the parking spot and headed towards the suburbs.
“That was my ex. He figured out where I had moved to and had apparently been following me. He had been trying to call and I had ignored him, but he had seen us going to lunch last week. He thought we were on a date and he was furious, so he had been trying to figure out where exactly I was because he knew he couldn’t get me while at work. I had been walking around town, simply exploring, when suddenly he was there. You know the rest.”
“I see. I will help you come up with ways to remain safe, one of which is not to go anywhere alone,” Adam replied, recognizing the slightly scolding tone in his voice but ignoring it for the moment. He had to get Julia to trust him fully first.
Chapter Three
Julia had never had much luck with men, and the fact that her ex, Mark, had found her so easily wasn’t a surprise to her in any way. That he hit her wasn’t surprising either but when Adam had suddenly appeared like one of those heroic figures in her books was surprising her. When he tried to get her to safety she knew she should take it but she was attracted to Adam in a way she had never been attracted to anyone. It scared her, and instead she just wanted to get away from him.
She hated that he was right and she knew Mark was likely still around so when he offered to take her to his house, she agreed. His scolding at her being alone at night was justified, and she squirmed in her seat when it made her tingle in places she never thought she’d feel that while getting scolded. It was almost as if Adam truly cared about her safety and he was upset with her for not taking her own safety seriously, when she knew there was a chance Mark would come after her.
As they pulled up to Adam’s house, she almost rolled her eyes when she saw the size. She had expected some huge mansion, and it was definitely huge, but as she got a closer look she couldn’t deny it was absolutely stunning. The outside was a yellow color, with the driveway circling around a fountain in front of the front door. Wide steps lead up into the house, and beautiful flower beds lined the driveway. As Adam opened the door for her, and guided her inside, she saw a beautiful entrance hall. Instead of large and cold, it was warm and inviting with neutral colors and flower arrangements. She had always loved flowers and there appeared to be an abundance of them. Adam guided her to a living room, which appeared to have comfortable couches and a large fireplace, which he immediately lit. To her delight, it was an old fashioned wood burning fireplace and not a new, electric one like she saw everywhere else these days.
Taking a seat on the couch, she almost sighed at how comfortable it was and she wanted nothing more than to curl up on the couch with hot chocolate, a blanket and a good book while the fire roared in front of her. It was picture perfect and like everything she had ever dreamed of having in a home, almost as if this home was made for her. “I have a chef half the week, and he usually makes enough in case I want leftovers the days he’s not here. Are you hungry? I’m sure there is something I can make.”
“I hadn’t eaten yet but I’m not hungry. Thank you though.”
“I’ll be right back with drinks,” Adam said, giving her a skepti
cal look before walking out of the room to what she assumed was the kitchen. She had never expected his home to be so cozy and warm, and it was definitely not the bachelor pad she had been expecting. This was more a family home, and not for the first time she wondered if Adam was honest when he said he didn’t want a trophy wife. Was it possible he had bought this house with the intent to one day raise a family in it?
When Adam returned with hot chocolate, much to her surprise, she took it with a smile before glaring at the plate of food he put in front of her. She was fairly certain she had told him she wasn’t hungry, even though the food looked great, and she did not appreciate him bringing her food anyway. Right?
“I thought I said I wasn’t hungry.”
“You also said you hadn’t eaten yet, so I brought you food since you should eat something. Skipping meals isn’t a good thing. Can I get you anything else?”
“No, I’m fine. I don’t know what to do, I think he has figured out where I live.”
“You are welcome to stay here until you feel safe again. As you can tell there is plenty of space and I have several guest rooms to choose from. My housekeeper lives here and my chef is here three or four nights a week to cook. Otherwise, it’s usually just me. I don’t want you going out there until we know he can’t get to you. What is his name anyway?”
“Mark Baker,” Julia replied, feeling warm inside both from the hot chocolate and from the fact that Adam clearly wanted her to stay safe and was offering her a safe place. She had seen the gates when they had gotten there and knew Mark wouldn’t be able to get through. “You have security, right?”
“Yes, quite a bit of it. Trust me, he can’t get in here and if he ever tries he will wish he never had. Eat something, please. I don’t like to see you not eating.”
Julia looked at the plate and had to admit the food still looked good, and she was slightly hungry despite the fact that she didn’t feel like eating. Looking at Adam she knew he wasn’t going to just give up that easily and remembering his words from the week before, where he had admitted to always being the more dominant partner, she didn’t want to test him just yet so she picked up the plate and started eating. The slight look of approval in his eyes made her feel better, much to her own confusion. She had no idea what it was about Adam that had her drawn to him, almost like they were meant to be together and fate was pushing them in that direction.
Jocked Up: Sports Romance (A Secret Baby Second Chance Romance) Page 58
