by Mia Brown
“Do you have a list of names?”
“I can definitely put together a list of names of all the people it could be. The only thing is that I can’t imagine any of them going to such lengths. They’re not bad people and I would never have expected this from them. I don’t know what to do, Blaze. I’m sorry for storming in like this. It’s just… I don’t know what to do. I figured you’re a lawyer and you might be able to help me.”
I thought it was nice that she had come to me in her time of trouble. I realized that I would do anything to make her happy. I didn’t like seeing her upset.
“Okay, if you can figure out who do it, then not only can a criminal charge be placed but you can also sue for damages. And I can most definitely help you with that. But I need to know who it is and I’m going to need some sort of proof.”
She nodded. “Okay, I’ll make the list and go around to their ranches. Maybe I can find a way of getting to the bottom of this.”
“Once you do I promise I will do everything in my power to help you. Nobody should do something like this to you, especially not when you run one of the best businesses in town. I’m sorry that you’re going through this, Dallas.”
She didn’t say anything for a while and I wondered what was going through her head. She was still sitting on the sofa and I was standing awkwardly by the door. I went back to my desk and took a seat and waited for her to talk again. She looked like she had a million different things on her mind. I could tell that she had been very effected by what had happened to her office and I couldn’t blame her. I wanted to hurt whoever was doing this to her.
“You know, Blaze, I don’t get you,” she said suddenly. Her words seemed totally disconnected to what we had been talking about before.
“What do you mean?” I asked. “What don’t you get about me?”
“You grew up in a good town, with good people, and for the most part you seem to want to do good in this world. I mean, look how you’re just jumping to help me without any question. You don’t actually seem like such a bad person and that’s why I’m confused.”
“Well, of course I’m not a bad person. What that person did was wrong and I don’t want them to do it again,” I said even though I had no idea where she was going with this.
“You see. You want to do good. That’s why I don’t understand why you take on clients who have no morals whatsoever. I honestly don’t understand that part of your personality. It doesn’t seem to match the rest.”
I sighed. “Are we onto this again? I know you hate Steve but he’s my client, and I’m not just going to dump him. Trust me, I’m doing my best to make sure that you get the better deal out of this, but I’m not just going to turn his business down because I don’t like the guy. That’s not how it works.”
“Why can’t it work like that?”
“Being a professional means that you sometimes have to have clients you don’t like. You don’t get to pick and choose the ones you want. Life would be great if it worked like that, but it doesn’t. That’s just not how the business world goes. Yes, I want it to go like that, and yes I’m going to try and be more choosy in the future. But at the same time I have to do what’s right for me, and that means taking on clients that help me put food on the table.”
“Don’t be ridiculous, Blaze. You have plenty of money. You’re not so desperate that you have to take on anything. That’s not why you’re doing it.”
“I bet you also have lots of clients you don’t like,” I said. “I bet you deal with people you can’t stand all the time.”
“Absolutely. I have a few that I can’t stand,” she said.
“Well, there we go. That’s the same as me then. I don’t see why it’s fine for you and not for me. Is that a bit hypocritical?”
“It’s a completely different situation and don’t pretend like you don’t know that. You’re a smart guy. You should know these things. I might not like some of my clients but they’re not the ones I’m trying to help. I am in the business of helping animals. Unfortunately, their owners are just part of the deal. I don’t get a choice in who their owners are, but you do get a choice. You can choose. You should choose wisely.”
“And what about professional reputation? That’s a lot more important than you realize,” I pointed out to her.
“Oh come on, you’re getting a bad reputation and you know it.”
“Look, did you come here for help or did you come here to shout at me? Because if you came here to shout then you might as well just leave. I’m not nearly as bad as you seem to think I am, and I am doing my damn best to make it in this world. It’s not easy, but I’m trying. I’m also learning and growing. Now I would appreciate if you didn’t mock my job. It means a lot to me. Anyway, you keep going on about how bad I am for working with Steve. What about you?”
“What about me? I want nothing to do with Steve.”
“Yeah, but yet you don’t mind sleeping with me. That’s a bit wrong don’t you think? I thought you were all about morals and standards.”
I stared at her and she stared back. I could see her pupils dilating. She bit her lip and I could see she was trying hard not to snap at me. But the longer we looked at each other the more I wanted her. Judging by the way she was looking at me, I could tell she felt the same way.
“Dammit you’re so damn annoying,” I said to her. “And so damn hot.”
She got off the sofa and came up to me. “I hate you,” she said and suddenly her lips were on mine.
Thirty-One
Dallas
I wasn’t sure why I was so angry at Blaze. He hadn’t really done anything wrong but I just needed someone to get upset at and he seemed like the best candidate. I quite enjoyed having him there when I was at my most frustrated.
“Are we alone?” I asked him when we eventually pulled our lifts off each other. “The last thing I need is someone walking in and finding us naked in your office,” I said.
He grinned. “We’re going to get naked?”
“Don’t be ridiculous, of course we’re going to get naked,” I said.
“I like the way you think. There’s nobody here, but if you like I can lock the door in case.”
“Yes please,” I said. “The front one too,” I called out.
While he went to lock the front door I took my clothes off and sat on his desk. When he came back he was chatting away about who knows what but he froze the moment he saw me.
“Uh…” he gulped.
“Take off your clothes,” I demanded. I had enjoyed the gentle sex of the other day but I was in too much of a bad mood now to be romantic. And anyway, office sex didn’t lend itself to romance. Perhaps this was better. The romantic sex had confused me and I needed something to get my mind off it. “Give me your tie,” I said.
While he got unchanged I put his tie on me. I had no idea why I did that but I was sure it was something I had seen in a movie. Perhaps it was Pretty Woman but I couldn’t be too sure. I hoped I wasn’t making a fool out of myself but judging by the way Blaze was looking at me I assumed I was doing just fine.
“Can you stay in my office forever?” he said.
“Shut up and come here,” I said. Now was not the time to talk.
Having sex on a desk had always been something I wanted to do. Again, I wasn’t sure why, but it was probably down to a few smutty books I had read when I was younger. There was just something so incredibly sexy about it. Admittedly, it wasn’t that easy. Not only did the things on his desk keep getting in the way, but we couldn’t find a comfortable position. I considered throwing everything onto the floor but figured that wouldn’t really be such a good idea. Instead I jumped off the desk.
“Right, this isn’t working and I want you inside me right now,” I said and I took him to the sofa. He sat down and I climbed on top of him. He entered me immediately and I sighed with pleasure. “Ah, that’s better,” I said.
Blaze played with the tie around my neck which was positioned perfectly between my bre
asts. Every time I glanced down and saw his hands there I realized it was turning me on. Dammit, what was up with this guy? Why did he have this effect on me? Why did he turn me into some sort of crazed monster?
“You’re amazing,” he said but I put a finger on his lips to stop him from talking. I didn’t want him to ruin the moment. I knew I was going to regret what we were doing the moment we were done so I wanted to enjoy it.
Somehow the passionate sex turned into something slower. He stood up with me still on him and lay me down onto the sofa. I hadn’t realized how big it was until then. Once there he kissed me softly, and I moaned at the feel of both his manhood and his tongue inside me. The sensation was overwhelming, and it didn’t take long for me to come.
“Okay, that was incredible,” he said and leaned down to kiss me again.
I knew I should pull away but I couldn’t. The moment was over but I didn’t want it to be. Did I actually like this man? Was I falling for him? Or was it just about the sex? How could I sleep with a man I didn’t even like? I was angry at myself, ashamed at what I was doing, and yet completely unable to stop myself.
Blaze’s phone buzzed several times but he ignored it. Instead he continued to lie with me and I continued to lie with him. Then, the landline on his desk rang and went straight to voicemail. Unfortunately for Blaze, it was on speakerphone and I got to hear the whole thing.
“Blaze. It’s Steve. I heard that Dallas got her window smashed in,” Steve said with a short laugh and I felt Blaze stiffen beside me. “I also know that all the glaziers in town are busy working on projects for at least a week or two. What a pity, right?” he snorted again. Blaze was now sitting up. “So, I think this might be exactly what we need to evict Dallas. The stupid girl. In fact, I don’t even care if this helps or not. I want you to draw up those eviction papers and I want you to tell Dallas that if she’s not out of that place in a week I’ll just bulldoze the place whether she’s in it or not. She might think she got away without a scratch this time, but she might not be so lucky the next time. Do me a favor and make sure she gets the hint. She’s not going to listen to me but maybe she’ll listen to you. Use your charm and all that. Okay. Chat soon. Call me when you get this.”
I stared at Blaze. I knew I shouldn’t have trusted him. I knew I should never have slept with him. Why had I allowed myself to get this close to a man who was clearly only after one thing?
Thirty-Two
Blaze
Of all the times to get a message from Steve, this was not it. I couldn’t believe what he was saying. Most of all, I couldn’t believe the way he was making it seem, like I was happy to go along with whatever scheming plan he had. It was such a Steve thing to do. I had made it so clear to him that I wouldn’t be a part of anything illegal or untoward but he didn’t listen. He believed that I was on his side because he was paying me. That was just the way his mind worked. I looked at Dallas and saw that she was staring at me. She still had no clothes on and the desire to reach out and touch her was strong. The hurt in her eyes told me that this wasn’t a good thing to do.
“Dallas, I’m not on his side,” I said to her. “You have to believe me.”
Dallas hopped off the sofa without saying anything and began pulling on her clothes. I didn’t know what to do so I got changed too. I would feel too vulnerable without any clothes on while she was fighting with me. And if there was one thing I was sure of it was that she was going to fight with me. Either that or she was going to storm out and never talk to me again.
“Dallas, please, listen to me. You’re getting this all wrong,” I said to her.
“Is that right?” she said. She was fully dressed now and was putting on her shoes. She turned to glare at me and the hatred in her eyes was palpable. I thought of the way she had looked at me when we were in bed together and it was like I was looking at a different person. I flinched but tried not to look away. If I looked away it might make it seem like I had something to hide, which I definitely didn’t.
“Yes, I promise you. Hear me out,” I said.
“Why should I hear you out when you’re only going to continue to lie to me? That sounded to me like you and Steve were behind the rock incident,” she said. “It also sounds to me like Steve put you up to this whole thing between the two of us. So you’re sleeping with me just to charm me. Is that right? You are acting like you have nothing to do with Steve when you’ve been by his side all along. I knew I should never have trusted you. I should’ve listened to myself from the start. Instead I let you get your way with me and I will never forgive you for it. I’ll also never forgive myself for it. It’s unfortunately something I’m simply going to have to live with, but I’ll definitely be a lot more careful about who I give myself to in the future.”
“Dallas, I’m going to be totally honest with you. I knew about the repair clause but I definitely didn’t know about the rock. When you told me about it I didn’t even consider Steve as an option. I have told him countless times not to do anything illegal or immoral or stupid. The only thing I have advised him to do is to pay you more. I wanted you to get a good deal out of this whole thing. That’s all I’ve done. Anyway, I’m not even sure if Steve is claiming that he’s the one who threw the rock. He’s an idiot but he’s not stupid. Surely he would know what problems that would cause for him if anyone found out.”
“I think you’re wrong. I think it was him and I think he is stupid,” she said. “Do you really believe that Steve wouldn’t do something like this? Come on, this smells of Steve. This is exactly the sort of underhanded thing he would do. And do you know what you’ve done? You’ve gone right along with his plan. Why? Because he’s your client? Because you’re so faithful to your clients that you don’t care what they do or what sort of a person they are? You disgust me, Blaze. Steve is a bad man but I am honestly starting to believe that you might be worse.”
“That’s not fair, Dallas. And you know it.”
“No, what I know is that I now have to find a new office building because of some dirty tricks that my landlord is pulling with his lawyer. How am I supposed to beat you guys? It’s impossible. You know what, Blaze? You actually had me fooled. For a while there I honestly thought you were one of the good guys.”
“Are you going to the police?” I said. I wished I hadn’t said that. That made me seem like even more of an idiot but the words were out before I knew what was happening. I had always been on her side but I didn’t want the cops to think that I had anything to do with this. This was the last thing I needed. “You can’t call slander without any proof. And there’s also the case of attorney-client privilege. Steve has the right to talk to me about anything he wants. I’m not sticking up for the guy, but I don’t want you dragging my name through the mud when I’ve actually done everything in my power to protect you.”
Dallas laughed. “Oh, Blaze. When will you realize that I’m not the one who needs protecting? Don’t you worry about a thing. I’m not going to go to the police. You can hold onto your precious reputation for a bit longer. And boy is it precious to you. What’s the point of me going to the police anyway? I’m sure you have more lawyer tricks up your sleeve to get to me.”
“That’s not what it’s like, Dallas,” I insisted. “You’re not listening to me at all.”
“Trust me, I’m through listening to you. I’m also through sleeping with you. I wish this had never happened and I most definitely regret it, but if there’s one thing I now know for sure it’s that this little thing we had going is over. We will never sleep with each other again. You can move on and find another girl to manipulate. I have finally seen the light. Goodbye, Blaze. It was terrible knowing you.”
She stormed over to the door but it was locked. She was the one who had made me lock it when we were about to have sex, and I wondered briefly if I should keep her inside until she listened to reason. But I knew that would only make things worse. Dallas would have a fit if I kept her here against her will. She turned around to look at me.
/> “Hard to storm out when the door is locked.”
“Here,” I said and threw her the key.
She didn’t say anything. She caught the key, opened the door, and left, and suddenly I was all alone in my office. I suddenly didn’t like the silence of the place anymore. I suddenly wanted to be anywhere else but there. I got my bag and my coat, locked up and headed home. I needed to speak to Steve but I couldn’t bear the thought of talking to him. That would have to wait until the morning once my head was a bit clearer. Although I got the impression I wasn’t going to get a wink of sleep that night. I had a rough few days up ahead.
I decided to walk home instead of taking the car. This would mean having to walk back to fetch it the following day but I didn’t mind. There was something nice about being outside in the open space. The air was cool at this time of the evening and the sun was already starting to go down. This had always been my favorite time of the day, that moment just before the day closes. As I walked I thought about my life and how I had come to this point. I thought about my years working at the corporate firm and wondered if that had been my downfall all along. That place had taught me certain value skills that did not match the one I had growing up. They taught me about the importance of money and greed, and how to stay ahead in business. They taught me how to become a shark and how to never feel guilty for the work that you were doing. I had been overwhelmed when I had first joined and I had almost quit. One of my colleagues had noticed my trepidation and told me that the only way to make it was to put away all my preconceived notions of what it meant to be a lawyer. I could still see him now.
Peter had been wearing a suit that looked as if it was tailored just for him. It was the type of suit you see actors wearing to award shows. The type that you knew cost him far too much. He stood proudly at my doorway, obviously pleased that he was in such a better position than me. He probably recognized himself in me. He’d been there for three years already, which was plenty of time to morph into the man the firm wanted him to be.
