by Alexa Davis
I grinned, admiring the red scratches in the bathroom mirror. While I was in the shower, and the heat of the water beat down on me, I had to grip myself around the shaft and bring out the rest of last night’s memory.
I pictured Vanessa laying under me, her blonde hair splayed out across the cushion. Her lips and body were so inviting, it brought a rush of blood into my aching groin.
“Ugh, Vanessa,” I panted while running my hand up and down the length of it. For a while, I pretended it was her until I finally released my orgasm across the shower tile.
It wasn’t entirely satisfying – nothing would ever be quite as good as the real thing.
It was getting late, though, and I needed to go into the office, so I quickly showered and put on a clean pair of clothes. There wasn’t any time to shave before I headed out the door.
My breath was visible in the cold as I locked the door behind myself and pulled the scarf around my neck. “Brrr!”
I walked over to the silver Escalade, and the engine turned over nicely after I put the key in the ignition. I shivered quietly, waiting for the heater to come on. The windows had to defrost before it would be safe to drive.
Traffic was light on the way to work since most people were off for the holiday—just not us. I pulled into the parking lot outside and grabbed my briefcase in the back seat. Thanks to Max dragging me around all weekend, I hadn’t got as much of the paperwork done that I would have liked to. I wasn’t behind on anything but just didn’t have that extra edge that I looked forward to.
I sighed, walking up the steps. Once inside, I closed the door behind me. Leslie was sitting at her desk with a festive firework display pinned to the message board behind her. She heard me come inside and glanced up from setting out the new calendars for the year. “Good morning, Les,” I greeted her with a smile.
“Good morning, Mr. Hillis! I trust you had an enjoyable New Year weekend.”
I smiled. “More than you know,” I told her. “Let me know when Jon gets here; he said he has a case for me.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Is there any coffee in the break room?”
Leslie nodded, “Yep, I just put a pot on to brew five minutes ago.”
“Excellent, thank you!”
With a nod, I stepped into my office and removed my coat and hat to hang on the standing rack in the corner. I exhaled heavily, still thinking about my incredible night with Vanessa, and headed over to pour myself a mug. I knew she was at her parents’, but it would have been bad taste to call. I was always told the rule was to wait three days. Besides, she had my number; if Vanessa wanted to contact me, she knew how.
But please, let her call, I thought.
I ruffled the back of my head in frustration and refused to let myself think about it. Instead, I poured the dark, aromatic drink into my cup and added milk and sugar to my liking. It smelled of hazelnut and toffee as I blew along the rim until it was cool enough to drink.
“Mmm…yeah! That hits the spot.”
I brought it with me back to my desk as I set up my laptop and removed some papers from my briefcase. The whir of the computer starting up hummed pleasantly as I sipped on the delicious drink.
I had thirteen emails waiting for me when I logged on. A few of them were from my clients; others were spam. Although, one was from my father, inviting me to dinner with him and Sarah and asking if I’d spoken with Vanessa about moving in.
Dear Adam,
I had fun at the Butlers’ Christmas party with you the other day; thank for bringing me. Max and Vanessa have both grown up so much the past few years, I barely recognized them. I hope you gave some thought to what I said about you and Vanessa moving in together. I think it would be good for you to have some company. All I ask is that you consider it – the two of you seemed to have some chemistry.
Anyways, Sarah still really wants to meet you. Maybe you could clear some time in your busy schedule to have dinner with us this weekend?
We’ll talk soon, bud.
Love,
Dad
I sighed in exasperation while reading it. The way he casually threw in meeting my potential step-mother was downright comical.
After responding to a few of the more pressing cases that needed my attention, Leslie came to knock on the office door. “Excuse me, Mr. Hillis. You wanted to know when Mr. Hansen arrived. He just stepped into the office.”
I nodded, minimizing the screen and looking up at her. “Thank you, Les. Anything else?”
She shook her head, and I dismissed her with a nod as Jon Hansen stepped inside. “Adam! You’re here bright and early, just as I expected. I’m impressed by your initiative! What time did you arrive?” he asked me curiously.
I chuckled. “About seven thirty. I’m afraid I didn’t get much done over the weekend.”
Mr. Hansen raised an eyebrow knowingly. “Son, that’s why they call it a weekend. I’m glad you’re enjoying the work, but make sure you take some time for yourself as well, okay?”
“Yes, sir. I believe you mentioned another case?”
“Oh, yes! It’s one of mine that I think you’d be interested in. I’ll need a co-attorney to help me on it, and you seemed just like the man for the job. I want you to be my right-hand man, understand?”
“Absolutely.”
I was flattered that even as a junior attorney, on only my second week at the firm, Hansen felt like he could rely on me. Career-wise, I was desperate to get noticed and make a good impression with the partners. This was a very good sign.
“Glad to hear it! I’ll have Cheri email you the details, and we can talk about it later once you’ve had the chance to look it over. You’re still fairly new here, and it’s a good case for you to get your feet wet.”
I smiled widely and stood up to shake his hand. “Thank you, sir. I’m really looking forward to it.”
Jon nodded and started heading for the door. “I’ll make sure you have the full write up this afternoon.”
I nodded happily as he gave a gentle wave and disappeared down the hall. As he was leaving, I gave myself a mental high five for nailing it. After he left, I went back to looking through my briefings and scheduled some appointments with Leslie. Just when it felt like I was getting into a groove, there was a notification on my desktop that I received an email.
Curious, I went to open it and found the promised write-up from Mr. Hansen’s secretary.
Alright, what’s so interesting about this case? I wondered, downloading the document onto my hard drive. It took a while to format, and I made use of that time by enjoying the rest of my coffee. When I finally opened the file, my interest was piqued immediately. Initially, I thought it was a regular corruption case, but the more I read, the more interesting it became. It was going to be a difficult case on either side, and I was excited about the challenge.
My schooling went into effect, and I started researching all the avenues in which we could represent our client. A client who at this point still remained anonymous. Jon had neglected to include the client’s personal information, which I found distressing, to say the least. I figured since he was the lead attorney on the case, most of my work would be behind the scenes doing legwork anyway, so it didn’t really matter.
I sent a quick email back to him, letting him know that I’d received the files. An hour later, I was still looking through the briefing. I’d been in the office for hours but had barely felt the time pass.
It was after five o’clock when I heard my cell phone ring from the pocket of my jacket. Pushing out from beneath my desk, I went to answer it and pulled out the device.
“This is Adam,” I addressed the caller absentmindedly.
“Hey!” Max’s voice greeted me on the other line. “I had a great time the other night; where did you run off to?”
I grinned, balancing the phone on my shoulder and said, “Hey, Max! Sorry about that, I just wasn’t feeling darts at the time. I hope you understand.”
“Totally,” he agree
d. “Still, you could have joined us for a game of pool. What happened? Did you meet someone?”
My smile faded at the dangerous direction that our conversations was taking. I couldn’t exactly confess to bringing Vanessa home with me and having mind-blowing sex until I passed out on the sofa. He had already made his opinion on me getting together with his sister clear.
Crap! I cursed to myself quietly. How am I going to get out of this?
“Nah, man. I just left after the ball drop so I could get some shut-eye. It had been a long day and all.”
"Come on, not anyone? You could have picked up any lady in the joint, and she would have been lucky to have you."
"You know how I hate it when you talk like that."
"All I'm saying is you need a palate cleanser. Pretty soon, you're going to have forgotten how to talk to women."
"I was talking to Vanessa yesterday!"
"Yeah, we're going to brush right over that and get serious for a minute. First of all, my sister is a not a 'palate cleanser.' Secondly, how long has it been since Linda?"
"Ten months," I responded automatically.
"Exactly, you need to put yourself out there. I just wish you could have hung out with us some more. I lost Vanessa, too. Oh well, she probably got bored and went home. That girl seriously needs to learn how to unwind.”
“Yeah, probably.”
Chapter 10
Vanessa
Thursday
I woke up to the sound of rustling in my bedroom. I felt some movement on the bed beside me and opened my eyes to see Maggie curled up happily on top of the sheets. She saw me opening my eyes and leaned forward to lick me in the face. It was warm and slobbery and smelled like dog, and I had missed it when I was gone.
I smiled, pursing my lips closed and tilting my head away from her while I scratched behind her ear. When my eyes opened, I sat up blearily to find Mom shuffling about and cleaning up my dirty laundry, humming to herself.
“Ugh, Mom. What are you doing?” I asked her hoarsely.
She looked up at the sound of my voice and smiled. “Good morning, sleepy head! Did you have a nice night?”
“Same as usual,” I grumbled. “You never answered my question, though: what are you doing in my room?”
“Oh, just picking up a few things.”
“Mom,” I warned. “We talked about this.”
“I know, but how else am I going to take care of you?”
I sighed. “Okay, allow me to rephrase: please don’t come into my room unannounced. I’m a grown woman and can clean up after myself. I don’t need to be coddled.”
She ignored me and continued picking up items off my desk and dusting them. When her hands reached for my eight-hundred-dollar camera bag, I leaped off the bed to stop her. “Mom, why aren’t you listening to me?”
“It’s just an ugly purse. I was going to throw it in your closet.”
“Mom! You don’t know what’s inside it, and that’s why I don’t want you touching it. Why are you going through my things in the first place? It’s an invasion of my privacy.”
Her lips pursed together in a thin line as she crossed her arms in front of her chest. “I don’t think I like your tone.”
“Good, because I’m upset! This is my camera, and it’s a delicate piece of equipment; you could have broken it.”
She rolled her eyes at me and scoffed. “Vanessa, I know perfectly well what I am doing, and if something had happened to your camera, then your father and I could replace it for you. Honestly, I don’t know why you’re acting like this.”
I shook my head at her. “You really don’t get it, do you? I don’t want you to buy me a new one. This is mine, and I worked hard saving up for it so I could buy it with my own money. You and Dad just want to throw money at a problem and make it go away. I don’t want to do that anymore, and I don’t want your charity. That’s what I was trying to tell you the other day; I need my own space.”
Mom stepped back from me in surprise, unprepared for my outburst. “Well, then… I guess I’ll leave you be.”
Her shoulders slumped as she was heading for the door and I knew that she was hurt. I’d never outright yelled at her like that.
“Mom…”
She didn’t turn or even acknowledge me in any way. I just sighed, watching her leave, and sat back down on the bed defeated. Crap.
My heart fell, realizing that I may have been overly harsh – she was only trying to help. I set the camera bag down gently on the bed and glanced over at the clock. Eight-fifteen.
I still had plenty of time before my interview. Now alone in the confines of my room, I gathered a few of my toiletries and headed for the shower. My favorite apricot scrub was exactly what this situation required. I breathed out heavily and closed the bathroom door. The steamy, soapy bubbles left me feeling not only clean, but emotionally refreshed.
My wardrobe was full of clothes, but not a lot that I considered business professional. I sighed while sorting through the hangers until I found a gray sheath dress that had a designer belt around the waist.
Ooh, you’ll do nicely, I thought to myself gleefully.
I changed into the dress and checked my reflection in the mirror before heading down to get some breakfast. Both my parents were sitting there talking in the kitchen when I approached. Dad looked up at me and smiled. “Hey, there! You look nice; what do you have planned for the day?”
Mom didn’t look up from her coffee and made a point of staring off in the other direction since the moment I entered the room.
“Actually, I have another interview lined up in about an hour.”
He raised an eyebrow at the declaration and positively beamed with pride. “Well, I like the sound of that! Do you want to borrow my car?”
I blushed, looking down sheepishly as I grabbed a bagel from the counter, and nodded. “Do you mind?”
“Not at all. Anything we can do to help. Right, Kathy?”
Mom set down the mug she was holding carefully on the table and replied, “Of course. Anything you need, dear.”
I smiled at her, though she refused to meet my gaze and Dad looked back and forth between the two of us confused. I cleared my throat and started backing away from them uncomfortably. “Alright, well I’m going to go finish getting ready.”
Dad grunted in acknowledgment as I turned on my heel and headed back toward my room. I’d spent the night before printing out my résumé and downloading my portfolio onto a USB drive. Maggie was sitting outside my door wagging her tail happily as I walked toward her down the hall. I gave her a quick scratch behind the ears before opening the door and allowing myself to exhale. There were butterflies in my stomach as I collected my satchel and rehearsed a pep-talk in my head.
I knew Dad would be pleased with my initiative. Surprisingly, he seemed like the only one who really understood why I was so determined to get my own place. After double checking all my things, I skipped down to the kitchen and retrieved the keys to the Expedition from the hook hanging on the wall.
“Bye, guys! Wish me luck.”
Dad waved to me with a smile as I walked out the door to the garage. I placed my bag with the résumé and portfolio in the passenger seat and put the key in the ignition, crossing my fingers that this would be the opportunity that landed me a position.
The drive to the photography studio took almost no time at all. Before I knew it, I was sitting in the lobby of their office building across from the secretary. I tapped my foot nervously while waiting for my interview. The woman at reception smiled at me thinly, glancing up toward the clock. My appointment was set for ten, but I’d been waiting for twenty minutes and was starting to get nervous.
“Mrs. Knight will be right with you,” she assured me, looking up from the documents on her computer.
I nodded pleasantly and smiled, but the woman didn’t seem to notice; it was more about social protocol than actual interest. The room was full of black and white shots of modern architecture hanging on the wa
lls. While I was waiting, I had admired a few of them and made note of the style and focus.
I was about to ask if there was a water fountain when the office door clicked open and a tall brunette woman with glasses stepped outside. “Vanessa Butler, I presume?”
“Yes, ma’am,” I told her, offering my hand.
She smiled kindly and gestured back the way she came. “Why don’t we step into my office?”
I nodded, grabbing my bag off the floor and following her into the executive suite. After we had both taken our seats, her behind the desk and me in front of it, Mrs. Knight cleared her throat and said, “I understand you’ve applied for the position as one of our photographers.”
“Yes, ma’am. I saw the opening on your website, and it was almost too good to be true.”
She chuckled and laced her fingers together across her lap. “Do you have a copy of your résumé?”
I nodded, pulling it out of the leather case and reaching over to hand it to her. She took it from me without another word and glanced over it briefly. As her eyes drifted down the page, I could almost see the corners of her lips begin to pucker. “You’ll see I have a bachelor’s degree in photography from the University of Tampa with a minor in graphic design. I also have several extracurriculars—”
“But no work experience,” the woman cut me off.
“Um…no,” I stuttered dumbly. The woman behind the desk shifted in her chair, doodled something on a piece of paper and kept looking down while I was speaking. “I brought a copy of my portfolio. You’ll see that my work speaks for itself, and I really think—”
“Ms. Butler, I’m afraid that we require at least three years of work experience before being considered.”
“How am I supposed to get experience if not a single company is willing to hire me for an entry-level position?”
“I’m afraid I can’t help you with that. All I know is what the criteria here requires, and that you, unfortunately, do not have the proper qualifications.”
