Affirmation Read online

Page 2

  I suppose the only saving grace to this week was that Matt did indeed give me two orgasms as he screwed my brains out against the wall of my office. When he was zipping himself up, I tried to bring up Kylie so that he could clarify the nature of our working relationship, but he brushed me off, telling me to “work it out” with her myself.

  “Come on, Macy,” I tell her as I grab the bottle of wine. “We’re getting drunk tonight, and then we’re going to talk shit about Matt and his new girlfriend, Kylie. ”

  “Matt has a new girlfriend?” Macy asks, bewildered.

  “Well… no, but she thinks she might be. I want to kill her. You can help me plot. ”

  “Right on,” Macy says. “I’m all in. ”

  When I get into work the next morning, sporting the mother of all hangover headaches, my mood plummets even further when I see the note on my desk. It’s from Kylie, and it says, “Meet me in my office to discuss Pearson as soon as you get in. ”

  Here’s what sucks about Kylie.

  She’s just a contract attorney, here just to work on a single case for the firm, yet she gets one of the bigger offices with a window. Fine, I can deal with that, I suppose.

  But that’s not the only perk to being on contract for a limited time. The thing that chaps my ass the most is that there are no rules or barriers between Kylie and Matt if they wanted to have a relationship. And I’m not saying that Matt wants to, but I’ve seen enough of Kylie to know that she’s interested. She doesn’t have the whole “he’s my boss” sort of thing stopping her the way it should have stopped me.

  Making my way to Kylie’s office, I grab the copy of the Pearson file I had made for her and a legal pad to take notes on. Her door is open, and she’s sitting behind her desk in a cherry red power suit. Her chocolate hair is pulled into a neat chignon, her makeup is flawless, and her nails are painted the same cherry red as her suit.

  “McKayla, thanks for coming by. I wanted to get a head start on Pearson,” she says as she stands up from the desk. When she walks around, I see the skirt is really short and she’s wearing four-inch stiletto heels that are better designed as hooker ware than for a law firm.

  Motioning me to take a seat at her small worktable, she says, “I brought you in a latte from Starbucks. ”

  I stare at her open-mouthed for just a moment, and she seems to be giving me a genuine smile. Maybe she wasn’t going to be so hard to work with.

  “Thanks, Kylie. I really appreciate that. ”

  I pick the cup up and take an appreciative sip, just as Kylie says, “Good. I took a chance you’d like that. I mean… you don’t look like a girl that really cares if the calories go to her hips. ”

  It’s a good thing I was only taking a tiny sip of the scalding hot beverage. Otherwise, I may have sucked it down my windpipe over her completely catty remark. Instead, I just stare at her in shock, but she doesn’t pay me any attention. She just sits at the table and starts flipping through the file.

  I take my seat next to her and we work for about twenty minutes, getting familiar with the issues and formulating an outline for our game plan. I’m caught up in reading the jury instructions that had been given at trial when Kylie says, “McKayla… can I ask you something personal?”

  My stomach sort of pitches sideways because I know—just know without a doubt—that she’s getting ready to ask me about Matt.

  I try to sound sincere when I say, “Sure. ”

  She leans in toward me like she’s afraid we’ll be overheard, which doesn’t seem plausible since we are in her office with the door closed. “I wanted to ask you about Matt. I mean, you’ve been working closely with him… but is he seeing anyone?”

  What to do? What to do?

  The truth? Yes, Kylie… He’s seeing me, and I will cut you if you get near him.

  A lie? Yes, Kylie… he’s seeing someone… His name is Mark, and they make a really cute couple.

  A semi-truth? Yes, Kylie… I heard he’s seeing someone, and it seems to be fairly serious.

  Instead, I opt for none of those options, because the last thing I want her thinking is that I know Matt personally enough to know about his love life.

  “I’m sorry,” I tell her. “I just don’t know. He’s a pretty private person. ”

  Kylie nods in understanding. “Of course, you’re just an associate after all. Just thought I’d try because maybe you had heard some gossip. No matter… I’ll just figure it out myself. ”

  And with that, she goes right back to working as if she never just told me that she has Matt in her sights. I sit there and stew over this, knowing that I should probably give Matt some type of warning.

  After about an hour, Matt knocks on the door and Kylie makes a big deal about inviting him in. She lays her hand on his arm again while they talk, and I don’t fail to notice Matt doesn’t pull away. He is so going to get a piece of my mind over that.

  I try to ignore them, intent on focusing on my work, but then Matt interrupts my thoughts. “Mac, can I see you in my office? I have a few things to go over with you on the Jackson case. ”

  “Sure thing,” I tell him as I gather up my stuff. “Want to meet up later, Kylie?”

  She gives me a dim smile and nods. “Tomorrow morning again—eight AM sharp. You’re in charge of coffee next time. I like mine black. ”

  With that, Kylie turns her back on me, dismissing me from her mind. I turn to look at Matt, and he actually has a smirk on his face, clearly enjoying our interplay. Glaring as hard as I can, I push my way past him. I reach his office before he does and head on in.

  He’s hot on my heels and when he closes the door, he steps up close, wrapping his arms around my waist. “I missed you last night,” he rumbles near my ear, just before giving my earlobe a little bite.

  The touch sends a jolt of lust through my body, and I can’t help the little moan that comes out of my mouth.

  That is all the encouragement Matt needs. His hands go down to the sides of my skirt and he starts pulling the material up, his knuckles grazing my skin. When the cool air hits my ass, I come to my senses and pull away.

  “Wait… what are you doing?”

  “Trying to get under your skirt,” he says with a lecherous smile as he advances toward me.

  Holding my palms out, I say, “Hold it, mister. We can’t just keep ha**ng s*x in your law firm. We’re going to get caught. ”

  His grin gets even wider as his hand goes behind my head to pull me closer. “That makes it all the more exciting, don’t you think?”

  His other hand palms my breast, softly squeezing it. My breath hitches and I’m about ready to capitulate, but then common sense takes hold again.

  I step firmly out of his reach and give him a soft smile. “Sorry, baby… no can do. You’ll just have to wait. ”

  His eyes are dark and disappointed when he looks at me, but then he gives me a small smile and a nod of resignation. Turning from me, he says, “No worries. I have a meeting I need to get ready for anyway. ”

  Matt’s voice is a little aloof and a touch icy. It makes me uneasy. “Are you mad at me because I said ‘no’?”

  Turning his head to look at me, I’m relieved to see surprise on his face. “God, no. You can say no any time you want to me. I’m a little disappointed, but trust me… I’ll get over it and try again with you. ”

  The anxiety in my chest eases up a little, and I give him a smile before heading back to my office.

  It’s not until I sit back down at my desk that I realize I forgot to tell Matt about Kylie and her interest in him. Oh, well… I could tell him tonight when we get together.

  The yawn that overtakes me is a doozy and it’s so deep and drawn out, I almost pass out from lack of oxygen. I glance over at the clock that sits on my desk and see it’s close to seven PM. It’s now the third day in a row that Matt has not meandered down to my office and tried to make plans to see me.

  Not that he’s the only one that has to do so, i
t’s just… I went to him the last two nights and asked him if he wanted to do something, to which he said he couldn’t because he was swamped with work.

  So, do I just go ahead and go home, or do I make my way over to his office yet again to probably get shot down… yet again?

  It’s with a heavy heart that I decide to be a glutton for punishment, and I walk down to Matt’s kingdom. His door is open. As I step inside, I see him putting his suit jacket on and picking up his briefcase as if he’s ready to leave. Joy leaps in my heart that he’s not going to work late tonight, so that I can finally have some alone time with him.

  When he looks up and sees me standing there, he says, “Hey you… I was just getting ready to come down to your office, so it looks like you saved me a trip. ”

  I shoot him a radiant grin and then immediately start thinking of how quickly I can get him na**d once we step foot in either his apartment or mine. I hope my voice doesn’t sound too salacious when I ask, “So, what do you want to do tonight?”

  I expect Matt’s eyes to start a slow burn and fill with lustful promise, but instead he blinks at me and gets a sheepish look on his face. “Um… actually, I was on my way down to your office to tell you that I’m going out with some of the guys to get some drinks. ”

  Yes, it’s like a wall of cold water hits me, almost knocking the breath out of me. But I’m Mac Dawson, and I have more fortitude than that. “Oh… okay. Well, do you want to come over to my place after?”

  Matt’s face turns slightly red, and his head hangs down. “I’m sorry, Mac… but this is kind of one of those nights that I’ll probably be out all night with the boys. ”

  “The boys?” I ask blankly.

  “The boys. You know, Rob, Mike, and Joey from litigation, and Sam in estates. And I think that new guy… Bill’s paralegal is going. The boys. ”

  “But you never go out with the boys,” I say lamely.

  “Sure I do,” he says with confidence.

  “No, Matt… you don’t. You even told me once that you couldn’t stand being around a bunch of drunk guys acting like morons. ”

  I can see the moment that Matt remembers making that statement to me, and he has the grace to look embarrassed. But just like with anyone who gets called on the carpet, he becomes a little defensive. “Look, Mac… if you don’t want me to go, I won’t. ”

  The tone of his voice is really saying, I feel henpecked to death, and I’ll really be pissed if you don’t let me go out with the boys.

  With a sigh, I tell him, “It’s not that I don’t want you to go. I do want you to go out and have fun. It’s just… I haven’t seen you in a while, and I miss you is all. ”

  Giving me a lazy smile, Matt walks up and kisses me. It’s not deep, it’s not seductive, but it is sweet and caring. “I know,” is all he says, and then he picks up his briefcase.

  What the f**k? I get an “I know”? There should have been something else. Maybe an, “I miss you, too,” or even a half-assed attempt for him to cop a feel. But just an “I know,” and he’s walking out?

  My eyes narrow in suspicion at him just as he reaches for his doorknob. “Are you doing this to punish me for not ha**ng s*x with you today in your office?”

  Matt turns slowly around to look at me. His face is impassive. “Absolutely not. ”

  “You’re sure?” I ask as I saunter toward him. “Because you looked a little peeved at me when I said no. ”

  Smirking at me, Matt reaches out and tugs on a lock of my hair. Rubbing it between his fingers for a moment, he finally looks at me. “Don’t fool yourself, Mac. If I really wanted to, I could have gotten you to change your mind today. So you see… there’s nothing to be mad about. ”