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It’s not like I need this job. The problem is, I want it.
Yes, part of me knows that if Massimo finagled to get me this position, it’s for a reason, and that reason isn’t the kindness of his heart. I also know leaving would only incur his wrath.
But the other thing that stops me from telling Alistair to go fuck himself before I quit on the spot is more…personal.
It’s that I want this.
I want to be a lawyer, especially at a prestigious firm like Crown and Black.
So I’ll be damned if I let Alistair the Asshole scare me away. Yeah, I might not “deserve” to be here. And there might be…okay, definitely are…ulterior reasons for me having this position, even if I don’t know yet what they are.
But it’s a foot in the door. And that’s what matters.
My head shakes. “No, there’s nothing else.”
He cocks one brow meaningfully. My face heats, and I bristle.
“No, there’s nothing else, sir.”
“Good.” He frowns, bringing a hand up to his ear as a concentrated look creeps over his face. Then he fake gasps. “Fuck, do you hear that?”
“Uh, no?”
“It’s the sound of your workload already piling up. I’d hop to it. Oh, and try not to turn any tricks on the way to your desk, if you can help it.”
My teeth flash before I can stop myself. Alistair grins darkly.
“Say it,” he growls. “Say whatever it is you’re dying to say. You’ll do us both a favor if you give me the ammunition to fire your sorry ass right now.”
Fuck you, you shit-eating, cocky, narcissistic prick. Go fuck yourself, and fuck yourself again, and fuck yourself one more time to be sure.
I plaster a sugary smile on my face.
“There’s nothing else, sir. Shall I get to work now, sir?”
Alistair glares at me, almost like he’s pissed that I’ve denied him the fight he so clearly wants. I start to turn when his words stop me, barking across the divide between us.
“Why are you really here, Eloise.”
I swallow and shake my head. “I don’t have an answer for that.”
“Well, then I suppose I’ll just have to find it.”
His eyes slide over me, his lips curling dangerously. When his hand comes up to stroke his lethal jaw, the tattoo ink on his forearm ripples. “And I will find it, Eloise. By any means necessary.”
8
ALISTAIR
The eighth-century general and strategist Sun Tzu once famously wrote in his book The Art of War, “keep your friends close and your enemies closer”.
I’ve read it…twice…which isn’t really that big a brag because every high-level lawyer, Wall Street trader, CEO, and Silicon Valley entrepreneur has, too. But while Sun Tzu was a genius when it comes to knowing the opposition, I’m willing to bet serious money that he did not have Eloise fucking LeBlanc suddenly working under him.
With him.
Around him. All. The. Fucking. Time.
In my head, I keep it as “Eloise fucking LeBlanc”, because I have no idea what else to call her. She’s not an “old friend”, nor an “old flame”. She’s not my ex anything. If anything, she’s my enemy. What else do you call someone you went to war against? Someone who spread lies about you that almost ended everything you’d worked for?
