“Your seat is in the back, playboy,” she quipped.
Even her voice—just husky enough to be sexy—turned him on. Ben tried not to be offended that she was the first woman to cut him down at every turn. Even on days he wasn’t trying to hiton her and was only speaking to be polite, she still shot him a frosty glare or tossed out icicle-sharp words he swore would cut if he were a lesser man.
“I like this seat right here.”
She rolled her eyes. “Lucky me.”
The class started and Ben only half-heartedly paid attention. Good grades came easily to him, almost too easy some said. But he’d been that way all his life. Much to his older brother Max’s dismay, he rarely ever had to study, but still maintained a perfect GPA. The fact that this woman was shooting down all his moves was probably karma for being so blessed in the education realm. That’s something else Max would say.
Ben on the other hand, was always an optimist.
Chapter 1
Ebony
Present
“Oh, this is my jam!” Ebony Reece yelled as she turned up the car radio and rocked her body to the thumping bass of the song.
It was Thursday evening, one more day until she could start her weekend. Her family was having a huge cookout on Saturday for her twin cousins who had just graduated from Spellman. Whenever her family had a gathering whether it was a cookout or dinner or even a brunch, it was like a party. Her Aunt Bernice would cook every piece of meat they were allowed to eat, while Bernice’s younger sister Shan would prepare salads galore. Her Uncle Pete would guard the grill flipping burgers like Ronald McDonald had taken lessons from him. Tabby would be on the music, speakers blasting old school hits with a few new school songs for the younger folk thrown it. It promised to be a great time and Ebony couldn’t wait.
For the last three weeks she’d been working late hours, spending most mornings running between the courthouse and the office while Ben worked the Ramone Vega murder case. She’d been working at Donovan Law, LLC for the last four yearsand absolutely loved her boss Benjamin Donovan because of his laid-back attitude in the office and unmitigated ferocity in the courtroom. Normally, she enjoyed watching Ben work his defensive magic. He was a dynamic litigator who charmed jurors with his warm smile and charismatic demeanor. He was also fine as hell in a suit and even better looking when he came out of his jacket while getting witnesses to admit everything including who they’d slept with back in high school. He was virtually unbeatable in court and that wasn’t just her opinion, his record alone could prove her point.
Until the Ramone Vega case.
Ben hadn’t been sure about this one and Ebony felt bad for him. They’d done everything they normally did, bombarding the district attorney’s office with discovery and suppression motions on a daily basis. They’d impeached expert witnesses before the prosecution even had a chance to put them on the stand. But there had been something more, something Ben felt he couldn’t ignore.
“It’s in his eyes,” Ben had confided in her one night when they were at the office late. “He killed those people. I can see it in his eyes.”
Ben had seemed shaken after that and when she’d left him at the office she’d wanted to call his brother or one of his cousins to come over and check on him. But in the morning he was back to normal, ready to fight for a man’s innocence he didn’t even believe in.
But that was all over now.
On Tuesday the jurors came back after three days of deliberations—they were deadlocked. A mistrial was declared and Ramone Vega walked out of the courtroom with a smile on his sadistically handsome face.
Ebony’s voice escalated as she tried to match the singer’s high note. She’d always wanted to be a singer and had believedin her talent until she realized believing wasn’t paying her bills. At the same time, having a day job to make ends meet didn’t have to kill the dream. Her solo was interrupted by the blare of a police siren and the corresponding flashing red and blue lights.
“Shit!” She cursed and immediately turned her music down. She pulled over to the side of the road.
Ben had already cleared half a dozen speeding tickets for her with his friend down in the traffic division. He was going to be pretty pissed if she got another one. Ebony took a deep breath and tried to prepare herself to be nice and cordial, something she didn’t do well most of the time.
She sat up a little straighter and yanked on the hem of her shirt, so that the V-neck collar moved down slightly. Squaring her shoulders so her assets were on full display she put on her prettiest smile. When the tap came to her window, she pressed the button to roll it down with one long-nailed finger. But her smile soon disappeared as she stared into the eyes of a killer.
Ben
It never failed. The second Ben got to the door and was about to leave his house, his cell phone rang. It wasn’t the office because he’d sent Ebony home about an hour or so before he left at five. And if there was one thing he knew for certain about his legal assistant, it was that when he said it was quitting time, she took those words to heart and made a fast escape for the front door. To party no doubt, because Ebony had a very high-spirited personality and didn’t bother to hide it, not even when she was at work.
Ebony was in her late twenties and had been with his firm for the past four years. Mrs. Jefferson, his first assistant/office manager had been there when he started the firm five yearsago only to retire a year later when her daughter gave birth to quintuplets and needed her help. Ebony was efficient and intelligent and nosy as hell. She talked a lot and loudly, took long lunches and harassed a good portion of their clients. But she was the best fit for the firm. Clients knew not to play with Ebony. When she called them about their payments, they paid or risked her going off on them. She typed faster than anybody Ben had ever known—even with nails that were as long and as sharp as weapons—and the office was organized right down to the blue gel pens she purchased from the supply company because they were his preference. There was no argument that she was an invaluable asset to the firm.
But that didn’t stop her from getting on Ben’s nerves at least three days out of the work week.
“Ben Donovan,” he answered the phone stopping in front of the door.
“This call is strictly a reminder. Dinner at Aunt Bev’s this Sunday at five. That’s two days from today. Don’t even think about using me as an excuse should you not attend.”
Ben only smiled. His older brother, Max, was so damned serious.
“Good to hear you’ve got my back, big bro,” he said before pushing the button on his key fob to automatically unlock his car doors.
