Page 74 of Miss Understanding

“Tomorrow night.” I was not looking forward to the lengthy flight even if it was in the luxury of first class. Frankly, I’d rather be with Kendall in my bed.

Whoa. Where had that thought come from?

“Good. You have plans for tonight?”

Aside from waiting on my assistant to get off her moonlighting job and come over to spend the morning in my bed, no. But I didn’t come up with another story quickly enough.

“Before you say you’re busy, let me tell you I have two tickets to the most coveted charity event in the city, the Feed the Homeless campaign. It sold out months ago because of all the celebrities attending. You know who else will be there?”

I knew immediately who she meant. “Stephen Walsh.”

Her brilliant white teeth flashed. “In the flesh.”

Stephen was the CEO of one of the biggest tech companies on the West Coast and our firm had been trying to land him as a client for years. With him now facing possible litigation from some investors, it was a prime time to get in front of him and try to sell the firm. This fundraiser would me a good opportunity to do just that.

“What’s in it for you?” I hated to be blunt, but Tabitha didn’t do anything without motivation.

She held up her hands as if in peace. “Look, I’m a tax attorney. But if you land his litigation business, perhaps it opens the door for us to take on his tax work in the future. Plus, it’s a boon for the firm.”

“And?” I knew her too well to think she didn’t have an agenda.

“And I want a percentage of origination credit. I’m trying to make equity partner, so it would go a long way.”

“Ten percent.”

She smiled. “Twenty-five. After all, these tickets don’t grow on trees.”

“Fifteen.”

“Twenty.”

“Fifteen. Or I don’t go. You may get me in the door, but I have to do the work to sell myself.” Frankly, there were any number of people from whom I could wrangle a ticket with a simple phone call. If I hadn’t been dealing with the funeral and this deposition, I probably would’ve already called in a favor to obtain a ticket.

She sighed. “Deal at fifteen percent. It’s black tie, by the way.”

At least it would give me something to do tonight instead of simply sitting at home and waiting until three o’clock in the morning when Kendall got off work. The thrill of hunting a new client always brought an adrenaline rush. And Stephen Walsh could mean millions, which would go a long way toward getting my name on the front door.

Tabitha stood up and moved to leave. “Pick me up at eight o’clock tonight. I’ll text you my home address.”

It would be easier to simply meet her there, but I didn’t have the energy to argue. However, I was thankful she’d said the words behind the closed door, for I didn’t want Kendall to overhear them and get the wrong impression about tonight being anything but business.

Chapter Thirty-Six

Kendall

I pretended not to care when Tabitha went into Liam’s office and closed the door. My eyes stayed glued to my computer even after she came out fifteen minutes later.

Ordinarily, she would simply ignore me; however, this time she stopped at my desk.

I glanced up, schooling my voice. “Can I help you with something?”

She was tapping on her phone. “Perhaps. If your boss asks you to book a car for our date tonight, can you ensure it’s a limo? I’d like to have privacy.”

“Certainly.” The word was hard to choke out.

“Good.” She didn’t so much as glance up from her phone as she turned and walked away.

I told myself I didn’t care. Liam was free to go out with who he wanted, when he wanted. It’s not like we’d talked about exclusivity. Still, it hurt to think that just Monday morning I’d woken up in his bed. Now, in the same week, he had another date. With Cruella de Vil, of all people.