AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Helena Ashcroft-Belmont knew her duty. An admirable quality in someone who worked in childcare. My mother would most definitely approve. As well as trying to fix us up to get married. Never mind that Helena was already married.
Mom was always insistent on me marrying someone ‘worthy’ of me. The color she turned when she met Cora was downright alarming.
“Good morning, Mr. Veek.”
“Good morning, Mrs. Ashcroft-Belmont,” I said, holding her gaze.
“Bye-bye, daddy.”
“Bye, honey,” I said, giving Lily a parting hug before Helena lead her into the house.
Lily safely secured with Helena; it was time to get down to the office before they started to miss me.
Pulling into my assigned spot with several minutes to spare, I popped into the café on the first floor of the White & White building and got coffee and donuts for everyone who consumed such things on my floor. Anti-caffeine and gluten-free sentiments had recently been streaking through the legal community like diet pills in the 1990s. Likely with a similar sort of longevity. Caffeine and gluten were two of the things that made life somewhat livable.
“Morning, Mr. Veek,” I was greeted by everyone under partner, serving out goodness like a sugary Santa Claus.
“Oooh, bear claws,” appreciated Kate Sims, guardian of the office next to mine.
“Have both,” I said, putting down her espresso in the recycled cardboard carry-out cup.
“Aww, thanks, love you, too,” she said with a wink.
I knew her flirting was playful and took it in stride. We’d know each other for the last few years and had fallen into a comfortable routine, despite me not seeing much of the lawyer she served. It was almost like Emilie was avoiding me. Though I could only guess why. Maybe the sight of my bowties made her feel queasy. It certainly wouldn’t be the first time.
I wound up keeping the remaining donuts and last coffee cup for myself. The waffles, delicious as they were, not quite enough to fill me. Time was very much of the essence that morning.
The soft leather creaked as I eased into the chair that came with the office. The Whites really spared no expense. Little wonder every lawyer worth their salt, and several that weren’t, wanted to work here.
“Enter,” I called, in response to the gentle rapping on my chamber door.
A paralegal whose name I hadn’t learned yet, partly because of the turnover, but was fairly certain was called Charlotte, came in with some fresh copies, still warm from the machine.
“Thank you. Donut?”
She took one, and after she’d left, I plucked the last fritter from the box. I was again left alone with my thoughts, getting ready for the knockout punch in a case of paramount importance. This case wasn’t just massive for my career, it might very well have been precedent-setting for similar cases in the future. No pressure.
Chapter Three - Emilie
The courthouse was bustling when I got there. Weekdays were usually hopping when it came to court dates. Getting through the flood of formal wear going in both directions on the front steps, my high heels clacking on the stone steps. Minding my manners, as well as professional courtesy, I automatically held the door behind me.
“Thanks,” said an uncomfortably familiar voice.
I didn’t even need to turn around, I’d heard it enough, usually flirting with Kate. It was only one of the many things I had against him, and those like him. No doubt we were going to the same floor, not least because the fates hated me that much. There was also the fact that, for the sake of efficiency, courts of different types tended to be on the same floor.
I didn’t know what drove me to do it. I’d already made it, I was safe in the chamber of the elevator, I could have just let the doors close. He would have been gone, and that would have been it. Out of sight, out of mind, or so the saying went. Yet, I didn’t. Driven by forces unknown, trained responses unaccountable in terms of logic, I put out a hand and held the door for him.
“Thank you,” he said, flashing me a small smile.
I could hardly believe it was real. It was my first good look at him, my ears and nose making the initial identification. He really did look amazing. The well-crafted tweeds somehow made him look both sexy and harmless at the same time. He vaguely reminded me of one the eleventh incarnation of Doctor Who.
A comparison I never thought I’d make to him. Niles Veek had seemed until now to be far below such high praise. Yet, there it was. A mix of feelings crashed around inside me like a storm on the sea. He stood close, particularly considering we were alone on the elevator, but not as close as I might have expected, considering his reputation. Mostly thinking he was God’s gift to women.
