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Ari laughed nervously, trying to shake the discomfort of her unexpected vulnerability. “I’m sure if you explore outside of the beach and Wynwood Walls you’d be surprised at what you find,” she replied, starting to collect her papers.
“Maybe after your trial, we can go for a glimpse? I’d really love to have a tour guide,” he insisted, his hand brushing against hers as she took the stack he handed over.
“Yeah,” she laughed again, wishing she could control it since nothing funny had happened. “Maybe.”
Pressing her binders full of stu to her chest, Ari left the conference room just in time to see Sloane. She glanced up
from her phone as Ralph slipped out from the conference room behind her. For no reason, she scowled.
She probably found her lukewarm sandwich, she thought before realizing the foul expression had been aimed at Ralph, not her. Weird.
CHAPTER 17
“A GUILTY VERDICT IN FOURTEEN MINUTES!” Ralph shouted down the hallway as Ari trailed behind him. “Did you hear that, Chad? Ari crushed your old record by almost ten minutes!”
Ari only half wished he’d stop. The other half of her was overcome with relief that the victim wouldn’t have to worry about her estranged husband. She’d already set her up with services to help her get divorced and moved out of state before he finished serving his sentence.
As people congratulated her in a flurry of high-fives and backslaps, Ari beamed. For the first time in a long time, she felt like a real star. The brilliant example for others to follow, or at the very least, the person to beat. The sensation was electric and, as much as she hated to admit, addictive.
When they stopped in her doorway, Ari took the files he’d been carrying for her. “Thanks for your help,” she said. The adrenaline rush leaving her body left her ready to collapse in her chair and kick o her heels. At least she’d worn pants and didn’t have pantyhose to contend with.
“You definitely didn’t need my help,” he replied, leaning against the doorway.
Sloane spun around in her chair to face them. “I don’t even know what you’re talking about, but I’m certain it’s true.”
“She—” Ralph started, but Ari knew Sloane too well to let him continue.
“She’s messing with you,” Ari said, dropping a stack of papers on her desk. “She knows I won.”
Ralph smiled as if in o
n some joke. Sloane crossed one leg over the other, her face so severe, she looked ready to entertain a timeshare pitch.
“Well, then she should know that we go celebrate the first one!” He grinned while rubbing his hands together like a small rodent. “Happy hour. First round is on me.”
Sloane cocked her head to one side. “And who’s invited to the festivities?”
Ralph’s smile didn’t falter, but his skin took on a new grayish tone. “Everyone. At the very least, we’ll celebrate with everyone in the division. D1 out on the town!”
His rising energy didn’t match the circumstances, and Ari wondered if he was really this bad at reading a room. When Sloane’s eyes narrowed, Ari’s pulse jumped. Couldn’t she ever just be polite?
“I have trial in two days. Dave and Reina just finished theirs and have like twenty new cases. I’m not sure about Peter, but this seems like very short notice for a Monday night outing.”
Under Sloane’s unwavering scrutiny, Ralph shifted his weight between his feet. “There’s no way of knowing how it will go, right? Although with how prepared Ari was, there
really wasn’t a doubt.” His gaze flickered toward Ari as he smiled. “So, will you join us?”
“I’m pretty sure Arwyn hasn’t accepted the o er yet, but in any case, no. I can’t,” she said before swinging back toward her computer.
Ari was still stuck on the way her name sounded in Sloane’s husky voice and didn’t notice that Ralph had continued talking. “What?”
“Are you in? I’ll get the others and we can meet at that British pub at five. They extended their happy hour until seven,” he said in a way that made it clear he was repeating himself.
“Yeah, of course,” she relented, too brain dead to come up with an excuse. Plus, a celebratory drink with colleagues sounded like a perfect end to her day.
“I hope you change your mind, Sloane,” Ralph said, hitting the doorway with his knuckle before waving goodbye.
In the distance, Ari heard him spreading the word about the happy hour. She didn’t waste another second in peeling o her jacket and exchanging her tight heels for soft flats.
