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“To sell your soul for money?” Sloane guessed. “It’s alright. I’m not o ended. I know it’s not your bag, but I liked corporate law. There are a lot of challenges to it and the money sure isn’t bad.”
“But you’re on call around the clock. Working your butt o to make rich people richer. I don’t mean that to sound judgmental,” Ari caught herself again.
“We’re working our proverbial butts o here, aren’t we?”
By the way Sloane’s eyebrow arched and her tone went up at the end, Ari was sure it was a friendly question. A set up for the exact a
nswer she expected.
“But it’s for justice. Not money,” Ari responded, unable to help herself.
“Maybe I like driving my Tesla more than I care about justice,” she replied with a shrug.
“Why are you here then?” The question escaped Ari’s lips before she could stop it.
Sloane smirked again, but it was missing the usual mischievous quality. “Maybe it has nothing to do with money or passion,” she said, gathering her things as she stood. “Come on. I refuse to leave you here all night by yourself.”
The command was so direct, Ari instinctively resisted it.
“I’m alright. I have some things to catch up on.”
With one hand on her curved hip and the other holding the stack of files, Sloane stared at her as if unamused by her protestations. “There’s literally no one here, Arwyn. Take your stu with you. Let’s go.”
Ari didn’t consider herself contrarian by nature, but she hated to give Sloane the satisfaction of compliance. Even if they were getting along again. “Fine, but only because I was already leaving.”
Sloane laughed. “If that’s what you need to tell yourself.”
Grabbing a file and sticking it in her messenger bag, Ari slipped back into her heels and grabbed her suit jacket o the back of her chair. “Don’t look so satisfied. I really was already leaving,” Ari said, passing a smug Sloane as she headed for the door.
“You have no idea what I look like when I’m satisfied,”
Sloane whispered behind her.
The words had barely left her lips and Ari was already imagining it. Sloane, her head tilted, her back arched. Her skin flushed and sweaty. Her mouth open in the silent scream of ecstasy.
“Where are you going?”
Sloane’s voice pulled her back to the present, calling her attention to the fact that she’d continued walking rather than making a right to get to the exit. Without comment, Ari corrected her course. She walked fast enough to avoid looking at Sloane’s face and raced toward the elevator to mash the call button.
“In a rush all of a sudden?” Sloane asked, sauntering into the elevator behind her.
With Ari wearing heels and Sloane in sneakers, their height di erence was erased as Sloane slid up next to her. It made her feel more equal, which was good. The downside was how close Sloane’s mouth suddenly was to hers. As soon as she thought of them, Ari’s eyes flashed down to Sloane’s soft-looking lips, sending her tired heart racing.
“Thanks again,” Sloane said, her voice low as she inched closer when the elevator began its descent.
“For what?” Ari couldn’t think of anything but her proximity. The scent of her perfume, once a thing of nightmares, was an intoxicating melody urging her nearer.
Sloane’s attention darted between Ari’s eyes and her lips.
Panic and hope swirled together, sending Ari’s nervous system into overdrive. When she’d first met Sloane, she’d spent months dreaming of this moment. The years she’d spent resenting her later were lost to the crushing surge of desire.
“For helping me out today,” she replied after such a long silence Ari forgot what they’d been talking about. “I don’t forget stu like that. So . . . I’d really like to thank you.”
Inside, Ari was screaming. It was like the beginning of many an old adult movie. She was the pizza delivery person
and Sloane was the customer all out of cash.
Tearing her focus away from Sloane’s slowly parting lips, Ari glanced back at her eyes. They were intent, boring into her, exposing every secret thought Ari had never dared to acknowledge.
