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CHAPTER TEN
Anna spent the next week and a half working from dawn until midnight most days. She barely saw Skylar, just a glimpse here and there in the hallways. She missed his first Friday morning conference. A potential client had called her from jail, begging her to do something quick so he wouldn’t have to spend the night there. She’d left a voice message for Skylar to let him know why she was missing, but he hadn’t responded. He didn’t return any of her texts or calls. Either he was angry at her for some reason or he was even busier than her. She hoped the latter was true.
She was a bit surprised when he summoned her to his office early one morning, surprised and excited.
His office door was wide open, so she stood in the doorway and watched him work for a few minutes. The man oozed sex appeal. How had she missed that before their time in the elevator? She must have hated him not to notice how blue his eyes were or how the dimples in his cheeks deepened when he smiled.
He lifted his head and motioned for her to join him.
She closed the door and crossed the room to stand in front of his desk. After opening up to each other about the trauma in their lives, she expected him to welcome her with a smile and maybe even a warm embrace. But he was in full professional mode. His cool demeanor pierced her heart.
His indifference woke up the insecure girl inside of her, the one who got rejected again and again. “I was beginning to think I’d never see you again,” she said. “Why didn’t you return any of my calls?”
“Busy.” He gestured to boxes in the corner. “I am getting ready to move into my father’s office, and I was wondering if you’d want to move into this one?”
Take his office? She slowly stood and walked around the large room. It was bigger than the office she was currently using. The floor-to-ceiling window took up more space than hers, and he had a couch on the opposite wall. His diplomas, awards, and other personal items had already been removed. Her imagination filled in the blanks. In her mind, she could see what her stuff would look like in his office.
“I would love to move in here,” she said, smiling. The smile quickly turned into a frown. “But won’t the other junior partners be upset that you offered it to me? They’ll think you did it because we’re sleeping together.”
He leaned back in his chair and gave her his full attention. Hands clasped on the desk, he wore a neutral expression. “It’s actually a peace offering.”
“Peace offering?”
He sighed. “I perused the Jensen file, and I went to see him yesterday. I think he did it. I think he killed his foster family.”
The bottom dropped out of her stomach, and she had the sick feeling Skylar was about to drop a bomb on her.
“I’m giving the case to Caruthers,” Skylar said. “He’s a brilliant attorney, but he won’t get emotionally involved.”
Anna shouted, “You can’t do that! It’s my case.”
“You mean, itwasyour case.”
“What happened to letting me have the cases I want if I went along with your insane plan to fool your parents?”
He shrugged broad shoulders beneath the charcoal suit jacket. “Too late to back out now, Burkhart.”
“I can march into the conference room on Friday and tell everyone the truth.”
“They’ll think you’re lying because you’re mad at me and want me to lose my job and the respect of my peers.”
Fists clenched, her chest heaved with the extra oxygen it took to keep from jumping over the desk to choke him. “I swear, if you take the Jensen case from me, I will resign.”
Skylar circled his desk to grasp her shoulders firmly. He commanded her attention. She stared up into his eyes, unable to tear her gaze from his. “I am trying to do what’s best for you and the firm.”
“No. You’re making me look weak and incompetent.” She placed a hand on his solid chest. “Please, don’t do this to me.”
“It’s already done. Caruthers is meeting with your former client as we speak.”
Acting on impulse, she kicked him in the shin. He yelped and grabbed onto his leg while giving her a dirty look. An apology rested on her tongue. She kept it inside because he didn’t deserve to hear it. He’d taken her case away, treated her like a dim-witted child, and opened her to more ridicule.
“Just answer one question honestly,” she said. “Would you have taken the case from me if I was any other lawyer here?” His stunned silence told her what she needed. “I didn’t think so.”
Spinning around on one foot, she stormed out of his office. Inner voices battled to be heard and obeyed. One screamed at her to hand in her letter of resignation. Another warned her to take some time to think through all her options. Yet another thought she should go to the other senior partners. Go over his head. Maybe she should get his father involved. John hadn’t picked up his belongings. According to the grapevine, there was a goodbye party coming up for him next week. He might agree to talk to his son on her behalf.
♥♥♥
Skylar gave his secretary orders not to let anyone disturb him while he made an important call. First, he paced around his office like a caged gorilla. He hadn’t meant to hurt Anna. Taking away her case and giving it to Caruthers hadn’t been an easy decision. After she’d told him about her heartbreaking past he felt it was in her best interest not to get involved with Kyle Jensen. Because they were both Foster kids she’d lost her objectivity. Perhaps the kid wasn’t guilty, but it was also possible he wasn’t innocent. She had tunnel vision and was determined to free him regardless of whether he committed the heinous act or not.
