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“Good memory!” Janice smiles.
“Nice to see you again, Emma,” Gretchen says. “Are you settling in alright?”
“I think so, but I’m still learning everyone’s names.” I look around the table, at my other colleagues, all of whom are in their own conversations with the people next to and across from them.
“You’ll learn them soon enough,” Lucy says. “Hey, first round’s on me. What are you drinking?”
“A glass of wine would be great. Thanks,” I say and she smiles, then goes to the bar.
“And anyway, we’re the best people to know,” Gretchen says and Janice laughs. “What? We are. The receptionists hear everything and see everything,” she says. “We know where the bodies are buried.”
My eyes widen and Janice laughs again. “Metaphorically, of course,” she says as Lucy returns with our drinks.
“It’s true, they do know the best gossip,” Lucy says.
“Okay, anything I should know?” I ask, beginning to enjoy myself in their warm, welcoming company.
Janice inclines her head to a man and woman at the far end of the table. “They were having an affair for six months. Didn’t think anyone knew but of course we all did. Her husband and his wife never found out, though.”
Gretchen nods. “And that guy two seats down from Lucy,” she murmurs in a low voice. “He was disciplined twice last year for making copies of his ass on the Xerox machine.”
I laugh. “Wow. I never knew anyone actually did that in real life.”
“Only immature men with no imagination,” Lucy says.
“And speaking of immaturity, Luc Blackwell is a good boss and a horrible flirt,” Gretchen says.
“Horrible at flirting or just doesn’t know how to stop?” I ask.
“The latter,” Gretchen tells me. “He’s actually very good at flirting, which is part of the problem. He’s never been inappropriate with any of us,” she adds quickly. “But listening to him talk to clients is like getting a master class in flattery and wooing.”
“Good to know,” I nod. “What about the other brothers?” I ask, feeling a blush creep into my cheeks at the very thought of Finn.
“Damien is serious but nice, and very smart,” Janice says. “His wife, Sophia, is one of the senior attorneys. She also runs the pro bono department. They’re so in love, it’s a little bit sickening.” But she smiles as she says this, her words full of affection for the oldest Blackwell brother and his wife.
“Sophia also totally mellowed Damien out,” Gretchen says. “He used to be a total workaholic but now he actually leaves the office before midnight. It’s kind of amazing.”
“He’s probably nicer now that he’s not sleep-deprived,” Lucy says, then grins mischievously. “And now that he’s getting laid on the regular.”
Gretchen and Janice laugh, too, and I smile. Then I ask, striving for a casual tone, “What about the middle brother, Finn?” Just saying his name sends a little shiver through me. I gulp the rest of my wine so I’ll have an excuse if my cheeks get any redder.
“Charming heartbreaker,” Janice says immediately. “That’s his total M.O. I mean, good lawyer, decent guy and all. But the string of broken hearts in his wake could fill this city.”
“That bad, huh?” I ask.
“Oh yeah.” Gretchen nods. “Total player. But so charming, like Janice says, that he gets away with a lot.”
“Don’t get us wrong,” Lucy adds. “Total professional, and would never make anyone in the office uncomfortable. He’s like Luc that way. The Blackwell brothers have mastered the art of being completely decent with women they work with and completely indecent with women they don’t. And they get away with it because, well, look at them!”
“So that woman that showed up today,” I ask, hardly able to hear my voice over my heart pounding in my ears. “Is she Finn’s latest, um, conquest?”
Gretchen, Lucy, and Janice look at each other and burst out laughing. I shift in my seat, not sure how to take their reaction. I wipe my palms against my skirt, uncomfortably aware of how sweaty they are.
“Sorry, we’re not laughing at you,” Lucy says kindly. “It’s just that that’s the one woman that Finn never should have tangled with. And now he can’t get rid of her, no matter how hard he tries.”
“Why? Who is she?”
“Her name’s Raven Nightingale,” Gretchen says. “She’s a siren.”
