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Seconds turned to heart pounding minutes before a reply dinged on Lola’s phone. At the sight of Carmen’s name on her screen, her stomach clenched, forcing her to hold her breath for a beat before she read her response.
CHAPTER32
Carmen kickedoff her heels as soon as she walked into her office, hot despite having worn a dress to court that morning. September was so close, being out at noon shouldn’t feel like walking on the surface of the sun.
But despite the long morning and the lack of sleep the night before, Carmen was in a good mood. For the first time in a while, she had a purpose. A goal. She was going to tug the Fortune thread and unravel her.
The thought of Lola flickered in her mind. She wasn’t going to lie to herself. Having been out with Lola eating spectacular food on a Brickell rooftop had been incredible. If it had been a date, it would have been the best one she’d had in forever.
Her chest tingled as she rounded her desk. It had felt like a date, strange as it was to get together to discuss a frivolous lawsuit filed by a woman who believed she could see past lives. Who seemed convinced she and Lola were some kind of karmic couple.
She closed her eyes for a moment, plunged back into the darkness of that strange moment where surrounded by smoke they’d kissed. Lola’s fingerprints were burned into her skin, making it impossible to forget her touch. To forget that she’d never felt so connected to her own body than when Lola was all over it.
The buzzing in her pocket chased away her thoughts. Evaporated the memory of Lola’s lips on hers and the thrill of her hand on her throat.
Lola:Leaving for LA tonight.
For a wild, improbable second, Carmen imagined being whisked off. Running away to somewhere her name didn’t mean anything. Where there were no expectations. No pressure.
But then the internet told her that Los Angeles was over five hundred miles south of Redpine. She wasn’t going to California to investigate Fortune’s compound.
Carmen:LA? For work?
Lola:I’m either putting out a fire or firing a client. Should take me a couple of days to find out which. Since I’ll already be on the west coast, I’ll go up to Redpine afterwards. See if it’s legit or a bunch of stock photos.
There wasn’t an invitation in the message, but if Lola didn’t want her to come along, why was she telling her? She could easily just go without her knowledge. It’s not like Lola gave a shit about asking for permission.
Carmen bit the inside of her cheek. She wanted to go to Redpine with her, but she couldn’t just say so. Lola would probably take it as her not trusting her to go alone, or twist her intentions in some other way.
Thumbs hovering over her screen, Carmen felt like a surgeon making a delicate cut. Although with Lola, it was more like disarming a bomb. She had to move carefully. Had to engage Lola just so and with unnecessary aggression. It was a language Lola understood.
Carmen:I’ll be in Redpine Tuesday.
Three dots appeared and disappeared before reappearing again. Had she rendered Lola speechless? She didn’t think it was possible.
Lola:You can’t just invite yourself. This isn’t a vacation.
Carmen:Researching the plaintiff in our shared lawsuit seems pretty work-related to me. See you there, or if you have to spend more time in LA, I’ll handle it myself.
She could almost hear Lola’s exasperated huff through the phone. Imagined her pacing her office, alive with rage. Furious at Carmen’s audacity not only to invite herself on the trip, but threatening to do the work without her when it had been her idea first.
The longer Lola took to respond, the angrier Carmen imagined her getting. Doubt seeped into her stomach. Maybe she’d overplayed her hand. Been too assertive.
Lola:Whatever. It’s a free country.
Carmen laughed, her skin warming as if Lola had said something sweet followed by several heart emojis. Making good on her threat, Carmen booked her flights. It would take two to get to Fortune’s place, followed by a long drive out to the middle of nowhere.
It took another several hours to clear her schedule for the rest of the week. Moving meetings was easy. Telling other lawyers that she wasn’t available to cover for them after all was trickier. She wondered if the complaints would reach her mother before she had a chance to cross the office and tell her herself.
Carmen put her shoes back on but left her jacket off. Each step she took across the office was filled with a combination of determination and anxiety. She so rarelytoldher mother what she was going to do, leaving no room for discussion.
If Carmen’s office was the smallest and least desirable, her mother’s sprawling office was the stuff corner office dreams were made of. Large enough for a seating area, the walls that were not covered floor-to-ceiling with leather-bound books were windows looking out to the gleaming dark waters of Biscayne Bay.
Some people might expect to inherit a watch, or some sentimental bit of crockery. A wedding dress or a piece of jewelry. But Carmen’s birthright was a corner office and a little gold plate withPartneretched under her name.
Sitting behind a desk that looked like it was carved out a single piece of wood, allegedly a small replica of her great-grandfather’s judicial bench, her mother worked with the bay at her back.
She didn’t look up when Carmen appeared in the open doorway. She remained engrossed in the document as Carmen entered the room, the silence between them thickening, palpable, like a storm brewing.
