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Finn could see the admiral was distressed by what could have happened to his own child. He didn’t really need to press for any more information. It was sad, but he doubted Mr. Maddox would ever know what happened to his child.
“I’ll draw up the documents and call you directly to review them once it’s done.”
“Very good, Finn,” Mr. Baxter said, standing. It was time for Finn to go.
“Mr. Maddox, I’ll be in touch early next week.”
A new case was the last thing he needed, but it was obvious why Maddox had chosen him. The military community was strong, but on the SEAL team, the brotherhood was for life. They were men forever linked in training, battle, and war. Finn hoped for Maddox’s sake that the power of some legal court requests would reveal more information and help him find his daughter. Now he had a new reason to stay on at the firm while he worked with Hailey on their joint case. But he intended to put a call into the Navy JAG office on Monday.
Chapter Ten
Hailey
Something was off.Hailey’s focus was gone. Her skin tingled, and she had enough energy to run at least a 10k—and she didn’t even like to run. She’d finished her notification to the firm attempting to buy Mrs. Tovar’s company, and now she was impatiently waiting until one o’clock to see Finn. Her eager need to see him was unprofessional. Not to mention unnerving. She’d been so independent for so long, unable to count on anyone or let herself want anything from anyone.
She’d had a few acquaintances in college, classmates she’d studied with, but between school, working, and caring for her grandmother, she didn’t have much time. Friendships always seemed like a lot of extra work, and people would get nosy about her past. Boyfriends were a bit easier, more surface companionships. They provided company and met physical needs, but if they got clingy, she just moved on. Which would explain why she’d only had two real boyfriends and both were short-lived.
Since living in Alexandria, she hadn’t dated at all. She worked all the time. She was beginning to realize how sad that was. There was being driven and then there was being an obsessive hermit. The funny thing was, men often did ask her for her phone number at the grocery store or in the coffee shop near her place. One guy who worked at the courthouse had pursued her a bit, but she’d told him she wasn’t available. She was married to her ambition and chasing the junior partnership.
“Hey, are you ready to review my work?” Finn appeared in the doorway of her office. “I saved it in the shared folder for our case.”
His suit jacket was off, and his sleeves were cuffed up to reveal his tan forearms with a sprinkle of tawny hair that she itched to touch. Maybe he was the right guy to break her dry spell. Their chemistry was off the charts, but it was in complete conflict with her policy to never date anyone at work. Although if it was just hooking up, after hours, to relieve this pressure between them, then it wasn’t really dating. And if she made partner, she would just end it because there was no way she could expect the other rookies to respect her if she was sleeping with one of them. Sex—she had just acknowledged that she wanted to have sex with Finn.
He stepped farther into her tiny office, his eyes studying her as if he could read her mind.
“You okay? You look like you just figured something out,” he asked in a low tone.
“Yes. I’ll take a look and meet you in the bullpen,” she said, opening her laptop and squeezing her legs together.
She’d just given herself permission to have Finn, but first they needed to file these documents with the court. It was Friday, and once they were done at the courthouse, they could easily get away with not returning to the office. It was out of character for her and it was probably going to backfire, but she was long overdue for some fun. Finn’s hot body and charming nature seemed like just the right type of fun she needed.
After a quick review, she printed both their documents and tucked her laptop into her bag in case she didn’t make it back to the office. Finn met her near the elevators.
“All good?” he asked.
“Yep, just excited to file these.”
He nodded and held the doors open for her. Two other people on the elevator moved to the side, and Finn followed her in, forced to stand in front of her. The elevator stopped on the next floor, and the two strangers got off. Finn slid to the side just as the doors closed and stood quietly.
A moment later, she reached out and hit the stop button on the elevator. Just like in the movies, it shook to a stop, and an alarm went off.
“Hailey, what are you doing?”
She dropped her bag and stepped in front of him. Pushing her hand inside his suit jacket, she could feel his carved muscular back. She stood on her tiptoes while her other hand looped behind his neck, pulling his mouth down to meet hers.
His surprise gave her the upper hand as she licked her tongue into his mouth. He tasted like sugar and cinnamon. But in the next second, his reaction was visceral. His hands gripped her hips and hoisted her legs up around his narrow waist. Next he pushed her back against the wall of the elevator. He met her tongue with steady pressure before moving his lips down her throat.
“You must either be a mind reader, or you’ve been wanting this as much as me,” he breathed.
His morning shave had grown out just enough for the tiny hairs to rub along her skin as his mouth dipped lower into the neckline of her button-down blouse. His strong hands held her up as she bounced her hips, feeling his hard desire pressed against her. His mouth was back on hers; one hand held her neck in a gentle but dominating way that she was surprised to find she liked. His thumb stroked her chin as they tasted and teased each other.
The sound of a phone ringing broke through the haze of desire he was creating. He stopped kissing her but didn’t move away. They both took several labored breaths.
“Shoot, I hope there isn’t a camera in here,” she said.
Finn’s mouth pressed against her collarbone in one more hot, open-mouth kiss. His tongue tasted her before he pulled back enough to look into her eyes.
“I’m going to restart the elevator. We’re going to straighten our clothes and walk out of here like two mature adults.”
