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“Smile,” I commanded.
“Oh. Uh, o-okay.”
She plastered on a smile and squeezed my hand as we neared the table. Pops stood as Mom beamed brightly.
“Pops, Mom, this is my girlfriend Maritza Amaretto. Maritza, this is Victor and Mina Phoenix, my parents.”
“That name sounds familiar. Are you an attorney?” Pops asked, extending his hand to shake hers.
“Yes, sir,” she replied.
When I realized that was all she was going to say, I laughed. She was far too humble, but most confident and secure people were. As she shook Mom’s hand, I spoke on her behalf.
“She’s not just an attorney, she and her sister have the best success rates in trial law, specifically criminal trial law, in the city, and she’s number one on that list. She recently joined us at HGP2.”
“Oh, wow. That’s amazing,” Mom complimented as we took our seats.
“Thank you,” Maritza replied bashfully.
“May I ask what made you join such a large firm if you were doing so well?”
Though that was a personal question, I was glad he asked, because I’d been wondering why she and Sakura joined us as well.
“My sister and I have success with trial and criminal law, but we want bigger cases. Wider reach. HGP2offers us not just the opportunity to try more prominent and prolific criminal cases but the prestige that comes from being attached to that name has already gotten us into rooms we weren’t able to knock on the door of on our own. Individually, we were great, but with this firm, I believe we’ll be powerhouses.”
I stared at the side of her face as she spoke, impressed with her passion. It wasn’t the first time I heard a woman speak passionately about being a lawyer and advancing, but it was the first time I was genuinely impressed. Whether it was because the woman was mysterious and beautiful or highly ambitious and successful, I wasn’t sure. Either way, I liked that shit.
“With your drive for professional advancement, do you have that same eagerness when it comes to your personal life?” Mom asked. “Do you want marriage and children?”
Maritza’s shoulders slumped. Her facial expression slacked.
“Ma, please. None of that this afternoon, okay?”
She chuckled with a shake of her head. “You’re right. We don’t have to know everything today. From what you said earlier, I believe Maritza and I will have plenty of time to chat.”
Maritza gave her a small smile before looking over at me. I was grateful for her help, but I could sense Mom’s question had taken her to a dark place. We stayed for another forty-five minutes or so before heading out. After giving Pops a handshake and Mom a kiss goodbye, I walked Maritza to her car, which was parked on the opposite side of the club thankfully.
I had no time to prepare before her palm was smacking the spit out of my mouth. It caught me so off guard that my natural reaction was to grab her and push her into her car. When I realized what was happening, I quickly released her neck as she coughed. Her hand wrapped around it as she pushed me away.
“Maritza…”
“If youeverkiss me again, I will pull your lips off and feed them to my neighbor’s dogs.”
For some reason, her threat, though I believed she’d try, made me chuckle. “Yes, ma’am,” I agreed before licking my lips and opening the door of her white Jaguar F-Pace with black rims and trimming. The car was nice as hell. It fit her. “Thank you,” I mumbled.
With a roll of her eyes, she slammed the door, making me laugh again.
As far as fake girlfriends go, I’d say I did damn good…
Two
Maritza
My lips still tingled from Jeremy’s kiss. Talk about unexpected. One second, I was getting ready to have my favorite mid-day cocktail, and the next, I was pretending to be Jeremy Phoenix’s girlfriend. I suppose as far as fake boyfriends go, he wasn’t so bad. Jeremy had the reputation of being a selfish asshole when I first made it to the firm. He was the partner everyone told me to stay away from. I was told he took pleasure in testing people in one breath and making them feel like nothing the next. So far, that hadn’t been the version of Jeremy I experienced.
I tried to stay out until the encounter left my mind, but it had been hours and that hadn’t happened yet. Even an impromptu shopping trip only granted brief relief. As I walked into the home I shared with my sister, Sakura, my heels clacked against the hardwood flooring of our kitchen. I hated flooring that wasn’t carpeted in homes. If Sakura had it her way, every room in our home would have no carpeting. Our compromise was for the bathrooms and main rooms along with the kitchen to have hardwood flooring while our bedrooms, offices, and entertaining rooms upstairs had carpet.
“Ritz!” Sakura yelled from upstairs.
