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She pushed her glasses higher on her nose and said, “Uh, five, Mr. Gentry. I had a few things to catch up on.”
He rubbed his jaw. “Do I pay you overtime?”
Lydia was so confused by his question she just sat there, staring at him as if he’d lost his mind.
“Lydia, answer the question. It wasn’t that hard.”
“No, sir, you don’t. I’m salary.”
“Then it makes no sense to work overtime, now does it?”
“I suppose not, but I needed to finish up some research.”
Dane shook his head. “You work too much.”
Lydia was beginning to feel a spark of anger. She liked her job, but there were days when working for three lawyers really was a joke. “Are you complaining about my performance, Mr. Gentry?”
He frowned. “Of course not, but you put in way too many hours.”
“Someone had to finish the research. I don’t have a magic wand here…sir,” she said, allowing a hint of sarcasm to seep into her voice.
Her boss leaned across the desk, coming way too close for comfort, and whispered, “You have a very smart mouth, Lydia. One of these days it’ll get you into trouble.”
Lydia tamped down the urge to move her chair closer, to inhale his clean masculine scent. She’d always had a weakness for Dane. He was so tall and broad shouldered. His messy dark hair with the little curl at the collar always made her want to reach out and play with it. Deep brown eyes watched her with an intensity that had her feeling as if someone had jacked up the temperature. It was no wonder he had so many female clients. She thought of his statement and answered, “There are times when I find my quick wit to be rather helpful, Mr. Gentry.”
“Dane,” he gritted out. “Will you ever call me Dane?”
“I see no reason to, no.” This was an old argument between them. She stood on formalities and it drove him crazy, which was partly why she did it, of course.
“I can make it mandatory.”
She laughed. “That can’t be legal.”
“Who gives a damn if it’s legal or not?”
She was about to remind him that he was a lawyer when another voice intruded. “Is he giving you a hard way to go, sugar?”
Dane straightened and turned around. Lydia peered around Dane’s massive body to see Mac Anderson striding through the door, a bagel in one hand and his briefcase in the other. Lydia went back to work mode. “Good morning, Mr. Anderson. Your schedule,” she explained as she handed it over. “Don’t forget you said you’d have lunch with your mom today at one.”
Mac grinned and looked at Dane. “Think she’ll ever call us by our first name?”
Dane snorted and crossed his arms over his chest. “Unlikely.”
Mac was Dane?
??s polar opposite. He walked around with a perpetual grin and everyone was a friend. In fact, she wasn’t sure she’d ever seen the man grumpy. With his sandy blond hair and pale blue eyes, he looked more like a laidback surfer than a lawyer. His easy charm was merely a veneer though. He was every bit as sharp as Dane and just as cunning in the courtroom.
“This subject has been beaten into the ground,” she replied as she pretended an interest in the e-mail she’d been going through. “You both might as well get used to the fact that I’m never going to call you by your first names. It’s not professional and that’s the end of it.”
“Mouthy, isn’t she?” Mac noted.
Out of the corner of her eye she saw Dane frown, again. “Someone needs to teach Ms. Burke a lesson, if you ask me.”
“Someone has a meeting in half an hour and shouldn’t be wasting time chatting.”
“She has a point,” another voice chimed in. They all three looked at the door to the office just as Trent Dailey marched through it, his movements precise, his expression serious. Lydia straightened in her chair. Trent had a way of making people check themselves. He wasn’t exactly a drill sergeant, but she secretly thought he would have made an exemplary one if he ever chose to change professions. Ever the serious one, with his amber eyes, neatly trimmed black hair and powerful build, Trent rarely cracked a smile, and he always did everything with efficiency. She often felt like a slacker around him, and for a workaholic like her, that was saying something.
“If you two can find it in you to break away from the charming Ms. Burke, I have something I need to discuss with you.”
