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His beaming smile came back instantly. “Yes! Mi mariposa, she is the best part of me. You will meet her, she and the other wives come here often to meet us for lunch. I will introduce you. She usually works alongside me but she has been busy with our new home.”
Giving him a polite smile, I nodded. “Okay. I’m going to look over this contract and get back to you on Monday. Have a nice evening, Mr. Ramirez.”
I didn’t want to tell him I had no interest in meeting his wife. Most women don’t like me. They like to talk about weddings and babies and I couldn’t be less interested. If one of them started talking to me about real work, my mind would be blown.
ChapterFour
Jaime was stillby the elevator doors, watching curiously as I approached. “How’d it go?”
My mind on the contract and considering what the job would be like, I didn’t reply to him. I knew what taking this job meant. It was a big middle finger at my father and there was no going back once I took it. But… I may not have that many years experience behind me but I could do this job. I knew property and building law. This could put me on the map and finally get me better clients and bigger jobs. This could be a huge stepping stone for me.
Absentmindedly following Jaime into the elevator, I glanced over the contract. I’d have to take the time to read it in detail before deciding. I’d be more comfortable writing up my own contract but there were some clients who felt better doing it themselves. I would just need to be extra careful to expose any loopholes they might have hidden in there.
Jaime’s finger poking between my eyebrows caught my attention. I batted his hand away, frowning at him.
“What are you doing?”
He shrugged. “You’re gonna get a headache if you keep frowning like that. Why so serious? I thought you wanted the job.”
Scowling, I took a step back before rethinking it. The glass wall on the back of the elevator still freaked me out. Instead, I moved around him to stand in front of the door, watching the numbers as we descended.
“It’s not that simple. I need to look over the contract to be sure if I’m the right person for the job.”
He stepped up beside me, a confused look on his face. “Don’t most lawyers jump at any job they can take to make the big bucks?”
I rolled my eyes. “I’m not most lawyers. I consider each job carefully before I decide to take it and I make sure the contract spells out exactly what’s required from each party. I don’t like oral contracts. It leaves too much room for interpretation.”
Rocking on his heels, his hands in his pocket, it almost felt like Jaime has never had to make a difficult decision in his life. With his sandy blonde hair and the baby face that the scruff did very little to hide, he seemed like the type to never grow up.
Despite just telling Mateo that I preferred to keep things professional, I found myself curious about Jaime. Compared to the men upstairs and the serious faces in the lobby, it didn’t seem like he fit in here.
“You never told me why they made you the messenger boy. What did you do that got you demoted?”
He chuckled. “What makes you think I was demoted?”
“Call it a hunch.” I flashed him an expectant look. His gaze slid over me and there was no question he was checking me out. I stood between irritated and mildly interested. Too bad he worked for my client, and was therefore off limits, or I might consider seeing where things went. I wasn’t interested in relationships but a woman has needs.
“Wouldn’t you like to know,” he smirked.
* * *
Jaime may becute but I was beyond exasperated when he stepped out of the building and led the way to the car. I was elated to see that the storm slowed enough that I’d be able to walk to the station without worrying about freezing to death. Jaime opened the door to the SUV for me but I shook my head.
“I’m good. I’ll take the train. Have a nice evening.”
Turning swiftly away from him, I marched down the street, letting out a slow breath. While at a light, I put the contract carefully in my briefcase, making sure not to wrinkle it. I’m a little fastidious about my paperwork.
A warm presence at my back made me stiffen and I jerked around, letting out a small yelp when I realized Jaime stood behind me. Pressing a hand to my chest, I glowered at him.
“What the hell are you doing?”
I didn’t speak to clients like that but Jaime isn’t my client and I was too busy trying to calm my racing heart to be polite.
He shrugged. “I’m not going to just let you walk home by yourself. It’s not safe. If you prefer the trains then I guess that’s what we’ll do.”
Sighing heavily, I spun around and stalked off, shouting over my shoulder. “I don’t need a babysitter! Please leave me alone.”
He caught up to me easily and matched my stride, his hands in his pockets and his shoulders up, bracing against the stinging wind. If this storm was any indication, we were looking at a brutal winter and I was not looking forward to it, especially given how far this building was from the station. They couldn’t have picked a more inconvenient spot for any of their employees who didn’t own a car. And who drove in Chicago anymore?
