Master Debater

27. Nate

After getting used to nights spent with Willa, it’d been way too many days since she and I had seen each other. I’d greeted her upon her return, and we celebrated her divorce with champagne and sex. Although, I’d joked I was mostly raising my glass to her returning the Porsche without a single scratch on it. No jokes or excuse for the incredible sex, as that was self-explanatory.

This past week, Willa had spent a lot of extra hours at Berklee, finalizing a song she was writing. Both our schedules seemed to be in fast-forward, the tasks in our days always outnumbering the hours in which we had to accomplish them. Long weeks where I put in close to eighty hours used to be the norm, but after getting used to spending time with Willa this past month, her absence had become a physical, glaring vexation.

At least Rylee had come in last week and apologized, both for telling me she’d hire anyone but me and for her drunken state at the art exhibition. She’d burst into tears as she admitted her life was spinning out of control. She’d cried even harder as she told me she found out Sebastian had cheated with one of her best friends while the two of them were in Florida.

“Originally,” she’d told me with a loud sniff, “I even wanted to blame you, since you were the one who told me I couldn’t go.”

My assistant, Madison, had brought in the box of tissue I’d requested, and Rylee dabbed at her cheeks and loudly blew her nose.

“That’s when it hit me.” Rylee tossed the wad of tissues in the trash can by my desk. “I’ve made way too many excuses for him. Like that night he left me on the boat. Yeah, I’d wanted to go to harbor to see the boats, but it was his idea to break in and his idea to drink their booze. I even tried to stop him, but he told me to loosen up—obviously he was the loose one in our relationship, fucking cheater.”

Her chin quivered, and she reached for another tissue. “But I’ve made too many excuses for myself too, blaming everyone else when anything bad happens. I promise I’m going to be better, Nate. But I really, really don’t want to go to prison.”

I’d circled my desk, squatted in front of her, and assured her I’d do everything in my power to prevent that. We talked options and then she hugged me, and I couldn’t remember the last time we’d shared an embrace like that. Probably at Dad’s funeral.

Finally, the prosecutor had gotten back to me. I’d pled the case for my sister over the phone, hoping to get at least this one off my plate. The guy was a hard-ass, and it was my sister’s future on the line, so as much as I wanted to push, I gripped the phone tighter and waited for his offer. The silence stretched out, the knot in my gut constricting into one that might never come undone.

“One hundred hours of community service,” he said. “And the completion of a drug and alcohol awareness class.”

Relief flooded me, but I kept my cool. “I’ll present it to my client.” And convince her to take it. Both terms would be good for Rylee. After hanging up, I wondered if Rylee had gone to see Willa like I suggested. I figured she’d understand my sister’s pain better than anyone, as well as have a remedy how to get over a no-good cheating ex.

I sat up so fast my chair nearly bucked me out. Shit.Had I sent Rylee to someone who’d suggest the best way to get over a guy was to get under one who’d deliver wild no-strings sex?

Surely not. I raked a hand through my hair, the stress of my week leaving me as jittery as drinking an entire pot of coffee made with Red Bull. My simplest of cases kept throwing me curve balls, and I was exhausted and punchy.

What I needed was to take myself to see my girlfriend. I needed her scent invading my head, her laugh in my ear, and her next to me in bed, cuddling the shit out of me.

The intercom on my desk squawked, the noise jerking me out of my daydream. “You’ve got a visitor,” Madison said.

I pinched the bridge of my nose, exhausted at the idea of talking to one more person.

“Her name’s Willa Trainor. She says she’s your girlfriend?”

My inner cranky old man quieted, my mood turning serene as my internal organs devolved into ecstatic pandemonium. “Please escort her to my office.” I barely resisted adding, “And hurry the fuck up about it.”

Anticipation zinged through my veins, my pulse quickening with the sound of approaching footsteps. And then, as if I’d summoned her with my thoughts, Willa appeared in the open doorway beside Madison.

“Hope I’m not interrupting.” Willa lifted a grease-splattered bag that smelled like fried heaven. “I brought dinner.”

I gestured her inside, and Madison retreated down the hallway.

“You’re the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen in my life,” I said as Willa rounded my desk, and then I made a big show of glancing from the bag in Willa’s hands to her face. “And you’re also looking lovely.”

Willa yanked the bag behind her back with a gasp, and I hooked my finger on the belt loop of her black slacks and tugged her onto my lap. The bag crinkled as she played keep away, but I finally pried it loose.

After placing it on my desk, I returned my full attention to the woman straddling me and unleashed all my pent-up energy, moving my mouth over hers and placing a palm to her back so I could trace my fingers down her spine.

“Hey,” I said, peering into the green eyes she’d accentuated with winged eyeliner today. Her lips were cherry red, and loose blond curls cascaded down around her shoulders. The middle button on the white shirt she’d tucked into her pants was clinging on for dear life, and I couldn’t help cheering for it to fail. My gaze could hardly pick a place to land. “I take it back. You’re tastier than that food’s going to be, and I haven’t had my fill of you in so long that I’m going to need an encore of one of our many stellar performances.”

She pretended she was going to resist my charms, but I moved my mouth to the spot at the base of her neck that never failed to result in her submission. Sure enough, she melted against me. Her hand cupped my elbow, keeping hold of me as she tilted her head and gave me full access of her delicious skin. “You’re the one working so late all the time.”

“I know, I know. It’s been so crazy, and I thought things were going to slow down, but…” I nuzzled deeper into the curve of her neck and sucked on the skin there.

“So, uh. Does your receptionist usually work so late?”

“It depends,” I answered, far more interested in tasting more of Willa than discussing work.

“On what?” she asked, and the slight pinch in her voice let me know this conversation had just veered from casual territory.

I lifted my head. “On how late I’m working or how much help I need. She’s more than a receptionist. She’s a legal assistant.”

“She’s pretty,” Willa said, and my posture tensed. Just like a guilty person who’d just been caught. Only I wasn’t guilty of anything besides hiring smart, qualified women. I’m sure Madison had no trouble attracting men and women, as she liked both and often brought dates to company functions. But she was only a year or two older than my sister and not even close to my type. Not to mention we’d worked too many late nights irritating each other while stressed out to ever consider anything besides a professional working relationship.

“I’m sure my Christina is still in her office as well. We’ve got a hefty caseload.”

“And Christina is…?”

“The paralegal who works at the firm with me. Would you like an introduction?” I pulled back so Willa could see I wasn’t hiding anything. While I wished she wouldn’t ask prying questions and beat around the bush on what she really meant, I also understood why she’d want assurance after her last relationship.

It was just the exact reason I’d avoided being in one for so long. Questions. Justifications for late nights. Being accountable to anyone else in any aspect of my life.

Willa gnawed on her lip and then shook her head. “No. Sorry. I just…” She placed her hand on the side of my face. “I’ve missed you this week. You kept cancelling our dinner plans, which is why I decided to bring dinner to you, but when she asked what my business with you was, and I told her I was your girlfriend, I could literally see her shock. Which means, either she didn’t know you had one, or she was just that baffled because of the way I look.”

“Dead sexy, you mean?”

She tilted her head, and I brushed my mouth over hers. “I thought we were over this.”

“I thought so too,” she said, dragging her hand from my neck to the center of my chest. “I’m working on it, but I guess I didn’t realize how much I’d miss you, and that scares me too.”

I placed my hand over hers, curling it into my grasp and giving it a reassuring squeeze. “Hey.” Not a hello this time, but an, I hear you, I’m sorry, and an I miss you too. “It’ll get better soon. I’ve got to survive one more month, and then I’ll be all yours. Promise.”

“Okay. I trust you.”

“And that means the world to me. Now, tell me. How are things going with you?” My stomach growled, triggered by the scent of food and overtaking my question.

Willa spun around on my lap, re-inflating the situation in my pants in record time, and opened the bag of food. “Don’t worry, I’m starving too. We’ll put this convo on pause and multitask so we can make the best use of our limited time together.”

I was going to offer another idea, but as she dug out the burgers and fries, my hunger demanded to be appeased first. Then I’d have more energy for the rest of the night. As Willa set out our food, I moved the chair opposite my desk to right next to mine so we could remain close as we ate.

“I do have an update, actually. The song I’ve been working on has now turned into songs—plural.” Excitement flickered through her eyes as she bounced on the seat of her chair. “It’s like once I got closure on my past, the dam that’d been forced upon me crumbled apart, and the words and music just flowed. I’ve got three ready to go, so the next step will be recording the demos, and then Rashida is going to help me curate a list of music publishers so I can start submitting my work. Can you believe it?” Her squeal drifted over to me, infecting me with the same happiness, and I leaned forward and squeezed her knee.

“That’s amazing. I’m so proud, and I can’t wait to hear it.”

“Funny you say that because I was hoping to play one of them for you tonight. It’s so close to done, but I could use the help of a handsome pianist. There’s a tiny part of the melody that needs a bit of extra polish.”

“You’ve come to the right place.” I closed the distance between us, giving her another quick kiss on the mouth. “Anything you need, you got it. You got me.”

The brilliance of her smile flooded the room, so much light, my worries faded into the dark recesses of my mind.

Until the phone on my desk rang. Not a transferred call either, so Madison must’ve gone home. Usually, she checked in before heading out, but I’m sure she hadn’t wanted to interrupt. I appreciated that too, even if it left me to answer the phones. If I hadn’t cast a wide net in hopes for help with one of my cases, I would’ve let it roll to voicemail, but since I was the one requesting information, I sighed and picked up the call.

“Fox, Hollis, and Associates. This is Nate.”

“Ah, I was prepared to leave a message. I like that you work late hours, though. That makes me think I’ve called the right attorney for the job.” The man went on to introduce himself, and I worked to hide my overeager surprise when it ended up being the chairman and CEO of one of the biggest biotech companies, not just in the state but the nation.

I launched into salesman mode, where my firm and I were the commodity, rattling off stats and assuring him my team and I could handle the case for the Fortune 500 company. We set up a meeting, and by the end of the call, my body was buzzing with the enormity of everything a client like them could mean.

“Good news?” Willa asked, and for a second, I got distracted at the way her lips were wrapped around the straw of her drink.

“Beyond good. I can’t go into details, but it’s possibly the best thing that’s ever happened to me and the firm. If they hire me to represent them—and they will once they meet with me—it’ll land me so far above my uncles that they’ll need a telescope to see me.” I slapped a palm on the desk, victory flowing through my bloodstream in sublime bursts. “I can’t wait to shove this in their faces.”

“That’s great. I’m glad you’re happy.”

Why didn’t she sound happy? “I don’t think you understand what this means.”

“I get it, I do. As much as I can from an outside perspective anyway. I’m excited for you, and not surprised in the least a big important company wants you as their lawyer. It’s just that…” She reached up and fiddled with her earring, which she did when she was nervous, and that made me nervous. “Rylee was talking to me about your uncles the other day when she came over to talk about her breakup. I totally understand that what they did was super messed up, but she told me they kept trying to apologize, and I can tell that she misses them. I thought you might miss them too. And now I feel like I let my anger get the best of me that night at the exhibit. I shouldn’t have butted in. I should’ve allowed them to say their piece.”

Wait. What? Where was that coming from? “No way. There’s not a damn thing they could say to make me change my mind, and that spiel you gave was perfection. I couldn’t have said it better myself, and it was at that moment that I knew, without a doubt, that I’d never be able to let you go.”

She nodded, so much hesitation that it gave the gesture a different meaning. What, exactly, I wasn’t sure, besides the fact that it didn’t signify agreement of any kind. “Is that your primary goal for taking on another big case? To get one over on your uncles? You’re already so busy, and I worry you’re going to work yourself half to death, if not all the way.”

“I’ll be fine. This has been three years in the making, Willa. I vowed to show Gil and Bobby what they lost, and to make them pay for shitting on my dad’s legacy, and I’m so close to making it a reality I can taste it.”

Normally, I wouldn’t use the phrase “rue the day.” But for my uncles, I’d make an exception.

They’d rue the day. I guaran-fucking-teed it.