Chapter Twenty-Five
Dominic (Mace)
This is my worst nightmare, but at least her office is private and while she works, I get to watch her.
Cassie really is beautiful, but it’s not only that, there is so much more to her and seeing her here, in her element I understand why she doesn’t want to give up this small part of a normal life.
She’s studiously ignoring me, still pissed I won’t wait outside or blend in better. I’ve drawn the blinds over the window to the open plan office outside.
People did stare when I walked in with her but no one questioned who I was. Her assistant was the only one who came in. Cassie told her to ignore me, which the woman struggled with, almost walking into the door because she couldn’t take her eyes off me.
I’ve spent the morning texting back and forth with Talon. The shipment is coming in tonight. Singer has his side of it all planned out. We need to make sure we’re there to pick it up and get it out of the port as quickly as possible and I’ve been coordinating it all from here.
Talon isn’t happy I’ve let myself get dragged away, but he’s my second in command, I told him I trusted him and will be there when it matters.
Handlebar knows he has to be with her tonight back at the house so I can deal with this. I haven’t filled him in on what we’re doing. It’s Stroudsburg club business.
From where I’m sitting, I can hear most of what is going on outside. When Cassie’s phone rings, it’s obvious straight away she’s talking to the assistant. Cassie avoids eye contact and speaks quietly into the phone, saying she will be along shortly.
“I have a meeting,” she says hanging up the phone.
“Where?”
She rolls her eyes. “Down the hall. You can stay here.”
“Who is the meeting with?”
“The managing partner,” she says gathering up some folders and walks around the desk.
“Really, cos your assistant out there said Mr. Roderick is here.”
Cassie pauses at the front of her desk, her eyes flick to the door, realizing that it’s slightly ajar, her eyes narrow at me when I get to my feet. I purposely left it open, so I knew what, if anything, was happening outside of the room.
“Why wouldn’t you tell me you were meeting him?”
“For this very reason,” she waves her hand at my posture. “You can’t come into the meeting, Dominic.”
I won’t admit hearing her say my name could get me hard. Not in this situation, not when the man we’re worried might hurt her is waiting for her down the hall. “Really.” It’s not a question.
“Client, attorney privilege. And you just can’t.”
“Real solid argument counselor.”
“Sit down, wait here and stay out of trouble. I will be fine. Nothing is going to happen and there are other people with me. I’ll be back in an hour.”
She walks out and closes the door behind her. I open it and she glances back at me, giving me a hard stare that says don’t you fucking dare. I smirk at her, then sit down where she can see me, keeping the door wide open.
I learned my lesson the hard way when it comes to protecting someone, leaving them alone can have repercussions. Having her out of my sight is pissing me off, but she’s right, what could happen to her surrounded by all these people?
“Don’t let him leave,” she says to the assistant.
“Good one,” I laugh.
“Behave.”
She turns and walks away, and I can’t stop from staring at her ass, all the way down her legs to those three inch high fuck me heels. The assistant is staring again but I ignore her.
We’re leaving straight after this meeting. I need to prepare for tonight.
I’m distracted by more texts until the assistant jumps up and a few other people pop their heads up from their desks. The sound of shouting filters down the hallway. Angry, male shouting.
All I can think about is Cassie and that asshole and storm out of the office. The assistant shouts after me but I ignore her and run along the corridor.
I come to a large meeting room with a wall of glass beside the door.
Inside, Cassie is standing up holding up one hand, another guy is also on his feet watching the second man who is pacing back and forth.
He moves forward, grabs a decanter of water and throws it at the wall, shattering glass everywhere.
I burst through the door and go straight for him.
He’s taken by surprise when I grab the collar of his shirt and swing him face first into the wall, he doesn’t put his hands up to protect himself and his nose smashes against the glass.
At least it’s reinforced, although it would have been satisfying to push the bastard through it.
Cassie is shouting as I spin the fucker around and jam my forearm against his throat. He has blood pouring from his nose and looks terrified.
Handlebar is right, assholes who attack women are chickenshit cowards when faced with another man.
“Mace!”
Her shriek makes me stop from suffocating him. It might not have been happening long, but she has been calling me Dominic. Now I’m getting Mace. Shit, I should have thought this out, but I saw red, hearing him shouting at her, then he threw that jug in her direction.
That is a man on the verge of doing something very fucking stupid and I wasn’t going to let him do it to her. I’ve fucked up once in the past, and it almost cost a woman her life. I’ll never let that happen ever again.
“Let him go.”
I still haven’t said a word, and this asshole can’t either because I’m almost crushing his windpipe. Cassie tugs my arm, surprisingly hard for a woman of her size.
“Let go now!” she shouts.
More people are appearing outside, watching the commotion. The other man is talking about calling security, but Cassie tells him not to. With one more tug, I release him and step back. The dick practically falls to the floor, grabbing his throat and touching the blood on his face.
Cassie is explaining to the other man that she knows me, that this was a mistake, and she will fix it. The other guy is not happy.
I still don’t regret it, and my posture says that.
Someone comes in with a first aid kit, everyone is eyeing me as the older guy tries to appease Vance who is getting his wits about him again and shouting profanities.
Cassie helps him get up as someone holds tissue up to his bloody nose.
He knocks into her, and I see red but she puts her hand on my chest and stops me before anyone notices.
“I can’t believe you did that,” she hisses.
“He could have hurt you.”
“He was angry because the case is going to shit and…” she puts a hand over her forehead and shakes her head. “He wasn’t going to hurt me.”
“The senior partners will hear about this,” Vance shouts as someone tries to usher him out. “I’ll have your fucking job for this. Somebody call the police.”
Cassie whirls around and I can tell from her posture she wants to tell the asshole to go to hell, but she keeps her mouth shut. The fucker is still ranting as he’s taken out of the room, leaving the three of us.
“Mace you need to leave.”
“I’m not-”
“I mean wait outside, out of sight, they’re going to call the cops. And I have enough to sort out here without getting your ass out of jail.”
She’s right.
“Cassie,” the older man calls, and she turns to face him. “I’ve ignored the work you do for your private clients because you have always kept it separate. He’s one of them, isn’t he?”
“Harry, please don’t call the police.”
“This is a law firm, we don’t allow thugs to come in and start choking people out. This is completely unacceptable. You keep that side of your business and life separate and I warned you the second anything interfered with or brought trouble down on us, then the agreement was over.”
“This was just a misunderstanding, he thought Vance was going to hurt one of us.”
“Why would he hurt one of us? We’re his attorneys. Jesus Cassie, you’ll be lucky if he doesn’t sue you now, or the goddamn motorcycle criminals you work for.” He sneers at me.
He’s asking to be punched too.
“It won’t happen again, Harry.” Cassie glares at me.
“No, it won’t. You broke the terms of the agreement. Not only him being here, the assault of a client. One of most respected clients, who is related to a partner here. No, Cassie. This is over.”
“What do you mean?” Her spine straightens.
“It’s means you’re fired.”
Shit.
“You can’t fire her.” He doesn’t need to be a prick about this, it was all my fault.
“I can, and I am. This went too far.”
“We can talk about this, give me a chance to explain,” Cassie says.
“You can’t explain away what I witnessed with my own two eyes.
Having you on Vance’s case hasn’t helped in any way.
We’re bordering on losing because you haven’t worked fast enough to get the suit dropped.
Kroeger has filed motion after motion, she’s been to see the judge and where were you?
I haven’t been able to get hold of you. You have been rude to our client, you walked out on him during a meeting. ”
“What meeting are you talking about?”
“At the restaurant.”
“You mean the night when-”
Cassie turns on me and cuts me off with a look. She wants me to go, but how can I leave her like this?
“You left him to meet with that club,” he spits out. “When you’re supposed to be working day and night on this case. And now this. No, there is no coming back from this. I’ll be speaking to the partners, and they will confirm the decision. Get your things and leave.”
There is a very slight tremor in Cassie’s hands, but she doesn’t argue. She doesn’t say anything, to him or me, just turns and walks out of the room. Everyone is staring at her as she makes her way past them. I turn to the sniveling little shit.
“You didn’t need to do that.”
“I want you out of here before I call security. You’re lucky I know exactly who you are and what you do and that is the only reason why I won’t be calling the police right now. Get off our property and stay away.”