Chapter 11
Chapter Eleven
Ariana
“You said your grandfather was the reason you wanted to study law. Why is that?” I asked as we both finished dinner, and I helped him clean up.
“He’s a brilliant lawyer and someone I greatly admire and look up to. We’re very close.”
“Have you always been close to him?” I asked.
“Since the day I was born. He’s the most important person in my life.”
“Is he your grandfather from your mother or father’s side?”
“My mother’s.”
“I’m sure if your father could see you now, he’d be very proud of you. Was he a lawyer as well?”
“He was a cop.” He placed the dishes in the sink and rested his hands on the counter while he lowered his head and lightly shook it. “Wow. You’re good.”
“What do you mean?” I asked in confusion.
“I told you that I didn’t want to talk about my family, yet you managed to sneak in a question about my father, and I answered without even thinking twice about it.”
“I don’t understand, Luca.”
“I’m only going to say this once.” He looked over at me with seriousness in his eyes. “And I’ll never speak of it again. My father was not a good man, and I dislike talking about him. So all questions are off-limits. Do you understand me?” he spoke in an authoritative tone.
“Yeah. Sure. I understand.”
“You don’t want to talk about your family, and I respect that, so I expect the same from you.”
I put my hands up. “I get it. No talk about either family. Can you point me in the direction of the bathroom?”
“It’s down the hall. First door on your right.”
“Thanks. I’ll be right back.”
I closed the bathroom door and leaned against it, letting out a breath. His tone and demeanor told me that his childhood mustn’t have been very good with his father. I was about to ask him how he passed away, but now I couldn’t. We all had secrets we wanted to keep locked away deep within our souls, and I couldn’t fault him for that since I was unwilling to tell him what happened back in Boston.
After using the bathroom, I walked into the living area and found Luca sitting on the couch.
“Join me.” He smiled. “I want your opinion on something.”
When I sat next to him, he handed me a file folder.
“What’s this?” I asked as I opened it.
“A case. I want you to review it later and report back to me in the morning with your thoughts. We’re going to trial in a few days.”
“Really?” I grinned.
“Really.” He brought his hand up to my cheek and softly stroked it.
I could feel my cheeks redden as a rush of warmth flooded me down below. Our eyes locked onto each other as neither one of us said a word. My eyes diverted to his lips, and I gulped at how badly I wanted him to kiss me.
“Do you want me to kiss you?” he softly spoke as the palm of his hand rested on my cheek.
“Maybe,” I whispered.
“As much as I want to, I can’t.” He pulled away and got up from the couch.
“Why?” The question fell from my lips before I could think about it.
“Because, Ariana, I promised you that I would be on my best behavior tonight. How would it look if I broke that promise?”
“I don’t mind if you break it. People break promises all the time.”
“I don’t, and it’s getting late. I’ll have Jeffery drive you home.”
“Okay.” I frowned.
I got up from the couch, grabbed my purse, and he walked me to the door.
“Thank you for dinner,” I spoke.
“You’re welcome. Don’t forget to study that file.”
“I won’t.”
I stood there, hoping and praying that he’d at least kiss me on the cheek, but he didn’t. He just placed his hand on the small of my back and walked me into the hallway.
“Have a good night, Ariana.”
“Yeah. You too.”
Fuck. Now I saw why women had trouble keeping their panties up in his presence. It didn’t take much more than a look from him to make me go weak in the knees and want him. I could already tell that working for him would be a problem.
Luca
My cock was hard, and I was going to be left with a serious case of blue balls. She wanted me to fuck her, and it took all the strength I had in me not to. I wanted to take it slow because I needed her to trust me first. But why did I care? That was the question I needed to figure out the answer to. There was a tremendous amount of attraction. More so than I’d ever felt with anyone before. I could see myself growing close to her, which would pose a problem. She was different, and I couldn’t put my finger on why.
The next morning, I strolled into the office and saw Ariana’s beautiful face as she sat at her desk.
“Good morning.” I stopped.
“Good morning.”
“Grab us some coffee and come into my office. Bring the file with you.”
A few moments later, she walked in with the file and two cups of coffee. I couldn’t stop thinking about how I could have had her last night. Of all times to be a gentleman.
“So, what do you think?” I asked as she set my coffee cup on my desk and took a seat.
“All the evidence points to your client as being guilty, and if I think that, so will the jury. He had no witnesses to his alibi. He found out his wife was cheating, so he had a motive.”
“I know. That’s why I need you to see something we’re not. I’m removing you from the position of my secretary and making you my legal assistant for now. I want you to work on this case and find me something to prove to the jury that our client didn’t murder his wife.”
“You’re kidding, right?”
“No. I’m very serious, Ariana. Reasonable doubt is the key here.”
“But what can I do if you and your team exhausted all avenues?”
“Are you doubting your ability as a lawyer?” I arched my brow at her.
“No. It’s just?—”
“It’s just nothing. Now get to work and call the temp agency to send over a secretary.”
“I’ll get right on it,” she said as she left my office.
I sighed as I picked up my phone and called Will, my realtor.
“Luca, what can I do for you?” he answered.
“I need you to help an employee of mine look for an apartment and make sure it’s in close proximity to my building. Here’s her number. I know she’s anxious, so call her as soon as possible. I want you to text me when you show her each apartment.”
“Will do, Luca.”
“Thanks, Will.”
I set down my phone and leaned back in my chair. What the fuck was I doing?