Chapter 20
Chapter Twenty
K ingston
My adrenaline is still at an all-time high as we make our way back to my apartment. I’m grateful that we got Elisabetta checked into a luxury hotel so that she can relax and unwind. I’m also grateful that Skye decided to come back with me. I could tell that the whole ordeal had really worked her up and I wanted to make sure she was okay.
I quite liked being her protector and I had felt like a knight in shining armor when she’d looked to me to decide what to do. She’d even backed me up when I’d given Elisabetta a small lecture about doing drugs and inviting strange men back to her place. I’d been angry at the thought of how badly the night could have ended. She’d not only put herself at risk, but Skye as well.
"So I just want to say before we go into your apartment that I'm not here necessarily for the arrangement that you have offered me," Skye says, staring me down with bright eyes.
My lips twitch for a couple of seconds and I raise an eyebrow. “Okay. So we will conveniently forget I just rescued your best friend and whisked you away in the night.”
She squeezes my hand. “I am grateful for that, but we both know the other conversations we’ve had.”
“We do.” I nod, though all I really want to do is pull her into my arms and devour her.
"I'm here because you said you were going to help me with these files, and I don't want to go to work at five o’clock in the morning to finish them. So I took you up on your offer. I have been weighing up whether or not I would like to enter a friends with benefits or enemies with benefits arrangement, but..."
"Hold up a minute," I say as I open the door to my apartment. "Enemies with benefits?"
"I mean, are we really friends? You're my boss and I don't know if one night of eating pizza and drinking wine makes us friends."
"True," I say. "So you're saying that when we get into the apartment, you don't want me to show you the 101 ways my tongue can make you cum?"
She laughs lightly and shakes her head. "No, I don't need to learn or know the 101 ways that you can do that," she says. "That's also quite impossible, I believe."
"Oh, trust me when I say it's not." I grin. "But come on. Let's go inside and we can do some work.'
"Okay." She looks at me cautiously. "And that's okay?"
"Is what okay?" I ask.
"Just working and not, you know, hooking up."
"I didn't invite you here just to hook up," I say seriously. "Sure. We had fun the other night and I would love to repeat it, but that's not what this is about. I didn't hire you, nor did I invite you over tonight, for the sole purpose of us making love or doing whatever. These files are very important. We have a lot of cases that we need to get to summary judgment and?—"
"Okay, okay," she says. "Remember, I'm not a lawyer. I don't even know what you're talking about."
"I know. Come on. Let's take a seat at the dining room table and go through this stuff. Once we're done, we can chat about the other stuff."
"Okay." She nods softly.
I close the door behind her and place the files on the dining room table. I watch as Skye takes a seat and looks at me.
"Would you like something to drink? Water, wine, coffee?"
"I think I'll have a cappuccino if you are able to make it. I feel like it's going to be a long night going through all of these."
"I do have an espresso machine. Two cappuccinos coming up," I say, as I head to the kitchen.
She grabs the folder at the top of the pile and I watch as she pulls out a yellow legal pad and pen from the small satchel she's carrying.
"What's this about anyway?" she asks as she starts scribbling notes on the pad. "Who are all these people?"
"You want to know what the case is about?" I ask, very surprised. She hasn't really shown much interest in anything before. Just done the work.
"Yeah. These are a lot of people that we're suing and I'm just curious why."
I pull out two small cups and saucers and turn on the espresso machine. I listen as it grinds the beans and turn toward her.
"Well, we are representing a bank."
"A bank in New Jersey, right?" she says.
I nod. "Yeah, and that bank was the financier for several car dealerships in the area."
"Oh, okay." She nods.
"And one of the car dealerships was a Toyota car dealership and they went out of business. Do you want sugar and milk?" I ask.
"It's a cappuccino. Doesn't it already have milk?" She frowns.
"Oh, yeah. Sorry. Would you like sugar?"
"Yes, please. Brown if you have it."
"I believe I do," I say, opening a cupboard.
"Okay, so we're representing a bank that represents a car dealership?" she says, frowning. "Sorry, I'm confused."
"No, we're representing a bank that lent money to a car dealership and the people we're suing are customers from the car dealership."
"Oh, okay. Like, they didn't pay their car loan?"
"Exactly," I say with a smile.
"Wow. There are so many of them." She licks her lips. "That's kind of sad. The economy sucks."
"Yeah, the economy is pretty bad right now, but many of them are not happy that they are being sued by the bank."
"Why not? If you don't pay, you don't get your car."
"Well, the fact of the matter is they didn't receive a car."
"What?" She looks at me in confusion.
"So many of these customers purchased cars from the dealership and were meant to come and pick up their cars. Either they were in transport or the car was being serviced and being prepared."
"Okay." She frowns.
"The car dealership went bankrupt. However, they had all signed contracts taking on the loan of the car, so the bank did transfer the money to the dealership."
"Wait, hold on a minute. But they never got the car, you said."
"And that's correct. However, when they signed the contract with the bank, they agreed to pay back the loan and the loan was given to the car dealership."
"But they never got the car from the car dealership," she said. "What?"
I shrug. "Unfortunately, they shouldn't have signed the loan until they took possession of the car."
Her jaw drops. "You're joking, right? That doesn't sound horrible to you? I couldn't imagine buying a car thinking I was picking it up on Monday. The car dealership goes bankrupt and I don't get the car and then the bank's suing me for the money. Shouldn't the bank sue the car dealership?"
"The contract was with the customer. It wasn't with the car dealership," I say, shrugging as I head to her with her cappuccino. "Would you like some biscotti or something with it?"
She stares at me as she shakes her head. "It just feels wrong. It feels really, really wrong. I feel for those people."
I shrug. "Unfortunately, when it comes to the law, there are many things that may make you feel like it's not fair, but the black letter of the law is what it is. The Constitution and the laws of the land apply to everyone and without them we..."
"Oh my gosh. You're not lecturing me about the law of the land," she says, rolling her eyes. "Give me a break. It's just not right."
"I'm just saying," I say, as I take a seat and grab a file from her.
"You're telling me it doesn't make you feel bad whatsoever?"
There's passion in her eyes as she looks at me incredulously. I want to tell her that I'm not paid to care whether or not I think something is right. I'm not paid to act on my emotions. I'm paid to argue the law. I'm paid to get my clients what they're due. Yet, somehow, it doesn't feel like enough. Somehow, I don't want to disappoint her.
"I'm just saying that you work for a corporate law firm, not legal aid." I take a sip of my own cappuccino.
"Maybe I should get a job at legal aid," she says, rolling her eyes. "Maybe then I'll meet people that actually care about other people and what's right and..." She stops. "Anyway, I guess this is why I never wanted to be an attorney because I think that actual human beings and their stories should matter more than what some arbitrary law says."
"The laws are important, but if you want to change them, maybe you should think about getting into the House of Representatives or Congress or..."
"Yeah, why don't I just run for senator or governor while I'm at it," she says, rolling her eyes. "Maybe I can become the next president of the United States of America." She holds her hand up high. "I feel like I'd be great at the job."
I stare at her for a couple of seconds and just laugh. "Well, if you decide to run, you've got my vote."
"Well, thank you. I just need a couple million more." She grins. "You know, when I was in school, I really did like history and the government classes we had to take."
"Oh, yeah?"
"Yeah. I can even still remember some facts I learned."
"Oh, why don't you tell me a couple?"
"Do you know how many senators there are?"
"Um, I believe there are two senators in each state and there are fifty states, so 100 senators?"
"Yeah," she says, nodding admirably at me. "Okay. That was an easy one. Do you know who would become president if the president was no longer fit for the job?"
"The vice president," I say, grinning.
"And you know who would become president if it wasn't the vice president?"
"The speaker of the house," I say quickly, and she rolls her eyes.
"You know everything."
"I am an attorney. I also like to keep up with politics." I shrug. "Ask me a couple more questions."
"Okay," she says. "Do you know who wrote the Constitution?"
"I believe that was Thomas Jefferson." I grin at her.
"Okay. Do you know who freed the slaves?"
"I believe Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, which freed the slaves."
"So you're a history buff too, huh?"
"I mean, I did enjoy history and I'm a bit of a trivia buff."
"Huh," she says. "There has to be something I know that you don't."
"Try a couple more questions and let's see."
"Okay, um…" She licks her lips and taps her finger against her legal pad. "Man, I'm trying to remember what I know that you might not know."
"Okay."
"Okay. I've got one for you. Can you name some of the original colonies?"
"Well, there were thirteen original colonies," I say, grinning at her. "Some of them were in New York, New Jersey, North Carolina, Massachusetts."
"Fine," she says, holding up her hand. "You are a smarty-pants. I get it. I wish you would use your brains for good and not evil." She grins.
"Hey, it's not like I'm a dictator or a tyrant running a country. I'm just representing my clients."
"I know," she says. "I'm just teasing you, but you do have to admit it does seem wrong that the bank is suing these poor people."
"I will say that it is unfortunate that they signed a contract stating that they would repay money without taking possession of the collateral first." I nod.
She stares at me and rolls her eyes. "Maybe you should run for president of the United States because that was such a non-answer it's not even funny."
"Oh, I have no interest in politics," I say. "Though, I do care about the laws passed, of course."
"I would ask you how many justices are in the Supreme Court, but I guess you already know."
"Nine, and the Chief Justice is John Roberts." I grin at her.
"And the Chief Justice is John Roberts," she says, laughing. "Man, maybe I should be on your trivia team. I feel like we'd win."
"Maybe," I say. "So what is it that you want to do with your life?" I ask her as we continue going through the folders.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, you told me that you want to travel around the world and you want to meet the love of your life and write a book about your adventures, but what then?"
She blinks at me. "I don't understand what you're saying."
"Are you planning on being a nomad for your entire life or…?"
She stares at me, realization lighting up her eyes. "No, not my entire life. I know I don't want to be a nomad. I guess I never thought past the traveling around the world." She licks her lips. "That's actually a really great question. Maybe I'll get married and have kids and become a yoga teacher."
"Oh, so you're saying you're flexible, are you?"
"I know some downward dog." She shakes her ass.
"You want to teach me some yoga?"
She stares at me for a couple of seconds and twitches her nose again.
"What is it? Tell me."
"So, I've only been to two yoga classes," she admits.
"What?" I stare at her. "How are you going to teach yoga if you've only been to two yoga classes?"
"I don't know. Maybe when I go to India I'll learn under a yogi and then become a teacher. Or, you know, I could teach Zumba. I did ten Zumba classes five years ago and I love Zumba. I thought I was quite good."
My lips twitch. "Okay, so a yoga and a Zumba teacher."
She smiles. "I know. I sound like I'm all over the place, don't I?"
"It's okay. You've got your entire life to figure out what you want to do."
"I guess that's true. What about you? Do you plan on being an attorney for the rest of your life?"
I stare at her for a couple of seconds and nod slowly. "It's what I was made to do, be an attorney and make lots of money."
"And how much money do you need before you want to do something else?" she says. "What's the ultimate goal? What do you want to buy with all that money?"
I stare at her for a couple of seconds and my heart thuds at her question. She's hit upon something that has been in the back of my subconscious for a long time. What is the pinnacle of my success to be?
"I don't know," I say. "I guess I have just always wanted to be a top attorney making a lot of money."
"I mean, you don't do girlfriends or commitment, unless you're planning on getting married at fifty and then popping out some kids later in life."
I stare at her for a couple of seconds. "I can honestly say I've never thought about getting married. And the kids?" I shrug. "Take them or leave them. It's not been a life goal of mine."
"So your life goal is just to make money and win cases for crappy ass banks and other corporations that don't give a shit about the people?"
"Well, I don't want to say they don't give a shit about the people. They did put out their money, right, to help them purchase cars and to help them buy things. Should they really have to take the loss?"
She stares at me for a couple of seconds. "I guess that's a gray area."
"It is, and a judge will decide," I say. "I'm not the final decision maker here. I just represent my client, which is the bank. Those customers will have attorneys. Maybe they'll argue a good case and they'll beat us."
"You don't want them to beat you though, do you?"
My lips twitch. "I very rarely lose cases, Skye."
She nods slowly. "I think you very rarely lose anything," she says softly.
"And what is that supposed to mean?"
"I mean, I bet you any woman you set your eyes on that you want, you get her."
I stare at her for a couple of minutes and shrug. "I don't know. I guess I've never thought about it."
"You're one of those winners in life, aren't you Kingston Chase? You're smart, you're handsome, you're rich. It seems to me that everything you want, you have. So what else do you want?"
You pops into my mind and I blink rapidly before dismissing the thought. I have no idea where it came from.
"I think I would like to have some cheese and crackers," I say, jumping up. "Would you like some?"
"Yeah. What cheese do you have?" she asks.
"I believe I have some brie, some Gouda, some cheddar, some goat's cheese."
"Wow. You're a connoisseur of cheeses."
"I wouldn't say that, exactly, but I do like a little cheese. I may also have some meats. Some chorizo, some prosciutto, some salami."
She licks her lips. "You're making me hungry."
"Well, it looks like we have a long night ahead of us."
"Yeah," she says. "I guess so."
"I don't just mean these folders," I say, turning to look back at her.
"Oh?" She raises an eyebrow.
"I think that we should address what we talked about earlier."
“We don’t have to. I mean there’s not much to talk about, right?”
"We should talk about us," I say. "Well, not us, but any physical acts that may happen again between us. Maybe we should come up with some rules. That way nothing is in the gray area, so to speak, like you said before. It'll be black and white and hopefully we'll both be on the same page."
"Okay. So what are you suggesting?"
"I'm suggesting that we don't mention this arrangement inside the office whatsoever. That way no lines could ever be blurred."
"Okay," she says, nodding. "That works for me."
"I am suggesting that we alternate the activities that we do each week."
“I’m not following here,” she says, frowning. "What activities?"
"I think that we should hang out and not just have sex."
"What? Why?"
"Because I don't want you to ever think that this is just a sex thing."
"But it is just a sex thing."
"No, it's an us enjoying each other's company and having sex thing. I don't want you to consider me your enemy with benefits." I frown. "I think we can still be friendly and have fun and in the night have some good sex and I don't want to be the only one coming up with ideas and things to do. So maybe we alternate."
"Okay, so like a date night?"
I nod slowly. "It won't be a date. It will be a fun night."
"A fun night," she repeats after me. "Okay, so we alternate planning fun nights?"
"Yeah," I say. "Maybe once a week?"
"Okay," she says. "The same night every week or…?"
"I don't know. What works for you?"
"I mean, yeah, maybe. I don't know," she says. "Is it weird if we have a scheduled fun night?"
"What if we say Saturdays?"
She stares at me for a couple of seconds. "I volunteer on Saturdays in the morning at an adult literacy organization, so I wouldn't be available all day, but?—"
"I didn't know you did that," I say softly, looking at her with admiration.
"You don't know everything about me just because you think you do."
"That's true. I don't. So why don't we say Saturday afternoon and Saturday evening?"
"Okay." She nods. "And you want to do it every Saturday or every other Saturday or…?"
"Let's start with every Saturday and just see how we feel."
"Okay," she says. "But..."
"But what?" I ask as her voice trails off.
"How do we ensure that we don't catch feelings or let stuff get complicated or..."
"I don't know. What do you suggest?" I ask her.
"Maybe we have to make sure we go on dates with other people as well so that we're not the sole focus of each other's mind."
I stare at her for a couple of seconds. "You're asking me to go on dates with other women?" I laugh. "Well, that's a new one."
"I am not saying that I think you should sleep with other women because that's nasty," she clarifies.
"Excuse me?"
"You and I, we didn't use protection and I'm assuming that going forward we're not going to use protection, but I'm not going to do that if you are sleeping with other women because I don't know what you may or may not pick up."
"That's fair," I say. "So no other sexual partners?"
"Yeah," she says. "You can go on dates and flirt, but if it comes to a point where you want to have sex with them, you have to let me know and vice versa. And that way we just end whatever we have."
"Sounds about right to me. I can work with that."
"Okay," she says. "And we don't mention anything that happens on fun night in the office, period. When we're in the office Monday through Friday, fun night doesn't exist."
"Okay," I say. "That won't be a problem for me. Will it be for you?"
"No," she says, shaking her head. "Not at all."
"Well then, I think we have a plan." I carry a small wooden board filled with cheeses, meats, and crusty baguette and crackers back to the table. "Now we shall feast and continue working."
She nods and yawns slightly. "Sounds good to me."
"You're tired," I say, narrowing my eyes. "Are you sure you want to do this now? Are you?—"
"I'm fine. Once the caffeine kicks in, I'll be good to go." She gives me a small smile. "But I don't think that I have energy to do anything more than work tonight."
"I understand," I say, disappointment filling my heart, but I shrug it off. "Let's just work on these folders and then we'll go to bed."
"I can leave when I'm done. I don't have to?—"
"You'll stay here tonight," I say.
"But..."
"But nothing." I shake my head. "You'll stay here tonight."
"Okay," she says, reaching for a piece of bread. "Thanks."
"You don't have to thank me," I say, smiling widely as I reach for a piece of salami. The salty meat feels like Heaven on my tongue. I grab another folder. "Now, let's see if we can get this done tonight so I don’t have to make you wake up at four o'clock in the morning."
"Yay. How sweet are you."
"I like to think I'm pretty sweet," I say, grinning. "But maybe not as sweet as you."
"Ha ha," she says, blushing, knowing exactly what I'm talking about as I lick my lips and stare at hers.