Chapter 2
Loche
Iexited the elevator and walked through the mahogany door leading to the suite housing Harrison, Hawley, Haak, and Smith, both the bane of my existence and the financier of my debauchery.
“Good morning, Loche,” Shelby, our firm’s receptionist, greeted me from her desk in the lobby. “You look like you had quite the weekend.”
If you only knew, Shelby. If you only knew.
“Was it even really the weekend if you don’t come into the office on Monday morning looking like you were run over by a dump truck?”
Shelby cocked her head, locks of blonde hair falling in her face, her lips curling into a smile. I’m sure this look made a lot of men forget their own names in her presence. I was not one of those men. “Mind sharing what you did? I may need some ideas.”
“Oh, you know. Got a pizza, drank some beer, robbed a bank, engaged in a high-speed chase, got away, and then turned in early with my bag of money and fell asleep to a nice romantic comedy on Netflix,” I answered without stopping my pace, turning to walk down the hallway to my office.
“Fine. Keep your secrets, then,” she called out to me.
Trust me, I will, Shelby. And I have a lot of them.
My fingers flipped the switch on the wall next to the door inside the office I shared with my coworker, illuminating the space with the most annoying fluorescent lighting known to man.
One of the perks of being named the head of the paralegal department here was being assigned an office, instead of a cubicle.
The other perk: I shared that office with her.
Unsurprisingly, Ever wasn’t in the office yet.
She was not particularly a morning person, whereas I woke up every morning at five, went to the gym, showered, and came straight to work well before I had to.
With renovations to our building taking place, Ever’s usual workspace had been rendered out of commission, forcing her to move in with me.
She had not taken to the move well. The office was a good size, easily accommodating both of us, our desks, and client files with plenty of space to move around.
But I had a hunch that our desks could be located at opposite ends of the continent, and they would still be too close for Ever.
I shrugged my coat off, hanging it up on the hanger on the back of the door before making my way to the break room for some of the cheapest coffee known to man.
Despite numerous multi-million-dollar settlements, our office’s coffee game was weak, but some caffeine was better than no caffeine, and you couldn’t beat free.
The back of Ever’s head greeted me when I turned the corner to the break room, taking me aback.
Her long, dark hair hung loosely down to her mid back.
She usually wore it pulled back in a braid or secured loosely in a tight bun at the nape of her neck, and I found myself wondering what the special occasion was.
Despite the chill in the air, she wore a plaid skirt that hit just above her knees, paired with a pair of brown leather boots—another anomaly.
Seriously, what were her plans? Had she met someone?
It took everything in my power to steady my breathing as my hand formed a fist at my side.
There goes my concentration for the rest of the day.
“Are you just going to stand there and stare at me, or did you actually come in here for something?” she asked without turning around.
“Good morning to you, too.” My hand relaxed, and I tried to regain my composure. “I was just in shock seeing you in here this early and not ten minutes after you were supposed to be here.”
She turned around, hazel eyes boring holes into my very soul.
When she was angry, the green in her irises stood out vibrantly.
Part of the reason I enjoyed getting under her skin so much was so I could take them in.
“You look like hell,” she observed, her eyes raking down my body before she turned back around to fetch her cup from the coffee maker.
“What’s with the blue shirt? You always wear it on Mondays.
Do you not own another one, or are you just that dull and predictable? ”
“Do I wear this shirt every Monday?” I responded, opening the cupboard to search for my coffee mug. “Gee, I hadn’t noticed. But you have, apparently. I didn’t realize you were watching me so intently, Nevermore.”
The way I watch you.
And there’s that green again.
Ever bristled, cheeks blazing red. “Don’t flatter yourself, Loche Greene.
” Maybe unintendedly, or maybe not, she slammed the container of powdered creamer down on the counter.
“I’m just in the unfortunate position of having to share space with you for the next couple of months. It’s hard not to notice things.”
“Funny, because I couldn’t tell you what you were wearing last Monday.”
A black button-up blouse with black trousers.
“That’s good. Because I would hate to have to file a complaint with HR for harassment.”
“It would seem that would go both ways.”
She pursed her lips, opening her mouth to say something just as Sylvia from Human Resources poked her head inside the door.
“Everything okay in here?” she asked, looking between the both of us.
I stifled a laugh, watching Ever’s face fall. She turned around to address Sylvia just as I answered, “All good.”
“We’re fine. Just talking about our weekend,” Ever answered, her tone anything but convincing.
Sylvia raised an eyebrow, clearly not buying it. “You two are going to be the death of me. Renovations will be completed in two months, and I promise you, the second they’re done, I’ll make sure you’re at opposite ends of the building.”
“Are you sure? I mean, I think Loche will miss me too much. His productivity might suffer.”
It was only Monday morning, yet Sylvia looked like she had already had enough of us to last the entire week.
“Just do me a favor and try to get along for the next two months. They’ll be over before you know it.
” With one last glance between the two of us like a stern parent, Sylvia disappeared back down the hall, most likely returning to her office to erase whatever number was written under ‘Days Since I’ve Had To Admonish Loche And Ever’ on her whiteboard to change it to ‘0’.
“Not soon enough,” Ever muttered, moving to leave the break room.
“So, how was your weekend, anyway?” I called out to her. “Do anything…fun?”
She paused, peering over her shoulder with the hint of crimson on her cheeks. “It was…memorable.”
“Yeah? Mine too.”
“Aw, did you get a woman to talk to you without giving her your Social Security number first?”
I smirked. God she was adorable, even when she was verbally castrating me. “As a matter of fact, I did.”
“Oh, so you must be resorting to drugging now. Remind me to cover my drink when I’m around you.”
“Actually, I’ll have you know she seemed to be really into me. No drugging required. Though I would love to try handcuffs sometime. She seemed like she would be into it.”
Ever’s eyes widened, and she nearly spat out the swig of coffee she’d been in the process of trying to swallow. Sharp coughs forced her to cover her mouth. “I’m going to need an extra therapy session to get that mental image out of my head, so thank you for that.”
“The way I see it, you should be thanking yourself. You were the one who brought up my dating life.”
I turned back to face the cabinet, hiding my face and the shit-eating grin that had overtaken it.
Getting under Ever’s skin had been a hobby of mine since she made it known to me how much she despised my existence, or about a week after I received the promotion she was also being considered for.
A promotion she was more qualified for, but which was given to me because of good old-fashioned American nepotism, with my uncle being one of the senior partners.
She had every right to be angry. Hell, even I was angry about it.
“Good luck trying to find that mug.”
I whipped my head around to see a mischievous glimmer in her eyes before she disappeared out of the doorway.
Well played, Ever.
Yet, despite losing the only mug I could be certain a thousand other pairs of lips hadn’t touched, I wasn’t mad. Because I knew that in the grand scheme of things, Ever may be winning battles, but I had won the war. She just didn’t know it yet.
“There you are.” My uncle Conrad walked into the break room as I closed the cupboard, deciding I didn’t need caffeine today, after all.
“Good morning to you, too, Uncle,” I answered him, greeting the firm’s titular Harrison. “What did I do to besmirch the family name today?”
“Nothing outside the usual, unless you and your gang of thugs are in trouble again.”
“Not that I’m aware of, but it’s only the beginning of the week, so we have plenty of time.”
My uncle grumbled something incoherent under his breath.
I shouldn’t give him the shit I do, considering all he’s done to bail me out.
But to be frank, he was a misogynist on top of being a transphobic piece of shit, so he deserved it.
He’d proven the former when he promoted me over Ever, which he had also done as a favor to my mother.
“Look, as you know, the Sawyer matter is going to trial next month.”
“It is? Gee, I had no idea, having only worked on the case since the day the intake came into our office, after all.”
“Don’t be cute.” Conrad sighed in a way that told me he was ashamed to share approximately twenty-five percent of his DNA with me.
“This is a big case for our firm, and I’m going to need all hands on deck.
In a few weeks, we’ll be traveling out of town and working out of a hotel across the street from the courthouse.
I’ll need your help in assembling a team of people you think will do the best job for the firm.
” He ran his hand through his raven locks sprinkled with bits of salt and pepper.
“God, I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’m trusting your judgment on this. ”
“I understand. I’ll try not to be a disappointment to the family…again.”
He nodded, inspecting me as though he was rethinking saying what I knew was going to come out of his mouth anyway.
“I mean it, Loche. You’re going to need to curb those extra-curricular activities of yours.
Now I know you can’t help it, what with that Greene blood flowing through your veins, but you’re just going to have to dump your father’s genes and act like a Harrison until this trial is over. ”
So, a douchebag with a Napoleon complex. Got it.
“Yes, Uncle.” He’d said what he did to test me; to see whether I would lose my cool just like the son of Bradford Greene would be prone to do.
And it’s not like I didn’t feel the anger boiling inside of me, threatening to spill over the side, scalding everything it touched.
In fact, I was doing all I could to hold myself back from cracking his beak-like nose with the fist my relaxed hand desperately wanted to make.
For some, that would be basic self-control.
For me, it was growth. Proof that I wasn’t the monster everyone thought I was going to be.
My uncle stared at me, seemingly miffed that I hadn’t followed the instructions the voice in my head was shouting. “Good. And don’t forget I need that motion in limine drafted by the end of the day.”
“It’s the first thing I’ll do when I get back to my desk.”
Prick.
He smirked because a smile would have required too much of an effort on his part. “Would you look at you. There may be hope for you yet.”
With my teeth gritting together, I stood stock still as Conrad playfully smacked my arm before leaving to return to his office.
Body still tense, I stood near the coffee maker in the break room, practicing the deep breathing exercises my therapist taught me.
Who knew inhaling and exhaling a few breaths could make you not want to commit homicide.
Sans coffee, I’d made it only a few steps down the hallway when the sound of Ever’s voice caught my attention—or rather, what that voice was telling Shelby.
I rounded the corner, forcing my back flush against the wall to conceal myself from them.
Ever was leaning over the receptionist desk, her conversation with Shelby hushed but still audible to anyone who cared to eavesdrop.
“Are you going to see him again?” Shelby asked. Unlike Ever, she wasn’t taking as many pains to keep their conversation discreet.
I held my breath involuntarily, straining to hear Ever’s response.
“I don’t have any idea who he even was.” She lowered her voice even more as the sound from the elevator signaled someone had arrived at the office. “He left his mask on the whole time.”
“The whole time?” Shelby’s voice rose an octave, and I could picture Ever frantically mouthing for her to shut up as she peered over her shoulder to make certain no one had heard.
“Yeah, it was the most erotic encounter I’ve ever had.
Everything was, actually. I’ve never had a man touch me the way that he did.
And now, I’m never going to be able to get a repeat performance because the guy could be anyone out there right now.
I mean, I could run into him today and never know it was him.
But I’m telling you, if he ever does happen to stumble back into my life again, I’m going to let him strip me down and do whatever he wants to with me without question. ”
Well, well, well.
The high I rode while walking back to my office was better than any caffeine fix I could have asked for this morning.
Except, this high came with the inconvenient side effect of an erection that made the actual act of walking uncomfortable.
Even still, nothing was going to erase the grin plastered across my face now that I knew not one, but two things Ever didn’t: One—she wanted a repeat of the night she’d spent with a masked stranger.
Two—that masked stranger she met had been me.