My Bossy Billionaire Attorney

1. Michael

Chapter 1

Michael

I glance up from the legal document I’m reading when I hear the commotion outside my office door. At first, I am irritated at the noise and I want to get back to work, but I’m curious what could be happening out there.

I hear my secretary say, “Wait a minute, miss. You just can’t barge into Mr. Stone’s office unannounced,” moments before the door flies open, and a gorgeous, angry woman storms in.

She is stunning.

My heart rate quickens and my pulse accelerates. Annoyed at myself for reacting this way, I force back the blatant desire that rushes me as I helplessly watch her storm toward my desk.

Despite her anger, the woman’s beauty stands out. I notice her blonde curls, smooth tanned skin, dark brown eyes, and charming features, all hidden beneath her irritation. Then there’s her sleek, curvy body in a pair of slacks and a tailored blouse, completing the vision of beauty.

“Mr. Stone, I tried to stop her, but she—”

“That’s all right, Brenda,” I say to my secretary, who’s hot on the woman’s heels.

“Do you want me to call security?”

“No, I don’t think that will be necessary.”

Brenda Tillman, who has worked for me for over five years, doesn’t look convinced. “Are you sure?”

I stare at the seething woman who is standing with both hands on her hips, glaring at me. She looks like trouble, which is the last thing I need right now. I should probably throw her out, yet I find myself saying,

“Yes, I’m sure.”

Brenda gives me a hesitant nod and turns to leave, closing the door behind her.

I turn my full attention to the beautiful intruder, realizing for the first time that she seems familiar. I’m certain she’s not a client since I don’t forget any of my clients.

“I’m sure there’s a reason why you barged into my office, Miss...”

“Yes, there is a reason. This!” she says, pulling an envelope out of her purse. “I received this certified letter from you less than an hour ago demanding that I return my engagement ring to my fiancé. I tried calling him, but he’s not picking so I immediately came here for an explanation.”

I take the letter from her and look at it. The assessment doesn’t take long. This woman is either crazy or she has mistaken me for someone else.

“I’m not guy you are looking for, Miss, so this isn’t necessary.”

“Don’t play games with me. I’m no lawyer, but I have been in the legal field for a long time. I won’t sit back and let you or Brandon treat me this way.”

I’m losing my patience, but there’s a smile on my face.

“I gather you have a problem with returning the ring, Miss,” I say.

“Of course I do! Brandon decided he was in love with my best friend and called off our wedding two weeks before it was about to take place.”

“Besides the embarrassment and humiliation of having to explain everything to my parents and returning shower gifts—I was left with all the wedding expenses,” she continued. “And to pour salt on an open wound, I received that letter from your office.”

“I assure you,” I try to appease her, not sure where she came from or why security decided that a woman who looks like she is on a mission to slip through their scrutinizing eyes, “that I did not authorize this letter, Miss…?”

She doesn’t get the hint that I am asking for her name as she stands there, arms folded and fuming.

“I know lawyers like you,” she takes a moment to assess me, and I feel like I’ve been stripped naked, “and I am not about to leave without a fight.”

“It’s the money, isn’t it?” She snickers. “How much did he promise you if you denied that you represent him? How much? Well,” she crosses her arms, “let me give you a message that you can take to Brandon. I will not be returning the ring.”

“I know he spent good money on it, but for all the time I put up with him, not knowing that his ass was going behind my back and cheating with everything in a skirt and a push-up bra, I deserve the ring. You know what?” A mischievous grin appears on her face. “I might just sell it and use the money to get over him with an expensive vacation. I know it’s worth a small fortune because he wanted to impress my father.”

“Good luck to you and good riddance to him, but I will not be returning the ring. I guess I’ll see you in court. I don’t care. Let everyone know that while I was writing letters apologizing and sending back the gifts, and dealing with the humiliation of canceling a wedding, he was busy screwing someone else.”

She turns on her heels and sashays towards the door. Again, I’m drawn to the thick curves of her body and the way they are accentuated by her slacks.

When she turns around, fire flies from her eyes, I snap out of my thoughts.

Focus, Michael.

“Are you married?” She asks. “I doubt it. I know men like you, good women come and go from your life. You probably can’t handle the commitment, and you probably leave them over a text message.”

Her words hit a raw nerve that sends my patience through the roof.

“I don’t know who you are, but you and Brandon seem to deserve each other,” I say as bluntly as possible.

Her eyes narrow. “What?”

I scoff. What? I tried to hold back, but if there’s something I won’t take kindly to, it's someone making assumptions when they don’t even know me.

I walk across the room, slowly and deliberately moving close to her. I keep my eyes fixed on hers—like a predator stalking its prey. I watch as she swallows hard, seeing her confidence falter momentarily, and the stubborn tilt of her chin drop before she picks it up again.

I should back down, I know, but I’ve crossed the point of being nice. Now, I have to clarify that since she was not playing nice or listening to me, she should be ready to take what I’m about to give her.

When she first barged in, a part of me wanted to listen. But I soon realized that she was like every other scorned ex-girlfriend or wife that comes into my office after losing out on the divorce settlements, claiming they deserve this or that, never happy with the outcome.

She steps back until her back hits the door, but I don’t stop walking. I halt when two steps are between us and brace my hand on the door, inches away from her head.

“I said,” I repeat, “that you and Brandon deserve each other. So you should return the ring and stop holding onto something that is never going to happen.”

“What do you mean by that? He cheated on me. I was…I was the one who spent weeks cleaning up his mess.”

I shrug.

“Okay? You claim I am the type to break up with a woman over text, but you don’t know me, do you?”

She shakes her head. “But you’re Brandon’s lawyer. I know the type of man he would choose to defend him.”

“You don’t understand, do you? I’ll break it down for you. You don’t know me, and you’re willing to slander me. Yet, I seem to have gotten a good picture of the kind of woman you are.”

“Nagging, for one. You must have nagged the poor man to death. I don’t excuse his cheating,” I add when she’s about to object, “but darling, do you think you’re without fault? No, you’re not. You think you do everything right, but deep down, you know that there are parts of you that nobody wants to see.”

“Ugly parts of you. Now, that’s why I said you and whoever Brandon is deserve each other. Also,” I exhale, returning to my desk and picking up the letter.

I make my way back, and I put more distance between us, putting the letter in her face.

“If you had taken a moment to look at the letterhead on this paper and the name plaque on my desk, you’d have seen that they are not the same and you are in fact in the wrong office.”

“You are looking for a Matthew Shepherd, and my name is Michael Stone.”

“Sure, our names start with the same letters, but I assure you we are very different.”

Her gaze flickers from the paper in my hand to the name plaque, so I hand the paper to her. Her eyes widen as she reads the letterhead and then glances at the plaque again.

I shake my head.

“You’ve come here and wasted my time, and I’m tempted to send you a bill for the last 15 minutes you just cost me and have you thrown out of here. Unless you decide to apologize, and I’ll see if it’s acceptable.”

When her jaw remains in the stubborn angle, I chuckle quietly. I didn’t expect her to offer an apology, not after that rehearsed dramatic display.

Unfortunately, her stubbornness no longer amuses me, so I set my face in a stern frown.

“Oh. So, you want me to have you thrown out with a bill.”

“I work here,” she says. “This was a misunderstanding, nothing more.”

Her excuse is so ridiculous it makes me laugh out loud.

“You work here? Oh, this was a little more than a misunderstanding.”

“I apologize.”

“Too late,” I say. “What is your name? Which department do you work in? I need to know if you just started working here because anyone else would have known they had the wrong office as soon as they walked in. Since I am a partner in this firm. And you have barked up the wrong tree.”

“I started working here a month ago,” she says, her tone faltering. “But this is not the first law firm I’ve worked at. I have enough experience to know what is punishable by the law.”

“So,” I stroke my chin. “Criminal attorney. They think they know it all. I should have known since you started arguing your case without all the facts. I may need to have a word with your department head.”

I walk back to my desk and pick up the phone.

“Brenda. Please come in here.”

Brenda comes in seconds later.

“Who is the head of the criminal law department? Miss…I don’t know her name… is one of them, and I’d like to speak with her boss.”

The woman quickly shakes her head.

“I’m not in the criminal law department.”

“Then?”

“I work as a paralegal.”

It takes a full minute for her reply to sink in, and when it does, my jaw drops. My eyes are wide as saucers as I stare at her. I wave for Brenda to leave.

As soon as the door closes, I let it out.

“You are a paralegal? And you have the nerve to barge into a senior partner’s office with this nonsense??”

“I—"

I raise a finger.

Wow.

“I was trying to be friendly, hoping that we could resolve this issue and hopefully retain you as a client because that’s what I do for the sake of the firm.”

“But you’re a paralegal at this firm. I…I should fire you on the spot for this behavior. I don’t know how they handled things at your last firm but that is not how we handle things here. So, I will chalk this up to you not understanding your place here. Get your act together, Miss.”

“I’ll be keeping an eye on you and your performance. Consider yourself on probation. You can leave now.”

I see her open her mouth to argue, close it, and leave my office. When the door closes, I compose myself and head for my chair, and settle down with a sigh.

I shouldn’t have lost my composure. I work hard to keep my cool, even when I deal with the most obnoxious of clients, and I pride myself on it.

One woman—a pretty woman with a flaming temper was all it took for me to send years of practice down the drain.

There’s a knock on the door, and Brenda walks in.

“Sir.”

“I didn’t send for you.”

“I know, sir,” she says, “but I have something to say.”

I gesture with my hand for her to speak freely.

“I will, sir, as long as it doesn’t get me fired.”

A chuckle bubbles up from my throat. “I won’t fire you, Brenda. You know that. You have worked for me for a long time, twice as long as any other secretary. What is it?”

“It’s the woman who just left. She’s Savannah Richmond.”

“Should that mean something to me?”

“Savannah is one of the top researchers in the firm. She might be a paralegal, but she worked at our other branch before coming here. You requested her transfer specifically because you reviewed a case she was instrumental in helping crack. A case that some of our top attorneys couldn’t figure out,” she explains.

“And because news travels fast, her fiancé is said to be a professional dirtbag .”

I stifle a laugh at the look of disgust on Brenda’s face when she talks about the man being trash.

“And you’ll vouch for that?”

She nods. “Yes. I met him once when he came to see, Matthew Shepard, the lawyer Miss Richmond mistook you for. He’s rude, arrogant, and doesn’t respect anyone. His lawyer is no better but he brings in a lot of money for the firm, so they tend to sweep his indiscretions under the rug.”

“I know her behavior here was unacceptable, but she’s been through a lot in the past few weeks. I’m hoping that you take her expertise and invaluable contribution to the firm into consideration, and you don’t fire her.”

“Fire her?” My eyebrows climb. “Is that why you told me all this?”

“Isn’t that what you are going to do? You looked very angry when I left, and I…I might have stayed behind the door and heard a few things. I’m sorry.”

She does a half—bow.

Great, I exhale. Now I feel like an asshole. I lose my cool for a few minutes and become the world’s harshest boss, prompting my secretary, who hasn’t pleaded on anyone’s behalf before, to lower her head.

“I’m not firing anyone, Brenda.”

Her head shoots up. “You’re not?

I shake my head. “I am not. I did not plan on firing her in the first place. I’m not that terrible, you know. I reacted that way because of the show she put on.”

“Phew. Okay. I have a lot of calls to make,” she says and hurries out of my office, leaving me chuckling.

Savannah Richmond, I stroke my chin. She might have been a nobody before she walked into my office, but now my interest is piqued. Nevertheless, I have to be on guard. A woman like that tends towards being a bit of a firecracker, and the last thing I need is to be caught holding the fuse.