Page 15 of Breaking All The Rules

“I’m sorry for assuming. Part of me showing up here was to talk about what happened and clear the air between us. Between the file room and the issue with Brent, I didn’t want to keep having any awkwardness between us.”

“And bywhat happened with Brent, you mean the wholeyou losing your temper because I did my jobissue?” I questioned, narrowing my eyes at him.

“While I appreciate that you did your job, Eva, you still spoke to a client without my permission.”

“Well, I’m sorry. I wasn’t aware that there were limitations and stipulations on how I got the job done. Please let me know in advance what yourbabysittingrole entails so I don’t screw up in the future. It was my error to assume that I was free to discuss the items I worked on with the client I worked on them for. Perhapsyoucould find the time to train me so we can avoid these issues in the future.”

“With all due respect, Eva, I don’t have the time to spend training you, especially on something as menial as that. It shouldbe a given that you don’t speak to one of my clients without my approval. Regardless of your experience, you’re still a new employee of our firm, and I have the right to monitor what you do and make sure you’re doing it correctly. Respect is something that automatically comes with the territory, and you should know that given your experience.”

“Okay, let’s just get one thing clear— you donotintimidate me. I will not bow down to you or kiss your ass to make you feel better about yourself. I am adamn goodattorney and have earned every single promotion that I have been given. I have worked my way to where I am because I am driven, motivated, and refuse to take no for an answer. I will not have you insult me by insinuating that I don’t know what I’m doing when you haven’t taken the time to see what I’m fully capable of. I’ve already apologized for my error. I will not allow you to continue to reprimand me for it.”

“I’m sorry. That wasn’t my intention.”

“Thank you.”

I swallowed hard, trying to force the nerves down as I struggled to appear unaffected by him.

“How about we agree to start over? A fresh start where we put everything behind us and move forward?” he offered, his face softening as a smile played at his lips.

“Why do I feel like there’s some sort of conditions to this that I’m not going to like?”

“There’s not. We had a conflict, and now we’ve discussed it like adults. I don’t see the point in continuing to dwell on something that no longer matters. I enjoy having you as an employee, Eva, and I feel you can bring a lot to the table.”

“Wow. A compliment?”

“Don’t look so surprised,” he muttered. “I do have a soft side on occasion.”

“Yeah, like when you stay the night at your employee’s apartment to care for her when she’s sick?” I offered with a genuine smile. I hated that he had spent the night here when I knew that he had things he needed to do. I hated even more that he had seen me at my absolute worst.

“For starters,” he replied with a chuckle. He glanced down at his watch and blew out a heavy sigh. “I need to get to the office this morning to handle a few things. Will you be okay on your own, or do I need to confiscate your toaster before I go?”

“I’ll be fine. Toast doesn’t even sound good.” I rolled my eyes and tried to ignore the heat washing over my cheeks.

“Alright. I’m heading out, but call if you need me.”

“Thank you for everything last night. I really do appreciate it.”

“No problem.”

He smiled, and for a brief moment, I saw something in his eyes. A softness that I hadn’t seen before. I was desperate to hang onto it a little bit longer but knew that he needed to go.

“Oh, by the way, Brent will be coming in this morning to talk with you about the information I gave him. He didn’t give me a time. However, I assumed that he’s not the kind of client that I should pressure into making an appointment.”

“No, definitely not. I’ll be sure to have his files ready when I get to the office. Thanks for letting me know.”

He gave me a quick smile before grabbing his coat off the chair and sliding his shoes on. I wondered if anyone at the office would question where he had been or why he was wearing the same suit as yesterday, especially with the wrinkles.

“Sorry! There’s actually another thing,” I said quickly, stopping him as his hand turned the knob to open the door. “Brent mentioned that he also needed to speak with you about Karly. I’m not sure if this is related to the same deal or not, but I thought you might want to know.”

Ethan squinted his eyes as he pinched the bridge of his nose between his fingers and sighed.

“She’s his ex-fiancé and left him for his best friend. The one who owned Watson Investments.”

“Well, that just got messy really quickly, didn’t it?”

“It sure looks like it. I’ll get in touch with you this afternoon. Try to rest and recuperate. I’ll need you to jump in and help with this case as soon as you can.”

I closed the door and found myself smiling as I realized that he was finally coming around to me helping him.

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