Page 26 of A Man of Power

“What’s up?” Erin asks as she takes the seat across from me. I remove my gaze from the wall and look at her. I can’t tell them. I shouldn’t tell them. Should I?

“You didn’t!” Erin says as she glares at me. “You stupid ho-bag!”

I sigh and place my forehead on the table. I can’t look at her because she’s right.

“What am I missing?” Whitney asks as she sits down next to me.

I don’t know what Erin does but I hear Whitney laugh.

“No fucking way. You fucked your boss! Seriously, Alexis, after everything Erin said?”

I turn my head and look at her. “It’s bad, isn’t it?”

“Fuck yes, it’s bad,” Erin says.

I sigh. “I know…” I trail off because while I do know, I don’t care. With the flip of a switch, I became a Sebastian addict. I know now that I’ve had him, I won’t be able to stop, even if I try.

“Shit, please, please tell me you don’t have feelings for him,” Erin says, her voice now laced with concern.

I try to look her in the eyes as I answer. “No, it’s just fucking.”

Erin’s glare intensifies. “Motherfucker. You can’t feel anything for him.”

I shrug. “I don’t know if I do. I mean, the sex…” I trail off and Whitney turns to my face.

“Was it as big as everyone says it is?”

I bite my lip from laughing at her wide-eyed stare. “Let’s just say this. There are reasons there are rumors.”

“I knew it!” she says with a fist pump. “I fucking knew it.”

Erin’s glare goes from me to Whitney. “Whit, you cannot encourage her. This is bad, like she-could-lose-her-job bad, and she needs that job.”

Whitney rolls her eyes. “There are a million jobs in this city. And she’s smart as fuck. And she’s in law school. She will definitely find a new job.”

“Well, we agreed to keep it…just fucking, and when it’s over, it’s over,” I explain.

Erin’s sigh might as well be my mother’s scolding. “Let’s be real here. One, you have a thing for powerful men. Two, he does do a lot of charity work, which you like, hell, it’s the reason you interned there. Three, we all know you have a tendency to fall and fall hard.”

I push back from the table. “Listen, I do maybe have a type and it’s nice he does charity work, but it’s totally unrealistic. He’s like eight years older than me. He’s at a completely different place in life. He needs to find some sort of Stepford wife to marry. And I’m not young and naïve anymore. I’m not going to mistake our lust as some sort of marriage situation.”

“Fine, but just don’t make me tell you that I told you so,” she retorts with a pointed look, which then softens. “For real, Lexie-poo, I don’t want to see you get hurt…or fired.”

I nod. “Neither do I. Listen, I appreciate the concern, but I need to go study.”

“Again? Law school is like so much work. What about our show?” Whitney prods in a whiney voice that is so her.

I roll my eyes. “Whit, we can watch it tomorrow. It’s not going anywhere.”

“Whatever, go grow that giant brain of yours,” she replies as I head back to my room.

I wasn’t lying when I said I had to study, but honestly, the idea of reading two classes’ worth of case law is the last thing I want to do.

I sit down at my desk and force myself to read. I’m immersed in my third case when my phone pings. I glance over to see a news update.

“All Three Missing Women Had Traces of Chemicals in Their Systems”

I pick my phone up and click on the link, slowly reading the information out of total curiosity. These “missing young women” stories have been a steady lull in the background of the city over the past few weeks. My parents made me swear not to go running alone in the parks. Even my little sister, Judy, told me to be careful, which was funny considering she’s a reckless teenager. I begrudgingly agreed with them all. Although all these women went missing at dusk, so I’m pretty sure I’d be fine going for a run in broad daylight.

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