Page 114 of Dial L for Lawyer

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Serena:

Layla's interrogating me about us. Audrey's taking notes. Literally. She has a notebook.

Me:

What are you telling them?

There's a pause.

Serena:

The truth. That you're probably moving too fast but I don't want you to stop.

I stare at the text, warmth spreading through my chest.

"Good news?" Bennett asks, noticing my expression.

"Serena."

"Let me guess," Dominic says, returning with another beer despite it being 9:45 AM. "She's professing her undying love via text?"

"She said I'm moving too fast."

"Smart woman," David mutters.

"But she doesn't want me to stop."

"Less smart," Dominic adds.

"What counts as moving too fast?" Logan asks, cleaning his foggy glasses.

"I asked her to move in with me."

"Already?" Dominic nearly chokes on his beer. "That's not fast, that's light speed."

"It feels right."

"I asked Layla to move in after barely a month," Bennett says carefully. "But be careful. Serena just went through hell. Her career exploded, she was publicly humiliated, and you swooped in as her savior."

"I didn't swoop."

"You dropped everything to work her case for free," Logan points out.

"She needed help."

"Not exactly free, though," Dominic says. "You made her date you."

"What?!" David's eyebrow shoots up. "You made her date you? Do the other partners know about this?"

"They do not."

"Pretty sure that's against ethics rules or something," Dominic states.

I give him a look that could freeze hell. "It wasn't blackmail. We were discussing payment options, and I said my preferred option was spending time with her. She could have said no. I would have helped for free."

"You damn well knew Serena’s pride would never allow that," Bennett says. "You set her up, Kingsley."

I shrug. "Maybe. But it worked."

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