Page 44 of Dial L for Lawyer
"Iofferedit as a payment option and she chose it. That’s romantic," I argue.
"It's unethical," Dominic says, but he's grinning. "Also brilliant. Very you." He drops into the chair across from me and I roll my eyes. They can call it coercion all they want. I know the truth. She’s mine, and she knows it. "So what's the panic? Why do you look constipated?"
"He doesn't know how to act like a normal person," Bennett supplies helpfully. "Hasn't been on a real date since—when was it, Caleb? Law school?"
"Fuck off."
"No, no, he's got a point," Dominic says, warming to the topic. "You hook up. You never date. And now that I'm thinking about it, I don't remember the last time you even looked at another woman. From where I'm sitting, I'm pretty sure you've been celibate since the gala."
I feel heat creep up my neck. "That's none of your?—"
"Six months," Bennett announces, the traitor. "Six months of nothing but pining and what I can only assume is an aggressive relationship with his right hand."
"Jesus Christ, Bennett."
"Payback," he says simply. "For all the shit you gave me about Layla."
Dominic nearly chokes on his scotch. "Six months? Holy shit, your dick must be ready to file for separation. No wonder you look deranged."
"The Jergens stock must be through the roof," Bennett adds. "We should check if you qualify for a bulk discount at this point."
"I will literally throw you out that window."
"The wrist strain must be astronomical," Dominic continues. "We should get you one of those ergonomic?—"
"Don't you start," I point at Logan. "Unless you want us discussing how you turn into a stuttering teenager every time Audrey walks into a room."
Logan's ears go red. "I don't?—"
"You absolutely do," Bennett says. "Last week at Carmichael for the NeuroTech meeting, you walked into a glass door. That you could clearly see. Then apologized to it."
"She had her hair in those pigtails," Logan mutters. "It was fucking adorable."
"See? We all have our things," I say. "Can we please focus on the case?"
"What case?" Dominic says, just as there's a knock on the door.
"Enter," Bennett calls out, and Jenna strides in with her usual terrifying efficiency, carrying a stack of folders.
"Background checks," she announces, setting them on the table one by one. "Serena Morgan, clean as a whistle—shocking no one. Lisa Park, drowning in debt from her divorce and making questionable financial decisions. Maya Bolton, recent cash deposits that don't match her salary and some interesting Google searches about offshore accounts. James Washington, boring as unseasoned toast. And Brittany Adams is too new to have developed any interesting pathologies."
"Who's your money on?" Bennett asks.
Jenna doesn't hesitate. "Lisa Park or Maya Bolton. If it's about money, it's Lisa. If it's about ambition, Maya. Both are plausible for both the leak and the frame job." She straightens, smoothing her already perfect skirt. "Will that be all?"
"For now," Bennett says. "Thanks, Jenna."
She nods and turns to leave, her heels clicking precisely on the floor.
"God, she's magnificent," Dominic sighs once the door closes. "Like an ice sculpture that could kill you with a spreadsheet. The way she just eviscerated those people's entire lives in thirty seconds? I think I'm in love."
"Don't even think about it," Bennett warns.
"Why not? She's single, I'm single?—"
"She's my assistant and she'd eat you alive."
"Promise?" Dominic grins. "I love a woman who could destroy me."
