Page 64 of A Legal Affair
Daniela laughed. “Are you kidding? I’d have to be crazy to pass up the opportunity to intern at San Antonio’s top criminal defense firm.”
“Good,” Caleb said with a brisk nod. “I’ll let my father know. Now, there’s just one other thing.”
“What’s that?”
“He’d like to meet you in person.”
Daniela’s heart knocked. “You mean your father personally interviewsinterns?”
Caleb gave her a look of wry amusement. “You obviously don’t know Crandall Thorne. He monitors everything at the firm, right down to the price of bulk pens. For as long as I can remember, he’s been involved in the hiring of each and every new employee, from attorneys to mail clerks.”
“Wow,” Daniela murmured.
“I know,” Caleb said, his mouth twitching. “To say my father is a control freak would be a huge understatement. But the firm is very important to him and, to his credit, he’s always made the right hiring decisions, which has largely contributed to the success of the business.”
Daniela nodded. “When would he like to set up the interview?”
“As soon as possible. Are you available tomorrow evening? I thought we could all have dinner together at his ranch.”
Daniela’s mouth went dry. She could hardly believe she’d soon meet the powerful, notorious Crandall Thorne in his own domain. When she’d accepted the undercover assignment earlier that summer, never could she have imagined that such a golden opportunity would present itself, seeming to fall rightinto her lap. Kenneth and Noah would be extremely pleased, she thought, then suffered another pang of guilt, this one sharper than the first. Caleb, out of a genuine desire to help her with her career, had gone out of his way to speak to his father on her behalf, all but securing her an internship that any of her classmates would kill for.
And she would repay his generosity by deceiving and betraying him.
“Daniela?” Caleb’s deep voice broke into her grim musings. She blinked, and realized that he was watching her quietly as he awaited her answer.
She forced an easy smile. “Tomorrow evening sounds perfect, Caleb.”
He nodded, his dark gaze lingering on her face another moment before he picked up his phone. “What’s your number?”
She rattled it off, watching him add her to his contacts and send her a quick test text.
“I’ll pick you up at five-thirty,” he said. “In case you have any questions or need to cancel at the last minute, you have my number.”
“Thank you.” Smiling, Daniela glanced at her watch, and saw that it was already close to eleven. If she didn’t get moving, she’d be late for her next class. And yet, she wanted nothing more than to stay right where she was. She wanted to spend the rest of the day with Caleb, sequestered alone with him as if they were the only two souls in the world.
When she looked up again, she saw a softness in his eyes that made her wonder if he’d read her thoughts, or if he, too, felt the same way. Holding her gaze, he got slowly to his feet.
“Better not be late to class,” he said quietly.
With a reluctant nod, she slid off the desk and rounded the corner to retrieve her purse and half-empty water bottle from the floor. At the door to the office, she paused and turned aroundto face him. “Thanks again for looking out for me, Caleb. I can’t tell you enough how much I appreciate it.”
He inclined his head. “I’ll see you tomorrow evening, Daniela.”
She mustered a winsome smile before opening the door and slipping out of the room. She was so preoccupied with thoughts of Caleb and the pending dinner date with his father that she barely noticed Shara Adler hovering in the doorway of an office across the hall, watching her departure with a look of pure venom.
21
Daniela remained in a melancholy mood for the rest of the afternoon, plagued by a guilty conscience that warned her what she was doing to Caleb was wrong, no matter what she told herself to the contrary.
She’d entered his life under false pretenses, pretending to be someone she wasn’t, pretending to have career aspirations she didn’t possess. And although Caleb claimed his reasons for helping her had nothing to do with their personal involvement, she knew better, which only compounded her guilt.
She wished Caleb was an ogre—a cold, ruthless monster she’d have no qualms about deceiving. She wished his eyes didn’t glow with genuine pride when he spoke about his students and their commitment to a campus organization. She wished the sight of him didn’t take her breath away, that the sound of his voice didn’t do dangerous things to her heart rate.
Hell, she even wished he was lousy in bed.
She wished for something,anything, that would make her duplicity more acceptable. Less…reprehensible.
She was still brooding when she arrived at Roarke Investigations that evening. Since it was after hours, the reception area was empty, the venetian blinds were drawnclosed and the phones were silent. As she started toward Kenneth’s office, the sound of angry male voices caused her to frown and hurry to the doorway, where she discovered her brothers on their feet and squaring off across Kenneth’s desk like two raging bulls.
