Page 60 of Legally Mated
“I see.” He leaned back in the chair again, his expression thoughtful. “He’s really okay with that?Quinwas? How would it work if I’m banned from theenclave?”
Oh. I’d forgotten in my excitement. “I suppose we could video conference at first. To be honest, we don’t have the other human for the board yet anyway, so we don’t know who they’re going to be. Jesse’s looking around for volunteersforus.”
“Jesse, huh?” He gazed at me, seeing everything I wasn’tsaying.
“He’s not a bad guy, Laine. And Eva’s pretty sharp when it comes to this constitutionalstuff.”
He looked down as if he felt guilty, then his eyes met mine again. “How are you two getting along?” He said it in a tone so unlike his usual one that I stopped in mid-chew andstared.
“Why?” I mumbled, and then forcefully swallowed what was left in my mouth. “Have you heardsomething?”
“No,” he said slowly, then grimaced. “We’ve always been honest with each other, right? It’s just—I’ve been thinking about some of the things Holland said, and some of the things you’ve said, about what this family is doing for the pack. And you seem to be enjoying working with Eva. A lot.” His Adam’s apple bobbed and he shifted uncomfortably on his chair. “You know, if you’ve changed your mind, if I’m too much trouble in your life, we can take a break.I’llwait.”
Oh, no, really? He wasn’t… He was. “You idiot,” I said, and grabbed for the other roll. “You’re lucky you’re not here or I’d throw this roll at you.” I held it up in front of the camera and shook it menacingly. “I have no interest in a break of any kind. Yeah, it’s fun working with her, but she’s not my type.You’remy type. Why? Are you thinking about breakingitoff?”
“No!” He practically shouted, which made me feel much more smug than I really should have. “I just… I had this weird dream last night and I haven’t been able to shake it, you know? Not that I believe in psychics or anything, but all this True Omega stuff is starting to make everything seempossible.”
He still sounded tentative, disturbingly so, despite his attempt at humor. I stared at him for a moment while I chewed on a piece of beef and contemplated the best way to handle this weird lack of confidence in Laine. And then I started to laugh. I laughed so hard I spilled stew on the bedsheets and then I was cursing and laughing at the same time, and finally Laine started to laugh too and everything was fineagain.
We talked about his current case for another half hour and then he mentioned Jack Burgess, who I hadn’t seen since law school. “How’s he doing?” I asked as I scraped the last of the stew out ofthebowl.
“Good. He looked busier than a chicken with its head cut off, but good. I was thinking about asking him if he’d ever consider coming back to privatepractice.”
“He’d be good. He doesn’t scare easily and he makes connections between things pretty fast. You looking for me to recommend him? I don’t think Dan will accept myreference.”
Laine laughed. “I’m starting to think of going out on my own. I think the firm is starting to hold me back. If I stay there too much longer, I’llstagnate.”
“And you want him to go with you.” I let my eyes drift while I thought about that. I had no doubt Laine would enjoy having his own firm. I wasn’t so sure he’d enjoy the drop in pay. “You know how expensive it is to set a firm up,don’tyou?”
Laine waved that away and I covered up a grin. “I know, it won’t be easy. I think I need a new challenge though, somethingdifferent.”
“Well, if you’re going to do it, Jack’s a good guy. He’s reliable and he works hard. And his family is connected in law enforcement and through the court system up and down thecoast.”
“What do you think, though? Do you think we can work together without killing eachother?”
He was really serious about this. “Define killing.” But then I laughed. “I think you’ll butt heads, but I liked him. I’dtrusthim.”
“We’re going to need a paralegal,” he said, and waggled hiseyebrows.
“Is that a job offer, Mr. Montague?” I asked in my blandest tone. “May I inquire, what benefits are included in theposition?”
He grinned, catching my meaning. “So many benefits,” he crooned at me. “And lots ofpositions.”
Oh, this was a bad idea, because my body had just woken up and realized that we were talking to Laine. “Uh,” I stammered, and then was saved by Holland’s presence in my open door. “Can we talk about this later?Holland’shere.”
“Okay,” he said, his tone immediately business-like. “I’ll talk to Jack. Let Holland know I’d be glad to sit on the board and to send me details of how we’re goingtomeet?”
“I will,” I said, one eye on my Alpha’s Mate, leaning casually on the doorframe. “I’ll call you againtomorrow.”
“I’ll be waiting impatiently for it,” Laine said warmly and letmego.
I tossed my phone onto the bed beside me. “Hi, sorry, I just woke up. I’m going to look at the contracts thisevening.”
Holland shook his head and came to sit on the foot of my bed. “He’s leavinghisfirm?”
I nodded and watched him closely. “I think he’s in a rut whereheis.”
“And he wants you to gowithhim?”
