Page 108 of Play the Game
Laughing, I tuck my phone in my briefcase and step off the elevator on the conference floor. I make a quick stop in the bathroom because the baby seems determined to stomp on my bladder all fucking day every day, which is the exact opposite of sexy, then head to reception where my client is waiting.
“Evan!” Milo Pierre, the founder and CEO of Pierre Pharma, stands with a grin as he holds his hand out to me.
I shake it, smiling back. “It’s really good to see you, Milo.” I mean it. Most of my clients are corporate shitbag, dudebro-types, but not Milo. He may own one of the most famous startup pharmaceutical companies in the world and be one of my biggest clients, but at his core, he’s a nerdy pediatric heart surgeon who loves science and wants to save babies, and he’s become something of a friend in the couple years he’s been a client. For the past six months, we’ve been defending his company in a lawsuit filed by a bigger, more powerful pharma company alleging patent infringement for one of Pierre’s new drugs. They’re greedy, deep pocketed shills who probably haven’t taken a science class since high school, and I’m in the process of kicking their ass.
Or, I would be, if Austin wasn’t trying to sideline me at every turn. He always has, but it’s gotten much worse lately, and the only reason I’m even taking this meeting alone is because Cooper didn’t tell Austin that he was skipping it. If he had, Austin would no doubt be swooping in, likely afraid I would have a female rage attack or something. Fucker.
“Great to see you, too,” he says, following me into theconference room I reserved and taking the seat across from me. “It’s been a while.”
His gaze drops to my belly for a split second before it flies back up. I can’t help but laugh at the embarrassment crossing his face. “It’s fine, Milo, you can say it. I am ridiculously pregnant.”
“Sorry,” he says, smiling sheepishly. “I belong in a lab. They really shouldn’t let me come out and talk to the people. Congratulations.”
“Thanks,” I say, flipping open the file I brought with me and clicking open my pen. “It was a pretty wild surprise.”
“Ah,” he says, leaning back in his chair. “My wife and I had one of those. That surprise is currently fourteen and waging a fierce campaign for her first phone, and I’m still not over the shock of it all.”
“Right?” I say, shifting in my chair to try and find a comfortable position, but then I give up because I’m enormous and comfort is a thing of the dark, distant past. “I’m still squarely in theI can’t believe this is happeningphase. Luckily Cooper is a little more levelheaded about it all.”
“Cooper?” Milo asks, his eyes lighting with interest. “Like, Cooper Wyles, the other senior associate on this case?”
“The very same one,” I say with a shrug because honestly, it still surprises me too.
Milo grins. “Forgive me for saying this, but I always got the impression that you two weren’t each other’s biggest fans.”
I give Milo a wry smile. “You weren’t wrong. But it turns out that he is, unfortunately, my soul mate.”
Milo barks out a laugh. “Sounds familiar. My wife and I were med school rivals. We competed mercilessly for four years.”
“So, what happened?”
Milo grins wider. “She’s ten times smarter than I could ever hope to be. She beat me out for valedictorian by one tenth of a point, and the second we walked across the graduation stage I begged her to be with me forever. We’ve been together ever since.”
His obvious love for his wife has me grinning back at him. “Sounds familiar. I beat Cooper at all the things. I think he likes it.”
Milo nods. “He definitely does. Smart men know that the best thing they can do is find a partner who is way smarter than they are. Cooper strikes me as a smart man.”
I smile and nod. “He sure is. So should we talk about the case?”
“Let’s do it,” he says, leaning forward with his elbows on the table. “Tell me how you’re going to get those assholes off my back so I can start doing science again. No offense, but the legal stuff just bores me to absolute tears.”
“Well, lucky for you, I kill at the legal stuff.” I hand him a copy of the motion for summary judgment I finished drafting this morning. I’m in the middle of explaining to him how the timeline works now that discovery is almost over when the door to the conference room bursts open and Austin strides into the room.
Fucking fuck, fuck, fuck.
“Milo!” Austin says in such an ass-kissing voice that I just barely resist the urge to roll my eyes. “I’m so sorry about this. I was just made aware that Cooper was not able to attend the meeting. If I would have known, I would have handled it myself.”
“Why?” Milo asks flatly, staying seated and blatantly ignoring Austin’s outstretched hand. “Evan is right here.”
Austin covers his scoff with a cough, but I hear it loud and clear, and rage bubbles in my veins. “I’m sure she’s doing okay, but you deserve a whole team at your service. Evangeline should have let me know that Cooper was busy.” He eyes me with disappointment bordering on outright hostility, and I have to bite the inside of my cheek to keep myself from telling him to fuck right off.
God, I hate him so much.
“That’s entirely unnecessary,” Milo says, his tone full ofdisdain. “Evan is a brilliant lawyer and has been wholly dedicated to my company and to this case since the second I first became a client of this law firm. Now, we were just going to go over the final litigation timeline.”
“Perfect,” Austin says, nodding. “I was just reviewing the draft motion for summary judgment.” He pulls out a chair like he’s going to take a damn seat but freezes when Milo holds up a hand.
“You misunderstand me,” Milo says cooly. “You don’t need to be here. I’m sure you have more important things to do than bill me sixteen hundred dollars an hour for sitting here doing absolutely nothing while Evan tells me what I need to know.”
