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“And a drop in pay?” I ask. That makes no sense.
“It’s not about the money,” she snaps back.
From her address, she lives in a decent neighborhood in the city, the kind of place where many buy their first home. It’s less about survival and more about taking the first steps up the property ladder. She’s ambitious, she just doesn’t know it.
“You completed a law apprenticeship, worked your way up and passed your legal secretary exam first time.” With a ninety-seven percent pass mark. She’s remarkable.
“Yes. I continually study and work my ass off.”
She doesn’t need to tell me that, it’s all here in black and white. I close the résumé and click on the recommendation letter Janice attached from Williams and Jones.
It’s faultless, and I hide my smile when I read the last line of their letter.
If Arianna was a lawyer, I would make her a partner.
“Explain it to me again. Why did you apply for a position at Hart Law that you could do in your sleep?” I slide my cell back inside the concealed pocket of my jacket. “And this time try to sound convincing.” Something isn’t adding up, but I can’t figure out what it is.
“I told you already.” Sounding exasperated, she places her hands on her hips to make her point, the skin on her neck flushing redder by the second.
Slowly, I move toward her and she tracks my every step until we finally come toe to toe.
As I look down at her, she cranes her neck back to meet my six-foot-five height.
Relieved that she doesn’t flinch when I do something completely out of character, I push a lock of her hair behind her ear and get lost in her big, beautiful eyes. “If I find out you are lying to me, I will make you regret ever thinking you could fool me.”
“Okay.” Her reply is softer than I expected but there’s a slight crack in her voice, and when the frown she’s been wearing since I entered the room deepens, I get the feeling that she doesn’t believe me, or she doesn’t believe her own reply. But then there is a shift in her demeanor, a sort of deviance washing over her as she squares her shoulders, and lifts her chin. “I understand,” she says.
She steps back dropping her arms by her side but I follow her and don’t let her get away and when I move my mouth to the shell of her ear, I whisper, “And I bet you won’t last the week anyway.” I set her a challenge, knowing that it will put fire in her belly.
“You’re wrong about that.” I don’t miss the way her breath hitches in her chest when my lips touch her jaw.
Why do I feel like my chest is going to explode when she’s near?
This isn’t like me.
With my actions on autopilot, I run my nose down hers, because I’m unable to resist touching her. Hiring Arianna is either going to be the best or worst decision I’ve ever made. “I work very long hours,” I state. Everyone knows this. I work harder than anyone, even my brothers.
“Most lawyers do.”
“Which means you will too, and I don’t take breaks.”
“I’ll bring snacks to your desk. And lunch. Dinner too, if you want.”
My previous secretaries have never suggested that. “I take my coffee black with no sugar.” I rest my forehead against hers and cup her face with my hands, something I shouldn’t be doing.
“Noted.” Her eyelashes flutter against my cheek and I imagine it’s what the wings of a butterfly would feel like on my skin: soft and delicate.
“I only take calls between ten and eleven o’clock on the days I’m not in court.”
“Okay.”
“Whatever the records clerk salary we offered you was, I will triple it if you agree to take the position of being my secretary.” If she’s looking for more balance in her life, she won’t find it working for me.
“I accept.”
I knew she would. Work-life balance clearly isn’t her priority. I’ll uncover what really brought her here—and why she stepped down to a lower-grade position.
“Good girl.”