Page 20 of My Office Rival (Keep Your Enemy Closer #2)

JASON

I waited until Cynthia had left the room before gathering my materials. There could be no hint of impropriety between us. The client expected the asshole version of me, and that’s what they would get. When I exited the conference room, Gene Delafonte was waiting for me.

“What the hell was that back there?” Gene might present a bland persona on conference calls, but I knew the truth. He looked like a mobster and he acted like one.

I kept my face expressionless as I responded. “What do you mean?”

“That bullshit with the Argan lawyer.” He lowered his voice. “Why the hell was she given access to the list of subsidiaries?”

“It was in the diligence package your team produced,” I explained patiently, knowing full well that someone in his department was about to get their ass handed to them for that mistake.

His brows lowered in annoyance while he considered me.

I was his lawyer, so he couldn’t go off half-cocked, but he was angry.

“I don’t want her poking around in stuff she’s not supposed to see.

I suggest she stay in the office she’s assigned to and keep her nose out of our business, beyond what we’ve explicitly granted her access to.

If she doesn’t, there are going to be consequences. ”

My hands clenched and I breathed in through my nose. Relax. Gene wasn’t worth the irritation. “There’s no need to worry. I’ll make sure she and the Argan team stay on task and keep the bother to a minimum.”

That seemed to placate him and he gave me a nod and walked away, tan suit acting as camouflage against the beige walls.

I stood stock still as he turned the corner, then blew out a breath and headed to my temporary office.

Fucking asshole. I was so out of my depth in dealing with this.

Thinly veiled insults? Could handle that with my eyes closed.

Corporate double speak? On it. Lies and negotiations?

No problem. I had a duty to protect my client, and I sure as hell didn’t want to give Cynthia’s firm anything they could use against us.

But it had sounded like Gene was threatening Cynthia.

Shit. I had to tell her. These people were thugs in suits, with a thin veneer of respectability thanks to their roots in the area.

I wanted to punch something, but instead I calmly pulled out my phone and texted Cynthia.

“We need to chat, and it can’t be here.”

She responded almost immediately. “When and where?”

She rose a little in my estimation at that. No bullshit, no questions. She took me at my word. I checked my watch. It was four p.m. now, which meant coffee, not drinks. Probably for the best with the way I tended to lose control around her.

“Meet me at the diner in town.”

“So he threatened me?” Cynthia stirred her coffee thoughtfully while I relaxed against the booth and watched her.

“You don’t seem concerned about it.” I had pictured her flying off the handle, since she wasn’t known for being level-headed.

“I guess I’m not. I don’t know. I’m honestly more surprised than anything.” She leaned in. “What the hell is going on here? When was the last time a client told you to mind your own business? I’ve never dealt with anything like this before.”

“Me neither, honestly. But you need to be careful with him. Don’t ask so many questions.”

“I’m just doing my job.” She sat back against the booth and crossed her arms. “I need to get the full picture here, or I’m going to recommend that Argan not proceed with the acquisition.

And right now, I’m being stonewalled at every turn, by your client and by you.

” She was frustrated, and rightfully so.

“I know, I know.” I speared my hand through my hair.

This was a mess. Cynthia was too perceptive not to see the same things I did and too smart not to keep digging when she sensed something was amiss.

I wanted to win this deal, and I wasn’t about to give her any ammunition, but I couldn’t let her get hurt.

“Please, just watch yourself. I don’t think my clients are nice people,” I finally said.

She raised an eyebrow at that. “There’s no reason for you to tell me this. You could just let them run roughshod over me and look the other way. In fact, the Jason I know would.”

“I’m getting soft,” I said. And maybe I am, where she is concerned.

“Thank you for looking out for me,” she said quietly. Something in me twisted at that. Her expectations of me were so low that even basic decency meant I exceeded them.

I looked away. “Yeah, well, I don’t want you to get hurt. But don’t get any ideas. You’re still opposing counsel, and this deal is going through. I’ll be standing on top when it does.”

She cocked her head. “I can’t figure you out. Some days, I think you’d murder me just to win, but other times, I get a glimpse of a completely different person.”

I shifted in my seat. She was too perceptive. And now she was staring me down like she expected a response. An honest one.

“Don’t you have a work persona and a personal persona?” I asked. Avoiding the question, but still a response.

She took a small sip of her coffee, those lovely brown eyes thoughtful and considering.

“I guess so. But it’s not a dramatic difference.

I’ve definitely polished some of my rough edges for the office.

That Queens accent had to go.” She grinned at me.

“But I still curse just as much as I do around my friends, I still drink a little bit more than I should. I’m not domestic or soft in my personal life, and I’m definitely not at work. ”

I chuckled. “Yeah. I noticed,” I said dryly. “You never worry about being judged by the partners?”

“I used to.” She nodded. “Sure, when I was a junior attorney. But now? Fuck it. I have the skills to back up whatever I say. It’s too exhausting to pretend to be this neat, perfect woman. I’m a little too intense, a little too loud. I don’t care anymore.”

She shrugged and I swallowed. To be like that. So confident.

“You should try it sometime,” she added and winked. “Though I’m not sure how I would handle a nice Jason.”

“Nice might be asking a little too much,” I murmured. “I could do polite .” Deep down, I wasn’t sure if I was nice , anyway.

“Nice is overrated,” she scoffed. “How about not rabid? I’ll settle for that.” She grinned at me.

“And give up my favorite method of tormenting you?” I raised a brow at her. “Nice try.”

She laughed and shook her head as she rose from her seat, scooping up her suit jacket. Today’s pencil skirt had a little slit in the back, and every time she moved, I got a flash of skin under black tights. I wanted to rip that skirt right up the middle. My hand clenched around the coffee cup.

She was still smiling when she turned to me and said, “No, Jason. I think we all know your favorite method of tormenting me has nothing to do with work.”