Page 30 of The Senator's Secret
Granted, if I were to become First Lady, I would never touch cases like this again. And the partners won’t know any different. To them and the rest of America, I very well may be the next FLOTUS and shouldn’t risk my reputation or that of my U.S.-senator lover. Not that any of that has a lick of truth to it, but the partners don’t know that.
I straighten my spine and shore up my courage. I am a brilliant attorney. I am living with a powerful and well-respected U.S. Senator—even if he drives me crazy one minute and makes me come with alarming dexterity the next. This law firm is lucky to have me. I repeat my mantra over and over again in my head, leaving out the part about achieved orgasms in record times, as I knock on the door to John Stanton’s office.
“Come in!” he hollers. Stanton is the managing partner of the firm. The rest are as old as the Washington Monument and only have their names on the letterhead and their grandchildren in their old offices snorting coke and fucking the secretary pool. I like to stay away from the younger crowd as much as possible.
Damn, maybe it’s time to hang my own shingle after all. I’m getting way too old for this shit.
“Can I talk to you for a minute?” I ask softly. I learned a long time ago I get farther with the men in this office acting demurely, and when that fails, I fuck their shit up. Legally, of course.
“Of course, Grace,” he says affably. “Good to see you.”
“Thank you.” I make my way into his office.
“What can I do for you?”
“I just wanted to know who assigned me the Conners case?” I ask with more sugar in my tone than all the Kool-Aid factories combined. Apparently, I laid it on a little too thick, because I see Stanton’s posture go rigid.Good, you should be worried.
“I’m not sure,” he hedges. “Why are you asking?”
“Because I won’t be working the case any longer,” I say on a gentle smile.
“I’m sorry, Grace, but that just won’t do,” Stanton says, pushing enough steel into his tone that it left the “your job depends on it” unsaid. “There is not anyone else who could take the case. We’re just that busy.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” I tell him, letting my words hang in the air.
“I knew you would see reason,” Stanton says with a smile for me like a proud papa. Too bad I’m about to ruin his day. “There really is no one who could achieve the outcome Connors wants like you can.”
“This is true,” I agree. “But I won’t be representing him. That prenup is iron-clad. He should have thought about that before he paraded his mistress all over town.”
“We don’t let our personal feelings get in the way of doing our jobs at this firm,” Stanton warns me.
“This is also true,” I tell him. “And while I find the work ethic admirable, there are many things about Mr. Conners I find highly questionable and some unethical and very illegal.”
“You’re point is, counselor?” The tone of his voice is sharp like a knife and he is warning me to tread very lightly. But I would never defend someone like Conners and he knows it. Could this be the blackmail? Would my own bosses be threatening me so that I handle their dirty work for them? I’ve always known that they took on some clients that were criminals even if they’ve never been caught and tried. And I have always looked the other way while handling the legitimate side of business. Sure, I clean up their messes, but only those of the non-criminal variety. Could this be how they finally get me to take on the cases that I’ve always refused?
I’ll have to think fast to get out of this mess. Maybe the senator’s reputation is enough to land me in the clear even if only for enough time to regroup.
“It does not behoove the senator or his purposes for me to align myself, his fiancée,” I say, pointing to my own person as I explain to him that I won’t be doing his bidding on this case, “with certain persons. So, I’m going to have to pass on this case.”
“I don’t think Senior Senator Chancellor would feel the same way,” Stanton says cryptically.
“I wouldn’t know,” I tell him, and when he tips his head to the side to study me, I realize my mistake. A woman would know her fiancé’s parents, right? Shit. “We don’t see each other often, and when we do, we do not discuss my job or my cases.” Whew, that sounded reasonable.
“I see,” he says. “Well, I will be sure to bring this up with him tomorrow afternoon at tee time.”
Of course he will. Tattletale.
“Of course,” I purr. “Now, I have to get back to my office. I trust the case will be passed on to good hands.”
“Let’s not be so hasty,” Stanton says. “I’d like to check with the senior senator.”
“You do that,” I tell him on narrowed eyes. “I will be checking with the current senator.”
“Of course,” he says as he looks down his nose at me. We’re at a stalemate. I can’t see how my taking on a shady client would help Jake win the election. Could his own father be trying to sabotage him? I’m going to have to look into things and see where the truth really lies because someone is in this mess up to their eyeballs. I just hope it’s not me.
And with that, I leave his office on shaky legs. Why would he want me to keep such a shit client? Conners has money, but is it really worth it to keep him on? The fact that I’m going to have to broach the subject with Jake this evening does not inspire warm and fuzzy feelings in me. Not to mention the thought of tonight and Jake’s lusty promises simultaneously makes my palms sweaty and my panties wet. My life is so complicated. How did this even happen in the first place? I’ve been so careful. I’ve lived my life in half measures all to build this life I wanted, and now it all hangs in the balance with chaos swirling all around me.
Somehow, I managed to make it down the hall and to my own office. I closed the door softly behind me, needing a moment to be alone in the quiet to sort my thoughts. Quiet. That’s what I need. I slip into the chair behind my desk and focus on just breathing in and out.