Affirmation

I pull back and look at Matt. He has a sheepish expression on his face.

“What did you do?” I ask, already trying to shame him with my tone.

Matt holds his hands up in defense. “Nothing bad, I swear it. I just sort of offered him a job here, as long as you agreed to stay.”

“What?” I ask, stunned beyond comprehension. “You asked Cal… your arch nemesis… to come work for you? I thought you said you didn’t trust the bastard.”

“I don’t,” Matt says smugly. “What better way to keep tabs on him than having him come work for me?”

I arch an eyebrow up in skepticism. He returns my stare, and we poker face each other.

Then he cracks.

“Fine,” he says with a long-suffering sigh. “I want you to stay. You’re a brilliant attorney, and you’re going places. I want you on my team. I also want you within reach of me at all times because I love you to fucking death. So, the easiest thing seemed to be for me to get Cal on board. I knew you had committed to him, but if he came here, you’d stay.”

“You’re rotten,” I scold him. “And completely selfish.”

“When it comes to you, you’re damn right I am. But talk to Cal… you both have a decision to make.”

Wrapping my arms back around his neck, I stand on my tiptoes and give him a light kiss. “I’ll talk to Cal, and we’ll see. But for now… let’s get out of here.”

Matt doesn’t need any more encouragement; the promise of our bodies coming together the minute we step over the threshold of his apartment… or mine… is almost too overwhelming.

He doesn’t even let me log off my computer. Grabbing my purse to shove in my hands, he starts leading me out of the office. With his fingers laced through mine tightly, he pulls me through the firm in a hurry. We pass attorneys, paralegals, and secretaries, who all stare at us with mouths hanging open. There is no doubt by looking at us, and the impatience on Matt’s face, that he’s either dragging me out to murder me or fuck me, none of which matters to me because I’m officially not his employee anymore.

As he pulls me through the lobby, Bea looks up and I have to giggle at the stunned look on her face. As we pass her desk, Matt stops abruptly and looks at Bea.

“You need to redo your rating scale,” he tells her.

Her jaw drops open, and her face goes red. “Rating scale?”

“Yeah… that scale that you and Mac use to judge my mood.”

Bea turns to look at me, a pleading look on her face for me to step in and save her. I’m shocked as well and turn to Matt. “How in the hell do you know about that?”

Giving me a smile that seemingly melts the panties away from my body, he steps in and gives me a kiss. “I know everything that has to do with you. Let that be a word of warning.”

Then he kisses me again, this time more deeply, and his hand even palms my ass to bring me closer. I can hear Bea choking behind us.

When Matt pulls away, my head is completely fuzzed, but I’m able to watch as he turns to Bea again. His voice is authoritative, and this is Matt Connover, Supreme Boss and Litigation God Extraordinaire, talking to her. “Yeah… redo that scale. This is me at a fifteen on the ‘one to ten happiness scale’. That’s what you use as a baseline to judge my mood from now on. Clear?”

Bea just nods her head at him, fear and confusion in her eyes. He stares at her hard for a moment, and I’m just getting ready to slap him for being so rotten, when he levels a brilliant smile at her. “And Bea?”

“Yes, Mr. Connover?” she says timidly.

“Thanks for looking out for my girl here when I was being an asshole.”

Bea’s mouth drops open again, and then snaps quickly shut. “Yes, Mr. Connover.”

Flashing her both dimples, which, if you’re not quite ready for it, can cause pleasurable blindness on a temporary basis, he pulls me to the door. He lowers his voice so I hope to God only I can hear. “Let’s go, baby. I’m dying to see how great our fucking is going to be now that love is involved.”

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