I immediately tune them back out again, because I don’t give a fig who’s in Midge’s office. She’s had a slew of high-profile clients in and out over the months I’ve been here, and it doesn’t impress me.
After I read over Leary’s instructions, I log onto Lexis-Nexis, the legal research library the firm subscribes too. I’d much rather go over to one of the local law schools in the area and do my research the old-fashioned way, but Knight & Payne is all about convenience and expediency, so online research it is.
I punch in some search terms, review the synopses that appear on my screen, and start making note of the cases that interest me. Then I pull the first one up and start to read.
I’m about halfway through the third paragraph when I suddenly become aware that The Pit has gone almost silent. This is unheard of and is so startling to my senses that I raise my head up to make sure I haven’t lost track of time and perhaps everyone left for lunch or something.
Nope… everyone is still here, but no one seems to be speaking a word.
Instead, all faces are turned toward Midge’s office and the minute I look that way, my stomach pitches as I recognize Evan Scott standing there talking to his aunt.
And good gracious… no man should ever be that good looking. I mean, the threat to women’s ovaries exploding just by looking at him is a real and serious threat to the human race.
He wears his brown hair in a shaggy mess on top. From across the large expanse of The Pit, I can see he sports his trademark five o’clock shadow. And he totally rocks the musician look with faded jeans, a pair of black Chucks, and a ratty t-shirt. He has what looks to be several braided leather bands around one wrist, and a large, silver-looking ring on the middle finger of his other hand.
Evan’s looking at Midge as she says something to him, so I can’t see his eyes, but I can imagine them. I looked at them long and hard that day many weeks ago, the hazel so damn mesmerizing against the fringe of dark lashes.
I glance around the room. Every single female from lowly secretary right on up to even the senior associate attorney who is happily married and has three children is ogling Evan as he stands there and talks to Midge. I might be doing the same.
And then… almost as if in slow motion, Midge turns slightly and levels her gaze right at me. She raises an elegant arm and points an even more elegant finger across The Pit straight at me.
Evan turns, following her direction, and his gaze locks tight with mine.
I hear a collective gasp from the women sitting around me, and my face flushes hot.
With an almost feral smile leveled straight at me, Evan says something to Midge without even looking at her, and she chuckles in response.
Then he starts walking my way.
No… stalking my way.
A nervous, energetic vibe seems to sweep through The Pit. As Evan winds his way through the desks—each woman he passes leaning in her chair a bit to get a good look at his backside—he never once lets his gaze drop from mine.
My pulse starts an erratic flutter as he gets closer. When he stops on the other side of my desk, those hazel eyes pinning me in place, I actually get a little dizzy.
“I need to talk to you,” he says, and God… his voice sounds even better than I remember it.
I glance nervously to my right and see Krystal with her mouth hanging wide open, her tongue in danger of falling out. Pushing my hair behind my ear in a nervous gesture, I take in a ragged breath before I ask, “About what?”
“It’s private,” he says softly. “Can we go into one of the conference rooms or something?”
“Um, sure,” I say as I stand from my chair, thankful to have broken eye contact with him. I lead him through The Pit to the closest empty conference room, noting that the chatter starts back up. Even though I can’t distinguish any particular conversation, I can tell by the excited hum to it that everyone’s talking about Evan and me.
I enter the conference room and stand by the door, closing it once Evan comes in. I glance out at The Pit through the floor-to-ceiling glass walls, and note almost every face staring back at us. My nerves start going into overdrive to be the subject of so much attention, and my hand slaps at the button on the wall beside the light switch. This immediately fills the double-paned glass with a dark gray smoke, completely obscuring us from everyone’s view.
Turning, I find Evan watching me like a hawk, those hazel eyes swirling with greens, and golds, and browns, and…
Shaking my head, I nod toward a chair and mumble, “Have a seat.”
I take the chair at the very end of the table closest to the door, and Evan takes the one to my left. I sit straight as an arrow, my fingers nervously clutched together and my knees pressed tight to one another so they don’t start shaking. Evan, on the other hand, pushes the rolling chair slightly away from the table and slouches down in a relaxed pose with one foot resting on the opposite knee.
And he just stares at me without saying a word.