All In:Playing the Fool(46)

"Hey ladies, how's it going?" I asked with a smile after I paid for our food.

Two of the women, Veronica and Theresa I think, smiled and greeted me warmly, while all I got was an icy look from Katie.

"Hey, it was Lacy right?" Veronica asked, and I nodded.

"If I remember correctly, you're Veronica, Theresa, and oh shoot … was it  Katie?" I asked, pretending to have to think hard to recall her name.

They responded in the affirmative.

"Do you want to sit and have lunch with us?" Theresa asked. I liked her already.

"Sure, if you don't mind. Joe got held up in a DWI trial so I was just going to eat without him."

"So you and Joe Cool are together, huh?" Veronica asked with a smile.

"Yeah. I mean as soon as I started working for him we hit it off pretty quickly."

"If you don't mind me saying, he is a fine man, and one of the hottest  attorneys. He just oozes swagger. He has another nickname with the women  in our office. We all think he looks like Orlando Bloom."

Now that they mentioned it, I could see that, especially since his hair was a little on the shaggy side, needing a haircut.

"Actually," I said, leaning forward as if to tell them a secret. "His body is a helluva lot more ripped than Orlando's."

"Really?" Veronica asked.

"Oh yeah. He goes to the gym after work almost every night. Well, he's  missed quite a few nights recently," I told them honestly. The man even  had a personal trainer. A trainer who was pissed because Joe kept  standing him up to fuck me and forgetting to call and cancel. He'd even  threatened to quit if Joe no showed again. My face warmed, which was  helpful for showing I wasn't bull shitting about me and Joe.

"He's so … aggressive in the courtroom, it's pretty hot to watch. And we  all hate going up against him," Theresa commented. "He's damn  distracting."

"Oh, he's aggressive out of the courtroom too. I mean the man seriously  blows my mind, and in his office he gets all bossy with his sexy orders  that I can't wait to obey."

"So are things getting serious with him? We've never seen him date anyone before," Theresa asked.

"I think casual is the best way to describe us, which is fine with me  since I just got out of a long relationship. It's fun and all with Joe,  but I'm pretty sure there's someone else he's interested in."

"Really?" Veronica asked.

"Yeah, I don't know who but I think she might be an attorney in town too."

"Well, I don't know a single woman that would turn him down," Theresa laughed.

"I would," Katie spoke up for the first time. "He's an asshole." I was certain she had a case of the lady doth protest too much

"Katie!" Veronica and Theresa exclaimed.

"He is, and his clients are a bunch of creeps and pervs." I winced at  that, since I was also one of his current clients after the trouble Will  and I got into.

"Katie just doesn't like going up against him because she's afraid she'll lose."

"You'd be surprised at the realistic perspective he has, but usually  hides from his clients. Besides, he's not happy as a defense attorney.  He's looking for a new job."

"He is? What does he want to do?" Veronica asked.

"He's actually talked about becoming a prosecutor and eventually running for a judgeship."         

     



 

"Wow. I don't know if the women in our office could handle working side by side with him."

"I wouldn't work with him," Katie said with a tight lipped expression. "They'd have to fire me first."

"Shoot, you wouldn't have to worry about that. The girls in the office  would line up to second chair his trials. Sorry Lacy," Theresa said.

"Oh, you're fine. Like I said, we're not serious. I wouldn't care if he  wanted to date other women. I'm actually applying to television stations  out of town and out of state, so I probably won't be here much longer."  There, I'd gossiped him up and provided the message that we're not  serious.

The thought of leaving Greensboro did make me sad. Will wouldn't leave  his friends and family, and it's not like we're serious either. I knew  for a fact long distance relationships didn't work. It hit me that I'd  really miss Will if I couldn't see him anymore. Of course I'd miss Joe  too, but in a different way.

That's when I looked up and saw Joe walk past the front window and head inside the sub shop.

"Speak of the devil," Katie muttered.

"Hey, Joe," we all greeted him.

"Ladies," he nodded to them. "Hey, baby. I got out earlier than I  thought. You've already got our lunch?" Joe asked me, then leaned down  for a quick kiss on the lips.

"Sure have."

"Good, that'll free up our lunch break for … even better things," he said  with a sexy smile stretching across his face. "Let's go." He brushed his  lips against my ear and ran his hands down my arms as all three woman  watched with mouths agape.

Once again, Katie's cheeks reddened and she quickly looked away when I glanced at her.

"I was just telling them you might soon be leaving defense work behind," I said to Joe.

"That's right," Joe straightened behind me and beamed. "Abe Ryans put in  a good word for me with DA Cardwell for the opening on the felony,  violent crimes team."

"You've got to be kidding," Katie muttered.

"Not kidding. And who knows, Katie. In a few years I might even be your  boss," he told her with a smug smile. She was downright indignant, but  Joe grabbed my hand and pulled me out of the shop before she could  respond.

"So how did your trial go?" I asked as we walked back to the office.

"Dismissed before it started, no probable cause."

"Oh good. Jason's blood alcohol was at the legal limit, right?"

"Yep, and the judge found that the cop didn't have cause to stop him," Joe said while typing out something on his phone.

"Awesome."

We decided to eat our subs in Joe's office, but only after Joe laid me out on his desk, feasted on me, and then fucked me first.

While he was in the restroom his cell phone that was sitting on his desk  started pinging with messages. Messages from Will according to the  notice box that appeared on the home screen. One of which said, "That  was damn hot" and another that said, "You better be careful or your  coworkers and her dad will hear her."

What the hell? Was he talking about me? I unlocked Joe's phone, uncaring  that I was being nosy. I needed to know what those messages were about.

I went to the chat log between Will and Joe and started scrolling  through their old conversations. My food went sour in my stomach the  more I read until I thought I was going to be sick. It sounded a lot  like Joe had been fucking me in front of his webcams and notifying Will  in advance so he could watch us. How could they?

The tears started falling down my face as I looked around the office and  finally noticed the small circular lens of the camera, looking  inconspicuous on a black stand beside one of Joe's computer speakers.

The office door opened with Joe's return. I slung his phone at him, hitting him in the chest before it bounced to the floor.

"What the hell, Lacy?" he asked, bending down to pick up his phone.

"What the fuck, Joe?" I responded. "How dare you let him watch us without telling me?"

He paled and looked down on his phone, noticing where I'd left the messages open.

"Lacy, it's not what you think."

"So it's not you broadcasting to him live while you fuck me, without me knowing about it?"

He held his hands up in front of him as if in surrender. "Okay, it is  that, but not why you think. How do you expect Will to feel about you  fucking me and Chad? How would you feel if he was doing the same with  other women? Wouldn't you want to see, to know for sure that it didn't  mean anything?"

"That is one sorry ass explanation. I trusted you! Even when I didn't  think I could trust anyone else, I trusted you!" I yelled, before  storming past him and getting the hell out of his office.         

     



 

Thankfully Jess was back this week, but at the moment I didn't give a  shit either way. I just had to get out of this place. I stopped by her  office on the way to mine, tears streaming uncontrollably down my face.  The two men I cared about, the two men I trusted more than anyone else  had both betrayed me.

"Jess...I've got …  I've got to go," I told her, when I barged through her open door.

"What's wrong?" she asked when she looked up from her computer.

I shook my head, unable to explain through sobs, and not wanting to because it was so embarrassing.

"See you tomorrow?" she asked, and I shook my head again.

"I'm … I'm sorry but I'm done," I told her.

Back in my office I grabbed my phone and purse, then left the building, swearing I'd never step foot inside it again.

On the way to Joe's to gather all my things I'd left there while I'd been staying with him I called my mom.