She could never forget what Dane had said: It’s not like they’re hiring you for your brain. You can probably make partner without winning a single case, so long as you give them the Pryce family business.
She’d rather die than prove Dane right.
“If you’re worried about maternity leave…”
“It’s not the leave. If people see that I’m married to you, they’re going to wonder how much your name has affected the kind of cases, performance evaluations and raises I get. I made it clear to my firm from the beginning that I would never bring my family’s business to them, and I’ve worked very hard to nip any hint of favoritism at the bud. And so far, I think it’s worked. But you’re different.” She raised her chin. “When I make partner, it’s going to be based on my professional accomplishments, not because I’m married to you.”
“You’ve been at the firm for ten years, right?”
She nodded.
“I’ll wait until July. That’s when you have your eval, right?”
Her eyes widened. “How did you know?”
“You mentioned it once. I’ll wait until then, and if you make partner, great. If not…” He shrugged. “I won’t wait beyond that.”
“But—”
“No buts. This is non-negotiable.” His eyes were cold, and his tone even colder. She’d never seen him like this before, and his hard expression killed her objections. “You won’t be able to hide your pregnancy by then anyway. And we’ll be living together as a couple.” He put a finger on the tip of her nose. “Discreetly.”
“I’m not moving to Chicago,” she said quickly before she lost all control of the situation.
He shrugged. “That’s fine. I can be in L.A.”
“You don’t have an office in L.A.” Sterling & Wilson’s California office was in San Francisco.
“I am Sterling & Wilson, not some building.” There was a quiet surety and confidence in his voice.
Her mouth dried. “Are we going to Vegas?”
“Nothing as clichéd as that. Take next Friday off. I’ll send a jet to pick you up in the morning.”
“If you tell me where we’re going, I can arrange for my own trans—”
“Don’t. I’m meeting you most of the way, Vanessa. So humor me on this. Also we should go back to my place and get you fed and rested.”
“Can’t. I have tons of work to do, and I don’t want another associate to suffer because I’m not pulling my weight.”
“Felix Peck?”
She nodded.
“Fine. I’ll send you home on my jet then. And don’t even think about driving in this weather.” He pulled out a credit card and handed it to her. “Put whatever you need on this.”
She stared at the black AmEx. This was too fast, and panic knotted her belly. “What about London?” she said, desperate to throw up whatever obstacle she could manage.
“I’ll take care of her. All you need to do is show up.”
Chapter Six
Sitting in one of the conference rooms at Highsmith, Dickson and Associates, Vanessa checked her phone again. Justin had to have gotten her text that morning, but so far there was no answer.
Sighing, she pushed the thoughts of Justin out of her mind and tried to concentrate on the mountain of papers in front of her. She needed to review them all. The opposing counsel was being a jerk. Apparently he’d decided to kill her with kindness by sending her every minute document.
Soon Felix strolled in with two Starbucks and a paper bag filled with fries. A Yale graduate, he reminded Vanessa of a hungry lion with burning dark eyes and brown hair streaked with golden highlights. His thin lips looked like he disapproved of everyone, especially when he set them in an unsmiling line. They worked wonders when he wanted to intimidate witnesses or difficult clients.
As usual, Felix was in another of his classic Armani outfits, although he’d dressed on the casual side for the weekend. Unlike Vanessa, he had come from a lower middle class family in Cincinnati, and he was extra aware of the image he needed to project even though he didn’t mind food slumming with her on difficult cases. In return, Vanessa hooked him up at La Mer or Éternité, two of the most exclusive restaurants in the city owned by her brother Mark.
“You sure you don’t want to take some time off this weekend?” Felix said, handing her her tea. “You look like hell.”
“No, but thank you for the compliment.”
“You know what I mean.”
Vanessa knew exactly what he meant. She looked and felt like hell. Apparently crackers didn’t agree with her, and now she was craving French fries with the heat of a thousand suns. “I’m a little behind. Besides, I have tons of work to do before next Friday.”