“No. They put me on something that should be an intern’s job. Seriously. Filing stuff in chronological order? And this mythical client wants to pay more than twice my billing rate? I don’t think so.”
Justin scratched the tip of his nose. “What’s so unbelievable about that?”
“Because it’s stupid to pay that much! Besides, I can’t waste my life filing when I should be working on important cases and make sure the partners know how valuable I am to the firm. I need to show what a great lawyer I am, how I can charm clients and win more business. You know, things like that.”
“If you want to bring in business, why don’t you use your family connections?”
“Because I’m not going to climb the ladder of family connections to the top like some brainless moneyed idiot!” she burst out, then clicked her mouth shut. Flushing, she blinked a few times. “Maybe it makes me sound arrogant,” she began, her words slow and measured, “but I want to do it on my own. I want my career to be…entirely mine. Dane, you rat bastard.” Suddenly she buried her flushed face in her hands.
Justin didn’t know how her oldest brother figured into all this, but he could guess. As if being an asshole wasn’t enough, Dane was very good at manipulating people, somewhat like Barron. Justin pulled Vanessa down onto the couch and held her.
“Every family has a rat bastard,” he said, tucking tendrils of her hair behind her ears.
She laughed humorlessly. “But not like Dane. He played me all along, egging me on, telling me I could never be a partner on my own. And I wanted to prove him wrong so bad I spent the last ten years of my life doing exactly that.”
“Isn’t partnership what you want though?”
“Yes,” she answered reflexively, then shook her head. “Maybe.” She huffed. After a moment, she added quietly, “I don’t know. I just wanted to do it on my own.”
That Justin could understand. Her family was wealthy and influential, and he bet it cast a long shadow everywhere she went. He didn’t see anything wrong with her wanting to be free of that. He’d always had the same desire himself.
He felt slightly bad about his role in her getting put on the “boring” work, but he couldn’t believe Highsmith hadn’t done a better job of spinning the work so it sounded ridiculously important. Like it was an honor to be on it.
Maybe he should have a quick conversation with the partner. Highsmith was to make sure Vanessa didn’t work too much, not piss her off by giving her scut work.
Their lunch arrived; Justin paid and brought it to the dining table. He’d ordered egg drop soup as well since she liked it, and settled down to decimate his Kung Pao chicken.
Vanessa chewed her pork. She seemed to have a good appetite now. Maybe the morning sickness the day before had been an aberration. Women threw up during pregnancy, but it couldn’t be optimal to lose one’s food when eating for two.
“Are you doing any work today?” she asked.
“No.” He’d cleared his calendar until Monday.
“What were you planning to do all day?”
“Oh, this and that.” He gave her a wicked smile. “Why?”
“Now that I can’t work, I don’t know what to do with myself.”
He chuckled. “I can think of a few things.” He washed down his chicken with Coke. “Actually, I was going to take a nice hot shower…while thinking about you.”
She raised an eyebrow like she wasn’t affected, but her eyes where darker now. “Is thinking all you were going to do?”
He winked. “I don’t fist and tell. But I’ll let you watch.”
She licked her lips. “Seriously?”
“Seriously.”
“Now?”
“Now.”
Chapter Twelve
Vanessa couldn’t believe how turned on she was at the idea that he masturbated while fantasizing about her. She was slick and tingly between her legs, like they hadn’t done the dirty-and-sweaty the night before.
Justin started the water in the shower. Her master bathroom had a separate shower stall encased in glass. He brought a stool in. “Sit.”
She plopped down. He stripped off his shirt. Her breath caught at the hard, rippling muscles on his back and torso. The bright light showcased all his masculine perfection. He got rid of his shorts and underwear, and she pulled her lips in at how hard he was already. Long and thick, his shaft stood up, the head of his cock so close to his flat stomach.
He strutted around, shamelessly flaunting his body. He was gorgeous, his movements gracefully economical, like an athlete in his prime.
With a grin, he went inside the stall. The water sluiced down his body in rivulets, tracing every line. He shampooed his thick dark hair, and white suds skimmed down his strong back. He grabbed a bar of soap and ran it over his body.