The Client(23)

Sadly, it hadn’t diminished at all during my bout of self-pity, and that pile still stood between me and the door.

The bad part of being self-employed…there was nobody left to pick up the slack for a vacation or illness.

I needed to get my ass in gear too.

I had less than an hour to make serious headway if I didn’t want to be late.

It was the first time we’d actually had a chance to go out in forever and I wasn’t going to miss it.



* * *



Dena’s boyfriend was hot.

Not pretty boy hot, just plain hot.

He also looked at her like she’d hung the moon.

They sat across from me, and when he wasn’t talking to me, he was looking at her. There was a hint of possession, a hint of satisfaction, all mixed with a decidedly pleased smile.

It was like he was telling the world, She’s mine, everybody. Mine.

Not bragging, really, just happy with it.

And that made him that much hotter.

There was something decidedly sexy about a man in love. Especially a man in love who didn't ignore everyone else.

When he looked over at me and asked how my practice was going, he seemed genuinely interested and talked about some of the cases – sans names, of course – some friends of his had worked back in Chicago. We made small talk, and Dena chatted about the move, and I wondered why in the hell I was feeling so down about the fact that my best friends were all happy.

“Man, service is so slow tonight,” I said, looking longingly toward the kitchen. I wasn't one of those women who worried about her figure. When I was hungry, I ate...unless I forgot. “I never got around to eating lunch.”

“Me, either.” Dena made a face. “I’m getting the crash course from hell now. The new DA is really putting me through my paces.”

“I bet you love it after that mess you had with the last boss.”

She grinned. “Damned straight. This lawyer actually seems to care…you know…about being a lawyer.”

“So he’s not a total shark?” I said it lightly.

Dena stuck out her tongue. It was an ongoing joke between us. I hadn’t gone into law for the same reasons my friends had. I had a good brain, I liked money, and I didn’t like blood. When the time had come to start figuring out a career, a counselor in high school had said, you know, you’re smart enough. You could be a doctor or lawyer.

Again, I didn't like blood.

I went with lawyer.

I liked helping people well enough, but that wasn't why I did it. For the most part, it didn't suck, and sometimes I even liked my job, but I doubted I found the satisfaction from it that Dena did. Maybe I was a shark, but I was a good lawyer, and my clients were typically satisfied with the job I did for them. Besides, I’d seen what happened when some people didn’t have a shark, and it wasn’t pretty.

“We live in a world full of barracudas, babe. Sometimes we need sharks.” Arik lifted Dena’s hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles. He must have been doing something else under the table, because Dena’s lids fluttered a bit, and I saw her breathing catch.

A moment later, she cleared her throat and smiled at me. “Yeah. Besides, sometimes sharks make good friends.”

“Spare me the kissing up.” I made a face at her, but was spared the chore of trying to find something else to talk about – the weather was up next – when the server appeared with our food.

I didn't know when it became so hard to talk to my best friend, but for some reason, the things we normally talked about, now just didn’t seem to fit.

And there was no way in hell I was going to tell her that I was suddenly feeling the pangs of losing her and the others. Not while Arik was there, nuzzling on her knuckles and toying with her thigh – or other body parts – under the table.

I wouldn't do that to her.



* * *



“You’ve been quiet tonight.”

Looking over at Dena as we walked down the sidewalk, I managed a strained smile. It had been good seeing her, nice getting to know Arik a little better, but…yeah, I’d been quiet. “I’m just tired.” Managing a shrug, I added, “It’s crazy at the office. I need to hire somebody to help out so I don't get behind the next time I need to go out of town, but in the meantime, I’m dealing with all the stuff that piled up while I was gone. My admin is great for paperwork and phones, but she’s never worked with anybody in the legal area before, so I’d rather her not deal with anything important until I have time to teach her more.”

Dena seemed to accept that.

“Krissy looked…well, she looked good, didn’t she?” Dena asked after a few moments.

“Yeah.” I felt a tug in my chest as I thought about the baby she lost. “She looked good. DeVon is taking care of her.”