I didn’t have any appointments until this afternoon so I didn’t think he was here to see me. Except I was very much hoping he wasn’t here to see me.
Because that would mean he was married, and married guys were off limits.
“If you’re looking for the modeling agency, they’re on the third floor.” I really hoped he was there for the modeling agency, because if he was, I could get his name as I took a few minutes to walk him up. Give him mine. Maybe ask him about a drink later on…?
“No.” He looked around, a bit lost before shifting his attention back to me. “I…you’re Leslie Calvin.”
And just like that, my heart sank. If he wasn’t here for the modeling agency and he knew my name, then that meant one thing.
He’d come here looking for me.
Damn it to hell.
A piece of work like this scruffy pretty boy might've had just what I needed…
He tugged off the hat and looked around. “Do you have any free time for a…um…what do you call it, a consult?”
“Are you needing an attorney?” I asked calmly. “I specialize in divorce.”
“I know.” He gave a short nod. “Do you have time? Is there anybody else here?”
“Just my – ”
Another door, just to his left, opened and Haley came out. She looked a little surprised at the sight of him, and more than a little dazed. Her eyes were damp as she looked over at me. “Leslie, I…”
Shit. She didn’t even need to finish.
“Go.” I managed a smile as I got up and went to her, pausing to collect her purse and keys from the drawer where she always kept them. “Call me when you can.”
She nodded jerkily. “I’ll call Agnes about covering for me. I might…well.”
Agnes was my part-time assistant before I’d hired Haley full-time and she still came in to help out as needed, although she was moving closer and closer to retirement.
“Don't worry about it,” I said immediately. “I'll take care of it. You do what you need to do.”
“Thank you.” After I turned over her purse and keys, I hugged her. She clung to me tightly for a second and left, not saying another word. I didn't know what happened, but I knew Haley, and it wasn't anything good.
Once the door closed behind her, I focused on the man who’d lapsed into silence the moment he’d seen Haley. “Now there’s nobody else here.” It was a little unsettling that he’d asked, but he didn't really look like the psycho killer type.
Then again, they never did...
“Although I do need to make that call to my temp,” I added.
“Okay. I…uh…well…” He swore and all but ripped his sunglasses off.
Then it was my turn to swear, although luckily for me, I managed to bite my tongue in time to keep the words from actually making it out into the open. Shit. I knew who he was now.
“Paxton Gorham.”
His jaw went tight at his name. “Everything I say is confidential, right? Nobody is allowed to say anything about me being here, even your assistant?”
“Absolutely.” My heart was racing at full throttle now. The sight of those blue eyes, so seductive and haunting, and the streaky blond hair that tumbled into his beautiful face – he had the kind of features that had probably launched a thousand wet dreams.
And he was here to hire me?
“I’ll tell you what…” I moved toward him, taking a deep slow breath. “Let me lock the door. My assistant has a family emergency going on, and I'll wait until after you leave to call in my temp, so no one else will be around to hear us talk.”
As I stood next to him, I caught a heady lungful of his scent and found myself thinking a hundred things, all at the same time.
He was here to get a divorce.
He’d be single.
He was so hot.
He was about to become my client – maybe.
This could be the kind of case that made my career.
Except…I really, really didn’t want to represent him in court.
I wanted to ride him…or have him riding me.
Talk about a conundrum.
* * *
And it was worse than I thought.
He didn’t just want a divorce. It sounded like he needed one, fast, and in the worst way because his wife, Brinke Maynard, mother of his child, was a complete disaster and a danger to their little girl.
“Is this the first time such a thing has happened?” I asked, making furious notes.
“Fuck, yes!” he snapped.
I met his blue eyes, saw the rage snapping there and understood it. At least as much as somebody who didn’t have kids could. “Mr. Gorham, I’m not implying anything with these questions, but you need to prepare for the fact that if you go through with a divorce, and she fights it, these questions are just the tip of the iceberg. And I have to ask them so I know the answers and can plan for them.”