“And I’m telling you, you can’t. Not without guidance the first time.”
“Why?” he asked, pushing her just as she’d requested.
She didn’t want to be pampered. He respected that. If she wanted to force him into being his obstinate, lawyerly self, he’d comply. If they were going to be partners, neither one could afford to let the other call the shots without good reason. “Considering I’ve been dealing with clients since before graduating law school, and knowing that most of them are stubborn and egotistical, why would you presume to think I couldn’t handle this one?”
“For exactly those reasons.” She squared her shoulders, a defensive stance probably meant to prove she could hold her own with him. “All your experience means zero around here. You may be a corporate wiz and you could probably challenge the toughest CEO and win, but that mentality won’t work in family law. You know nothing about the psyche of these women. You don’t know what makes them run away from the abuse or back to it. The slightest error in word choice could compromise not only your securing a new client, but her life as well.” She met and held his gaze for a brief moment before digging through the box once more.
Griff remained silent. The crinkle of tissue paper was the only sound in the now quiet room. Easing himself onto the far edge of her desk, he thought about her words. A smile pulled at his lips. She was good. Damned good. Too bad he was trained to recognize her game. She’d stroked his ego in his area of expertise while asserting authority in her own.
As frustrated as he was with her personally right now, he knew without a doubt he was going to enjoy working with Chelsie Russell. He was also going to learn about humility, because to his amazement, and despite his slightly bruised ego, he admitted to himself she was right. He couldn’t handle this first case. Not alone.
He needed Chelsie.
He cleared his throat, intending to tell her, at the same time she finally unwrapped the contents of the box.
Sentiment had no place in her life, Chelsie thought. So why had she decided to bring this collection here? And why now?
Although she felt Griff s steady gaze, he remained silent. For that she was grateful. One at a time, she unwrapped the tiny silver frames holding the cherished pictures of herself and her sister. In keeping with her sister’s love of keeping personal accounts, every year Chelsie had given Shannon a leather-bound diary for Christmas. Every year, Shannon had given Chelsie a framed picture of them as children, along with a humorous label at the bottom. The tradition continued even after Chelsie’s marriage and divorce. The only difference was the UPS man was the carrier instead of Chelsie. When she’d grabbed this box from the floor of her closet early this morning, Chelsie told herself it was for Alix.
She’d lied.
Griff was chipping away at the protective layers she’d built around herself. He was making her feel. She didn’t know whether to love him or hate him for that, since it also meant she’d be facing another loss when they ended.
She placed the mini-frames on her desk. Griff’s hand covered hers. Warmth and comfort flooded her. Too soon he moved to take the picture from her hand. He studied the photo, the only one that included her parents, taken when Chelsie and Shannon had been almost too young to remember.
“You look like a regular happy family.”
She shrugged. “Maybe we were. Maybe something got warped along the way. I know they loved us. Their priorities shifted at some point. They do love Alix.”
“I believe you.”
Because he spoke without hesitation, she believed him, too.
He lowered the frame to her desk. “You miss them.”
“They’re my parents.”
“It’s more than that, and we both know it.” He’d come up behind her. Solid and steady, he aroused both her deep feelings of need and a purely sexual humming she couldn’t seem to ignore. Problem was, it had gotten her into deep waters yesterday. She looked at the tiny silver mementos once more. He’d drawn her in so deep she’d pulled out her past and brought it around to face her present.
Although she might be ready for that, she wasn’t ready to face Griff and explain why she’d left him so abruptly.
He circled her and settled himself back on the edge of her desk, putting distance between them. Had he sensed her unease?
“I think you’re right about this next appointment,” he said.
Chelsie figured he’d pegged her discomfort for what it was. Although he’d granted her a reprieve, she knew it was temporary. “How so?” she asked.
“I’d like to think I can handle this, but I’m not going to risk my client’s safety or security on ego. I’d like you to be there.”