“Okay,” he said, signaling the bartender for another beer. “Why did the chicken get out of a car, cross the road and then get into a taxi?”
She could only shake her head. “Dunno.”
“To get to the other ride.” He chuckled. “Get it? The car is one ride and—”
“Yeah, I get it,” she said, stifling a smile…and the urge to lick his scrumptious Adam’s apple. “Cute, but not a winner. I’ve got the winner. Mount Everest was just the warm-up.” Then she cleared her throat before starting. “A priest, a chicken and a lawyer go into a bar.”
“A lawyer.” He laughed and took a sip from the bottle. “I like it already.”
“When they get inside the door, the bartender stops them, points and says, ‘Get out, buddy. Nothing fowl is allowed in the bar.’ Then the priest speaks up and says, ‘It’s okay. He’s a good guy. The chicken and I will vouch for him.’”
A laugh burst from him. “Slightly better but still horrible.”
“You know it’s the winner. You laughed.”
“Only to humor you.”
“You? Humor me?” Grace regarded him with narrowed eyes and lips pursed to prevent a smile. “You’re such a liar. I’m the one doing you the favor. It’s a lot of work coming up with these high-quality jokes just to amuse you.”
“Why?” he asked, punctuating the question with an overdramatic wave of his hands. “Oh, why are you so good to me?”
“Because you’re incredibly sexy and I crave your body.” Grace delivered the line in a monotone.
Antonio stared at her, and she kept her face carefully deadpan as he scrutinized her with the strangest expression on his face. After a few seconds, he chuckled. “You win,” he said, slapping both hands on the edge of the bar. “I’m buying tonight.”
“Good,” she said. “‘Cause I should still be at work on the Nelson case. Instead, I’m here with you.”
“Why don’t you settle that Nelson stinker?”
“Our esteemed senior partner doesn’t want a settlement.”
“That’s ’cause he’s making you try it,” Antonio said. “He doesn’t have to deal with a loser. But he also doesn’t want to lose the billable hours from a trial.”
“No comment,” she mumbled, examining the floor.
“You need to stand up to him, Grace,” Antonio said, his expression serious. “You fight like hell for your clients, but you won’t fight for yourself. You let people get away with too much. You’re a people pleaser.”
“If by people, you mean my employers, then yes.” Grace took a sip of beer. “I need this job.”
“You’re a fantastic attorney.” Antonio gazed at her in the eyes. “You could get a job anywhere.”
“Says the golden boy. Brackman loves you.”
“He’s a good old boy.” Antonio waved his hand in disregard. “He thinks the women should clean up all the messes.” He frowned and circled the lip of his beer with a finger. “You had the bad luck of being assigned to him when you joined the firm.”
“Yeah, me and Carson. Blech,” she said with an open-mouth yucky sound.
“Brackman might be trying to leverage you into a sexual relationship with him. You know…give you some decent cases if you’ll play ball.”
“Or play with his balls.”
The joke didn’t make him laugh. “Seriously, I think he has a thing for you.”
“Oh right.” Grace laughed and rolled her eyes. “I’m such an irresistible siren.”
“You’re beautiful and sexy.” Antonio stared at his beer for a minute and then continued. “You could have any man.”
Grace blushed, thrilled by his words, and gulped down a beer to cover her fluster. Obviously, he was just being a good friend and lying to her, but still. Besides, she obviously couldn’t have any man. Not Antonio…and not her fiancé Brad, who had broken things off less than a month before the wedding. Grace could see by the expression on his face, Antonio knew she’d just thought about Brad.
“Let’s not talk about Nelson,” she moaned. “We’re here because you need cheering up. I can’t believe Susie broke up with you.”
“I broke up with her,” he admitted. “She’s too jealous. And even if she wasn’t, I just didn’t see it going anywhere long-term. It seemed unfair to both of us to keep up a pretense. It was the right thing to do.” He gave a wry smile. “Susie, however, does not agree.”