Winning Appeal(16)

“I think he’s always crushed on her,” Gab said. “Remember that weekend last summer when we were all talking about Lily’s books? Mark found it very interesting that Beth was a fan of erotic romance novels.”

“I do remember that,” Lily said. “Everyone was paying attention to you and Braden getting engaged though.”

“And you and Adam denying your obvious desire for each other,” Jess teased.

“And Cameron struggling with how he should ask you out,” Gab informed Jess.

“Wow, we’re one big lusty group of people aren’t we?” Lily laughed. “Speaking of lust, what happened after the fundraiser?”

“Uh uh,” Gab broke in, wagging her finger. “I think we should ask no detailed questions about that for now. They both need to build up their confidence.”

“Did he kiss you, honey?” Jess asked, ignoring Gabrielle. She and Mark were good friends from their public defender days.

“Oh my God, did he kiss me,” I said with a huge grin and they all broke out with cheers and catcalls. Even Gabrielle. There may have been some applause.

“Did you have sex?” Lily asked, sitting forward eagerly.

“No. But if there was one good thing about running into Caitlin, it was that it gave him an opening to tell me he had never gone the serious relationship route, but it wasn’t because he had baggage, but just because he hadn’t wanted to in the past.”

“He said ‘in the past’?” Jess asked excitedly.

“Yes.” I beamed and another cacophony of squeals erupted. “Anyway, he brought me home and we had this amazing conversation that lasted for hours. Then he asked me if it was date and he kissed me goodnight. He’s going to go with me to the fundraiser next weekend.”

“Okay, that’s enough,” Gab broke in. “No pressure. And let’s talk about something besides men.” I loved my friends so much.

Monday 10:00 AM

I was sitting at my desk going over a grant proposal and trying to concentrate, but unfortunately, we had thin walls. The office noises didn’t bother me, but I would occasionally hear Mark’s voice coming from the hallway and I would get distracted. The figures in front of me would disappear into memories of how good Mark tasted. I was about ready to give up and take a break anyway when April, our receptionist, buzzed me.

“Hey Beth, there’s somebody here to see you, but she doesn’t have an appointment. She says you’ll see her though. Caitlin Reynolds?” I rolled my eyes. What in the hell did Caitlin want, and how did she know I wasn’t busy? I was tempted to make her wait, but I told myself to take the high road and have more class than that.

“Send her back please,” I answered, putting away my work. A moment later there was a knock on my door and Caitlin breezed in, without waiting for an invitation.

Knowing that she had hooked up with Mark made me look at her more critically. She was very attractive, I admitted, tall and blonde like me, but her hair color wasn’t natural. She also had style, and she was always dressed to the nines, but her skirts were just a little too tight.

I sighed, annoyed with myself for being jealous and catty. It probably wouldn’t be the last time I ran into someone who Mark had sex with. Between the three of them, my brother, Adam and Mark had probably hooked up with half the single women in Philadelphia.

“Hey Beth. I didn’t know you were a lawyer.”

“I’m not a lawyer. I’m the Director of Development. I’m in charge of fundraising, grant writing and public relations.”

“Oh, but you work for a law firm, so you must know a lot about the law.” She sat down and stared at me blankly. Caitlin wasn’t exactly an intellectual.

“No, actually, I know a lot about fundraising, grant writing and public relations. Did you just stop in to say hi?” I asked with a smile.

“No. Why would I do that?” She looked confused.

“So, why are you here?” I willed myself to be patient.

“I need to talk to you about something. But it has to be a secret, like attorney/ client privilege.”

“Caitlin, I just told you, I’m not an attorney.”

“But you work for a legal practice. Doesn’t that count?” I wanted to slam my head against my desk. On second thought, I wanted to slam Caitlin’s head against my desk.

“No, sorry, Caitlin, but attorney/client privilege is only between attorneys and clients. Hence the name.”

“That sucks,” she said, looking depressed. “Well, can’t you just put it in the vault, and like, promise not to tell?”

“I don’t know if that’s a good idea Caitlin…”