Breaking All My Rules by Trice Hickman Page A

the open. That was one of the reasons why she’d been thrown off guard when she saw him walk in with his date’s arm locked with his.
    Ashley immediately dove into her veal porterhouse, but Erica didn’t have time to take a bite of her seared sea scallops, because just as she lifted her fork, Claude rose from his table and came walking her way.
    â€œI know he’s not tryin’ to come over here,” Ashley hissed under her breath through a bite of veal.
    Erica attempted to prepare herself, but it was too late. He was already there.
    â€œI thought that was you,” Claude said, grinning with his megawatt Hollywood smile. “What a pleasant surprise to see you both this evening.”
    His words sounded sincere, but they were obviously untrue, because it was no secret that he loathed Ashley almost as much as she despised him. Erica wasn’t surprised that he’d started off his greeting with a lie. It was yet another thing that she’d learned about Claude’s MO—he wasn’t a purveyor of truth.
    â€œHow are you, Claude?” Erica asked, speaking in the most cordial tone she could manage.
    Ashley remained defiantly silent but did have the wherewithal to nod her greeting.
    â€œI’ve been well,” Claude responded, looking down into Erica’s eyes. “You look great, by the way.”
    â€œThank you, Claude. That’s very kind of you to say.”
    â€œI always speak nothing but the truth.”
    Ashley gave him a slight roll of her eyes. “So, Claude, what have you been up to?”
    Claude folded his arms in front of him and smiled. “You know me. Just keeping busy with work and a few other projects I’ve recently started.”
    â€œIs she one of them?” Erica asked, looking at Claude’s date, who was fighting a losing battle of trying not to stare in their direction. Erica hated that she’d let her thoughts leap from her mouth before she could stop them. She didn’t want to give Claude a sliver of a thought that she cared about his love life, although she had to admit, she was curious about the extent of his new relationship. And again, she wished that she was out with a handsome man instead of her gal pal.
    Claude smiled slyly, tossing Erica a look that she couldn’t quite decipher. “She happens to be a colleague—”
    â€œStop tryin’ to front like you’re out on a business dinner,” Ashley said, cutting in. “That woman is staring at this table like we owe her money, so why don’t you slide back over to your new girlfriend before somethin’ jumps off up in here!”
    Claude shook his head from side to side. “Ashley, I see you haven’t changed a bit. Still your, um, one-of-a-kind self.”
    â€œClaude,” Erica said, “it’s okay that you’re on a date. I hope you two enjoy your evening.”
    Claude cleared his throat, changing his smile from one of charm to one of seriousness. “Okay, for the record, yes, we’re on a date. But she’s also a colleague I’m working with on a new account. She’s with Willkie Farr, and she just moved here to the D.C. office a couple months ago. Three, to be exact.”
    Erica knew that he’d thrown in the last bit of unnecessary information for two reasons. The first was to make it known that his date wasn’t just a colleague. She was a colleague with the behemoth, globally recognized law firm Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP, which was impressive on many levels. And secondly, he was making it clear that the woman had been in town only a short while, which meant he hadn’t begun his new relationship until after his and Erica’s breakup.
    Neither Erica nor Ashley commented, and now Erica wanted her ex to go away, because Ashley was right. His date looked as if they owed her something and she was ready to come over and collect.
    â€œWell, Claude, it was good seeing you.” That was