shouldn’t have said that,” he told her, back to English as he glanced at her through his fingers. “I’m sorry. It was improper. Look, it’s going to take both of us some time. To establish an appropriate employer/employee relationship.”
“But see, we wouldn’t have to,” Annie pointed out, “if we were partners—”
“Stop.”
And there they sat, on opposite sides of his big wooden desk. Staring at each other. Ric was studying her face, as if trying to read her mind. He finally spoke. “You really thought that I would…do that with a client, with you in the outer office, on the other side of that door?”
It was entirely possible that she’d not only offended him, but also hurt his feelings. Except this
was
Ric Alvarado, Annie reminded herself. Unless he’d radically changed since he was in high school…“It’s been years since we’ve spent time together,” she told him. “I don’t really know you, you know, as an adult, any more than you know me.”
“I haven’t changed that much,” Ric protested.
Yeah, that was what she was afraid of. “I’ve changed a lot,” she countered.
He nodded. “I kind of noticed.” He pulled his computer keyboard even closer to him. “I should get to work.”
“May I ask one more question?”
“Yeah,” he said, even though his body language screamed no.
“Why did Lillian—who’s basically robbing you by getting you to agree to take her case for a hundred dollars a day. A woman with shoes like those is
not
on a limited budget, by the way—”
“
One
more question?” he reminded her.
“Why do you suppose this client wanted
me
to think that she’d paid the other part of her bill with her mouth?” Annie flipped through the file to the final page—a photocopy of both Lillian’s driver’s license and her credit card. Her date of birth was…“Her
elderly
mouth.”
“She’s not that old.”
“Born in ’60. That makes her…forty-seven.”
“Fifty’s the new thirty,” he pointed out. “And she was…extremely well maintained. Prototypical MILF.” At her blank look, he added, “Like Stiffler’s mom? From
American Pie.
You know, a
mother I’d love to…
” He left the
F
to Annie’s imagination.
“Ew.”
He shrugged. “I didn’t make up the acronym.”
“But you used it.” She caught herself. “Sorry. She just…creeped me out. Everything she did seemed…calculated.”
“Yeah,” Ric agreed. “And I think you’re right. After you came back into the room, she turned her volume up to about thirteen. I noticed it, too.”
“It feels to me as if she enjoys screwing with people,” Annie said. “And call me crazy, but it seems to be pretty rudimentary deductive reasoning that if she’s screwing with me, she’s probably screwing with you, too. Although, with you, she might give literally a try, along with the figurative stuff.”
“I’ll consider myself warned,” he told her, trying not to smile but failing.
And yeah, it was a stupid thing to have said—warning him that Lillian wanted to jump his bones, like that was something out of the ordinary. It was probably rare for Ric to meet a female client who
didn’t
want to get naked with him.
“If I come off sounding judgmental,” Annie tried to apologize, “I don’t mean to. If you really want to let Lillian use you shamelessly, it’s not my place to criticize or disapprove.”
Ric laughed. “Yeah,
that
didn’t sound judgmental at all.”
“You know what I mean,” she said, rolling her eyes. “If you want to be a dog, you go be a dog, Ick-Ray. I don’t want my presence here to cramp your style.”
“For your information,” he told her quietly, “I don’t have sex—of any kind—with women I’ve only known for twenty-seven minutes. I prefer more meaningful relationships.”
And okay. This time, she looked away first. This time, she couldn’t speak past the sudden dryness in her throat.
He wasn’t done. “But it’s not my intention to
“But see, we wouldn’t have to,” Annie pointed out, “if we were partners—”
“Stop.”
And there they sat, on opposite sides of his big wooden desk. Staring at each other. Ric was studying her face, as if trying to read her mind. He finally spoke. “You really thought that I would…do that with a client, with you in the outer office, on the other side of that door?”
It was entirely possible that she’d not only offended him, but also hurt his feelings. Except this
was
Ric Alvarado, Annie reminded herself. Unless he’d radically changed since he was in high school…“It’s been years since we’ve spent time together,” she told him. “I don’t really know you, you know, as an adult, any more than you know me.”
“I haven’t changed that much,” Ric protested.
Yeah, that was what she was afraid of. “I’ve changed a lot,” she countered.
He nodded. “I kind of noticed.” He pulled his computer keyboard even closer to him. “I should get to work.”
“May I ask one more question?”
“Yeah,” he said, even though his body language screamed no.
“Why did Lillian—who’s basically robbing you by getting you to agree to take her case for a hundred dollars a day. A woman with shoes like those is
not
on a limited budget, by the way—”
“
One
more question?” he reminded her.
“Why do you suppose this client wanted
me
to think that she’d paid the other part of her bill with her mouth?” Annie flipped through the file to the final page—a photocopy of both Lillian’s driver’s license and her credit card. Her date of birth was…“Her
elderly
mouth.”
“She’s not that old.”
“Born in ’60. That makes her…forty-seven.”
“Fifty’s the new thirty,” he pointed out. “And she was…extremely well maintained. Prototypical MILF.” At her blank look, he added, “Like Stiffler’s mom? From
American Pie.
You know, a
mother I’d love to…
” He left the
F
to Annie’s imagination.
“Ew.”
He shrugged. “I didn’t make up the acronym.”
“But you used it.” She caught herself. “Sorry. She just…creeped me out. Everything she did seemed…calculated.”
“Yeah,” Ric agreed. “And I think you’re right. After you came back into the room, she turned her volume up to about thirteen. I noticed it, too.”
“It feels to me as if she enjoys screwing with people,” Annie said. “And call me crazy, but it seems to be pretty rudimentary deductive reasoning that if she’s screwing with me, she’s probably screwing with you, too. Although, with you, she might give literally a try, along with the figurative stuff.”
“I’ll consider myself warned,” he told her, trying not to smile but failing.
And yeah, it was a stupid thing to have said—warning him that Lillian wanted to jump his bones, like that was something out of the ordinary. It was probably rare for Ric to meet a female client who
didn’t
want to get naked with him.
“If I come off sounding judgmental,” Annie tried to apologize, “I don’t mean to. If you really want to let Lillian use you shamelessly, it’s not my place to criticize or disapprove.”
Ric laughed. “Yeah,
that
didn’t sound judgmental at all.”
“You know what I mean,” she said, rolling her eyes. “If you want to be a dog, you go be a dog, Ick-Ray. I don’t want my presence here to cramp your style.”
“For your information,” he told her quietly, “I don’t have sex—of any kind—with women I’ve only known for twenty-seven minutes. I prefer more meaningful relationships.”
And okay. This time, she looked away first. This time, she couldn’t speak past the sudden dryness in her throat.
He wasn’t done. “But it’s not my intention to
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