Wicked by Any Other Name by Linda Wisdom Page B

screwing up their love lives, and I bet he could have done a real number on her.
    ***
    Trev didn’t like the unsettling feeling that was churning his stomach as he drove back to LA the next day. He preferred his life sane and orderly, and right now it didn’t feel like that. He soon reached the parking garage below the high-rise building in Century City that housed the law offices of Grimm, Barnes, Conover, and Fisteen. While the centuries-old business didn’t openly advertise themselves as wizards—after all, wizards weren’t actively trolling for business—it wasn’t a state secret, either. Anyone making an appointment knew the senior partners only appeared in Wizards’ Court, while a few of the associates dealt with mortal cases, and any dealings between supernaturals and mortals.
    He drove into the garage, pulled the Jag into his reserved parking space, and headed for the express elevator that served the penthouse offices. He’d had a leisurely dinner at the resort the night before, followed by a couple of hours flirting with a sexy brunette in the bar. He’d been sorely tempted to ask her to spend the night with him, but found he couldn’t voice the words. Instead, he slept alone.
    No surprise that Mae greeted him in the reception area. He never questioned the fact that his assistant always knew when he was in the building. He called it part of her charm. She held out a large, steaming cup of coffee to him. He accepted the coffee while she took his briefcase.
    â€œWhat was Ms. Romanov like?” she asked, following him down the hallway.
    â€œStubborn, determined to fight the case, and she has no clue what she’s in for.” He walked into his office and set his coffee cup down on his desk. “Do you have the information I requested?”
    â€œOh yes.”
    Something in Mae’s voice had him turn around. The look on her face bothered him. Her expression held a shade of smug along with a hint of smirk and, if he wasn’t mistaken, downright amusement.
    Namely, she knew something that she enjoyed and she knew he wouldn’t like.
    â€œMs. Romanov’s history has been downloaded to your computer. I’m sure you’ll have many enjoyable hours of reading, since she has been in the mortal world since the year 1313 when she was expelled from the Witches’ Academy along with her classmates,” Mae said briskly.
    â€œDid you find out what those damn hearts mean?” He watched with horrified fascination as her smile just grew bigger and bigger and her eyes twinkled with merriment. The feeling grew that it wasn’t news he wanted to hear.
    â€œHonestly, Trevor, have you forgotten the bedtime stories you heard as a boy? No, I guess this one was aimed more for witchlings and young sorceresses.” Mae moved to a nearby chair and sat down. She peered over her narrow rimmed eyeglasses. “But you are a clever man with a very intelligent brain. Tell me something, when do we see red hearts everywhere?”
    â€œValentine’s Day, when Cupid has his say and you remind me I need to buy chocolates for the female staff,” he grumbled. “So because the witch plays with romance, she’s in league with that romance radical?”
    Mae chuckled. “Oh no, Cupid has always worked alone, but I’d say that he has other ideas.”
    Trev rubbed his forehead with his fingers. A headache was rapidly blooming. “Just spit it out, Mae,” he snapped, picking up his cup and sipping his coffee, which suddenly tasted bitter.
    â€œCupid’s way of letting someone know they’ve met their true love is to arrange red hearts over their heads. And if you saw red hearts over her head, she must have seen the same over yours.”
    Luckily, Mae had made sure she was seated far enough back that the spray of coffee from Trevor’s mouth didn’t hit her. She waited serenely as Trev stared at her as if she’d well