Confessions of a Litigation God

Page 6

What the f**k is she doing here? For a split second, I think that Stella must have stalked me… followed me home after we parted ways Sunday morning, and now, here she is, going all Fatal Attraction on me.

Fury rises up within me, burning like boiling acid, even as my c**k gets just a little harder as I look at her standing there. I almost stand to confront this stalker lunatic when I hear her say, “I’m so sorry I’m late. I—the train was running late this morning. Always seems to happen on a Monday. ”

My jaw drops open as I realize that this is McKayla Dawson… my newest attorney and apparently not Stella, the Hot Banker.

She’s still hot… beyond hot, wearing a slim, taupe skirt and a champagne-colored, button-down shirt that is fitted to her body, showcasing the lovely curve of her br**sts without being unprofessional. Four-inch taupe heels have her standing willowy and tall, and f**k, I want her bad.

Lorraine is pissed. “Then may I suggest you leave earlier on Mondays. McKayla… this is your new boss, Matthew Connover. ”

I snap my mouth shut and school my features in an attempt to hide my anger, because even though I’m assured she’s not a stalker, I’m still pissed as hell that she’s here… in my firm… and now apparently my employee. That little thought I had a few moments ago to contact “Stella” through ONO just got shot down quickly.

Stella… I mean, McKayla, turns those green eyes my way and the minute she recognizes me, I see the first jolt of shock go through her. I brace myself, prepared for that moment when she says something damning about our liaison this weekend, but she manages to pull off a cool facade and gives me a fake smile of introduction. She’d make a great litigator with that poker face she’s wearing right now.

I stand up from my table and take a step toward her, holding my hand out. She takes it and I’m not prepared for the sizzle of lustful electricity, which courses through me when her skin touches mine. Releasing her hand, I say, “Miss Dawson, it’s lovely to meet you. Lorraine has told me a lot about you. ”

“Pleased to meet you, Mr. Connover,” she says, her voice slightly quavering, so I know she’s just as shocked to see me as I am her.

“Call me Matt,” I say, and I know my voice is coming off cold as hell, but I can’t help it. I’m still pissed she is standing here as my employee, which means she will never be lying underneath me again.

“You can call me McKayla… or Mac,” she says, and I give her a short nod of acknowledgement.

Taking my seat, I hold my hand out to the one next to Lorraine, and Stella… fuck, I mean, Mac, takes a seat and rests her forearms on the table, sitting ramrod straight in her chair. She’s having as hard a time as I am relaxing right now, and at least my cold demeanor can be explained away as anger over her being late.

“Mac, this is my partner, William Crown,” I say, pointing to the man sitting to my right.

“It’s Bill, actually. Nice to meet you,” he says genially.

Bill is a great guy. We’ve been partners for almost ten years, and he’s about fifteen years older than I am. He’s an excellent business law attorney who became partners with me because he had money to invest and didn’t want the headache of running a firm. We’ve developed an easy friendship as well as a business relationship, and I have to say, he’s about the closest thing I have to a real friend nowadays. Not that we are super tight or anything, but we’ve managed to make it ten years as partners without any major blowups or fights.

When Mac’s gaze returns to me after a nod of hello to Bill, I tell her, “I wanted to have this meeting with you and Lorraine to welcome you to Connover and Crown this morning. We’re excited to have you both here. ”

Mac’s left eyebrow quirks up in skepticism because even though I just bid her welcome to my firm, my voice is about as flat as a pancake. She’s well aware that I am not happy to have her here.

Lorraine’s hand sneaks out again and touches my arm, and I have to restrain myself not to slap it. “Matt, I know I speak for both McKayla and myself when I tell you we are just overjoyed to be part of your team. You can count on us to get the job done. ”

I pull my arm away from Lorraine’s touch, and my gaze is hard. “Thank you for that sentiment, Lorraine. I’m sure you’ll do just fine here. ”

“More than just fine,” she titters, apparently not getting the fact she’s irritating the f**k out of me.

I pick up the two folders laying on the desk before me prepared by our human resources department and hand them across the table. “Here are the necessary forms you’ll need to fill out for human resources. Lorraine, you’ll be direct reporting to Bill, and McKayla. . . you’ll be reporting to me. ”

Lorraine puts her hand to her mouth and gives a tiny cough to get my attention. “I thought McKayla would still report to me. I’m very familiar with her work and have the necessary skills to manage her. ”

I don’t even spare her a glance as I stand up from my chair. “That’s not how we do things here. Your expertise is in corporate work, which falls squarely under Bill’s department. McKayla does litigation, which is under my authority. But there will be a few cases that you will work on together and, in those instances, you will be her direct supervisor. Now, after you ladies fill those papers out, I’ll have our head of resources, Krystal Anders, come in, get you set up, and introduce you around. ”

I don’t dare take another peek at Mac because the more I look at her, the more I want her. The more I want her and can’t have her, the angrier I’m getting. I need some space from her so I can calm down. I give a nod to Lorraine and head for the door.

“Excuse me, Matt,” I hear Mac’s honeyed voice call out to me, and my skin tingles from the sound. It makes me remember the sound of her cries when she orgasmed. “I have a few questions I need answered. ”

Fuck!

I turn around and glare at her. “I’m sure Miss Anders can answer whatever questions you have. ”

Before I can even turn away, she says confidently, “Actually, I doubt she can. This question is specifically for you. ”

Okay, this woman is no pushover. She’s certainly not intimidated by me, and I’m wondering how much that has to do with the fact she made my knees buckle when I came down her throat this weekend. Maybe she thinks she has power over me.

Lorraine jumps into the mix before I can even say anything. “I apologize, Matt. Our little McKayla here doesn’t understand the etiquette of how a high-powered firm works. I’m sure Miss Anders can help her out. ”

Mac’s chin sticks out in determination as she turns back to Lorraine. Her voice is saccharin, but her tone is hard. “And I’m sure Mr. Connover needs to answer this question. ”

Damn, she’s f**king fascinating. I watch as Lorraine starts to stammer, her face flushing red at Mac’s temerity to question her. She opens her mouth and I have a sneaking suspicion she’s getting ready to ream her ass, so I quickly say, “By all means… how can I help you?”

Mac turns to me. “Well, I’m assuming when you ‘acquired’ Lorraine’s firm, you took on all of her assets as well as her debts?”

I nod at her.

“I’d like to know if you intend to honor the firm’s debt to me of a few missed paychecks I went without when we had some leaner times?”

Well, that’s certainly interesting, and my eyebrows involuntarily shoot up in surprise. I take a quick look at Lorraine, and her face goes even redder.

“I’m so sorry,” Lorraine says to me, not Mac. “I completely forgot about that. ”

Why she’s apologizing to me when it was Mac’s paycheck she missed is beyond me, but I’m guessing it has something to do with her self-absorbed nature.

Holding my hand up to Lorraine, who thankfully shuts up, I turn back to Mac. “While your question was important, Miss Anders could have indeed handled that. Regardless, I’ll ensure your past paychecks are caught up before the end of the day. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a meeting to attend. I’m sure Miss Anders can handle your other questions. ”

Lorraine tries to apologize one more time, but I turn my back on her and head to the door. Just as I reach it, I look over my shoulder at Mac. “McKayla… let’s plan on meeting at 4:30 PM to go over your new duties in the litigation department. ”

I don’t even wait for her to say anything, because what could she say other than “yes”?

Back in my office, I stew all day about her being here. About her being my f**king employee. I had done a damn good job of spending Sunday afternoon and evening purging her from my thoughts. I’d even gone as far as to try and find fault with our f**king, telling myself it wasn’t as great as I built it up in my mind. I had just been in a dry spell so any sex would have been the best ever.

Every bit of those idiotic thoughts flew out the window when she walked in, looking glamorous and tough all at the same time, her satchel briefcase casually draped over her shoulder. When the lust slammed through me, I knew that I lied to myself the night before and that she had indeed been the best night of my life.

And f**k, that pissed me off even more, because I don’t like that shit in my business. While I briefly contemplated what it would be like to see her again, I never imagined it in this setting.

Absolutely impossible. I cannot f**k an employee so I’m going to forget this weekend and move forward.

By the time Mac knocks on my door for our afternoon meeting, I have myself absolutely, one-hundred percent convinced that I can put this past weekend with Mac out of my mind and be able to work with her. I just need to make sure she understands the boundaries.

I call for her to come in, even though I’m finishing up a phone call on a case I’m trying to settle. I point at one of the chairs opposite of my desk for her to sit in. She does so and I hastily have to avert my eyes while she crosses those long legs, pulling down on the hem of her skirt past her knees. I don’t want to get caught blatantly checking her out.

“No, we’re not settling for that amount. Twenty-five is our bottom line. You have until close of business tomorrow to decide and let me remind you… I not only represent Mrs. Sanderson, but I also represent each of her three children, and if you don’t pay the twenty-five, then I’ll be filing Mrs. Sanderson’s suit only. And after I’ve dragged your company through the shit-storm that is our legal system for the next three years, I’ll file the first child’s suit. . . and I’ll drag your ass through the same shit-storm for the three years after that. Then the next child’s, and then the next. I’ll have you tied up in litigation long after you’re ready to retire from the practice of law, and get this… I couldn’t give a f**k if I win even one of those cases. The mere fact I’ll drown you in legal expenses makes me go all tingly inside. So do yourself a favor, pay the twenty-five and save yourself the heartburn. ”

Just like that, my opposing counsel crumbles and I hear with a heavy sigh, “Fine. Twenty-five it is. ”

“Very good. I expect the check tomorrow by noon. ”

I hang up the phone and type a quick note into the client’s file, summarizing the conversation. I need to call my client to tell him to the good news, but I want to get Mac off my plate first.

When I finish my note and turn away from my computer toward her, she says, “So… sounds like you just settled a case for $25,000. Congrats. ”

“Try twenty-five million,” I say blandly.

Mac’s beautifully f**kable lips purse into an “O,” and her eyes go round with shock. “Excuse me?”

“Twenty-five million. ”

Mac regains her cool though, and asks, “May I inquire as to what type of case?”