Jasmine was a brazen flirt, and he’d already made up his mind to give Cadence time to unwind before he zeroed in on her. Jasmine’s greeting could affect his chance of getting closer to Cadence.
Blake pulled away, but Jasmine grabbed his hand, which he retracted as politely as possible. Hunter was carrying on the conversation. After her overbearing greeting, Blake had yet to focus on a single word that she’d said, though his eyes were involuntarily drawn to all of the cleavage that had been stuffed inside her pink blouse.
“I need to take care of a few things. I’ll see you around, Jasmine,” he said, taking his chance to escape, leaving Jasmine to his brothers. He went in search of Alana to get some details on her friend before making his move.
Blake was stopped several times as he tried to snake his way through the thick crowd in an unsuccessful attempt to locate Alana. Several minutes later, the music lowered and lights flickered on, brightening the room. Blake turned in the direction where Don Shaver, the president of NYAA, had just cleared his throat to welcome the guests and began to introduce the board members in attendance. Blake made his way to that side of the room, temporarily aborting his mission. He’d have to obtain details on Cadence later. When his name was called as the newest addition to the board, he pasted on his most charming smile and stepped in line with his fellow board members.
Once the introductions had been made, the officers blended back into the crowd as Don introduced the speaker for the night, who happened to be Blake’s mentor, Congressman William Banks. By this time, the crowd was so thick Blake couldn’t find Alana. Making it back over to where his brothers were posted at the bar, he looked over Drew’s shoulder in search of Cadence and found her gone.
Congressman Banks’s voice boomed over the crowd and he recited an anecdote that Blake had heard many times. Sighing, Blake realized he wouldn’t accomplish his mission of making a move on Cadence this night. He wanted to hear whatever his mentor had to say but would be sure to find Alana and get the details on Ms. Cadence later.
Cadence arrived at the office a half hour early, just as she had for the past few months. At twenty-eight, she had her heart set on becoming the company’s youngest woman to make partner. Snagging the current open position of senior counsel would put her on track for making that happen in record time. She was putting in all the extra effort that was necessary to secure this promotion. Even though she wasn’t much of a people person, she made a concerted effort to be more engaged with her coworkers.
As early as it was, her eyes were already strained and tired from going over documentation from the case she was working on. Cadence placed her palms on her cherrywood desk and pushed herself up. As she stood, she brushed off the front of her pin-striped slacks, heaved a deep breath and headed through the desolate office toward the break room.
Popping a French vanilla K-Cup into the coffeemaker, she leaned back against the counter as she listened to the machine hiss against the quiet backdrop of the empty office. Cadence crossed her arms over her chest and recounted the items on her task list. Her latest case was a doozy. Not so much because of legal aspects. That she could handle. The client, on the other hand, was a handful.
Richard McLennan was a young spoiled rich brat that never knew a day of hard work in his life. He was unsuitably left to run an accounting firm he’d inherited as a result of his father’s sudden death. Recently, he’d been doling out sexual harassment settlements like federal income tax payouts after April 15. Cadence, along with the company’s board, had been advising him to focus on the business rather than his employees’ “assets.” Unfortunately, the young know-it-all was convinced he had everything under control, despite the new claims being filed on a weekly basis. Cadence knew that if the media caught wind of this fiasco, the company would suffer a serious blow to its image.
The hiss of the coffee machine settled as the last drops of brew gurgled into Cadence’s mug, capturing her attention. Adding French vanilla creamer to deepen the flavor, she closed her eyes and sniffed, taking in the rich aroma. Just as she was about to take a much-desired sip, Kerry Cooper’s nasal voice sliced right through her indulgent moment.
“Morning, Cadence,” Kerry purred like a slick feline. Cadence’s stomach contracted and she discreetly rolled her eyes.
Standing straighter, Cadence spread her lips into a tight smile and turned to face her colleague. “Good morning to you, Kerry,” she said with what she’d hoped came across as a polite nod of her head.
Kerry pranced into the break room, sporting a sly smile, and stepped dangerously close to Cadence before grabbing a K-Cup of her own. “Guess who I had dinner with last night?” Kerry sang.
Who cares? “Who?” Cadence asked, immediately taking a sip of her scorching coffee in an effort to hide the scowl that threatened to take hold of her lips.
“Richard McLennan.” Kerry raised her brows as if dropping the name gave her a big win.
Cadence paused mid-sip, feeling heat rise from her belly. Did you sleep with him, too? Instead of the curt words she wanted to say, she opted for something a little less cheeky. “He seems like your type.” Cadence tilted her head and smiled pleasantly, enjoying the questioning look and narrowed eyes glaring back at her. Though her head was filled with questions and she felt like a knife had been lodged in her back, she refused to let Kerry get a rise out of her. “Chat with you later,” she said cheerfully. Exiting with a glide, she could feel Kerry’s eyes boring into her back.
Once she got into her office, she dialed Alana on her cell phone.
“Do you know what that woman did this time?” she poured into the phone without giving Alana a chance to say hello.
“It’s too early for this. Hold on and let me close my office door.” The line went silent for a moment and Cadence could hear the door shut. “Okay. I’m back. What on earth happened?”
“She had dinner with my client!”
“Shut the front door! Isn’t that a conflict of interest?”
“Not necessarily. As long as nothing substantive about the case was being discussed, there’s no problem with it. You know that.”
“Well, it should be.”
“I know, but it’s not like she’d admit to anything anyway. She’s clearly up to something. Ever since she found out that I was also in the running for senior counsel, she’s been slithering around this office trying to rile me up one way or another. I don’t trust her as far as I could throw her.” Cadence paced circles around her desk.
“How did you find out?”
“She just told me.” Cadence pivoted, her breathing escalated with every step. She plopped down on the front of her desk and took a deep breath. “You should have seen the devious smile on her face.”
“Who else was there?”
“Just us.”
“And what did you say?”
“That he seemed like her type, and I sauntered my behind out of the room with a winning smile.” Cadence chuckled.
“Ha! That’s right, my lady. Never let ʼem see you sweat! Sounds like you could probably use a drink after work. Why don’t you meet
