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Cadence’s resolve collapsed as she pulled the car to a park in front of Alana’s condominium. “Okay. I’ll go.”
“Yay—” Cadence cut Alana’s celebration off with a narrowed eye and a pointed finger. “What?” Alana drew the inquiry out.
“I’m not staying more than an hour. So when I’ve had enough, you have to leave with me.”
“Trust me. You’ll have a blast.” Alana leaned over and hugged her friend. “I’m driving, so I’ll pick you up at six. We have to get to midtown before seven and I want to be sure to get a close parking spot.”
Cadence looked at the green digital numbers illuminating the dashboard. “It’s five thirty now! I have to get home, shower and find something to wear.”
“See you at six,” Alana reiterated with a huge smile, ignoring Cadence’s alarmed expression as she exited the car. “I have to get there early. Trust me, you won’t be disappointed.” She slammed the door and then leaned over, gesturing for Cadence to roll down the window. Sticking her head in, she said, “Now that I’m getting you out, the next thing we need to do is get you a man so you can get laid.” Alana howled at Cadence’s twisted lips. Cadence rolled the window up on her and pulled off, watching Alana continue to laugh through her rearview mirror.
Chapter 2 (#ulink_46344cfd-c1fc-5fc8-a8ae-77dcd7e33131)
Blake Barrington looked at his brothers and shook his head. Both Hunter’s and Drew’s backs were bent as they held their stomachs, roaring at Blake’s expense. At first, Blake tried not to be taken in by their antics, but couldn’t help himself and eventually folded and let loose his own contained laughter.
That was the third woman in the past fifteen minutes that had practically thrown herself at Blake’s feet. He wondered if his brothers were trying to prank him and actually ran his hand across his back as high as he could to make sure they hadn’t posted any crazy signs. The last woman was the weirdest of all, approaching him by taking his hand in hers and kissing the back side. When she lifted her eyes to meet his, Blake wasn’t sure if the dark shading over her lip was moisture from a drink or a real-life mustache. However, when he looked down at the spirally coils springing from her ample cleavage, he realized his vision wasn’t failing him. From the looks of it, this woman had a robust supply of testosterone. Instinctively, his hand went to his chest and he thought about the fact that she had more hair on hers that he did on his.
“Enough already,” he chided his brothers, who continued to laugh uncontrollably. Drew’s eyes glistened and he fell into a coughing fit. Hunter had to pound him on the back a few times. Blake shook his head and called the waitress over and ordered another round.
When Drew was able to regain his composure, he straightened his back, wiped his tears and breathed deep. “Sorry, bro. I couldn’t help myself. Your Sasquatch radar is obviously on the blink. I wish you could have seen your own eyes when they landed on her mustache.” Drew fell into another fit of laughter.
“Don’t worry, man—” Hunter placed a reassuring hand on Blake’s shoulder “—big brother will show you how it’s done,” he said, picking up the snifter of whiskey the voluptuous barmaid had just placed on the counter. Passing one glass to each brother, he said, “Cheers,” and lifted the blend in the air for a toast before throwing back a healthy sip.
They had met at the trendy lounge early enough to share a drink together before the NYAA mixer started. Hunter and Blake had followed their father’s example of becoming attorneys. At twenty-nine, Hunter was the oldest with Blake trailing him by eleven months. Drew, the baby of the crew, was two years Blake’s junior and the rebel of the family. Despite acquiring his JD, he opted to pursue his passion in the world of motorcycles instead of practicing law. His championship races and award-winning designs graced the pages of the most popular motorcycling-enthusiast magazines.
Taking notice of the growing crowd, Blake looked at his watch. Throwing back his last sip of whiskey, he winced at the favorable burn and placed the glass back down on the bar. “We should get going.” Blake led the brothers through the dimly lit lounge down to the lower level, where the mixer was actually taking place.
Nodding at a few familiar faces along the way, Blake narrowed his eyes in search of other members of the board. He had recently been elected as a director on the executive board to replace his predecessor, who had just resigned due to relocating. Their father had always told them to be sure to rub elbows with the right people. It certainly helped him become a judge. After taking in the scene and surveying the women, Blake took a seat next to his brothers at the bar.
“Who’s that?” Drew’s eyes were stretched wide. Blake’s and Hunter’s eyes followed his line of sight. When they noticed whom Drew was inquiring about, simultaneously they reared their heads back.
“Stay away from her. Ask Blake,” Hunter said.
“Her name is Mandy, and it took me six months to get her to stop randomly showing up at my door with lingerie on under an overcoat.”
Drew raised his brow. “You must have really put it on her,” he said, smiling and resting his back against the bar.
“Actually, no. I was dating her friend and she had obviously shared a few details with her about our...eh...encounters. Once we stopped dating, that’s when Mandy started showing up talking about how much she’d heard about me and wanted to experience a few things for herself.” Blake angled his back toward Mandy, who seemed to be walking in their direction.
“Is she a lawyer, too?” Drew asked.
“Yeah, but she just joined the organization,” Hunter added.
“Wow. All those brains and she’s still crazy. Ha!” Drew slapped his leg at his own remark.
“Yeah. That’s why I’ve sworn off dating other lawyers. It’s not cool sleeping with a woman and the next morning you find yourself sitting on the opposite side of the negotiation table and your clients are at war with each other,” Blake said, thinking of a similar encounter with the last attorney he dated.
“That’s just awkward,” Drew said, raising a brow.
“Yeah. And it’s happened more than once,” Hunter added.
“Whoa!” Drew raised his fist to his mouth as the brothers joined together in laughter once again.
“Hey, Blake.” Alana rose on her toes to give Hunter a friendly hug before turning to his brother. “Hey, Hunter, Drew,” she acknowledged, and hugged them, too.
After Alana’s greeting, Blake zoned out. Well, it wasn’t entirely his fault. It was the goddess who stood immediately behind Alana that had captured his attention and momentarily rendered him deaf and mute.
Alana reached behind herself and pulled the woman to her side. If she hadn’t looked so disinterested, Blake would have made his intentions clear right then and there, but, sensing her attitude, he decided he’d let things play out before making his move.
Shaking his head, Blake jumped back into the conversation. He was almost annoyed with himself at how he’d let a single look at this beautiful woman throw him off guard.
“What did you say your name was?” he asked the woman, holding his hand out to shake hers. A bland smile spread across her beautiful heart-shaped lips—one that told him she really wasn’t interested in being here. Despite the lack of enthusiasm, she managed to spark a rise in him that he hadn’t expected.
“Cadence Payne.”
Her soft voice caressed Blake’s ear ever so slightly, giving rise to several parts of him, as if she’d teased him with an actual touch. Blake was caught in the sheer femininity of it. It actually took him a moment to respond. “Beautiful name. Pleasure to meet you, Cadence.” Blake brought the back of her hand to his lips and kissed it gently and then flashed what he hoped was a winning sexy smile potent enough to put a dent in that attitude of hers.
“Pleasure,” she said dryly, and pulled her hand back.
This one had a hard exterior, Blake concluded. He wasn’t worried about that. He’d never had a problem breaking through women’s exteriors before, no matter how tough they tried to be. Women often melted under the Barrington brothers’ influence. The brothers were hot commodities, and had even been featured in a special issue of one of the local magazines as some of the most eligible bachelors in the greater metropolitan area.
“So, how has it been going so far? Has our speaker arrived?” Alana asked, rising to her toes to look over the crowd.
“Not that I know of,” Blake responded, still looking at Cadence, who had been trying to avoid his stare.
“Okay. I’ll check it out. Be right back.” Before Blake or Hunter could reply, Alana was off through the crowd, mingling, smiling and waving at familiar faces in the distance.
Instead of following her, Cadence took a seat at the far end of the bar. Blake took her aloof demeanor as a sign to let her be for just a while, but there was no way he was going to let her leave there without getting her number.
“Are you done?” Drew said as he and Hunter grinned.
“Huh?” Blake said, realizing their eyes were on him awaiting a response. “What?”
“He asked, ‘are you done?’” Hunter yelled over the noise of the growing crowd.
“What do you mean?”
“Are you done lapping her up with your eyes, man?” Drew laughed. “She doesn’t seem interested.”
“What?” Blake grunted. “Not interested in me!” He feigned surprise as if Drew’s assessment was completely ridiculous. “Dude, do you know who I am?” he asked, touching his chest in disbelief. “I’m Blake Barrington! You better ask around,” he teased. Hunter and Drew dismissed him with waves of their hands.
“Well, she doesn’t seem to care,” Drew responded. “Seems like she’s got a bit of an attitude anyway. Do you know if she’s an attorney also?”
“I know she is,” Hunter answered.
Blake’s head spun in his brother’s direction based on his response. “You know her?” He wondered what he may have missed during the introductions when he had been arrested by her pouty lips, nice hips, caramel skin, perfect breasts and long legs.
“You know her, too,” Hunter said, holding his finger up at the bartender for another round. He nodded, confirming her acknowledgment before turning his attention back to Blake. “That’s Senator Payne’s daughter. I’ve never actually met her up close and personal, but I know that face.”
Blake’s shoulders slumped in disappointment upon finding out that she was also an attorney. He’d been serious when he’d vowed to stop dating women in the same profession. It never worked out for him. He even wondered how he’d never run into her before. New York City was a crowded metropolis, but many of its circles ran small.
“Hey!” The high-pitched shriek snatched his attention away from his thoughts about Cadence.
Before he could fully turn himself around, he felt the softness of a woman’s body pressed up against the back of him. The familiar, sweet essence of lilies wafted from Jasmine Lee’s almond skin. He found himself smothered in her arms as she closed them tightly around him.
“What’s up, baby?” Jasmine said, turning him around, grabbing him by his cheeks and then pulling him down to her—right into her full, indulgent baby-pink lips.
The unexpected interaction put him on Pause and he found himself wondering if Cadence had been watching. 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.
Chapter 3 (#ulink_dca7f407-42d7-533e-a20d-a995af4c011c)
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 me in that lounge over by Seventh and Twenty-Third?”
Cadence frowned. She really could use the drink, the company and a dose of her best friend’s humor, but when she thought about how much work she had ahead of her, she knew she’d have to decline. Reasons for saying yes and no volleyed in her mind.
“Come on! I can tell by your silence that you’re probably thinking of an excuse to tell me why you can’t come. We all have a lot on our plates,” Alana said as if she had read Cadence’s mind. “We all need a break sometimes, Cay. Come let down your hair. I won’t keep you out too late.”
What else could she tell her? “Aw, what the hell! I’ll be there.”
Alana’s piercing squeal caused Cadence to pull the phone away from her ear. “I promise it will make you feel a little better.” Cadence shook her head, chuckling at her friend. “Oh. I forgot to tell you,” Alana said. “I’m meeting a few folks from the organization there, also. They’ll arrive around seven. We have to hash out some details for our next mixer. You and I can meet right after work so that by the time they show up, if you want to head home, you can, but you are more than welcome to stick around. It shouldn’t take long for us to handle our business. Please don’t say you won’t come because of that.” Cadence could hear the pleading in Alana’s voice.
“Okay.” She dragged the word, stretching out the response. “See you at six.”
“Yeah!” Alana squealed again.
Cadence cringed and then she heard a light tapping at her office door. “I gotta run. See you later,” she whispered into the receiver.
“Blake will be there,” Alana added just before she disconnected.
Cadence acted as if she hadn’t heard what Alana said, but her core tightened slightly at the mention of Blake’s name. “Come in,” she caroled, rounding her desk as she headed back to her chair.
Adam Benjamin, her direct boss and one of the partners whom she held in high esteem, stuck his head in her door. “Morning, Cadence.”
Cadence stood, offering a polite nod and smile. “Morning, Mr. Benjamin.”
Adam looked behind himself before entering her office completely as if he was sneaking around. “I just want to say you’re doing a great job. Keep up the good work.” He clasped his hands. “You never know who’s watching.” His friendly smile warmed the atmosphere.
Cadence dipped her head. “Thank you, sir. I’ll keep that in mind.” Out of all of the partners at the firm, Adam had always managed to make Cadence feel welcome, in a sincere and professional kind of way. Had the decision of making her senior counsel been solely up to him, she would have had the position already. Unfortunately, it took more than Adam’s approval.
