AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I call the manager for indigent legal services in our county.
“Hello, Mr. Drake. What can I do for you today?”
“It’s more a matter of what I can do for you. Are you still desperate for defense attorneys?”
“Only always. Do you have someone to recommend?”
“Our firm just hired a new attorney. I want her to gain experience in a criminal courtroom.”
His voice turns incredulous. “Whatever for? Your firm handles mostly probate and business law.”
“I think it’s important for our team to be well rounded.”
“Of course,” he responds smoothly. “How many cases can you take on?”
“Maybe six to start. How does that sound?”
“Like a gift from the gods. I’ll get you a list of our needs.”
“Thank you and have a nice weekend.”
“You too,” he says in a much happier voice than when he first answered the phone.
I spend the better part of the morning calling every client I recently turned down and making a list of new clients for Marge to add to our appointment books. I know better than to touch the appointment book she keeps on her desk for me. I can still clearly remember the first time I tried to have a look at it. She smacked my hand. Marge can be a trip sometimes, but she’s an amazing office administrator, so I tend to roll with the punches where she’s concerned.
Sitting back in my chair, I turn the situation over in my mind. I’m fairly certain Siege brought his sister to me because he wants a brother looking out for her. The man clearly has no earthly idea how much I’ve always adored her.
I remember her always bobbing around in the background, she was seven years younger than us, so in my head she was always Siege’s kid sister. I also remember the moment I saw her as more than my friend’s younger sibling, it was the year she turned seventeen. I was confused and ashamed of my attraction to a young teen whom I had always seen as a sister. I knew back then that Siege would have given me the beatdown of a lifetime for even thinking about his kid sister that way. I was also terrified of what her father might do if he became aware of my inappropriate feelings toward her. I looked up to Claw and craved his respect. Perving on his teen daughter was the shortest distance between the club life I loved and being given a dirt nap by her overprotective family members. Therefore, I shut those feelings down hard all those years ago.
When she came home for summer break after her second year of undergraduate studies, she was legal but still completely off limits to the brothers. I remember seeing her get out of her car at the clubhouse like it was yesterday. She was twenty years old and had grown into a beautiful, lively, vibrant young woman.
Serena is extremely intelligent. She has a sharp tongue and the kind of compassion one rarely sees these days. Like she told Marge earlier, she’s also a go-getter and always on the move getting things done. Somewhere along the way I developed a deep-seated admiration for her as a person that eventually turned into a full-blown romantic attraction.
As much as I would like to get to know her better, that will never happen for a couple of reasons. The biggest one is because she’s still off limits. Siege has made it perfectly clear to all the brothers that we are not to lay our hands on her. There is no doubt in my mind that her brother will put a profound hurt on me if I even think about hooking up with her. The second reason is because being her boss means we will have an unequal power dynamic. It would be borderline abusive for me to hire her and then hit on her. That’s the kind of line I’m not willing to cross, the line between being a decent human being and a degenerate asshole.
I’m not particularly surprised when later on, Marge shows up with four prospects and an armload of stuff from the office supply store up the road. She gets them started clearing out the spare office. In short order, I see them with our file cabinets loaded onto hand trucks. They move one after another into the spare room in the back and then get to work cleaning the space we’ve earmarked for Serena.
Marge walks into my office and slaps an invoice on the desk. It’s for close to five thousand dollars’ worth of office furniture. If it were for anyone other than Serena, I would have balked at spending that kind of money. As it stands, I just signed the damn invoice and watched Marge bounce away on happy feet.
This thing is really happening. I pull up an employment contract and begin modifying it for Serena. A contract isn’t required but I want everything to be perfectly clear in terms of hours, pay and responsibilities. I’m a gentleman that way.
Chapter 5
Serena
I wake up when my door flies open, and two young children come bounding into the guest room at full speed. The twins skid to a stop right in front of my bed. I’ve already got my niece and nephew’s number. Tommy’s the rambunctious one, while Louisa is shy and standoffish. They are both cute as can be. It’s Tommy who climbs onto the bed, lifts the blanket and crawls under. He immediately turns and holds up the blanket for Louisa. She eagerly climbs onto the bed as well and they both pull the blanket up over their heads to make a tent.
“Are we camping out this morning?” I ask sleepily.
Instead of answering my question, Tommy states, “You’re supposed to be eatin’ now.”
“I see. You two came to get me for breakfast, right?”
Louisa whispers, “Everybody ate but you. You starvin’ yet?”
I open my mouth to tell them no, but just then my stomach growls. Tommy gives me a knowing grin and Louisa giggles.
I sit up and push the covers from overtop us. “I guess there’s no hiding the fact that my stomach is ready for food.”
