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“Are you all right?” he asked and scrutinized my face and body.
I knew his concern was part of his job, but it felt good to be asked, nonetheless.
“Yes, thank you. I’m fine.”
He handed me my frozen dinner. “You dropped this.”
I stared at the package. The roast beef and mashed potatoes had looked so appealing when I’d purchased the dinner, but now my stomach turned. “I’m not hungry,” I said and walked back to my office.
I sat at my desk, ignored the snarling growls of my stomach, and worked for the next two hours.
At two in the afternoon, I pushed away from my desk. I had thirty minutes to get downtown to the courthouse to meet my client. It was only a bail hearing, but it would be the first time I was meeting with him face-to-face. This wasn’t a big case, but the client was one of the partner’s good friends. I knew he would report his dealings with me to my superiors.
“Listen, I need you to stay here while I deal with this bail hearing,” I told Jake when I stepped out of my office. I put my coat on and was walking down the steps when I heard him behind me. “I mean it, Jake.”
“I’m sure you do, but that won’t happen, Ms. Adams.”
I looked up at the ceiling and pivoted when I reached the bottom of the steps. He grabbed the railing, trying to hold himself back from running into me.
“Stay,” I growled.
“I’m not your dog.”
“No, a dog would be loyal, and listen to me,” I muttered as I walked out the door. I thought I heard him snicker.
Traffic was terrible in Manhattan, but fortunately, Sarah had shown me the side streets to take when I first arrived. Jake drove behind me the entire time, his black SUV on my tail the whole way.
Again, I wished I could run up the steps to get away from him, but I had to be satisfied with a brisk walk.
I tried one more time before entering the courthouse. “I beg you,” I said, meaning it. “Just wait here. There is security inside the courthouse. I’ll be safe.”
“Security is not prepared to prevent an attack on you. Only I can do that.”
I frowned and crossed my arms. “Now, who’s the arrogant one?”
He shrugged. “It’s true, though.”
Stepping inside the courthouse, I looked around. I couldn’t find my client, so I texted him to see if he was already here. A minute later, he texted me that he was stuck in traffic but should arrive in fifteen minutes. That was plenty of time before we had to appear in court.
With a sigh, I looked around the foyer. There was a crowd standing in front of one of the courtrooms and a steady stream of newcomers entering through security. “Why don’t you wait by the exit doors over there?”
Jake didn’t even turn his head. “I’m staying right here.”
I imagined talking to my client and his gaze drifting to the tall, muscular man who stood five feet away from me with an earpiece and I groaned. “Can you at least turn your back and pretend to not know me?”
His lips twitched. “Sure. Right after I frisk him.”
I growled. I actually growled. This infuriating man was driving me mad. I closed my eyes and gathered my wits.
A thought popped into my head.
No, that’s not a good idea.
I shouldn’t do it.
I was a grown woman and a lawyer.
But I didn’t want to explain to a client who this brooding man was standing next to me. If I could meet the client alone first, he wouldn’t even notice Jake in the courtroom.
