that even I didn’t recognize. I cleared my throat and said it again. “Finley.” Better. Well, not really. I remembered then that I had told him my name earlier in the lobby. Between my inability to remember my own name and a near-miss pratfall, he was probably already thinking I was a ditz. Great.
Breathe in, breathe out. Breathe in, breathe out.
Tony took his seat, crossing one leg over the other and casually grabbing the ankle.
“Given the last few months,” Dane began, leaving out the words “of you screwing up,” “Ellen and I decided to bring in a new partner to expand the firm’s areas of concentration. Tony will be heading up a criminal division, and he’ll need support staff.”
Like an overeager kindergartner, I wanted to yell, “Pick me! Pick me!” but I refrained. “I’m happy to help wherever you think I can do the most good.”
I could sense that Dane wanted to roll his eyes. “Any duties you take on will be in addition to your responsibilities in estates and trusts.”
“Not a problem.” True, I could practically do estates in my sleep after seven years.
“When did you last do litigation support?” Tony asked.
“I did an internship at the public defender’s office.”
Caprelli’s smile waned. “An internship? When?”
“In college.”
He shook his head slightly and let out a long, slow breath. Then he turned his attention to Dane. “I was hoping for someone with more recent litigation experience.”
“I know. Ellen and I agreed that with a few continuing education courses at the community college, Finley will be up to speed in no time.”
“What?” I asked.
Vain Dane slipped two sheets of paper across his desk to me. “The firm has already paid your tuition. You have classes on Tuesday and Thursday evenings from six to nine forty-five.”
Legal continuing ed classes? God, please let this be a hallucination. A bad dream. Something, anything but those wickedly boring courses put together by the bar association meant to keep practicing attorneys up on the latest rulings and treaties in a given area. In reality, they were mostly populated by paralegals and legal secretaries. Continuing education certification in a specific area allowed the firm to charge a higher rate for work done by support staff. The last time I did CE courses, the instructor was about five years beyond his expiration date. Dane, Lieberman might have been paying the tuition, but I wasn’t going without a minimal fight. “I’ve got… things .”
“We will, of course, pay you overtime while you’re in school so long as you maintain a B average,” Dane decreed.
“I just bought a house, and it needs a lot of work and—”
“Upon completion of your course work, you’ll receive a twenty percent raise.”
My get-out-of-debt antennae went up. “How long will the certification classes last?” Maybe Tony would help me study. Naked.
“Six weeks.”
I can do anything for six weeks. Except have a life. Not that I have much of one now. “Twenty percent? Consider me a cooperative coed.”
Twenty percent and Tony at the end of the tunnel. Working with him was almost worth the loss of personal time. As I sat there, I couldn’t stop thinking about my hunky new boss. I winced. The boss part could present a problem. I wouldn’t have a problem having a relationship with my boss, but that didn’t mean Tony would feel the same way. Still, he was checking out my legs during the meeting, so there was hope on the horizon.
Feeling as if I’d just sold my soul to Vain Dane for a dating prospect, I made my way back to my office. On the plus side, I didn’t trip on my way out even though I had a hard time takingmy eyes off Tony. On the minus side, I arrived at my office to find Liam sitting in my chair, drinking out of my coffee mug, with his feet propped up on my desk.
“Go. Away,” I said, slapping his feet to the floor.
He chuckled softly, which only irritated me more.
He put the coffee mug down.
Breathe in, breathe out. Breathe in, breathe out.
Tony took his seat, crossing one leg over the other and casually grabbing the ankle.
“Given the last few months,” Dane began, leaving out the words “of you screwing up,” “Ellen and I decided to bring in a new partner to expand the firm’s areas of concentration. Tony will be heading up a criminal division, and he’ll need support staff.”
Like an overeager kindergartner, I wanted to yell, “Pick me! Pick me!” but I refrained. “I’m happy to help wherever you think I can do the most good.”
I could sense that Dane wanted to roll his eyes. “Any duties you take on will be in addition to your responsibilities in estates and trusts.”
“Not a problem.” True, I could practically do estates in my sleep after seven years.
“When did you last do litigation support?” Tony asked.
“I did an internship at the public defender’s office.”
Caprelli’s smile waned. “An internship? When?”
“In college.”
He shook his head slightly and let out a long, slow breath. Then he turned his attention to Dane. “I was hoping for someone with more recent litigation experience.”
“I know. Ellen and I agreed that with a few continuing education courses at the community college, Finley will be up to speed in no time.”
“What?” I asked.
Vain Dane slipped two sheets of paper across his desk to me. “The firm has already paid your tuition. You have classes on Tuesday and Thursday evenings from six to nine forty-five.”
Legal continuing ed classes? God, please let this be a hallucination. A bad dream. Something, anything but those wickedly boring courses put together by the bar association meant to keep practicing attorneys up on the latest rulings and treaties in a given area. In reality, they were mostly populated by paralegals and legal secretaries. Continuing education certification in a specific area allowed the firm to charge a higher rate for work done by support staff. The last time I did CE courses, the instructor was about five years beyond his expiration date. Dane, Lieberman might have been paying the tuition, but I wasn’t going without a minimal fight. “I’ve got… things .”
“We will, of course, pay you overtime while you’re in school so long as you maintain a B average,” Dane decreed.
“I just bought a house, and it needs a lot of work and—”
“Upon completion of your course work, you’ll receive a twenty percent raise.”
My get-out-of-debt antennae went up. “How long will the certification classes last?” Maybe Tony would help me study. Naked.
“Six weeks.”
I can do anything for six weeks. Except have a life. Not that I have much of one now. “Twenty percent? Consider me a cooperative coed.”
Twenty percent and Tony at the end of the tunnel. Working with him was almost worth the loss of personal time. As I sat there, I couldn’t stop thinking about my hunky new boss. I winced. The boss part could present a problem. I wouldn’t have a problem having a relationship with my boss, but that didn’t mean Tony would feel the same way. Still, he was checking out my legs during the meeting, so there was hope on the horizon.
Feeling as if I’d just sold my soul to Vain Dane for a dating prospect, I made my way back to my office. On the plus side, I didn’t trip on my way out even though I had a hard time takingmy eyes off Tony. On the minus side, I arrived at my office to find Liam sitting in my chair, drinking out of my coffee mug, with his feet propped up on my desk.
“Go. Away,” I said, slapping his feet to the floor.
He chuckled softly, which only irritated me more.
He put the coffee mug down.
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