he was standing in the doorway to her office until he’d spoken. Excitement fluttered in her stomach at the sight of him.
Alex was in his late forties but looked young for his age. He was tall and muscular, with blond hair that he wore back off his face, vivid blue eyes, and a sharp jaw that rounded at the chin. He was, as usual, dressed impeccably in one of his custom-made suits, this one a gray sharkskin. Alex wasn’t a traditionally handsome man—his eyes were too squinty and his nose too snub—but he had a sleekness about him and the sort of forceful alpha-male personality that Juliet had always found irresistible.
Juliet smiled coolly at him, pushing back the swell of intermingled excitement at seeing him and disappointment that their lunch was off. Shit . “Okay. Would you like to go over the dead-baby case later this afternoon?”
“I can’t. I just got called into court for an emergency hearing on the Dunder case, and then I’m going to be in client meetings all afternoon,” Alex said. He grinned sexily. “Life of the busy lawyer.”
“Tell me about it,” Juliet said, gesturing toward the stack of depositions on her desk.
“Let’s get together tomorrow. I have a client meeting at four that will probably run late, though, so it’ll have to be after that.”
The twins had a tap-dance class tomorrow afternoon, and Juliet was planning to slip out of work early to watch, since she hadn’t yet made it to one. But that wasn’t exactly something she could admit to her boss. Not if she wanted to make partner. Most women lawyers who had children were shunted onto the mommy track, with no hope of making partner. It was the price they paid for taking advantage of maternity leaves, flextime, and weekends off. Juliet wasn’t about to let that happen to her, even if it meant working twice as hard as every man in the office.
“Fine. I’ll put it on my calendar,” Juliet said.
After Alex left, Juliet returned to her deposition, quickly scanning each page before flipping to the next, and marking down notes of what she thought was important. She’d gotten through one deposition and started on another when her phone rang.
Juliet picked up the phone. “Juliet Cole,” she said briskly.
“Hi, Juliet? This is Chloe Truman? We met at the Mothers Coming Together meeting?” The woman’s voice was tentative, so that everything she said sounded like a question.
Juliet frowned and tried to place the name.
“You don’t remember me,” Chloe said, reading Juliet’s hesitation accurately.
“No, I’m sorry, I don’t,” Juliet said.
“I’m the pregnant one. Anna Swann introduced us,” Chloe reminded her.
“Oh, that’s right.”
“I called because I’m writing an article for Mothering magazine on mothers who are balancing work and family, and you said you might be interested in being interviewed for the article,” Chloe continued.
“I did?”
“Yes. I understand if you don’t have time, but it would be great if I could talk to you. I haven’t interviewed any moms who work full-time in a traditionally male-dominated profession yet, so I think your insights would really round out my article. We can do the interview whenever you’re free. I could come to you? Or we can do it over the phone, if you’d prefer?”
Juliet had no idea why she responded as she did. She should work right through lunch, on the off chance that she might finish the depos and get home in time to see Emma and Izzy before they went to bed. But the words popped out on their own, completely out of her control.
“How about lunch today?” Juliet said, and immediately wanted to kick herself. Lunch! She didn’t have time for lunch, she thought, her eyes flicking back to the mountain of work piled up on her desk. “Although, maybe—”
But before she could yank the invitation back, Chloe pounced on it. “Lunch would be great! Where should I meet you?”
At twelve-thirty, Juliet walked into the
Alex was in his late forties but looked young for his age. He was tall and muscular, with blond hair that he wore back off his face, vivid blue eyes, and a sharp jaw that rounded at the chin. He was, as usual, dressed impeccably in one of his custom-made suits, this one a gray sharkskin. Alex wasn’t a traditionally handsome man—his eyes were too squinty and his nose too snub—but he had a sleekness about him and the sort of forceful alpha-male personality that Juliet had always found irresistible.
Juliet smiled coolly at him, pushing back the swell of intermingled excitement at seeing him and disappointment that their lunch was off. Shit . “Okay. Would you like to go over the dead-baby case later this afternoon?”
“I can’t. I just got called into court for an emergency hearing on the Dunder case, and then I’m going to be in client meetings all afternoon,” Alex said. He grinned sexily. “Life of the busy lawyer.”
“Tell me about it,” Juliet said, gesturing toward the stack of depositions on her desk.
“Let’s get together tomorrow. I have a client meeting at four that will probably run late, though, so it’ll have to be after that.”
The twins had a tap-dance class tomorrow afternoon, and Juliet was planning to slip out of work early to watch, since she hadn’t yet made it to one. But that wasn’t exactly something she could admit to her boss. Not if she wanted to make partner. Most women lawyers who had children were shunted onto the mommy track, with no hope of making partner. It was the price they paid for taking advantage of maternity leaves, flextime, and weekends off. Juliet wasn’t about to let that happen to her, even if it meant working twice as hard as every man in the office.
“Fine. I’ll put it on my calendar,” Juliet said.
After Alex left, Juliet returned to her deposition, quickly scanning each page before flipping to the next, and marking down notes of what she thought was important. She’d gotten through one deposition and started on another when her phone rang.
Juliet picked up the phone. “Juliet Cole,” she said briskly.
“Hi, Juliet? This is Chloe Truman? We met at the Mothers Coming Together meeting?” The woman’s voice was tentative, so that everything she said sounded like a question.
Juliet frowned and tried to place the name.
“You don’t remember me,” Chloe said, reading Juliet’s hesitation accurately.
“No, I’m sorry, I don’t,” Juliet said.
“I’m the pregnant one. Anna Swann introduced us,” Chloe reminded her.
“Oh, that’s right.”
“I called because I’m writing an article for Mothering magazine on mothers who are balancing work and family, and you said you might be interested in being interviewed for the article,” Chloe continued.
“I did?”
“Yes. I understand if you don’t have time, but it would be great if I could talk to you. I haven’t interviewed any moms who work full-time in a traditionally male-dominated profession yet, so I think your insights would really round out my article. We can do the interview whenever you’re free. I could come to you? Or we can do it over the phone, if you’d prefer?”
Juliet had no idea why she responded as she did. She should work right through lunch, on the off chance that she might finish the depos and get home in time to see Emma and Izzy before they went to bed. But the words popped out on their own, completely out of her control.
“How about lunch today?” Juliet said, and immediately wanted to kick herself. Lunch! She didn’t have time for lunch, she thought, her eyes flicking back to the mountain of work piled up on her desk. “Although, maybe—”
But before she could yank the invitation back, Chloe pounced on it. “Lunch would be great! Where should I meet you?”
At twelve-thirty, Juliet walked into the
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