Empire Part 2: A New Adult and College Billionaire Romance Series (Empire Billionaire Romance) (6 page)

Rebecca

I’ve been swooning since I woke up this morning. I’ve gone too far with this man. I think I love him.
Fuck
! I can’t believe that thought went through my mind. It has weaved its way through my brain and all over my body, and now I crave Jonathan like no one else.

I get Kara on the phone after Jonathan leaves. I need her okay to fly to the Bahamas. She says it’s a good idea. She asks me if I feel conflicted in any way. I tell her I was conflicted the second I said yes to taking on this assignment. She tells me to enjoy my time away, and instructs me to go by the boutique again.

“Why?” I ask.

“You represent this firm, Rebecca. Working here is not just a job. It’s a way of life. Get used to it. Renée will take good care of you.”

She hangs up. I have no idea what she means about that way of life comment. The woman can be cryptic sometimes. I get ready and take a cab to the boutique. A few hours later, I’m packed and ready to fly. To be precise, the boutique did it all. Renée picked out my outfits, swimsuits, loungewear—she even picked out a luggage set for the trip. All I had to do was get my passport and work briefcase from home.

Jonathan picks me up in his limousine. It’s after five in the evening and we’re on our way.

“Do you have any idea how crazy this is?” I ask when I get in beside him.

“What?” he asks.

“Flying with you to the Bahamas.”

He turns to me, looking slightly amused. “Then why did you say yes?”

“Good point.”

“So, you still want to go?”

“Yes. I’m all packed. And this would be my first vacation in…in over four years.”

“That long, huh?”

“Yeah,” I answer leaning my head on the seat back. “Articling and getting ready for the bar has taken its toll on travel and leisure. I guess I should be thanking you.”

He lean over to me and whisper, “Only if you’re gracious.”

“I am,” I said, turning to look at the playful smile on his face.

“Then I’m glad you’re coming.”

We get to the airport and Jonathan informs me we’ll be flying in his dad’s private jet. We clear customs with relative ease, and are driven from the terminal buildings to one of the quieter waiting areas set aside for private charters.

“I've never even been on a private plane before today.”

“You get used to it pretty quickly,” he answers.

His phone buzzes. He looks at the number. “Excuse me,” he says to me, and takes the call.

“Yeah?” He answers. I can’t make out what the person on the other end is saying, but Jonathan looks like he’s been punched in the gut. “They did what?”

He jumps to his feet and starts pacing as he’s listening. “Shit. Did you call Matheson?” He listens again. “And where’s Youngman?” The person answers and he looks over at me. “Rebecca. The police stopped one of my dad’s staff on a routine traffic stop. Did a search and seizure. He’s been arrested. Morris Youngman from your firm is on retainer for this, but they can’t get hold of him. Can Kara put someone else to deal with this tonight?”

I reach into my purse, fish out my phone and call our twenty-four hour reception line. They can figure out where Morris is, and who to send. They tell me he’s in the emergency room with his wife. They’re having a baby. His backup is out of town. The other lawyer on standby has no criminal defense experience. I think of phoning Kara, but there’s no way I’m reaching out to her at this time in the evening. It sounds simple enough.

“I’ll help,” I tell him.

“There’s no one else?”

“Not tonight.”

“What about Kara?”

“No. I can handle it,” I tell him. “Do you mind if we hold off on…this?” Bahamas can wait.
Shit, I can’t believe I’m putting this off. I need this. Fuck.

“Yes. If we can get him out by ten thirty, we can still travel tonight. Otherwise we can leave tomorrow afternoon.”

I stand up and head to the door we came from. “Okay. What precinct held him?”

“Forty-eighth.”

Damn. It’s where Rob works. “Let’s go.” 

“My limo service should have a driver here in fifteen minutes.” He speaks to a flight representative at the desk about holding out flight, and keeping our checked bags with the plane until we return.

In twenty minutes we’re on the way to the precinct. I send a text to Rob to see if he’s around and knows what’s going on. Word gets around fast. He replies and says he’s heard about it, but is not on the case. I ask him who the lead detective is. He tells me it’s Detective Matheson.

“Jonathan, do you know a Detective Matheson?” I ask.

“Yeah. He’s a friend of my dad’s. Why?”

“He’s lead detective.”

Jonathan relaxes. “Well that should help.”

I pull out my tablet. I need to be prepared when we get to the station. “Just in case, can you give me some details on this man who’s been arrested?”

“Sure. What do you need to know?”

“Name?”

“Tony Virocci. Rocko for short.”

“And he’s a local?”

“Yes. He lives in the Bronx.”

“And does he have permits for all the weapons he carries? I’m assuming it’s guns they found during the search.”

“Yes. And yes.”

“You’re positive? Even one unlicensed weapon can make a difference in my approach when I get there.”

“Well, I’m pretty sure. But I can’t be one hundred percent.”

“Alright. Does he have any recent criminal convictions?”

“No. He’s clean.”

“Okay. It should be fairly straightforward, then.”

He looks up from his phone. “Maybe. Rocko has serious confinement issues.”

“What?”

“Claustrophobia. He can’t function in confined spaces. Those tiny interview rooms will get to him, and he’ll be clawing at the walls with his bare fingernails to get out. I can’t imagine what a jail cell would do. I hope we can work this out tonight.”

“It should be fine.”

He leans over to me and whispers, “Has anyone ever told you you’re sexy when you’re concentrating?”

“Not recently,” I answer, a smile creeping up my face without my permission.

“Well, you are.” He cups his hand under my chin and turns my face to look him in the eye. “Thanks for helping me out.”

I start to answer but he leans closer and plants a soft kiss on my lips. As before, the electricity moves through us. I have to pull away before I get sucked in. I really need to get my act together before I walk into Rob’s precinct. I pull back to look at him.

“I’m happy to help. But don’t thank me until I get the job done.”

“You will. Kara only hires the best of the best.”

I put my hand on his chest, and push him away to get some distance between us. “Just stay on your side of the limo for now. I can’t…I can barely think when you do that.”

He smiles at me with a broad grin. “Do what? This?”

He puts his arm on my back and pulls me into his arm, pressing his lips into mine for a hungry, deep kiss. My mind goes blank as he owns me in that kiss. Soon I’m on his lap, and his hands are all over me. I’m grateful when the limo comes to a stop.

He pulls out from the kiss and whispers, “Hold that thought.”

This man has a power over me like nothing else I’ve experienced. I’m still pulling myself together after he helps me out of the car and walks toward the precinct beside me. I’ll be lucky if I can string together a sentence to help his friend out of this mess when we get inside.

I wipe the goofy smile from my face when I see Rob walking toward us as we wait at the main desk.

Rebecca

The next day, I walk into Kara’s office when her assistant tells me she’ll see me. I think I’m in over my head. I can’t have Jonathan as my client, and now Rob is part of the equation. It’s been over a year since we broke up, but it feels like he betrayed me just days ago. And now I’m supposed to put on a professional face and deal with him?

On top of all that, I haven’t seen anything suspicious in Jonathan’s behavior, and he’s not opening up about his past. Finally, the evidence collected on Doreen Rushton has yet to come back from the lab. Maybe Kara can pass this on to someone else and spare me the clear conflict of interest in sleeping with a client—by now, I prefer Jonathan in my bed—and save me the misery of having to deal with Rob.

She eyes me up and down as she finishes up her call. When she hangs up, I try to jump in with both feet, but she beats me to it.

“What happened to the Bahamas trip?”

“We’ve rescheduled for tonight. That’s why I’m here. I don’t know if I can do this, Kara.”

She just looks at me. I’m about to continue, but a call comes in. She answers on speakerphone. The receptionist tells her it’s her brother and patches him through.

“Phil? This had better be good.”

“Are you all set for Monday morning, Kara?” he asks.

“That’s why you called me? Come on, Phil.”

“You blew off the last three appointments, Kara.”

“Alright, alright. I’ll be there.”

“Good. Are you eating?”

“You mean right now?”

“Don’t play smart with me.”

“Yes. I’m eating.”

“You sound tired. You need sleep, the pace you’re always going. With everything going on, it’s not healthy, sis.”

“Stop Phil. I’m fine. I’ll see you Monday.”

“Bye.”

She hangs up and looks at me again. Instead of letting me talk, she lifts a hand and tells the receptionist to send in Brian Beck, a junior legal analyst who works at the firm. Less than a minute later, he walks in, nervous as hell.

“Have a seat, Brian.” I get up to leave and she stops me. “No. You need to stay.”

She pulls a file from a small pile on her large mahogany desk. “How long have you been working here. Brian?” she asks, still looking in the file.

“Seven and a half years, Kara,” he answers, his voice wavering.

“That’s a long time to know how things work around here.”

“Yes, ma’am. It’s been a pleasure working for you.”

“I wish the feeling was mutual.”

“Pardon me?”

“Brian, who did I trust to compile the data from the Arthurian case?”

“Me, ma’am,” he mumbles.

“Come again?”

“You trusted me, ma’am,” he says more loudly, but with just as much nervous energy.

“And who let my client liaison on the case look like a fucking idiot when she didn’t have her facts straight on one of our biggest class action lawsuits ever?”

“I did, ma’am. In my defense, the clients acknowledged they had only sent the correct files to me on the morning of the meeting.”

“Just that morning, eh? The briefing was at seven that night, Brian!” she shouts. “You sat on pivotal information for nine hours and you think you have a defense?”

“You pulled us into a mandatory all-day meeting that day, ma’am. I couldn’t possibly have…”

“Couldn’t possibly have checked that fucking blackberry on your hip during the all-day meeting? Couldn’t possibly have created such a catastrophic fuck-up all by yourself? Well, I for one take responsibility for the mistake, Brian. And I will not let it happen again. Brian, you’re fired.”

“You’re not serious.”

Kara turns to me and asks me to tell her what I needed to talk about. Brian is still looking at her, in shock.

“Kara. The clients apologized. Please, listen to me.”

“You listen to me, Brian. Get out of my office and start packing up your desk.”

He stands and storms over to her office door. “This is bullshit, Kara.”

“I agree. That report was the biggest, steamiest pile of bullshit ever put together by this office. Congratulations. Now get the fuck out and keep walking.”

She waits for Brian to finally walk out the door, and turns to me. “What were you saying?”

Kara has a flair for the dramatic, and would probably love for me to cave and tell her never mind. I continue as if nothing just happened.

“I think I’d prefer to go back to what I was doing before you assigned the Sloan case to me, Kara.”

“Go back? There isn’t any such thing as going back around here. There’s just forward, or…out.”

“He hasn’t been charged yet. And maybe you can assign someone more…more appropriate to work with him.

“And who do you think that would be?”

“I don’t know. Someone more senior.”

“I don’t need anyone else on this case, Rebecca. I need you to handle this phase. And I trust you’re smart and mature enough to hold it down. Is that reason enough?”

I take a breath. “No. I don’t think it’s enough, Kara.” I can’t believe I just stood up to my boss after she made me witness one of her famous termination meetings. “Why was I chosen for this assignment?”

“I don’t owe you an explanation. Now, I’ll warn you just this once. Tread lightly with what you say next. Otherwise the only two assignments you may have after this, are finding Brian’s replacement or joining him on the job hunt.”

Well, at least the woman lets you know where you stand. I try to think of some other redeeming qualities, but I come up with nothing.

“I just don’t feel I have the skill set yet,” I explain.

“I chose you because I trust you. And because you wanted more responsibility.”

“Are you sure you give a damn what I want?” I mumble.

“Come again?”

“Nothing.”

“Look. The Sloans and Fairchilds are some of this firm’s biggest clients. I need you to press on. Think of it as taking one for the team. Give it a little time to jell.”

I think it’s jelling plenty, but I don’t tell her that. “Okay,” I say, letting out a labored breath.

“There’s a lot at stake, Becky. I need you to stick with it. You can’t just jump ship when things get rough. Sometimes you have to put your own comfort aside and ride through.”

Stick with it. Ride through. If only she knew.

“I didn’t want to get into this,” she continues, “but, okay, I’ll give you this. The two families need me more than they have ever needed representation. I’m not one to desert a friend and valuable client in their toughest moments. And I don’t expect you to either. Understood?

“Yes. I think I do. Okay. If they’re in some trouble, I’ll stay on it.”

“Thanks. And I’ll tell you this. You do this one thing for me. Stick it out to the end, no matter the outcome. And next promotion that opens up in this firm, it’s yours if you want it.”

I look up at her. “But I haven’t been here a year yet. You’d make an exception to the policy for me?”

“Becky. It’s my firm. I made the policy. It’s for the average lawyer. You’re nowhere near average. Carry this through, and I’ll make sure you’re taken care of. Now tell me Rebecca, what happened last night at the precinct?”