“So that leaves ten percent that is true?”
r />
“Tiffany was a client of mine, and now we’re friends.”
“The way we were friends?”
“Let me be explicit. Tiffany and I have never had sex. We’ve never even kissed.”
“But you’ve thought about it.”
This was one of those questions that got a guy in trouble no matter which way he answered, so he might as well tell the truth. “Sure I’ve thought about it. I think about having sex with every woman I meet.”
She nearly choked on her wine. “Every woman?”
“Almost every woman. It’s a subconscious reaction. Ask any guy. He’ll tell you the same thing. Be honest. It’s the same for women, too.”
“No, it’s not,” she denied hotly.
He stared at her.
“Okay.” Her cheeks went pink. “Maybe every once in a while, someone will catch my eye, and I might kind of think about it. Against my will, of course.”
He tried not to laugh. “Of course.”
She sniffed primly. “Take that guy over there.” She pointed to a server across the room.
“The tall skinny guy trying to grow a beard?”
She nodded. “He’s got that whole Shaggy thing from Scooby Doo going for him that, frankly, is pretty irresistible. You’re right. I could definitely think about having sex with him.”
An image of Jenna and the scruffy server popped into Ben’s head. White hot jealousy speared him through the gut. He squelched the urge to bound across the room and punch the guy’s lights out.
He laid down his fork. “Let me tell you what would happen if you had sex with that guy. He’d take you back to his dingy little apartment—no, make that the dingy little apartment he shares with two other losers—toss you onto a bed that hasn’t seen a clean set of sheets since his mama changed them three months ago when she dropped by to bring her baby boy a casserole. He’d spend about five minutes, tops, on foreplay, and then he’d be done in another five. Twenty minutes after you walked through the door with him, he’d be snoring.”
“Five minutes tops? It sounds like you have some personal experience with that scenario.”
“I—” He froze.
A little smile tugged at the corner of her mouth.
“You’re playing with me, aren’t you?”
“Maybe. Just a little.” She delicately speared a jumbo shrimp onto her fork. “So do you really win all your cases?”
He’d prefer to keep talking about sex, but he could be flexible. “Who told you that?”
“Pilar. Even though you’re technically the enemy and she’s totally in love with her husband, she still has a lawyer crush on you.”
“The feeling is mutual. She’s good, but in this case being good isn’t going to be good enough.”
“Wow. There’s no problem with your ego, is there?”
“I’m just telling the truth, Jenna. I work my ass off to make sure my clients get the best representation I can give them.”
“Is it the money? The thrill of winning? Or the fame that drives you?”
“There’s no reason to take a case except money. And yeah, winning isn’t too shabby either.”