“Well, not exactly like you,” I said with a smile.
“You know what I mean.”
“Yes, I could not defend someone who would willingly break the law and just lie about it with a straight face.” I sipped the hot chocolate and shook my head. “People will say or do anything to get what they want. Even li
e under oath if they had to. I couldn’t represent someone like that, no matter how much money was involved.”
“You couldn’t or wouldn’t? Not for any amount?”
I frowned at the question. “Not for any amount. I mean, money is great and all, and I would love to have a lot of it, but not at the expense of my own dignity or at the expense of someone else. Or if it meant lying through my teeth or cheating someone to get it.”
“I see,” he said, nodding.
I kept ranting. “Before I graduated from law school I clerked for a divorce attorney one semester. Oh my god, talk about liars! Everybody lied! I could not wait to get out of that place and into something that would not keep me up at night.”
He nodded and went quiet for a moment. “So, you went into contract law.”
“Yes. At least in contract law, everything is spelled out in black and white. There are no gray areas. And if you lie in a contract, there is a clear legal recourse. You’d have to be an idiot to try to pull a fast one over on a good contact law attorney.”
“I guess you’re right,” he said quietly. He finished his hot chocolate and put the cup away. He stared at the fire and didn’t say anything for a minute or two.
“You okay?” I asked, watching the shadows dance across his handsome face.
“Why do you ask?”
I snuggled up next to him and rested my head on his shoulder. “You just seem to be running out of steam. You’ve gotten quiet on me.”
He chuckled and pulled me into him. “I’m just tired, I guess. It’s been a long day. Are you ready for bed? It is getting pretty late.”
“Do you mean am I ready to go to sleep?”
“I didn’t ask that,” he said, leaning over to press his lips to my forehead. “I asked if you were ready for bed.”
“Yes,” I said, feeling myself heating up from the inside again. “I am ready for bed.”
Chapter 23: Katie
Come Sunday night, Conner and I had to leave our cozy love nest in the Hamptons and return to the real world. He dropped me off at my apartment just before midnight. He walked me to the door, kissed me like a gentleman, gave my ass a squeeze for good measure, and went on his way. I stood on the sidewalk waving goodbye like a lovesick girl. I even heard myself sigh as I watched him drive away.
I ignored the judging stare of the doorman as I skipped across the lobby and got onto the elevator. This was no walk of shame. To the contrary, I was proud of myself. Little Katie O’Hara had finally come out of her shell. And holy moly, did she have a good time!
Within ten minutes of walking into my apartment, I had stripped off my clothes and collapsed on the bed, totally content and exhausted. I slept like a rock, even with dirty dreams of Conner McGee dancing in my head.
I dragged myself out of bed around seven and took a long, hot shower to help wake myself up. I dressed quickly and put on enough makeup to cover the dark circles beneath my eyes. I made it into the office on time to find Monique sitting in the chair across from my desk with a large cup of black coffee waiting for me on the desk.
“Well, good morning, Miss O’Hara,” she said with a sly grin on her face. “How was your working weekend?” She made air quotes around the word “working”.
I smiled at her as I took off my coat and hung it on a hook behind the door, then walked around the desk and pulled out my chair. Naturally, I had filled her in on meeting Conner McGee the week before, and discovering that he was Brad the banker, my one-night stand. I was shocked to discover that she already knew who he was, but never bothered to mention it. She had spent the night with his old college pal on New Year’s Eve. After screwing his brains out, he spilled all.
“I still can’t believe you didn’t tell me who he was,” I said as I slid into my chair and pulled the cup of coffee in front of me. It was steaming hot. I held it between my hands and lowered my nose over the cup. I took a deep breath. Steam settled under my eyes as I took a careful sip.
“I didn’t expect you to ever see him again,” Monique said. “I didn’t see the need to tell you that you had spent the night with one of New York City’s biggest pussy hounds.”
“In other words, you didn’t want to let me down because I was just another notch on his very long belt.”
“Something like that.”
“Are you saying that I couldn’t get Conner McGee’s attention on my own?” I grinned at her from over the cup. “Because I can assure you, my dear Monique, that is not the case.”