Barefoot Kisses (The Kisses 7)

Darcie gave an exasperated sigh and put her hands on my shoulders. “Lena, you know I love you, right?” She waited a moment for me to nod before continuing. “That wasn't even close to being your fault. You can't let people walk all over you like that. You got to stand up for yourself. You are worth standing up for.”

“I'll work on it,” I promised, not meeting her eyes and instead peering into my now empty coffee cup.

“You're going to do a lot more than just work on it.” Darcie was getting her fighting face on again. “I'm serious as a heart attack. You don't take shit from anyone. Not even me.”

“How am I supposed to do that, Darcie?” I asked, meeting her flashing eyes. “If I don't take your shit, I won't have anyone to take mine.”

“Smart ass.” Darcie narrowed her eyes and evaluated me. “I'm serious, though. I'm going to sign you up for some self-defense classes or something. There's nothing like kicking a man in the balls to make you feel powerful.”

The two men standing nearest to us both skittered in opposite directions.

“Sure, Darcie,” I conceded, but I knew she was right. I let Alexa walk all over me. I didn't defend myself to Calvin during my review, or tell him no when he had me stay late. I was surprised that I had even spoken to Kathryn last night, and the only reason I had done that was because I was thinking of Aiden.

I tossed the empty cup into the trash and stepped onto the elevator with Darcie. We moved toward the back with surprising ease. Apparently talking about ball kicking made people give us space.

“Did you ever hear anything from Calvin or Alexa last night?” Darcie stepped closer to me to allow more passengers on the elevator. “You said you called them before you saw Kathryn.”

I shook my head. “Nope. But I'm looking forward to the fallout today. There's no way they won't at least get reprimanded for leaving early. Am I a bad person for hoping they get publicly shamed?

“Nope. Those two have screwed you more ways than I care to count. It's time they had to take responsibility for using you the way they do.” Darcie leaned against the elevator wall as we started our upward descent. “Oh, hey – did you hear that Smith got the big murder case?”

“What big murder case?” I asked, confused. Elijah Smith was one of the founding partners of the firm and was considered one of the best criminal defense lawyers in the nation, but I hadn't heard of any potential cases.

“The sports star from Texas – the one that probably killed his wife – hired Smith to defend him,”

Darcie replied.

“I thought that he already had that lawyer from Washington. Isn't that case like, two weeks from trial? They switched council this late?” I frowned, trying to figure it out. My mind was already going through all the paperwork and legal issues with switching representation this close to a trial.

“Yup. Don't you watch the news? There was a huge scandal with the previous firm,” Darcie informed me.

“Because I have so much time to watch TV,” I replied sarcastically. “Wait – you said it was Smith?”

“Yeah. Smith.” Darcie nodded. I wanted to whoop and dance for joy, but the elevator was still too crowded.

“I'm going to get to go to trial with him. I'll be in the courtroom for this!” I had to whisper or I knew I would scream it out. I couldn't believe my luck.

“Get out! How?” Darcie asked, an excited smile filling her face.

“It's part of the “Grooming the Next Generation of Lawyers” thing that the partners put on every year. Smith picks a non-lawyer employee who wants to pursue a law degree and shows them just how high they can go,” I explained. “I was selected as the employee this year, but the Ohio case was pretty much over, so I was promised his next big case. This is the next case!”

“That's freaking fantastic!” Darcie hugged me, but pulled back after a moment with worry on her face. “But aren't Calvin and Alexa going to try and block you from doing it?”

“They can't. This is through the partners. I have a letter from Smith himself saying I get to participate on his next case.” The odds of them going against the partners were so slim that I laughed, almost giddy with excitement. “This is over their heads as a mandate from their bosses. They can't stop me!”

Darcie pulled me into another hug, squeezing me tight enough to make it hard to breathe. “Congrats, Lena! You deserve it so much!”

“Thanks. I'll just be doing coffee runs and observing, but,” I grinned, feeling my dreams coming true, “I'm going to learn so much. It's perfect.”

“I'm proud of you,” Darcie told me. The elevator chimed my floor. “ See you for lunch?”

“Definitely,” I answered, stepping off on the fifteenth floor. Darcie waved as the elevator doors closed and took her up to the sixteenth floor. Someday, I would be going up there instead of down here to the Dungeons.

The office was the usual buzz of morning business, but it sounded happier to me today than it had in a long time. Even my little work station looked better today and I didn't even frown at the stack of papers already waiting for my attention. In two weeks, I'd be in Texas helping Smith with the legal case of a lifetime. If that on my resume didn't get me a spot at Harvard, I'd eat my shoe. Plus, the icing on the cake was that I would be away from Alexa and Calvin.

“I heard about your little stunt last night,” Alexa informed me, gliding up to my desk. I wondered how someone so pretty could be so evil. She was tall with dark, glossy hair that was always perfectly coiffed. Her eyes were a unique shade of gray with lashes so long they made a breeze when she blinked. Add in perfect porcelain skin, legs that stretched into infinity and a waist that was built for the designer skirts she always seemed to wear, and she was gorgeous. Gorgeous and incredibly evil.

“I'm not sure what you mean, Alexa,” I replied diplomatically as I sat down at my desk. Most people thought that because she was so pretty there was no way she could be smart. I had learned the hard way that she had a ruthless mind that was always two steps ahead of everyone else. Alexa always got what she wanted. Always.