Derision (The Broken Bonds 7)

But it’s not so much that I need to prove it to her, Julia, my mentor—it’s proving myself to Chase Larkin that has my hands shaking. I curse as I drop the binder I just picked up.

And as if he can only ever witness me at my worst, the man himself, dressed in his Armani courthouse finest, strolls through the interoffice hallway just across from me, congratulatory praise trailing in his wake.

I shrink into myself, curling into an unnoticeable ball on the floor, hoping to sneak out once the celebratory commotion moves on.

But just as the tide is drawn to the moon’s gravitational pull, I’m sucked into his orbit, his gravity reeling me in. Relatively, we move at two different speeds, in two completely different time zones. He’s the larger than life quantity to my puny existence, and the world slows to a crawl when he?

?s near. Time stalls, and I become spellbound by the phenomena.

A pair of sheer stockings appears in my vision and blocks my view. I glance down at my binders, and a black Prada pump nudges the stack closer to me. “Alexis, a word?”

The annoyance in Julia’s tone is in such sharp contrast to the elation circling the office that it draws the attention of my coworkers. As I get to my feet, attempting to straighten my blouse while situating the binders, I realize I’ve gained more than their notice.

Chase stands at his office door, his black suit stretched attractively across his broad shoulders, dark hair tussled in sexy disarray by the wind, his cool blue gaze directed on me. “Is there an issue, Julia?”

Atoms collide. The space-time continuum collapses. I, the observer, am thrust into his gravitational field where I don’t belong…and the world spins off its axis.

“Miss Wilde has decided to submit her application for the open paralegal supervisor position,” Julia says, her pert mouth tight with irritation. “After deadline. On a Friday afternoon, no less.”

I can feel the stares of my colleagues on my back. God, but why did I send it at all?

“Take it up in your office,” Chase says, opening his door. “This shouldn’t be difficult for you to handle, Julia. Should it?”

“No, sir,” she replies, every bit of frustration wiped from her appearance and voice. She raises her perfectly sculpted eyebrows at me. “Well, then. Follow me.”

In the animal kingdom, survival of the fittest isn’t a goal; it’s a rule. When an animal senses a weakling amid its pack, instinctively, it knows to remove the frail creature before it becomes a threat to the rest.

Office politics operate much like a pack of wolves. At this moment, as Julia leads me toward her office, I feel as if I’m being dragged by my neck to the kill zone. Her canines sunk into my jugular, claws bared. The leader of the pack, the alpha wolf, has just given her a directive to eradicate the weakling.

“Shut the door,” she says as she leans against her cherry oak desk.

I do, but I don’t move far, as I doubt this will take long.

Her phone beeps with a message that she quickly checks. Placing her phone on the desk, she clears her throat, her countenance more than agitated. “You know, Alexis, when your internship was over, I was against hiring you on.” She pauses for dramatic effect, those eyebrows that I’m sure she spends a great deal of time and money on hiked toward her layered blond bangs.

When she doesn’t continue, I scour my brain for the proper response. “Thank you,” I say, then shake my head. “I mean, thank you for taking a chance on me.”

Her ruby red lips smirk. “It wasn’t my call. Mister Larkin approves and denies all interns, and does all the hiring personally. I didn’t feel you were a good…” her eyes drag over me “…fit for the firm. But Mister Larkin has peculiar tastes.”

I furrow my brow at her word choice.

“Peculiar tastes in his selection process,” she clarifies. “I didn’t believe you were ready to take on a position beneath a partner nine months ago, and after your most recent evaluation, I’m still not convinced. But,” she says, taking a step toward me. “Regardless if I’m not the one who will advance you, it’s still within my power to either recommend you for the position, or to dissuade Mister Larkin. And believe me, I hold a lot of sway.”

My mouth pops open, but I’m at a loss as to what to say. Honestly, I’ve never felt comfortable around Julia, but this is veering into an alternate dimension of the bizarre. Even for her.

“Don’t say anything.” Julia smiles, no teeth. “You’re required to come to the company party tomorrow night. Prove that you can be a team player. And then we’ll see what happens by Monday.”

Unsure, I raise my hand.

She huffs a clipped laugh. “You don’t have to ask permission to speak. At least, not from me.” Her lips twist into a slanted smile.

“I’m sorry, Julia. But I’m really confused. How am I supposed to prove I’m ready for this promotion at a company party?”

Her head tilts as she scans my outfit. “First, you should probably take the rest of the afternoon to shop. Find a more befitting dress for a supervisor position.” She fans a hand down her own stylish dress. “You know that saying, Alexis. Dress for the job you want, not the one you have.”

Right. Dress like I’m trying to seduce my way to the top. Check.

This shouldn’t surprise me coming from her or this firm. The only thing missing from this exchange is a slicked-back hair lawyer holding an Old Fashioned cocktail while puffing a cigar.