The Lawyer (The Dalton Brothers 1)

She pulled the folder into her grasp and stood from the table. “Is there anything else?” She looked at Brett and then back to me.

“You have twenty-four hours to let us know if you want to proceed with that contract,” Brett told her.

“Does that mean you’re representing the deal?”

His jaw flexed as he stared at her. “My name is on it.”

“What about going forward?” She pointed at both of us. “Will the two of you be representing me now?”

I knew Brett’s feelings on this.

He knew mine.

But I had a motive, and sometimes, we had to take one for the goddamn team to get what we wanted in the long run.

“Let’s see how this contract goes and the way you behave on the shoot. If Dominick and I are happy with the way you act and you do what we’ve asked, then we’ll consider exploring other deals together.”

She smiled as she walked out the door.

The moment it was shut, Brett turned toward me and said, “Man, she’s fucking poison.” He ran his hands through his hair. “Are you happy with the way that went?”

I crossed my foot over my knee. “I got in her head. I just don’t know what she’s going to do about it.”

“She wants us on her team.”

“And that’ll be the motivating factor, not Kendall, which is just fucking sad.”

He shook his head. “I don’t know that I can work with her, Dominick.”

“We’re going to be the reason that bitch turns her shit around. You know if she had the right attitude and confidence, we could triple her income. Consider it a new mission.”

“You owe me, and you owe me for you settling down with Kendall—don’t think I’ve forgotten about our bet. When you least expect it, I’m going to come collecting.”

I laughed and reached for the phone on the table, dialing the number for Brett’s assistant. “Send him in,” I told her.

I hung up, and within a few seconds, the door was opening again. A smiling face with glossy pink lips walked in, taking a seat in the same chair Daisy had been in.

“Daddy Dominick,” Charlize said, getting comfortable. “What in the heavens have you called me in here for?”

“Daddy Dominick.” Brett chuckled. “Christ.”

This was the meeting I had been looking forward to the most.

One that Kendall knew about and had everything to do with.

I took the folder that I’d moved to my side and pushed it toward Charlize. “We have an offer we’d like to make you.”

“An offer, huh?” He eyed up Brett before he opened the folder, reading the contract I’d placed inside. “This can’t be true,” he said, looking up at us. “You have to be tugging my leather collar.”

“We’re not tugging anything, Charlize.”

Brett shook his head. “Nope. Definitely not.”

“But …” He glanced down again. “How is this even possible?”

“Kendall isn’t returning to the show,” I told him.

“I kinda figured,” he replied. “But still, oof.”

“Since you’ve already appeared in multiple hours of footage and her costars really enjoy you, we think you would be the perfect fit to take her place.”

“Let me get this straight.” He glanced at the contract again. “You want me to take Kendall’s spot on Glitzy Girls?”

“That’s right,” Brett said. “And they’re going to pay you a quarter of a million dollars for the role.” He cleared his throat. “We know the pronoun in the show’s title isn’t correct. If you do accept the offer, the producers are willing to work with you to make it right.”

“We also know you’re a makeup artist,” I added. “We’re not asking you to give that up. You just have to report to filming and follow the rules, most of which you already know since you’ve filmed with Kendall.”

Brett gave Kendall’s best friend a smile. “What do you say, Charlize?”

He held the folder against his chest, wrapping his arms around it, swaying his shoulders. “I say, hell fucking yes.”