Which might not be such a bad thing…
So it was no surprise that when I ushered him into her office to go over his case, she turned into an insufferable bootlicker. She always did this with clients, but it seemed amplified with Brade, I guess because he was a rock star. Apparently, she was a huge fan, which was probably why she’d refreshed her lipstick and finger-combed her severe bob.
“Braden, I just wanted to have a quick meeting and see how we’re progressing with your case. I know Maizy’s been taking good care of you,” she said.
If she only knew how I’d been taking care of him…
Brade looked over at me, giving away nothing. He was so hot in his faded jeans and leather jacket. But being the professional I was, I just pushed my glasses up on my nose and nodded politely.
“Yeah, Maizy’s taking care of everything,” he said.
She should have been asking me, but whatever. I just smiled.
Eva looked at me like she doubted I was capable of tying my shoe. God, she was a bitch. She knew I was doing a great job but just had to make it clear she was the head honcho.
She nodded at Brade. “Okay, then. Glad to hear all is well. Maizy is quite capable, but if you ever need anything, you know how to reach me.”
Braden stood. He had no patience for boring pleasantries.
“Thank you, Eva.” He extended his hand.
Her mouth opened but quickly closed. She was normally the one to call a meeting to a close.
“I see you have a show coming up here in the city, next week,” she said, placing her folded hands under her chin.
Was she also batting her eyes?
Ugh. She was hinting for free tickets. Could she have been any more obvious?
Brade nodded, glancing at me. “Yes, I do. I think tickets are still available. I hope you can make it.”
Boo-yah. He’d given me free tickets! Not that I’d share that with Eva.
“Well, we’ll see you there,” she said with a forced smile on her face.
“Thanks, Eva,” I said, moving toward the door. I couldn’t get him out of there fast enough.
I walked him to the elevator before I went back to my cube.
Brade lowered his voice. “Yeah, she was a little bitchy. It was like the air smelled of it.”
I had to laugh at that.
He took a discreet hold of my fingers and squeezed.
“See you later, then?” he asked.
“Looking forward to it,” I said, sad to say even a temporary goodbye to my sexy rocker boy.
Wrapping myself in my trench coat, I slipped past Eva’s office. Well, I tried to, anyway. There was no way to avoid her when it was quitting time, and I knew the chances of her stopping me with some stupid question or nasty insult were about fifty-fifty. But I needed to get the hell out of there and home. I had Cato and Von coming over for dinner to meet each other. I was a bundle of nerves and wanted to make sure I got the cooking mostly done before they arrived and I got all distracted.
“Maizy!” she called out in a cheerful voice.
Busted.
I stopped at her door, displaying my most pleasant smile. “Eva,” I said, like I was super glad to see her. God, I should win an acting award. “How was your day?” Like I cared.
Ignoring my question, she said, “C’mon in, Maizy. Have a seat.” She gestured toward the chair I always sat in, as if I didn’t know I could sit there. The fact that I was holding my bag and had my coat on went completely unnoticed.