"You know, playing hard to get after a booty call isn't the way to twist a guy's arm into a relationship."
Half-way into her jeans—panties on—Priya jerked to a pause. Was she losing her hearing or had he just—? No. Derek Tseng, an investment broker she'd met sometime in December, was a casual friend with benefits she hooked up with from time to time for no strings attached awesome sex. He'd known what this was between them. Always had.
She took considerable pride in being more than clear on that front, so there was no way something that stupid could have come out of his mouth.
Straightening, she angled her gaze over her shoulder. "What did you say?"
"This thing you're doing." He gestured towards her with a wave of his hand. "The mad dash out the door barely minutes after I come isn't the way to get a guy to want more from you."
Or apparently he was.
Pulling her jeans on the rest of the way, Priya fastened the waist before sitting on the edge of the bed. "And who said anything about wanting a relationship?" she asked, sliding a foot into her nude patent pumps.
"Every single woman out there." He held up a hand, let it fall. "A guy can't breathe around a chick anymore without her plotting how to get him down the aisle."
She laughed at that, wrestling on her other shoe. "That's bullsh!t."
"Come on." He sat up, chest still gleaming with drying sweat. "I'm of a certain age, successful, attractive. I'm a desirable catch. We've been messing around for months and you're telling me a relationship hasn't crossed your mind once?"
Finished with fastening the last few buttons on her blouse, Priya flipped her hair over her collar and let it fall in a tousled tumbled in all its 'I just got f*cked' glory. The perks of having thick hair and one major blessing of her Indian heritage—it handled volume well. Tucking a leg under her, she scooted around to face him.
She'd had variations of this conversation many times in the past, but had thought those days were well behind her as she'd crossed over to sleeping with slightly older men.
What was it about a woman sating her own sexual needs that went so far over a guy's head he couldn't grasp it? Why was it so hard to understand? Not every woman used sex as a weapon. No. Just no.
Smiling gently, she brushed a hand over his cheek. Poor, stupid, clueless boy. "I had sex with you tonight because I was in the mood for sex. And I'm leaving right now because I want to leave. That's it."
His gaze skimmed over her, partly unconvinced and partly insulted. "I don't think we should do this anymore."
"I think you're right." Dropping her hand, she pressed her lips to his cheek. And left him there, scowling in the dark.
#
With the sun cresting on the horizon, she'd got home with enough time to shower, change and enjoy a protein shake for breakfast made with mixed berry and Greek yogurt.
Deciding to go with a punch of colour today, she dressed in a taper legged pantsuit, Teal for summer, with a sleeveless white blouse. Though the humidity index today was high, all of her suits came with pants. She'd learned during her first year summer internship that young women wearing a skirt and makeup in the workplace were quickly dismissed, or became objects of male attention for reasons she didn't want to encourage.
So she always kept her makeup clean, simple. Her blouses buttoned high—with minimal cleavage. She wanted her male colleagues' attention drawn to her eyes when they spoke to her, not down at her breasts. One of the endless frustrations of being young and female in a male dominated industry.
And today she needed to appear confident, unrattled, as Priya walked into MNS, the air rife with scandal and suspicion.
For rest of the afternoon following yesterday's mock cross-examinations, she'd been an edgy mess. Constantly wondering if she'd gone too far or not far enough? Lorraine, however, appeared to harbor none of Priya's crises of conscience, and met her gaze this morning without a hint or flicker that would give anything away.
A multitude of questions flashed through her brain, tugging her in different directions of what to say and how to behave. And this, she realized, was why she'd never wasted time with lying. The cold sweats, the gnawing guilt, the constant second guessing that wrecked havoc on her state of calm. Turning her into a jittery, jumpy, frazzled mess.
All of which she'd tried to burn off last night with Derek.
An interesting handicap for a litigation lawyer. But her nerves had always made her work harder, plan smarter, and learn how to turn an argument on its head. It made her sharper, more careful, more ruthless and organized. She could bend the truth as far as facts would allow. But outright lie? The kind that demanded bits of your soul in sacrifice? That was a talent she'd never acquired the skill.
Or the taste.
By the time she reached her workstation, a chorus of stunned gasps and stage whispers rose all around her, with Michael Winschitz' name dripping from everyone's lips.
"Did you hear about what happened to Michael?"
"No! What? Tell me!"
"Morning, Tiger."
Priya jerked at the unexpected sound of Hadrian's voice slid in from behind her. Growling, hand on her heart, she turned around and faced his teasing gaze. "Can you please stop sneaking up on me?"
"Sorry."
"No you're not."
His smile flashed. "You're right. I'm not." Crossing his arms, he leaned casually against the panelled barrier, boxing her in. "Winschitz was fired last night."
Glory punched through her chest twined with relief. Her face remained neutral. Barely. "Oh. That's a shame."
"What did you do?"
"Me? Nothing."
"I'm not buying it."
Priya shrugged a shoulder, hoping for unaffected and disinterested. "Whatever he did, I'm sure it was justified." In hopes of dismissing him, she slipped into her chair and made a point of rooting around in her satchel, waiting for the soft footfall of his retreat when a clap of hands jarred her out of her seat.
Only Heather clapped her hands like that. And if Heather was on the floor, then it meant something big was about to happen.
Pushing past Hadrian, Priya joined the gathering of candidates, though she kept to the periphery as much as possible. Heather stood at the forefront of the room, a wall of windows at her back overlooking the sun washed buildings. Lorraine rolled in a couple of mobile white boards, one with each of the candidate's names and a three-digit number alongside each, the other board had a list of various cases.
And Heather wasn't alone. Ms. Nagao stood, regal as ever, in an ivory pantsuit and lavender blouse.
"Good morning," Marai said smoothly, her soft voice carrying with little effort and yet exuded complete authority. "I know it's been a very long, trying couple of days for all of you, so I will keep this brief. There are three points I wish to address. First, every year we at MNS host an annual dinner with all partners. Invitations will be sent out later this evening and I expect all to attend." Her gaze skimmed as she spoke, like a gentle hand gliding through water, meeting each of them but not touching long enough to make you squirm. "Second, you should know we've already lost a promising candidate. How and why does not matter, but be aware that inexcusable behaviour will not be tolerated at this firm."
A body settled behind Priya and knew without turning around that it was Hadrian. And sensed that his attention was fixed on her rather than Ms. Nagao.
"And third," Marai brought her hands together, linked her fingers, "we cling to a strong and proud reputation of being one of New York's elite firms that service a high percentage of pro bono cases. Cartering not only to the wealthy but the deserving. If you want a place with this family, then you will do so by handling these cases individually." Stepping aside, she swept out a hand to the white boards.
"The cross-examination exercise gave us all a chance to witness your skills and instincts in action. How well you thought on your feet and how quickly you bounced back when your cages were rattled. Some of you did better than others."At the latter part of her statement, Priya's gaze inadvertently sought out her name in the list.
And found it floundering near the very bottom. Not a surprise considering this her performance.
"The top three scores have earned the privilege of first selection. The next round of selections will take place Monday of next week at seven forty-five sharp. If you're late and miss your call, then you will be bumped to the bottom."
An immediate blast of envy and anxiety spiked down to her fingertips as Jessica Borlack, Taryn Jobin and Hadrian's names were called. Going first not only allowed for selection of the best cases, but the advantage of more time to prepare. It was an edge she needed badly to recover from an already abysmal start.
Applause rose and she limply joined in.
"Congratulations to the top three, you may see Heather to discuss the cases and make your selections by end of day. Each of you will be captains for the remaining teams. Teams that have been segmented into Blue, Red and Green; your names have been coded accordingly."
She waited for the crowd gathered around the board to thin before sliding her way over there, and chewed the edge of her thumb nail as she scanned the list.
Priya's name, written in blue, put her with six people she didn't know or recognize aside from Jessica and to be mentored by the firm's partner, Raul Ortega. Hadrian was Team Red and Mark was Team Green mentored by Nancy Cole and Louis Wu respectively.
As far as cases went, she'd need something big. Something flashy and daring, to make an impact and her gut veered towards the intellectual property theft matter, the defamation case or even the personal injury suit. Unfortunately, those would be the most likely to go to the Top Three, if they had any sense.
Which meant she'd have to set her sights a little lower.
A former employee suing for breach of severance wasn't flashy but could prove challenging depending on the terms and amount in question. But her gut bounced between a wrongful dismissal claim and workplace sexual harassment claim; both fell squarely into her wheelhouse.
"Which one were you hoping for?" Hadrian leaned in to whisper, draping his elbow across her shoulder while his fingers toyed with something dangling around his throat. An arrowhead-shaped shark's tooth dangled from a leather cord like a pretentious hipster pendant to play off his cranberry blazer, silver slacks and hint of scruff.
"Why? So you can snatch it up?"
"Me? Never." His gaze slid down to meet hers. "But I could put a hold on it, let the other two think that's where I'm leaning or deflect their attention elsewhere. Help keep it on the table."
Priya cast him her most cutting side-eye. "Why?"
"I happen to think we'd make a great team, Tiger."
She rolled her shoulders, shrugging him and the notion of teaming up, off. "Forget it. I work alone."
"They're counting on that," he said, nodding to the huddled pack of bodies around the far cubicles, likely discussing Michael and to speculate the cause behind his sudden departure.
Wouldn't take long for the truth to get out, and when it did, as the one to spill first blood, she knew that would enhance the already giant target on her back. But she wasn't about to let Hadrian see her sweat, or anyone else for that matter. She'd already bared the chink in her armour in front of the entire firm, now she had to fortify her defenses against the next wave.
"Let them. None of them are a threat to me."
"Alone, true. But even a dog can take down a tiger if it's in a pack, which they are. They're gunning for you. You need an ally if you plan to survive. You need me."
"And why should I trust you?" she asked, her gaze searching but what for, Priya wasn't entirely certain.
Hadrian raised a shoulder. "Have lunch with me and I'll tell you."
"I don't think that's a good idea."
"You've got to eat, no? One hour. If I can't plead my case, then I'll never broach the subject again. On my honour."
"Forty-five minutes. And you have half that to convince me."
"I like a challenge." And swung a playful elbow to nudge her as he passed. "Meet me in the lobby at one-thirty."
#
Priya had no intention of actually going to lunch.
And tried to think of a million excuses as she spent hours working through doc review, following up on emails on behalf of the associates and editing draft agreements for mind numbing, tedious details that liquefied her brain with boredom.
One-thirty couldn't come fast enough.
Punctual to the minute, she found Hadrian waiting in the lobby near the main doors, hands in his pockets and attention fixed beyond the pane of glass.
"Where did you want to go?" she asked and his attention swung around to her with a momentary flicker of relief.
He jerked his head to the left of his shoulder. "There's a great place close by. A stone's throw, I promise." As he turned to lead the way, her eyes were drawn to his strong legs that supported a high, firm ass. And oh my god, that ass!
She wanted to grab it, squeeze it—bite it.
They hadn't even made it out the front doors before she was cursing herself for a bad decision. Thankfully the place he had in mind truly was a stone's throw away from the firm, as he'd claimed. Set up within the spacious courtyard separating the neighbouring buildings, a tented popup restaurant was set up with adorable collection of mismatched tables and patio furniture for equally eclectic seating.
She recognized the name as a trendy little place she'd heard about on Twitter as a new wave of convenient establishments were taking New York by storm. This was the kind of place she'd love to come on a date or even on her own to enjoy an early summer afternoon on the patio and not what she'd expected from the wealthy son of a legal icon.
Skimming her sunglasses away from her eyes, Priya scanned the menu and settled on beer battered lobster tacos while Hadrian went for duck confit perogies, both followed their orders with cold beers. And was pleased when he didn't contest her stepping up to cover her half of her the bill.
Shucking off her blazer, Priya hooked it on the back of her chair and sat down. The sun was warm on her skin, the sky clear and she wished she was lounging poolside somewhere gorgeous, soaking it all in.
"Alright, we're here," she said as a server brought their food to the table along with their uncapped bottles of beer. "Now tell me, Hadrian, what's your angle? Ms. Nagao must know who you are." Rolling up her first taco she licked spicy mayo off thumb and took a large, healthy bite. Crisp batter, sweet lobster and flavour exploded in her mouth.
"She does," he agreed quickly, without reservation, pouring generous knobs of sour cream atop the fried potato dumplings. "I asked her to take me onboard under the same strict provisos as everyone else. No preferential treatment."
"But why?" Priya demanded around another mouthful and washed it down with chilled brew. "Why the pretense when you could snap your fingers and toss the rest of us out the door in a nanosecond?" And maybe he still planned to. Maybe this was just his idea of fun, watching the needy and desperate graduates sweat bullets while he coasted his way to the top.
Forking up a bite, his gaze met hers dead on. "Because I want to earn it."
"Four years of Law school wasn't enough to earn it?"
"No. Not even close. That gets your foot in the door; I want to prove I belong there." His fingers toyed with the neck of his beer, spinning that bottle in lazy circles atop the distressed wooden surface of the table. Beads of condensation forming on the glass. "Maybe it's because of my years of competitive sports, I want to win but on my own merit. Otherwise how can I hope to be a good lawyer if I'm never challenged? I want to be pitted against the best, an opponent who is going to keep me on my toes and make me fight a long, bloody war."
And how could she possibly argue with that? A man built on a foundation of hard work and integrity was one she could respect and admire. But it would also make beating him a challenge. So why did that thought excite her as much as it terrified?
"You were right about what you said earlier, you are one of the best. So am I," Hadrian added, setting his forearms to the table and leaned in closer. At this angle the sun teased out the green in his eyes and the gold in his hair. "Let's weed out the weaklings together, and then it will all come down to you and me. Mano a mano." Raising his bottle, he toasted her before taking a long, dragging pull.
Sipping leisurely from her beer, Priya assessed him. "Friends now, enemies later?"
"Has a ring to it doesn't it?" His smile flashed, full, genuine and with enough charm to part a Nun's thighs. "Come on, Priya. What do you say?"
"I say alright." Snagging one of his perogies with her fork, Priya bit victoriously into the fried, potato dumpling. "And let the best lawyer win."
**Author's Note**
So, we have an alliance in the works - can Priya maintain the upper hand with someone like Hardin? Would you have agreed to do the same in her shoes, or gone it solo?
Whatever the end result - I think she's going to have her hands full, that's for sure.
Here's a fun dancehall remix that has me dancing behind my desk at work. :P