be hard. College is going to be a lot of work. What if you can’t come home?”
“Hey,” I said, pulling her closer. “I’ll always have time for you. There’s nothing that could keep me from you.”
She snuggled in deeper and rested her head on my chest. We laid under the stars that night, and I prayed that she had enough faith in me to make this work. There was no one like Anna, and I wasn’t leaving her behind. She was mine forever.
Robert
13 years later…
I pulled at the black bowtie strung around my neck and grimaced. I wanted to get the hell out of here. This was not how I wanted to spend my Saturday night. I glanced around the ballroom at all the other lawyers and stuffy assholes that congratulated each other on being the best in their field. Most of them were sleazy lawyers only out to make money. They didn’t give a shit about anyone’s problems. They cared about their bottom line.
Not that I was much better. I was a divorce lawyer. One of the best in Chicago, and my rates reflected that. I worked my ass off to get where I was today and I was proud of that, but I really hated all the people I worked with. I couldn’t think of a single person in my firm that I respected. Blood-sucking parasites, all of them.
I lifted my glass of scotch to my lips and swallowed the last of my drink. If only I hadn’t wrapped up that case yesterday. I would have had an excuse to get out of this damn event. It wouldn’t be long before the MC took the stage and started handing out awards. Fletcher Scott would get up on stage and congratulate himself for being the biggest dickhead on the planet. Then Stephanie Sievers would go up and brag about the amazing charity work she did, all the while sucking the dick of the chairman of the board. That last part she would leave out. It wouldn’t be good for her image if people found out that she was sleeping with the chairman in exchange for favors.
Like I said, blood-sucking lawyers. I was a blood-sucker too, but I used my powers in a different way. I collected information and then I used that information to win my way in court. Of course, that kind of stuff had to be saved for the right time. I didn’t waste that information on people that weren’t worth it, and I always saved it for cases that were particularly difficult. Yes, I blackmailed people to get my way. It was part of the job, and while I didn’t particularly like that I had become this way, there wasn’t much point in trying to change my ways now.
“Hey,” a woman said, walking up to me with a come-hither look. She was beautiful in an obvious sort of way. She had long, dark hair that hung in huge Hollywood waves over her shoulder. A diamond clip shimmered on one side of her head, pulling back her hair. Her makeup was overdone in a classy way and her breasts were pushing up out of her dress. Enticing? Definitely. But as I stared at her, all I could think about was the girl that I left behind after high school.
No, woman, Anna was a woman now, and feisty as ever. I hadn’t seen her since high school, not until my brother called me and asked me for a favor. I’ll never forget the way she looked when she walked into that office to interview for the position of my brother’s office manager. She hated me. I couldn’t say that I blamed her. I would hate me if I were her too. Hell, I hated me anyway. So, as I looked at this woman in front of me, I realized that I would never have the woman I really wanted, so I would have to make do with the one I was with. Or, the one I could be with.
“Can I buy you a drink?” I asked, giving her a sly grin.
She raised an eyebrow and jerked her head toward the bar. I got up, slipping my hand around her waist as I walked with her to the bar.
“What are you drinking?” I asked as we stepped up to the counter.
“Champagne, Dom Perignon,” she said with a grin.
Perfect. Someone with expensive taste. It didn’t take much to deduce that she was only after my money. Too bad for her,