Legally Addicted - By Lena Dowling Page 0,51

only able to manage a few more minutes working on his files before Georgia appeared in the doorway to his office.

He smiled at her, catching her quizzical marine blue eyes. If he had to be interrupted he couldn’t think of a better reason.

In his opinion most Sydney women wore their business clothes far tighter than good taste allowed, but Georgia had the figure to carry it off, and having seen her body in the flesh he had no objection to the second skin like cut of Georgia’s suit. The effect of her skirt clinging to the perfect curve of her hips echoed in his gut, igniting pleasant memories of the previous forty-eight hours.

‘I saw you had Caro in here?’ Georgia said, a worried look creeping over her face.

The mention of that dreadful woman’s name was like dose of ice-water dumped on Brad’s head.

Both of them.

Immediate turn-off.

Which given the amount of work he had piled up was probably a good thing.

He reoriented his gaze upwards to Georgia’s face. A little less distracted now, he noticed that she seemed tentative, lingering at the door jamb, as if she was only brave enough to advance that far. She was no doubt conscious of the potential for client-solicitor privilege. If Caro had visited him for legal reasons, it would be inappropriate to ask him about it, but even so, Georgia seemed unusually anxious.

For a second Brad paused to reflect on Caro’s accusation, but then he dismissed it. Considering how Caro treated Georgia, it was hardly surprising that seeing the woman arrive at his office would unsettle her. He simply didn’t believe it. There was nothing at all about Georgia’s behaviour that indicated she wanted something from him.

‘It’s okay; it wasn’t a legal matter. She was here about the gala, but thankfully Jeffrey’s agreed to take it on.’

‘She didn’t say anything about the addiction centre, did she?’

After the way Caro had reacted when Georgia tried to raise her proposal with the board, it made sense that she would be fearful that Caro might try to undercut her. But Brad fully intended to make up his own mind once he read the report. Based on everything he knew about Georgia, he predicted it would be well researched and comprehensive, and he fully expected to be able to throw his full support behind it.

There was no need to worry her with Caro’s toxic allegations.

‘Not directly. She seems more concerned about the funding. I’m sorry I haven’t had a chance to read it yet, but as soon as I get through this lot, I will.’

He felt bad that he hadn’t had a chance to read the document. Georgia had obviously put a lot of work into it. Now that he understood more about her background, he realised this wasn’t just some random charitable project to fulfil a personal need for altruism. Ultimately, the whole thing had to be about her mother and was therefore deeply personal.

‘Oh, that’s okay. I understand.’

‘I promise I’ll read it before you come over tonight.’

‘So I’m expected?’ she asked, gripping onto the doorframe, briefly resting her head against it in a motion that reminded him of how much he enjoyed waking up with her beside him on the pillow.

‘Any time, Georgia. You know you don’t need an invitation.’

After work, as was his usual habit, Brad headed straight for the pool in the private glass atrium that covered the rooftop of Spencer Towers. He pushed off the tiled wall and swam to the shallow end, where he stood up and wiped his eyes. As his vision cleared, he noticed Jeffrey emerging from the elevator that opened onto the roof. The butler placed a tray down on a bench in the outdoor kitchen set-up, and then opened the hood of the barbeque. While Jeffrey fiddled with the dials on the front of the grill, Brad climbed up the ladder out of pool.

Good old Jeffrey. His butler had seen him heading upstairs and guessed that he would rather have a relaxed dinner of grilled steak and salad by the pool than something formal in the dining room.

Despite appearing engaged with the barbeque, by the time Brad was standing on the glazed tiles that bordered the pool, water running in torrents from his swim shorts, Jeffrey was there with a towel in one hand, a beer in the other.

The man still had eyes in the back of his head. As a child, it was almost always Jeffrey who had stepped in and scooped him up whenever rough play