Charity Case - The Complete Series - Piper Rayne Page 0,51

or her here today even with double pay, will not be. And what if we end up with one of those ambulance chasers because we don’t have time to vet the right person? And then there are the girls. Girls my daughter’s age.

With a mental curse, I pull my cell phone out of my purse.

Holding it in my lap, I stare down at it for a few seconds. This is a business transaction. I’ll offer to pay him. Yes, brilliant. If he’s getting paid, then it’s not a favor.

Convinced I’ve come up with the best possible plan given the circumstances, I pull up his name.

Me: Do you have lunch plans?

Three dots appear immediately, and I wonder if there’s ever a time he doesn’t have his cell phone close at hand.

Reed: Is this Victoria?

Me: Do a lot of women text you asking about your lunch plans?

Reed: Well…I am a catch. Just ask your friend Chelsea.

Me: Try to get a hold of your ego for a second. This is business related.

Reed: Business? Did you commit a crime in the last half hour?

Me: My boss wondered if you’d look over some legal contracts for her?

I go on to explain the situation and his response is immediate and exactly what I was expecting.

Reed: What do I get for my trouble?

Me: Double pay.

Reed: Double pay?

Me: Yes, we’ll pay double your normal fee.

Reed: I don’t do favors for money. That’s called prostitution. ;)

I ignore the innuendo and text him back.

Me: It’s not a favor, she’ll pay you.

Reed: I work for the state, I can’t take her money.

Me: But you can do it as a favor?

Reed: Have I asked for anything in return?

Me: No, but you will.

Reed: You wound me! Why do you insist on thinking so poorly of me?

Me: In my experience lawyers rarely do something for nothing.

Reed: You just haven’t experienced the right ones. ;) See you at noon.

Me: What do you want in return?

Me in a bed naked with chocolate sauce dripping off my nipples? I can take one for the team.

Reed: Nothing. See you then.

Me: Thank you.

The three dots appear, disappear, appear again but another text never comes through and I worry that I may have actually pissed him off this time.

“He’ll be here at noon, Hannah,” I call out.

“Thank you, Vic, you’re a lifesaver.”

Funny, I feel like a little bit of an ungrateful bitch at the moment.

When the door opens at noon, my breathing picks up pace expecting to see Reed. Instead, a woman dressed in an expensive looking pant suit walks in with a briefcase clutched in one hand. Her hair is dark and shiny, cut right to her jawline which accentuates her beauty. She laughs, glancing behind her, and I see Reed stroll in behind her with his perfected swagger and million-dollar smile on display.

No wonder he didn’t want anything in return, he had a lunch date already.

He shuts the door behind him and leads the woman to the edge of my desk.

“Good afternoon, Victoria,” he says, all business, like all I really am to him is the receptionist.

“Good afternoon.” I tap my pen on the desk in an effort to relieve some of my irritation.

“This is Raegan Gilroy and she’s an intellectual property attorney. She’s probably the best one to look over your contracts.”

Raegan places her hand out in front and I stand, shaking it. “Pleasure to meet you. If you want to have a seat, I’ll tell Hannah you’re here.”

“Thank you.” She smiles, a perfect row of straight teeth unveiled from between her plump red lipsticked lips.

Reed winks and follows her to the couches in our waiting area.

I lift the phone at the exact same time Chelsea steps out of her office. She glances to her right and then to me and back to her right again.

Reed waves. “Afternoon, Chelsea.”

He can take his good afternoon and shove it up his ass.

“Hey,” she says and then clears her throat. “What are…”

“Chelsea,” I call out and she walks over to me rather than standing there awestruck.

Raegan Gilroy whispers something to Reed and he smiles, whispering back, shaking his head.

“Can you please grab me a photocopy of this while I let Hannah know her appointment is here?” I shove a stack of papers at Chelsea and for once in her life, she does what she’s asked without arguing.

Once she’s heading down the hall, I pick up my receiver and buzz Hannah’s office to let her know her appointment is here.

“Send him in and can you sit in and take notes?” Hannah