partners, and I specialize in divorce law.” He glanced at me, and I stepped forward a little, the movement jostling Malcolm away.
“Morning, everyone. I’m Nico Holton, the other partner, and my area is family law.”
Malcolm stepped forward next, bringing us back in line, and I swallowed the groan at his persistence. “And I’ve just met you all, but I’m worth repeating. I’m Malcolm Ridgeway, a lowly associate, and I work in criminal law.”
“This time, it really is your turn.” Saint indicated the guy at the left of the short row of interns.
“I’m Eric, and I am looking to move into criminal law as my specialty.” He glanced at the man next to him.
“I’m Ted. I’m interested in divorce.”
Saint muffled a laugh. “I can help you handle that.”
I looked along the line to Jamie, and when his eyes met mine, a spark of panic lit them. But what… Why? But I took in the group again. Eric had his gaze fixed on Malcolm, Ted regarded Saint with something like hero worship and that only left me, in family law…with Jamie?
Panic flooded me. No. No, surely Saint wouldn’t leave me to mentor his brother? But why wouldn’t he? Why would he ever think that would be a bad idea? Fuck me. It was such a bad idea. And I couldn’t even tell him.
“I’m Jamie.” Jaimie’s mouth moved, but his voice came out hoarse. “And I want to move into family law.”
Only he didn’t look like that was what he wanted. He glanced toward the door. He looked like a man who wanted to escape.
“Thank you, everyone.” Saint’s words drew my attention back to the room. “As you might have guessed, we’re all perfectly matched. Eric, your mentor will be Malcolm, Ted, you’re with me, and Jamie…”
My heartbeat thumped loudly in my ears, and I wanted to cover his mouth with my hand before he could say the words.
Jamie was working with me, and it was a disaster.
5
Jamie
Click. Click. Click.
It had been years since I’d ground my teeth as a reaction to stress, yet here I was listening to the sound they made in my head as I rubbed them together. Shit… I wish I’d known Saint’s plans. As his brother, he should have told me.
Only, why would he?
Why would Saint need to tell me anything about his business? His and Nico’s business.
As soon as he started discussing mentors, I knew… The way my luck was running, his plan couldn’t have been any different. Of course it wouldn’t have been any different.
That was just my luck.
I tried to push away the memories of Nico at Hot Toddy’s, his tongue shoved down some attractive guy’s throat. I needed to forget what I’d seen—I didn’t need to have the image of Nico in the throes of passion burned onto my brain.
And on top of my crappy morning, too.
I sighed and rubbed my temple. I’d woken up with a mild stress headache and some nausea, which meant fatigue was preparing to hit me like an eighteen-wheeler if I didn’t get on top of my nerves and anxiety. I needed to impress Saint.
I also needed to impress Nico—especially now that he was going to be my mentor.
I wanted to bury my head in my hands, or head home and curl up in my bed, in a darkened room until I didn’t need to think about confrontation in the office or courtroom. A small sweat broke out across my palms. I didn’t have the option of going home to camp out in my bedroom like some sort of angsty teenager.
The next few days would be rough. No one could see how anxious I was, and it would likely make me kind of grumpy trying to hide that from Saint and Nico.
Perfect. A nervous, grumpy bastard trying to impress his brother and one veeeeeery fine specimen of a man. Those things didn’t sit together well.
“Okay. So, are we all ready to get started?”
I jolted and looked at Saint. I’d completely tuned out and missed anything he said after I realized I’d been paired with Nico. Way to go on the impressing front. Eric and Ted stood from the table, and I copied their movements, trying to disguise my jumbled thoughts.
Malcolm signaled to Eric. “Let’s head to my office, and I can start showing you how I like my coffee.”
I rolled my eyes as I glanced at Nico. From his pinched expression, he didn’t feel much better than I did. And there was something else. His stiff expression and stance