Unexpectedly Expecting the Sheik's Baby - Elizabeth Lennox Page 0,44

to have an emotional connection to a man in order to enjoy a sexual liaison. She was a modern woman who…

Cassy breathed quietly, her pep talk leaving her feeling worse than before. Because she had become emotionally involved! Cassy wasn’t sure what she felt for the man but…it hurt. She felt battered and bruised that he’d left her alone with just a goodbye note.

With a sniff, she refused to give in to more tears and self-pity. Time to move on, get on with her day! It was Sunday and she had to report to work bright and early tomorrow. She’d been out of the loop on her cases for too long. She’d relax tonight, watch chick flicks with her friends, get drunk, and then get back on track tomorrow morning. She’d focus on work and not think about Nasir ever again. He was a client of the firm, that’s it. She’d never seen him before that initial meeting and she didn’t have any reason to think she would see him again in the future. Most likely, he would request a different lawyer for any additional legal advice needed.

So whatever emotions she might have felt for the man, she’d just…get over them and move on!

When she shut off the water, she felt slightly better. She had a plan, she could smell the pizza and she was fairly certain that her friends had already opened the wine. What more could a woman want in life?

Work, friends, pizza, and wine. Just about everything a woman needs!

For the next few hours, Cassy and Ella gulped down the barely acceptable red wine while Naya drank milk. The three of them ate disgusting amounts of pepperoni pizza with extra cheese and sausage. After the pizza, Naya pulled the stash of ice cream out of the freezer, handing a pint to each of them. Armed with a spoon and another glass of wine or milk, the three of them gorged on ice cream and Gilmore Girls episodes, laughing and commenting, criticizing and shaking their heads in disbelief. They’d seen the whole series before, but there was just something comforting about a woman who could drink that much coffee and still form words. It gave Cassy hope.

Around ten o’clock, Naya went home to her handsome husband and Ella headed off to her apartment while Cassy cleaned up before crawling back into bed. In the darkness, she closed her eyes and pretended she wasn’t crying over a man who had obviously dismissed her from his life. It wasn’t important, she told herself for the thousandth time. Nasir wasn’t important.

Her career was important! Getting up early and jump-starting the day was important.

Chapter 7

Monday morning.

Was there a more effective form of punishment in the world?

It was five o’clock in the morning and Cassy waved her badge over the key lock, waited for the click and pushed her way through. It was quiet this early in the morning. Dumping all of her files and her laptop onto her desk, she looked around.

Nothing seemed to have changed. Her office was still tiny, still surrounded by glass walls, and she still had stacks of work piled up everywhere.

Why did it still feel like the world had changed over the past several days when all available evidence proved that everything was still the same?

Shaking her head, she sat down at her desk and entered her password to unlock her computer. It took her an hour to answer all of her e-mail and then get down to business. By then, a few other associates had come into work, but the majority of her co-workers didn’t arrive until seven o’clock. Cassy knew that she wouldn’t have an eight o’clock start time in the mornings until she’d been with the firm for several more years. She had to slog her way through the trenches first.

“In my office!” Mr. Hanover snapped as he stuck his balding head through her doorway around nine o’clock.

Cassy’s stomach lurched, but she stood up and followed him down the hallway. Was she about to be fired? She’d slept with a client! Not illegal, but definitely not a good idea. And to have slept with an extremely important client? Yeah, she should have anticipated this.

“So, what the hell happened in Zurich?”

Cassy’s shoulders stiffened. How was she supposed to explain? How did one tell her boss that she’d been overwhelmed by the man’s touch? Yes, she could promise that it would never happen again, vow that she would be on her guard going forward, because she