Violet

I had a boyfriend.

Not only did I have a boyfriend but I was excited about it.

Normally, when men started referring to me as their girlfriend or started talking about plans three months out, it set off alarm bells. But when Alexander had said it last week in the park, I didn’t take it as a signal to run. It felt completely natural. I thought of him as my boyfriend. More, I wanted him to think of me as his girlfriend. I couldn’t remember ever feeling like that.

I slotted in the last files I had on my desk and finished taping up the cardboard box. The more recent the cases, the more paper they seemed to consume.

“How are you doing?” Jimmy asked as he strolled into the admin room.

“Good. Another five boxes to go off to archives.”

“Great job. Surely you can see carpet on the floor of Knightley’s office now?”

“Well, half a carpet anyway.”

“And he doesn’t mind?”

“I don’t give him a choice.”

Jimmy chuckled. “Well, whatever works. I don’t know how you’ve managed to get away with it.”

“Fire with fire,” I said, passing him as I headed out. “And now I need more files.” I turned right up the corridor and knocked on Alexander’s door.

“Come in,” he yelled. He was so moody at work. We didn’t often see each other during the day. I wasn’t complaining. So many men were too needy, but finding time to be with Alexander was a challenge. I felt special if I got him for more than an hour before bed. Maybe it was a touch of masochist in me, but I liked the fact that he had other demands on his attention. He was busy being brilliant, and I was okay with that.

I shut the door behind me and Alexander looked up. He grinned, which was a good sign.

“Hello, handsome. I’m just going to collect some files. I’ll be two minutes.”

“Come over here.” He coaxed me over to his desk. “I could do with a break.”

“You working on your Bar Humbug case?” I hitched myself up onto his desk, settling next to his laptop. “With that name, it suits you perfectly.”

“Something like that. I think I’m going to have to bring in a junior earlier than I’d hoped.” He swiveled his chair around and smoothed his palm up the inside of my thigh.

“Why don’t you like working with other people? Because you’re a control freak?”

“You noticed?”

His hand slipped higher and I squeezed my legs together to stop him going any farther. “Knightley. We agreed—no fucking in the office.”

“I didn’t mean it,” he said, shifting me into the center of his desk.

“You don’t say things you don’t mean, remember?”

“You shouldn’t be so irresistible.”

“Speaking of irresistible, thank you for my gift this morning.” I’d arrived in the office this morning to find another shiny black box on my desk. Thank goodness I’d been the first one in because even without an audience, the underwear he’d bought me had made me blush.

“I’m not sure if that gift was for me or for you.”

“A joint gift, then.”

“Are you wearing them?” He lifted my skirt and took a peek before I smacked his hands away.

“You’ll have to wait. Can you come over tonight?” Alexander rarely stayed at my place. Most of the time he came in, we made out, and then he’d leave because he had to be up early or because he still had work to do.

He sighed. “I want to. I really do. I’ll have to see how things go, but I’ve carved out some time on Saturday afternoon because I have a late afternoon appointment with a real estate agent. We could have dinner after that?”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “A real estate agent?”

“The divorce got me thinking—I’ve been in that bloody hotel too long. It’s a much better long-term investment for me to buy something.”

“And because normal people don’t live in hotels for three years.” I poked him in the chest. “You’re not Lindsey Lohan, just saying.”

“Who?” he asked, grimacing.

I shook my head. “Never mind.” Chambers was full of eccentric characters, so I never knew what to expect, but popular culture wasn’t something that the barristers were typically up on—even the ones straight out of school. They all seemed to live in a world without celebrities, reality TV, or rap.

“So, dinner?”

“I’ll check my calendar.” Of course, I’d say yes, but he didn’t have to be so sure.

“You can come meet the agent with me if you like, although I’m sure you have better things to do.”

I looked at him, checking to see if I’d heard him correctly—we never made plans during the day at the weekend. “I totally want to do that.”

“Really?”

“What, poke about in strangers’ houses? Of course. I’ll do some research. No doubt you don’t have any clue about what market prices are.”

He chuckled. “You have that right.”

“Where do you want to live?”

“I like where I am—Mayfair.”

“On it.” I slid off his desk. “I’ll just get a few files and leave you in peace.” I headed toward the current pile I was working on dismantling, passing the now clear desk in the corner.

I turned back to Alexander, who had his head buried in his laptop. “You know, if you let a junior sit at that desk, you could stay on top of their work more easily, listen in to their phone calls—train them exactly the way you want them to work.”

“I don’t share my office, Violet,” he mumbled at the screen.

“Everyone wins in that situation—you’re less stressed and have more time. Which means more sexy underwear. More nights I can keep you awake.”

He looked up at me. “Tempting as that might be, I need silence to work.”

“But Lance has told you that if you’re going to progress, you have to work better with juniors, and Craig has told me that if we’re to implement this new document management system, I need to find cost savings. This desk in your office is worth about fifty grand a year.”

Why hadn’t I thought about it before? It was the perfect solution.

“I said no, Violet. Now I need to work.”

I picked up the files and headed out of his office. I turned as I opened the door. “Think about it.” He had to see how this made sense.

He rolled his eyes. “Get out!”