ONE WEEK LATER
“I just feel so… different around him than I ever have around anyone in my entire life,” Ruby is telling me as I help her look through the files for all of Cameron’s cases in a certain jurisdiction.
Ruby is such a little go-getter that she devised her own system for arranging and finding files more easily in the file room. She’s a lot more productive than I am. I’d spent days on end in here, reading and vaping before I got caught, and I never thought to do anything that impressive.
“I’m glad you found such a good catch,” I tell her. “But just be careful.”
I’ve warned her, but she won’t listen.
“I know, I know,” Ruby tells me, shaking her head as if I’m the naïve one. “You have your theories about every guy who works here. And I do appreciate your advice.”
“It’s not just my theory,” I tell her. “All the guys around here are players. In fact, I think all guys everywhere would be players if they could be, but these are just the ones who are able to be that way, and so they’re that way to the extreme.
“You’re so cynical,” she says. “But I love that about you. No one is going to fuck with Katie Finnegan. She’s got men— and life— all figured out.”
“Very funny,” I tell her.
All I can do is warn her. She doesn’t have to take my advice. And if only she knew that I wished a certain guy would fuck with me— or make that just fuck me.
But I don’t tell her. She’d be far too delighted to know I don’t take my own advice. And it’s not like I’m going to see Damien Hudson again. The word around the firm is that he didn’t want to pay our firm’s high fee. There’s talk about perhaps lowering the fee but I know those competitive male types and it could be forever before any of them ever come to their senses.
So, I just listen to Ruby go on about her newfound relationship with Cameron Sanchez and wish I had a different kind of life. The kind I read about in books rather than the one I must live daily.
“Ruby?” someone asks, and we both turn around to see Ron Sanchez at the door of the filing room.
“Oh, hi Cam,” she says, giggling and blushing like a school girl. Most people here call his Ron and some call him by his full name of Cameron but she’s the only one who calls him Cam. How fucking sugary sweet. “Katie and I were just gathering some things for your case.”
“Hi Katie,” Ron says, nodding at me.
He and I are pretty tight, ever since I helped him win Ruby back. She had been fired for my vape pen even though her hacking of Damien Hudson’s financial information had led to the firm being able to charge him money for what they thought was a free project. No one around here ever knows what they’re doing and I had to set the record straight.
But oh, my God, Damien Hudson. Just thinking about him is enough to get me wet. I guess I’ll never see him again, except in my fantasies. Because no one has said another word about him.
Then as if on cue, though, Ron says, “You can wait on that for now Ruby. I need you to get my file on Damien Hudson.”
I try to act nonchalant. I don’t want to reveal how happy I am to hear his name.
“Okay,” Ruby says, walking over to where she keeps the file. “When do you need it?”
“Right now,” Ron says. “He’s here, and wants to talk.”
“He does?”
Ruby looks as surprised as I feel. And Ron himself looks pretty taken back by it as well. This Damien guy sure acts in mysterious ways.
“Yeah, he’s here and I don’t know how good of an idea it would be for you to join us,” Ron tells Ruby. “Sorry honey. But he’s still a bit pissed about the fact that we know how much he really makes.”
“Oops,” says Ruby, with a fake apologetic look on her face.
“Ruby is one skilled hacker,” I say. “She deserves a raise, Mr. Sanchez.”
“Very funny, Katie,” Ron says. “Actually.”
He looks at me for a minute and then continues.
“Since Ruby can’t help out on this and Jim is in court as usual, I could really use your assistance.”
“Mine?” I ask, flabbergasted.
Usually I would protest that I’m not a floater. I’m assigned only to Jim and he might get mad if I help someone else, even if he doesn’t need me right now. But really it would just be an excuse to read more of my book and get a bit more stoned.
And right now, I’d love to see Damien again, obviously.
So, I just say, “Sure, Mr. Sanchez, whatever I can do to help.”
“Since I’m banned from the meeting, I’ll just be in here picking up on where Katie left off on Faulkner,” Ruby says, fake-pouting.
“Thanks honey,” Ron says. “I knew you’d understand.”
“Neruda,” I pipe up.
“What?” Ruby asks.
“I finished the Faulkner book and I’m onto Neruda now. Hope you have daddy issues so you can enjoy Lolita the way it was meant to be enjoyed.”
“Katie!” Ron reprimands me, but he’s smiling.
“Wow, you’re a fast reader,” Ruby says.
“I’d already read The Sound and the Fury a bunch,” I tell her. “So, it was more like skimming than reading.”
My statement is true, but I don’t tell her the embarrassing truth. That I have nothing to do outside of work except read books and watch movies all the time. Escape my reality. I don’t have something I’m passionate about— coding— like she does. I don’t have a guy like Ron.
Although I’m still rather suspicious of him, I’m starting to come around to Ruby’s way of thinking and I’m glad that she’s happy. Maybe, she’s actually found the real thing with Ron.
Who am I to say? I’ve never even had a real relationship, physical or emotional. I’ve only thought that only trouble can come from that, because of my own family history. But at least if I could find the right guy, I wouldn’t be lonely or bored anymore.
“Let’s go meet Damien then,” Ron says, bringing me back to the reason I know I’m even having these thoughts at all. I don’t know what the hell has gotten into me but it’s crazy.
“I already have,” I tell him, as I follow him to his office. “Briefly.”
“That’s good then,” Ron says. “He’ll know we’re not trying to bring in yet another young legal assistant to infiltrate his secrets like Ruby did.”
“Hey!” Ruby calls out from the file room. “I heard that!”
“I know,” Ron says.
The flirtation level is palpable with those two lovebirds. I’m almost fucking jealous.
But as we walk into Ron’s office and I see handsome Damien sitting there in a nice suit with a smug smile on his face— as if he was expecting to see me here all along, as if he’d requested my very presence— I have a feeling that I have nothing to be jealous about.
I think I might be about to experience the very same thing with Damien that Ruby has experienced with Ron. And I think I’m about to like it.