Alex Mathers sat across the desk from her. He had not spoken in almost five minutes. Three of those minutes he had spent shuffling papers on his desk and catching up on some organization, but now he was just sipping his coffee and staring at her. His gaze was difficult to decipher and she was not sure if he was glaring at her or not. Had she done something to upset him? Was it just the fact that she had not given him a definitive time for them to go out again? She was tempted to fold and stop playing the game she had setup, but it was so much damn fun that she wanted to see how it turned out.

“So, how have you been?” Alex asked. He smiled slightly, but almost in a fake sort of manner. It was kind of funny and Jess had to stifle her laughter.

“I’ve been good. The Jones case is coming along great. I think I’ll get him a good deal.”

“No chance of getting an acquittal on that one?” Alex asked.

“No, there is just too much evidence. The guy’s goose is a bit cooked.”

“I figured as much. Well, you can’t win them all.”

“Was there something in particular you wanted to see me about, sir?”

Alex smiled for a moment. He had an odd look in his eyes now, as if he was thinking about telling her the truth, or that he was just going to toy with her a bit.

“I’ve noticed you and Dean have become… close.”

Jess smiled, wondering how much he knew about her and Dean.

“Yes, we have become closer. Is that a problem?”

“Well, no. I mean the firm frowns on fraternizing between coworkers — especially between boss and associate — but then again I’d have to point the finger at myself if I enforced that rule.”

“So, what is the issue?”

“Well, the issue is that I thought you and I had a great time the other night and I would like to take you out again.”

“I know. I would love to see you again, but I’ve just been so busy that I haven’t had time.”

“But you’ve had time for Dean?”

Jess stopped a moment, and wondered what kind of grade school, whiny stunt he was pulling. Alex Mathers was not someone to care enough to get jealous and he wasn’t the type to get clingy or needy. But he loved to win. That was the thing. He was having trouble wondering why she so far had invested more time into the budding relationship — if you could even call it that — with Dean, but not with him.

“Well, it just worked out that way.”

Alex laughed.

“Well, I want you to come over to my place tonight. I know you have a lot of work to do, but I want you to come to my place tonight for dinner,” Alex said. He held up his hand when she started to interject and read her mind that she was going to say that she had work to do, which she did.

“Ok, I’ll be there.”

* * *

She heard the arguing when she was leaving for the day. It was just after five and it felt weird for her to be leaving then. It almost felt like she was leaving in the middle of the day, which she knew was a strong sign that she definitely worked too much. She was just passing Dean’s office, and she heard the loud voices inside.

Jess paused and strained to listen. She recognized the two voices as Alex and Dean. They were in a heated discussion about something. She knew it was wrong and she could probably get in trouble if anyone saw her eavesdropping on them, but before she could rationalize why she shouldn’t do it, she was already there.

“I don’t see what you are getting so upset about,” Dean said.

“Oh, you don’t? I asked her out first,” Alex replied.

“What are you, twelve? You are acting ridiculous.”

“We have a pact between the two of us that we would never go after the same woman. We have tried this before to disastrous consequences.”

“That was years ago; I thought you had grown up by now.”

“Don’t try to talk to me like I’m a child,” Alex said. The sound of his voice was moving around as if he was pacing back and forth.

“Besides, it is clear that I’m winning the competition. I know that is tough for you to understand, and handle, but it’s true.”

“Bullshit. I am just beginning to play,” Alex responded.

“I love the way you degrade women. I wish Jess could hear you talk about her like she is a game.”

Jess smiled. She was hearing every word.

“Don’t give me that; it’s a game to you, too.”

“Not this time,” Dean said.

“Oh, what? You expect me to believe that Dean Clark — Hugh Hefner of the law business — is ready to settle down?”

“I’m not saying I want to settle down, but there is something different about Jess. She isn’t just some random girl. She is smart, ambitious, and has a great future at this firm, if you don’t blow it.”

“Me? What about you?”

“What about me?” Dean asked.

“Is it normal company policy to bang associates in the copy room after hours?”

Dean was silent for a moment. “Oh, so that’s what this is about? You are mad because I made love to her first.”

“God, you have to get over yourself Dean. I don’t care about a game. You think I just want to play with this girl. I know how special Jess is. The truth is, I haven’t felt this good around a woman in so long I can’t remember.”

“Really? I’m not sure I buy that. I know you too well, Alex. You are still the same playboy cad I knew in law school.”

“Oh, I love the way you think you know me. Please continue to tell me how I feel, because I don’t spend twenty-four hours a day inside my own head.”

“Ok, so you have feelings for her. So do I. What do you want?” Dean asked.

“I want you to back off. I saw her first.”

“And we’re back to this again,” Dean replied. “Look, neither one of us has dibs on her. She isn’t an object. She has the right to decide who she wants.”

“You are so slippery. That’s what makes you such a good lawyer. You are the quintessential voice of reason and you have everyone fooled who think you are just a nice, down to earth guy. I’ve seen the things you’ve done and the lives you’ve destroyed. I know who Dean Clark really is.”

“I’m not denying that I’ve made some mistakes. I’ve offhandedly hurt people without considering the consequences of my actions. I’ve been reckless and impulsive, but so have you. I have changed. I’ve grown up a lot in recent years and I don’t know why you refuse to believe that.”

“You refuse to believe it about me, too.”

“Ok, well I hope that you will prove me wrong just as I am sure to prove you wrong. But that doesn’t change what you are arguing about here. Jess is a grown woman and if she decides either of us are privileged enough to be with her then she will choose. You will have to wait for that to happen.”

“We are both in the same boat. The only reason I didn’t ask her out before was because of the pact we made. We both agreed that we wouldn’t ask out coworkers anymore.”

“But you broke the pact first. You asked her out.”

“You asked her out and you didn’t know I had. So you had no problem with breaking the deal.”

“I know, you are right about that.”

“So, we are just supposed to wait it out then?” Alex asked.

“What else can we do? It is ultimately going to be her choice.”

“Well, I have to go. I have a date this evening,” Alex said.

Jess quickly walked down the hall and turned the corner. As she walked away she thought she heard Dean say “Good luck”.

She smiled. It was flattering that the boys were fighting over her. She had never expected the game to go this far and she felt like she should really come clean and tell them both that she wasn’t looking for anything serious, but the truth was that she had felt close to both of them when she was hearing that conversation.

She had not realized it until then, but both of them were exactly the type of man she had always dreamed of meeting. That was most likely why she had decided to not commit and play the game with both of them; it was easier than allowing either one into her heart.

As she drove home, she could not shake the feeling that she was doing something wrong. After hearing the conversation she was a mixed bag of emotions. On the one hand it was exciting having these two amazing men fighting over her, but she also felt that she was getting in over her head and one of them was probably going to be hurt when she was eventually forced to choose between them.

But did she want to choose at all? It was not the right time in her career for her to get seriously involved with anybody, but life was unpredictable. That was something that she had learned long ago.

The fact that she had overheard that verbal sparring match between Alex and Dean was definitely going to shadow her date with Alex that evening. She knew that it shouldn’t matter, but it was going to be odd for her to try to ignore what she had heard.

Dean and Alex knew each other better then she knew either of them, but she saw beyond the flashy alpha male behavior to what lay beneath the surface of both men. She could see right through the cocky bravado that Alex displayed so openly and she knew that deep down he was a good person. He would never let most people ever see that because he was firmly convinced it was wrong to show weakness to anybody. Maybe she might be able to eventually get him to drop his guard, but it was unlikely.

Dean on the other hand seemed like a warm and gentle guy, but Jess knew that no one got to be who he was by being warm and gentle. She had seen him turn on the tiger when enduring tough negotiations. So there was definitely more to him than meets the eye.

Jess went inside her home and immediately got dressed. She was supposed to be at Alex’s house in an hour. She should have left the office earlier, but she was a reverse procrastinator — she could not stop working on time ever. It was ok, because she had found herself at a comfortable stopping point in her work preparing for court the next day, and she had been in the right place and time to hear the little verbal exchange between Alex and Dean. It was almost like it was meant to be for her to hear that.

She put on one of her newest and sexiest dresses. She wasn’t planning on sleeping with Alex, but she wasn’t planning on turning him down either. She had tasted the fruits of one and now she wanted to taste the fruits of the other. She needed to see which one was sweeter.

When she arrived at Alex’s house she was shocked by the size of the place. He was definitely living the rich bachelor lifestyle to the hilt. He had a huge yard, a big swimming pool with an ice sculpture of an electric guitar, and a mansion that made the houses on celebrity cribs look small in comparison.

He greeted her at the door and escorted her through the humongous living room and into the large kitchen. He was just finishing up dinner and she watched in amazement as he placed everything on the table in a very systematic manner. It was like watching a real world chef serve you in a private setting. The fact that he had prepared the dinner and then set it up on the plate to look like something out of a five star restaurant was so romantic. Her plate looked so beautiful that she didn’t want to eat because it would mess it up.

“I can’t believe you did this,” Jess said.

Alex smiled. “I’m a man of many talents, my dear.”

“That you are. Where did you learn to do this?”

“My aunt is a chef and she took me under her wing when I was young and groomed me to be one too. I was all set up to go to culinary school when I decided to ditch it all and become a lawyer.”

“What happened?”

“I just found that as much as I enjoy cooking, I didn’t want to make a career out of it. So in college I was undecided the first year, but I was taking all my general education stuff, to get it out of the way, when I took my first political science class. This led me to take an interest in political science as a major. That in turn eventually led me to law school. It was kind of a natural path.”

“Well, it is delicious. Although it’s nice to know that if you ever get tired of fighting legal battles then you have another path to turn to.”

“Yeah, I don’t think that will ever happen. I don’t know too many chefs who get to live the way I do. Plus I love getting my hands dirty and I love the challenge of law. With food there is no challenge. You learn how to make things and then you kind of run on autopilot the rest of the time. That wasn’t for me.”

CRASH!

The window exploded behind them as an object hurled itself into the dining room. Jess jumped out of her chair and hit the floor on pure instinct, covering her head. Alex jumped up ready for the attack.

The object landed on the floor only a few feet from her, she kicked small shards of glass off herself. Jess winced as she turned her head away, fearing for her face.

Alex was instantly beside her.

“Are you ok?” He asked.

Jess looked around. She heard nothing and saw nothing.

“I think so. What the hell is going on?”

Alex picked up the object from the floor and looked at it. It was a red brick.

“It’s ok. There is no one there now.” Alex looked through the hole in the window.

Jess rose to her feet slowly, not sure if everything was as ok as Alex seemed to think. He was hardly even rattled from the fact that a brick had just flown through the window. He was just staring at it intently, as if it was going to give up the identity of who had thrown it.

“Any idea who would do this?” Jess asked.

Alex was pensive for a moment. Finally he spoke.

“I know who did it. And they are going to pay…”

Jess swallowed hard as Dean’s face flashed in her mind.

Couldn’t be… Could it?