I feel like the courtroom is packed and everyone is staring at me, but really it’s pretty much empty.

The opposing counsel sits to our side, three older men in expensive suits. I stand behind our table with Sara and Jerry Lowry, paging through my notes while Sara and Jerry talk quietly. The judge is still in his chambers, and we’re just waiting for him to come out.

This is a preliminary hearing and nothing will be decided today… except everything will. It’s strange, these hearings. They’re supposedly not important, but the judge is going to make some seriously big decisions about how the coming trial is going to look. If he accepts some things and rejects others, we may be going into this already losing.

I glance behind us, back at the public seats. There are a few reporters back there, but nobody else. I guess a corporate lawsuit like this isn’t going to be a big crowd pleaser.

I’m a little disappointed. Some part of me expected to see Declan here, even though he’d be on the other side. I couldn’t risk being too familiar with him and give away with we’re doing, although Sara already knows. I couldn’t risk tipping my hand in front of Jerry and getting fired.

Still, I wanted him here, if only to watch. It’s silly, I know, but it’s how I feel. I want him to see me in my element, even though I won’t actually be doing anything today.

“All rise. Honorable Judge James Myers presiding.”

Everyone in the room stands and I share a look with Sara. She winks at me, a confident smile on her face. I wish I shared that confidence.

The judge is an older man, white skin, white hair, wrinkled nose, and thin. He sits down and puts a pair of glasses on before picking up the papers in front of him.

He sifts through his things quietly before finally looking up and clearing his throat. “Let’s make this quick,” he says. “I have a tee time in twenty.”

The whole room laughs and I smile nervously. I can’t tell if he’s actually joking or not. I don’t know much about this judge, but I do know that he has a reputation of being difficult.

He looks back at his notes and back up. “We’re here to determine how this trial is going to go, assuming we’re going to trial. The plaintiffs have a few bits and pieces they want included, and the defendants are trying to block them. That simple enough?” His gaze falls on the head lawyer on the other side.

The man stands and nods. “Yes, your honor. We’ve filed some forms, if you’ll see there—”

“Okay,” the judge interrupts. “I get it.”

The lawyer looks a little taken aback. He’s probably not used to being interrupted, and suddenly I feel a little hope bloom in my chest. This judge doesn’t seem partial toward big business, which means he might actually side with us for once, the underdogs, the little guys.

But that’s not how the hearing goes. Unfortunately, it quickly becomes clear that the judge doesn’t hold our case in high regard. He sides with the defense on every single issue, and by the time the hearing is over, we’re basically a shell-shocked semblance of our once-cocky selves.

Once the judge is gone, back into his chambers, the room slowly clears out. The defense looks so cocky in their expensive suits and asshole grins. I want to smash their faces through a table.

“Good work, you two,” Jerry says softly, putting his things together.

“But we lost,” I say.

He shrugs. “We always lose, Teagan. The judges never side with us, but we’re not finished. He didn’t dismiss the case, and he didn’t throw out everything. All in all, I think we’re in good shape.”

I can’t believe he’s saying that. I look at Sara and she just shrugs, clearly surprised as well. We filter out of the room, the last ones out, and my head’s spinning.

I thought we just lost that horribly, but apparently Jerry doesn’t think so. He’s been practicing environmental law for as long as I’ve been alive, maybe longer, so if anyone would know how that went, it’s him. He’s won and he’s lost, and he knows everything there is to know about a case like this. If he thinks we have a chance, then we do.

But still, that felt horrible. I worked so hard on that case, filling out paperwork, making my arguments. I was meticulous and exacting and I put my whole damn self into it, and yet we still lost. It wasn’t enough.

Despite what Jerry said, I feel down. I think Sara can sense it, because she sidles up next to me. “Hey, you did good back there,” she says.

I shrug. “I guess. I didn’t do anything.”

“No, but all of that work… it was all you.”

“Not all of it,” I say.

“No, but a lot.” She smiles at me. “Don’t feel too bad, okay?”

“Okay,” I say, not really feeling it at all.

She steps aside with Jerry and they start talking about next steps, but I’m distracted. I can’t pay attention. I’m too angry with myself for losing this, for failing at my only job.

Until I hear my name, spoken softly from nearby.

I look up and glance to my left. There’s a short hallway with a door on the right, a door on the left, and a door at the end. The door on the left is open slightly, and I catch sight of a smiling face.

It’s Declan. I can hardly believe it. I glance over at Sara and Jerry. “Ah, excuse me,” I say to them. “I’ll be back soon.”

They glance in my direction and Sara throws me another smile. I hurry away from them, down the short hall. I step into the room with Declan and the door shuts behind me.

“What are you doing here?” I whisper to him.

He smirks. “It’s my hearing too, you know.”

“I thought you weren’t coming.”

He leans up against a rack and raises an eyebrow. “Why would you think that?”

I take a sharp breath and look away. I take stock of my surroundings and I realize that we’re in a janitorial supply closet. There are racks of toilet paper, spare parts, paper towels, pencils, pens, binders, and a mop in the corner.

“Why are we in a closet?” I ask him.

“Because I didn’t think you’d want to be seen with me.” He steps toward the door. “If you don’t mind that, we can leave right now.”

“No,” I say quickly. “I mean… this is good.”

He laughs again and watches me for a second. I bite my lip.

“You were good in there.”

“You saw me?”

He nods. “Of course I did.”

“I checked, but I didn’t see you.”

“I was standing in the back. I didn’t come in until the judge had already started.”

I nod. I was a little busy at that point, taking notes and looking through paperwork for Jerry.

“So what do you think?” I ask him, a little bitter. His side did just win, after all.

He frowns slightly. “Don’t be like that.”

“Like what?”

“Angry.”

“I’m not angry.”

“You’re not?” His smirk gets bigger, infuriatingly cocky. “We did just kick your ass in there.”

I clench my jaw. “No, you didn’t.”

“We didn’t? Maybe I was in the wrong room, then.”

“Jerry thinks we can still win.”

“Jerry?” He laughs, a short bark. “Well, maybe you can.”

“He has more experience in this than either of us.”

“You’re right about that. I don’t know shit about shit in a courtroom.” He grins at me and steps closer. “I guess this is why we don’t talk about business.”

“I guess so.” I hesitate, watching his handsome eyes. I can feel the anger draining away. “Still, I wish we hadn’t lost so badly.”

“Cheer up,” he says. “At least you looked good in there. Most beautiful woman in the room by far.”

I can’t help but grin at that, just a little bit. “You’re only saying that.”

“I mean it.” He steps closer to me and grabs my hips, pulling me the rest of the way. He kisses me, his tongue sliding into my mouth, and I lose myself for a second.

I break away from the kiss. “We can’t,” I say.

He smirks, and clearly that was the wrong thing to say. “What was that?”

“I mean, Sara and Jerry… they’re out there, waiting for me.”

“Are they?” His lips find my neck, his hands sliding up my skin. They push up the hem of my dress and find my panties, already damp from the surprise and desire ringing through me.

“Declan,” I whisper. “We don’t have time.”

“That’s not my name,” he says back, and pushes me against the rack, his lips finding mine.

He kisses me hungrily, fingers working at my pussy. He pulls my panties down, dropping them around my knees, and his fingers begin to work and slide around my clit, sending pleasure along my skin.

He kisses my lips and neck, his body crushing mine against the rack, my hands digging into his back.

“Fuck,” I pant. “Declan. Please.”

“Daddy,” he reminds me, pressing his fingers inside. “Don’t forget it.”

“Daddy,” I groan. “We can’t. I can’t. They’re just out there. If someone comes in…”

“Let them,” he says, and I believe he doesn’t care.

“I’ll be ruined.”

“I’m going to ruin you,” he whispers back, biting my lower lip. “And you’re going to like it.”

“Fuck,” I moan as he drops to his knees. He grabs my ass and presses his face between my legs, furiously sucking and licking my pussy.

My eyes practically roll into the back of my head as my fingers lace through his hair, grabbing on tight. I have to pull his hair, or else I’m going to scream out and get caught. It feels so fucking good, the rush of danger mixing with the pure intense pleasure of him sucking and eating my pussy. He’s so damn good at what he does and this whole thing is driving me insane.

I leave one hand in his hair and the other feels my breasts before reaching up, grabbing onto the rack. He squeezes my ass with both hands, pulling me tighter against his mouth as his tongue laps and suck my clit.

“Fuck, Daddy,” I whine. “You can’t do this.”

He doesn’t stop. That only makes him go faster. He slips two fingers inside of me as I lean back, legs spread as much as my panties will allow. He fucks my pussy as he licks and sucks my clit, and I can feel the pleasure starting to mount.

The fear and excitement mingle and makes it all so much more intense than I could have imagined. I know how risky it is, but it feels so good. Declan makes me want to throw caution to the wind, to give myself to him completely and fully. I don’t know if he understands the control he has over me, the way he makes my body feel, but it’s incredible.

The orgasm washes over me, singular and intense. I grip his hair and the rack and he doesn’t let up, tongue and lips and fingers fucking and sucking my pussy, sending me over the cliff into pure bliss.

Just as the orgasm fades, my body twitches again, knocking over a stack of toilet paper. It drops to the floor and Declan slowly pulls away from me, smirking.

“Shit,” I say.

“Don’t worry about it. Paper is quiet.” He stands and kisses me, and I can taste myself on his lips.

I kiss him back, all thoughts of the hearing we just had completely gone. I don’t care about anything but him.

“You’d better get back,” he says finally, breaking away gently.

“I guess.” I bite my lip. “Is it... obvious?”

“What, that you just got eaten out in a broom closet?” He grins at me.

“Asshole,” I say.

“No, you look great.”

I straighten myself up, making sure I’m presentable. “See you later?”

“Sure.”

I give him another kiss before slipping out of the closet again. Fortunately, the hallway is empty as I hurry back toward the elevators where Sara and Jerry are waiting for me.

“Sorry about that,” I say, but they don’t seem like they even noticed how long I was gone.

We get into the elevator and I fall back into the rhythm of work. But inwardly, I’m still thinking about Declan, about the way he makes me feel. He went out of his way to see me, just because he felt like it. I don’t think he was here for work, because I’m pretty sure he doesn’t care about this case at all.

No, he was here for me. And I can’t stop smiling.

But always at the back of my mind, I keep thinking about Felix, and the lies I’ve been spinning. They’re lies of omission, but still. It’s starting to weigh on me, starting to get to me. I wish I could tell him, since our relationship is progressing so much, and this whole Daddy thing is built around trust and honesty. I’m holding something huge back from him, and I don’t know what to do.