God, that man was infuriating. Now, instead of focusing on the trial, I was all riled up and flustered. I blew out a breath and tried to calm my nerves.

I had just sat back down and started going over my notes for my opening arguments again when Drew popped his head in the room.

“Damn, I thought maybe I was early enough to beat you here this time,” he said.

“Please, I’ve been here for an hour already,” I said. Drew looked good in his black pinstripe suit and blue tie, his wavy dark blonde hair pushed back from his face.

“Why? There is absolutely no reason to be here two and half hours before court even convenes.” My cell phone buzzed on the table—it was Jameson. I silenced it and turned back to Drew.

“Maybe if you spent less time questioning my practices and more time on your own, you would actually win a case against me,” I said.

“Please, I’ve won plenty of cases against you.”

“Shall we count them?” I teased.

“There is no need for...” Just then, Jameson rounded the corner, nearly crashing into Drew, who was still standing in the doorway.

“Excuse me,” Jameson said before he pushed his way in the room. “Olivia, I ran into the bailiff on my way out. Josh’s transfer van was late getting there this morning, so they’ve just barely left.”

“Why didn’t someone call me?”

“I ran into the guy and told him I’d give you the message,” Jameson said. “Save the extra phone call.”

“Are you James Beck?” Drew asked from behind Jameson. Jameson turned around and looked at Drew.

“Yes, and you are?” Jameson asked.

“James,” I said, the name sounding unfamiliar on my tongue. “This is District Attorney, Jason Drew. Drew, this is James Beck, my new co-counsel on the case.” Jameson looked Drew up and down before he stuck out his hand and shook Drew’s.

“Nice to meet you, Mr. Beck,” Drew said. “You work at Hugh and Roscow now?” Drew shot me a look that clearly said: “Why didn’t you tell me?” I shrugged. What I had told Jameson was true … Drew and I weren’t nearly as close as we were before. I hadn’t talked to him in weeks.

“Yeah, I’ve been here just a few weeks, trying to get up to speed on this case.” There was a weird tension in the room, something I couldn’t quite put my finger on. Drew and Jameson looked at each other, sizing each other up, like two animals about to fight.

“Well, it looks like you’ve got a few more hours,” Drew said. “I better go let the rest of my team know. It was nice to meet you, James.”

“You too,” Jameson said.

“See you in court, Drew,” I called, as he left the room.

“What was he doing here?” Jameson asked, turning back to face me.

“You can just go now,” I said. I wasn’t dealing with his bullshit anymore this morning, and I definitely wasn’t dealing with whatever this weird anger about Drew was. “Go back to doing whatever it was you were going to do and let me be.” He didn’t move.

“Thanks for the message,” I said, making it clear I didn’t want him here. “I’ll text you when Josh arrives, which’ll give you at least another 30 minutes to get back.”

“What if I don’t want to leave?” he asked, his voice deadly. Jesus, the trial hadn’t even started yet and we were already at each other’s throats. I don’t know why I ever thought this was going to work.

“Stay if you want, but I’d like to finish going over my notes for opening arguments.”

“Don’t you think we should do that together?”

“No, Jameson, I don’t. I’m presenting opening arguments, not you. I’ve been preparing these for weeks, so I don’t need you fucking with them now.” Frustration and anger laced my words. My career, and the trajectory I wanted it to take, was at stake here. This was a disaster waiting to happen, but I had to try and make it work. I took a deep breath and tried to calm the nerves Jameson had standing on end.

“You might think it is ridiculous, but this is my pre-trial ritual, and I’d like to finish it before the trial actually starts.” He looked at me for a long time, his deep blue eyes boring into me like lasers, as if he looked hard enough he’d be able to read my mind. The next words out of his mouth were like ice.

“This is my trial too, Ms. Roberts,” he spat. “I can either be on your side or against you, and trust me, you want me on your side.” He took two steps closer, and looked down at me. His voice lowered to just above a whisper. “You might think you’re invincible, but I could make you look like a first-year law student in there, ruin every ounce of credibility you’ve built over the years, and do it without breaking a sweat.” My eyes narrowed, and I wondered if he would actually do it, actually turn against me in the courtroom.

“I won’t hesitate to make a fool out of you, if I think you’re leading this trial in the wrong direction,” he said, as if he read my mind. “Your career isn’t the only one on the line here.”

He turned on his heel and walked out, pausing at the doorway.

“I’ll be back in an hour, and I expect a full briefing of your opening arguments. Call me if Mr. Delaney arrives before I return.”

Then he was gone. I stood staring at the doorway, wondering how much of what he said was true. Could he really make a fool out of me? As much as I fought him, there was no denying he had more experience, more time in the courtroom, more knowledge, simply because he’d been working longer. But that didn’t mean he was the teacher and I was the student here.

I sat back down with my notes, determined to make them the best opening arguments I’d ever given, determined to prove to Jameson I was more than just a pretty face, to show him I could be his equal.