It was a damn good thing jury selection was taking forever. It was, by far, the easiest part of the entire trial process, and all my brain cells seemed to be preoccupied with Jameson, leaving little room for thoughts of murder trials and court rooms and Josh Delaney. I needed to get my head in the game.

I saw Jameson three more times that week. The passion between us grew with every encounter. I had managed to avoid Bev for a few days, but she cornered me in my office one morning and refused to give me coffee until I gave her all the details.

“What is there to know?” I said.

“I’ve been married to the same man for 30 years … any details you have I want,” she said. “You could start with his name.”

“Jameson.”

“Last name?”

“I don’t know or care to know.” Bev laughed, but continued with her questions.

“Where did you meet this guy?”

“That new club, Rafael’s,” I said.

“The last time I went to a club Studio 54 was hot, so I’m not up on the new clubs,” she responded dryly.

“Sorry.” I laughed. “It’s this hip new place in Chelsea, not the kind of club with too much bass and not enough clothing. It’s very subdued and sophisticated.”

“The kind where hot people go to find new lovers,” she interjected. “Got it. What does he look like?”

“He’s tall, his hair is black with a few gray strands, but it works on him. He’s in good shape—must work out all the time.” Bev rolled her eyes as I described Jameson. “His eyes are amazing. Deep blue, like the ocean. I could get lost in them.”

I checked the time. I had to head to court. With any luck, we’d wrap up jury selection today and be able to start this trial on Monday. Bev handed me my coffee as I gathered my notes from yesterday.

“You're not going to let this guy turn into the next Gabriel, are you?”

“Who?”

“Oh, he must be really good if he can make you forget Gabriel.” She laughed. “Gabriel the ... what did you call him? Oooh right … Gabriel the God of Sex.” I shook my head as I remembered the nickname, but Bev was right. I hadn’t had a single thought about Gabriel in days. There wasn’t room in my thoughts for both Jameson and Gabriel.

“You saw the man … he was tanned and muscular just like I imagine a god would be.”

“So if he was the God of Sex, what does that make Jameson?” I laughed.

“I’ll have to get back to you on that one,” I said as I left the office and headed for the courthouse.

* * *

I’d barely stepped foot inside the courtroom Monday morning when the judge called us to the bench.

The chosen jurors craned their necks to see what was happening. We were supposed to be finalizing our selections this morning, with opening arguments set for this afternoon.

“We received your request for continuance, Ms. Roberts,” Judge Davidson said, as soon as Drew and I were in earshot.

“What request, your honor?” I asked. I hadn’t filed a motion. I glanced at the defense table and a shrug from Mark let me know he hadn’t either. The judge pushed the motion toward me. It was from our office, but it wasn’t signed by me; it bore the signature of Dan Hugh.

“I didn’t file this,” I argued. “We don’t need a continuance.” I tried to keep my voice calm, but I was furious. Why were they doing this?

“You know that doesn’t matter, Ms. Roberts,” the judge scolded. A motion from a senior partner trumped anything I did. “Seeing as we now have a motion for a continuance from both sides, I’m willing to push this trial back. Mr. Drew asked for a month.”

“But...” I began to argue, but Davidson put his hand up, signaling me to stop.

“I am still not inclined to give that much time. We’ve waited long enough. I am, however, going to grant the two weeks the defense has asked for.”

Davidson waved us back to our respective tables, letting us know the matter was closed. He brought the room to order, granted the motion for continuance, and dismissed us. I was already halfway out the room when I heard Drew call for me, but I didn’t stop. I had more important things to deal with than him.

I was fuming by the time my cab stopped outside of our office, anger building at my case being meddled with, without consulting me. What the fuck was this about? Bev didn’t act surprised to see me when I stormed into the office.

“Where are they?” I asked.

“Olivia...”

“Bev, where are Jack and Dan?” My voice was barely controlled.

“In Jack’s office,” she sighed. I continued down the hall to the corner office.

“But they are in a meeting!” she called out as she ran down the hall to catch me. It was too late. I swung the door open, consumed by my anger.

Jack rose from his seat behind his desk. Dan was already standing in the corner, looking out the window.

“What the hell is this about?” I said.

“Ms. Roberts,” Dan said calmly, even though he almost always called me Olivia.

“Don’t Ms. Roberts me,” I shot back. “Someone please tell me why a motion was filed in my case without my knowledge?”

The sound of a throat clearing behind me brought me out of my rage, and I spun around to see who else was in the office with us. My eyes met a familiar face, a familiar pair of deep blue eyes, a body that was I was more than familiar with. Jameson. I stared at him for a long time—too long. The air grew thick with the sexual tension that was never far when the two of us were together.

“Olivia,” Jack said from behind me. “Meet James Beck. He’ll be joining us here at the firm.”

It was like someone had doused me with ice water. I sucked in air, but felt like I couldn’t breathe. James Beck … the name rang through my head. Defense attorney extraordinaire, known across the country as one of the best. Any attorney who was worth a shit knew of James Beck, but other than that, I knew almost nothing about him. I didn’t know what he looked like, that he was leaving his firm in California, or that he went by Jameson in his private life. My eyes finally met Jameson’s and he smiled.

“Wait,” I said to no one in particular as I tried to get my bearings. “You’re James Beck?” I asked, my anger returning as my surprise faded.

“You two know each other?” Jack asked.

“Nice to meet you, Ms. Roberts,” Jameson said, rising from his chair to shake my hand. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”

Oh, so that’s how we were going to do this? Two could play that game.

“Hello, Mr. Beck.” It took every ounce of control I had to keep the sarcasm out of my voice. “I hope you’ve been enjoying New York City.” We shook hands and electricity shot up my arm, awakening every cell in my body.

“Olivia,” one of the men behind me said. “Mr. Beck will be working on the Delaney case with you.”

The words broke through the Jameson-induced fog that had settled over me.

Like hell he was.