Total pages in book: 21
Estimated words: 19358 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 97(@200wpm)___ 77(@250wpm)___ 65(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 19358 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 97(@200wpm)___ 77(@250wpm)___ 65(@300wpm)
The rest of the day proceeded at the same rapid pace most of my days did lately. More fulfilling work. More cases to fight to make sure the families of Hobie got the legal protections they needed.
It was a good life. In many ways, the life I’d dreamed of.
But that night when I had trouble sleeping, I thought back to the argumentative surgeon I was scheduled to meet the next day.
I imagined messing up his perfect wavy hair with my fingers. Marring his pristine skin with marks from my lips and teeth. And sucking his cock until his eyes rolled back in his head and he was forced to stop talking.
When I came to the fantasy of having sex with Dr. Xavier Rhodes, I said a silent prayer for the privacy of one’s thoughts.
And wondered how the hell I would get through our meeting the next day without blushing to the roots of my hair.
4
XAVIER
I’d been low-key looking forward to this meeting for several days. For some reason, the uptight lawyer had been on my mind, and after learning the man was gay, I was even more interested in him.
Ever since Bobbie had implied that he wasn’t interested in being set up or entering the dating pool, I decided he might be up for the same kind of no-strings situation I was.
“Good afternoon,” he said when I entered the conference room. Unfortunately, he didn’t look up from his phone screen, which annoyed me.
“Did you enjoy your salmon?”
He flicked his eyes up and settled them back on his phone. “I did, thank you. And did you enjoy your rare moment of charitable giving?”
We were alone in the room since the meeting wasn’t scheduled to start for another few minutes. I didn’t want to waste what little time we had to ourselves by sniping with him. “Why are you on this case when you practice family law?”
He finally looked up and focused on me, setting the phone face down on the table next to his laptop. “Favor for a friend.”
“What kind of friend?”
Hon tilted his head at me. “Why do you want to know?”
“I’m curious how the hospital expects to succeed without a legal team well-versed in—”
He held up a hand. “Whoa. I’m only helping gather information and prep. I’m not managing or arguing the case at all. In fact, someone should have explained my role before we met for the first time.”
“Shouldn’t you have explained it?”
He lifted both eyebrows and smiled as if amused. “In fact, I did, Dr. Rhodes. I said my name is Honovi Baptiste, and I’m assisting your attorneys on this case.”
That rang a bell. “That was hardly an explanation.”
“How would it have changed things if I’d explained the situation in more detail? I’m unsure what the point of this discussion is.”
“Trial prep is very different from family law,” I said stupidly.
He crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair, the amusement still clear on his face. “Is it? And you received your law degree from where, Dr. Rhodes?”
My own words asking about his medical degree were thrown elegantly back in my face. “Touché,” I muttered.
“Are you ready to move past the arrogance portion of today’s meeting, or would you like to continue…” He waved long fingers between us. “Whatever this is?”
I locked eyes with him. “Maybe I want to continue whatever this is later tonight.”
The amused smirk faded, and his cheeks turned apple red. “Oh.”
For fuck’s sake, I want more of that.
“Come to my place later,” I said in a low voice.
“Not a chance,” he said quickly in response. I couldn’t help but notice that his ears joined in the blushing fun. By the time his assistant and the hospital admin joined us, he was flustered as fuck and adorably pink.
It only made me want him more.
Unfortunately, Honovi Baptiste was a consummate professional. He acted like nothing untoward had happened between us, and he proceeded to ask me questions as if we also hadn’t butted heads the previous times we’d met or exchanged an unprofessional suggestion to hook up.
I decided to cut the poor man some slack. It was obvious he wasn’t interested in meeting up outside of this, so I tried to be professional for the rest of the meeting. My answers were as calm and straightforward as possible. When it was finally over, Hon’s complexion had returned to its usual smooth, creamy olive, and his confidence had returned.
“I appreciate your cooperation, Dr. Rhodes,” he said. “That is all we need from you at this time.”
I watched him as he carefully packed up his things. His clothes fit him to perfection, which made my mouth water and my eyes continue to devour him.
“Can I buy you a cup of coffee at the cart on your way out?” I offered, continuing my professional and respectful tone. “As a thank-you for putting up with my previous attitude?”