“Ms. Stone, a word?”
“Send it in an email, Leplan. I’ve got a plane to catch.” At the door, she snatched her coat and the suitcase awaiting her and pushed her way to freedom.
She welcomed the fresh air of the hallway. She couldn’t wait to get to her condo in Charleston, South Carolina. It was fifty-eight degrees and sunny there. The first thing she’d do was fling her bra across her bedroom and free herself from tit jail.
When she reached the elevator, she exhaled in relief and pushed the down arrow multiple times, tapping the pointed toe of her four-inch Louboutin against the wheel of her suitcase.
Work would be good when she got back to her office in Charleston. A shot at partnership at Joy and Schulz would have to be in the cards. She’d had to sneak and fight and claw her way into the associate position at the prestigious firm. A miracle she snagged the job in the first place with the weird way her brain worked.
But now she wanted—no, she deserved—more. Why couldn’t anyone else see that?
Ding.
She clicked her way inside the mirrored chamber. She’d change into her flats once she was safely in a car zipping towards the airport. That would feel almost as good as taking off her bra.
She unbuttoned the top of her shirt, waving the flap of material to fan her skin and pulled her long mahogany ponytail loose. As the doors slid, she hesitantly lifted her arm and inhaled an investigatory whiff—
“Hold it.” A large hand forced the doors to part.
Startled, Perdie dropped her arm. Shit.
Carter Leplan shouldered his tall frame inside, taking up too much space next to her. With him trailed a scent of chilled peppermint. How could he smell so fresh after hours crammed in that sweaty depo room?
She willed away the creeping flush on her cheeks. There was no way he’d caught her checking her own armpit stank, right?
Right?
Carter stared ahead, seemingly unaware of her, but when he cleared his throat and tugged at the cuff of his sleeve, she could see in her periphery the smirk across his features.
She rolled her eyes as the doors closed.
Oh, what the fuck ever. It didn’t really matter what he thought of her because after her certifiable win today she’d never see his Harlequin-book-cover-looking ass ever again. At least not in person. He worked for a swanky firm in San Francisco, far across the country. Basically, as far away as he could get without ending up on another continent.
Also, they couldn’t be further apart in life experience either. While Perdie had come to the law in her late twenties after a series of poorly paying, demeaning jobs, Carter Leplan had graduated top of his class at Harvard Law at the ripe old age of twenty-four. And at thirty-two, he’d made partner at his firm. His firm’s talented little golden boy. Actually not so little. In reality, he stood well over six feet, dwarfing Perdie even in four-inch heels, but she endeavored to ignore that fact.
Everyone at Joy and Schulz knew about Carter Leplan. Especially those attracted to men.
It was standard practice to look up fellow attorneys, but Carter’s bio picture presented like a Vogue ad for Armani suits. Maybe in her twenties she would’ve longed for a man like Carter. But now, at her age? Pass. Carter Leplan’s money was too deep, his skill too slick, and his bespoke suits too...well, spoken. And screw that, thank you very much.
“You’re good.” His voice surprised her, and unwelcome goose bumps rippled up her arms. “I’ll begrudgingly grant you that the optics don’t look great on Lana. Ever consider switching sides? We could always use someone with your talent.”
He was playing games. Still, she arched an eyebrow, taken aback by the comment. “Complimenting the enemy is a bold strategy.”
“Enemy, huh? Well, if you’re my enemy, then maybe I should switch to your side.”
Her jaw dropped, barely concealing a scoff. But there was something familiar in his tone. “Wait. Are you flirting with me? In the elevator?”
He tilted his head, gaze flitting over. “Very easy to blackmail someone in an elevator for a slip of the tongue. They warned us about that in law school, but clearly I didn’t take the lesson to heart.”
Was it getting hot again? Suddenly, it was like she was in a sauna.
She undid the buttons at the cuffs of her sleeves. “Blackmail would certainly go against my code of ethics, and as such, I wouldn’t be so inclined.” She rolled the material up her arms, securing either side with a hard yank, airing out her hot skin. When she was finished, she leveled a look at him. “But kinda sounds like you fucking want me to.”
The corner of his lips curled. “Depending on your demands, I might insist on it.”
“Ha.” A snort escaped from her, but she covered her mouth with her palm, eyes going wide.
Bad Perdie, bad.
This kind of interaction was a road to professional nowheresville, and she should cut it out posthaste. It certainly wouldn’t help the precarious position she was in career-wise. If she needed to flirt with someone, she had plenty of nonlawyer dudes in her phone for that.
Besides, hadn’t she just smoked this guy in a boardroom? What was he so chipper for anyway?
The floor jolted and the elevator doors glided open, signaling the end of their conversation. Phew. She was out of there like the last day of school. With a nod, she turned to leave.
See you never, Carter Leplan.
But as the wheels of her suitcase bumped over the ridged, metallic threshold, his hand touched her bare elbow.
Chapter Two
“Hey, where you headed?” Carter asked, his touch fleeting. “The exit is this way.”
Whoops. She glanced down the dead-end hallway.
“Need to order a car,” she mumbled.
Carter held his phone between his thumb and index finger. “You’re in luck. Got one coming. Airport, right? We can share a ride. Give us time to further discuss blackmail demands.”
