Defense Read online

  “You want me to work for you?”

  “Yes. The timing is impeccable. It’s like it was meant to be.”

  “Meant to be?” She arched her brow.

  “For you, of course. You need a job and I can provide that for you.”

  “But it’s only temporary,” she spoke as she brought her coffee cup up to her lips.

  “For now. Consider it a trial. If you do well, maybe there will be another position for you in the firm when Lisa returns.”

  “I don’t think I can afford to take that chance, Mr. Russo. If I’m going to stay put in New York, I’ll need something permanent.”

  “You can’t afford not to accept my offer, Miss Williams. But if you would like a job in retail working nights and weekends, and for minimum wage, then be my guest. But if you were to take my secretarial position, at least you would have experience and it would be easy for you to find another job if one should not be available after Lisa returns.”

  She sat there, contemplating my offer. I could tell the wheels were spinning in that pretty little head of hers.

  “What are the hours and what does the job entail?”

  “Monday thru Friday, eight to five with an hour lunch break, and maybe an occasional Saturday, depending if we’re pressed for time with a case. You would answer the phones, type correspondence, reply to emails when necessary, file documents, fax, fetch coffee for clients. You know, just the basic secretarial stuff. And the best part of the job, you get to see me every day.” I smirked.

  She let out a light laugh. “So are you saying that you’re one of the perks?”

  “I am, Miss Williams.” I winked.

  “You don’t even know what skills or qualifications I have.”

  “Doesn’t matter. You’re Olivia’s friend, you need a job, and I need a secretary. That’s all I need to know.” I slightly leaned across the table. “You can type, right?”

  “Yes. I can type.”

  “Do you accept?” I asked with a raised brow.

  “Yes. I accept.” She smiled.

  “Excellent.” I tapped my fist on the table. “You’ll start tomorrow. I’ll have Olivia take you to Human Resources in the morning to fill out the paperwork.”

  “Thank you, Mr. Russo. I appreciate it.”

  “Call me Luca.” I smiled. “May I drive you back to your apartment?”

  “Thanks for the offer, but I can catch a cab. There’s a couple stores I want to stop at.”

  “Okay, then.” I got up from my chair. “I will see you in the morning. Oh, by the way, I’m going to need your phone number.”

  “For?” Her eye narrowed at me.

  “In case I need to get in contact with you. I have all my employees’ phone numbers and they have mine. It’s just business, Miss Williams.”

  I pulled my phone from my pocket and keyed her number under my contacts.

  “Enjoy your evening, Miss Williams.” I smiled as I began to walk away.

  “Luca?” she called out to me.

  “Yes?” I turned around and our eyes met.

  “It’s Ariana.”

  I gave her a slight nod, walked out the door with a smile on my face, and climbed into my Bentley.

  “Take me back to the firm, Jeffery.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  This would work out perfectly. Her sitting outside my office all day, looking sexy as fuck, fetching my coffee and doing everything I asked. I would take her to dinner, using work as an excuse, calling it a business dinner to try to get to know her better. She was gorgeous and I wanted her riding my cock until I couldn’t take it anymore. The thought got me hard. Placing my hand in my pocket, I climbed out of the car and headed up to my office. When I reached it, I saw an older woman with short red hair sitting at Lisa’s desk.

  “Olivia, I need to see you in my office.”

  She followed me inside and I shut the door.

  “How did court go?”

  “Good. We won.” I smiled as I took a seat behind my desk. “Who is that sitting at Lisa’s desk?”

  “The temp you asked me to get.”

  “Call the agency and tell them I no longer require her services. I’ve hired someone and she starts tomorrow morning.”

  “Who did you hire?”

  “Your friend, Ariana.” I smiled.

  “What? How? I—”

  “I ran into her after court at Starbucks. She mentioned she was looking for a job and I mentioned I needed a secretary. I offered the position to her and she accepted.”

  “Wow. That’s great, Luca,” she spoke with a perplexed look on her face.

  “I’ll need you to take her to Human Resources in the morning to fill out the paperwork.”

  “Sure. Okay.”

  “You may go now and tell that woman out there she can leave.”

  “Okay.” She walked out of my office.

  I leaned back in my chair and placed my hands behind my head as I thought about Ariana. Her name fit her perfectly. A beautiful name for a stunning woman.

  Chapter Seven

  Ariana

  As soon as I got home, I grabbed my laptop and sat down on the couch. Bringing up my Facebook page, I noticed I had a message from her.

  “Ariana, please. We can’t believe you just took off like that. Where are you? I tried to call your phone, but it goes straight to voicemail and your mailbox is full. We are so worried about you. Please call. I’m begging you. I love you so much and this is killing me. It’s killing all of us. I know you’re hurt and you feel betrayed, but that wasn’t our intention. There’s so much you don’t know. If you’d please just give me a chance, I will tell you everything.”

  Damn it. The first thing I should have done was deactivate my Facebook page. Shit. Reading her message, I felt sick. Me being gone is killing them? What about me? What about what they did to me? As much as I hated all of them, I knew they were worried, so I typed a message back before I said goodbye to Facebook.

  “I’m fine. Don’t worry about me. Just go on with your life. You’re all really good at pretending.”

  Facebook page gone. I took in a deep breath as I shut my laptop and brought my knees to my chest. I already got a job, which meant that I could start looking for my own apartment. Things were already beginning to look up for me.

  The door opened and Olivia walked in. Setting her purse down, she fell into the couch next to me.

  “So I hear you’re going to be working for Luca.” She glanced over at me.

  “I was going to tell you when you got home.”

  She sighed.

  “Are you mad?” I asked.

  “No. Of course not. I am beyond happy that you got a job.” She grabbed hold of my hand. “It’s just him.”

  “What about him?”

  “He’s a player. He dates a lot, and I mean a lot of women. Never the same one after a week.”

  “And? I’m not dating him. I’m working for him.”

  “He always gets what he wants and he has his eyes set on you.”

  “I’m a big girl, Olivia, and I can handle Mr. Russo. Besides, he can eye me all he wants. The last thing I need right now is a man complicating my life. So don’t worry. I’m not going to date Luca. By the way, I thought you liked him.”

  “I do. Don’t get me wrong, he’s a nice guy and a great boss when he gets his way. He likes control and I just don’t want to see you get caught up with someone like him.”

  I laid my head on her shoulder. “Who would have thought that four years later, we’d be working together.”

  She let out a light laugh as she rested her head against mine. “I’m happy we are.”

  “Me too. Are you ever going to go for your law degree?” I asked.

  “I don’t know. Maybe one day. Right now, I’m happy being a paralegal. I love my job and it doesn’t stress me out.”

  ****

  I slipped into my mid-length black skirt and a wine-colored luxe zip front blouse. After curling the ends of my hair, I ran my fingers
through and lightly sprayed it. I’d admit that I was a little nervous, but excited to be working and earning a paycheck. The last time I worked was when I was in college. After I graduated, I gave up my job at the coffee house to focus on my studies in law school.

  Olivia and I hailed a cab and rode into the office together. Once we arrived, she took me to the Human Resources department, where I filled out all the appropriate paperwork. Once I was finished, I headed upstairs to Luca’s office. I reached my desk, the one where he pretended to be the secretary, and set down my purse on the chair. His office door was shut and I wasn’t sure what to do. Glancing over where Olivia sat, I saw that she wasn’t at her desk, so I just took a seat and looked around.

  “Well, hello there,” an older man spoke as he stopped at my desk. “You aren’t Lisa.”

  “Lisa is on a leave of absence. I’m Mr. Russo’s new secretary, Ariana Williams.” I held out my hand.

  “It’s nice to meet you, Ariana. I’m Joe Greggs, one of the partners here. Welcome to Russo, Greggs, & Butler.”

  “Thank you.”

  Just as he was about to walk away, the door to Luca’s office opened.

  “Good morning, Ariana. Joe.” He smiled.

  “Good morning,” I replied.

  Damn, did he look good in his navy blue tailored designer suit.

  “Morning, Luca. I was just introducing myself to your new secretary. Good choice.” Joe winked and walked away.

  “Ignore him.” Luca smiled. “Follow me and I’ll give you a quick tour and then you can get to work. I assume you know how to answer phones, right?”

  I arched my brow at him. “Of course I know how to answer phones.”

  “Just checking.” He smirked.

  After my tour, Luca took me into his office and told me to have a seat.

  “Okay,” he spoke as he took a seat behind his desk. “I know you’re not familiar with how law offices work or legal documents, so ask Olivia for help. I have two motions here that need to be proofread.” He handed me a file folder. “And when that’s complete, give them to Spencer, our runner, and he’ll file them with the court.”

  I sat there listening to him and the thought that I should tell him that I graduated law school crossed my mind. But he did say that he didn’t need to know what skills or knowledge I had, so I’d let him find out on his own.

  “I’ll get right on it.”

  “Thanks. I have a new client coming in about an hour. Until then, I don’t want to be disturbed, including phone calls.”

  “Got it.” I smiled. “Is that all?”

  “Yes.”

  I got up from my chair, and as I was about to walk out, I heard him call my name.

  “Ariana?”

  “Yeah.” I turned around.

  “You look very beautiful today.”

  “Thanks.” I gave him a small smile as I left his office and sat down at my desk.

  He shouldn’t have said that. He knew better. I couldn’t help but think about what Olivia said. He was a womanizer, a player, and never dated the same woman for more than a week. I knew his type. I worked with them and I was privy to their indiscretions. It was time I found out exactly whom I was working for. But that would have to wait until later. I needed to proofread these motions and hand them off to Spencer, whoever he was.

  I was sitting at my desk when Olivia walked over to me.

  “How’s it going so far?” she asked.

  “Good.” I smiled. “I’m just proofreading these motions. By the way, which one is Spencer? I need to give him these to file with the court.”

  “He’s down the hall, first cubicle on the left. When you’re ready, let me know and I’ll take you to him. Does Luca know your background yet?”

  “No.” I bit down on my bottom lip. “When he offered me the job, I told him that he doesn’t know my skills and he said it didn’t matter.”

  She let out a laugh. “He’ll find out soon enough. Human Resources will be sending up your paperwork for him to sign.”

  “Great.” I rolled my eyes.

  I finished with the motions and Olivia walked me down to Spencer. Early twenties, part-time law student, blondish-brown hair that was long on top and short on the sides, brown eyes, and a friendly smile.

  “Welcome to the firm, Ariana,” he spoke as he held out his hand.

  “Thanks, Spencer. Luca needs these filed today.”

  “I’m heading there now.”

  As I was walking back to my desk, Luca stepped out of his office.

  “I need you in this meeting to take notes. You can take notes, right?”

  “Yes. I can take notes.”

  “Good. Grab the iPad in your desk and come on in.”

  Reaching inside the desk, I grabbed the iPad that was sitting in the top drawer and took a seat at the table where Luca sat with a man and his daughter who was accused of killing her boyfriend. I took notes, I listened, and watched the way Luca handled her when she broke down into tears. Her name was Kylie Kirkman and she was twenty years old. They had been dating for two years. He was the love of her life and he cheated on her. Luca got her out on a five-hundred-thousand-dollar bond under the agreement that she wasn’t to be left alone. Her father was an investment banker. Mother passed away a year ago. Her mental stability was in question, for she was seeking psychiatric care for depression and anger issues after her mother died.

  Once the meeting was over and they left, I turned to Luca.

  “She didn’t do it.”

  He looked up from the file in front of him and over at me.

  “It doesn’t matter if she did or didn’t. It’s my job to get her off.”

  “Do you believe she killed him?” I cocked my head.

  “It doesn’t matter what I believe.” He closed his file and got up from the table.

  “How can you defend someone if you don’t believe they’re innocent?”

  He let out a long sigh. “Like I said, it’s my job to get her off, regardless if she did it or not. Why the interest?” He narrowed his eye.

  “Just wondering how you operate. That’s all.”

  The corners of his mouth curved upwards into a small smile. “Have dinner with me tonight and I’ll tell you exactly how I operate.”

  The thought was tempting. He intrigued me. But doubt crept into my mind.

  “Sorry. I can’t.”

  “And why not?”

  “Because you’re my boss.”

  “It would be a business dinner.”

  “To discuss what?” I arched my brow.

  “Business and what I expect of you here in the office.”

  “You already told me what you expected of me.”

  “Maybe not everything.” He smirked. “Ariana, it’s just dinner, for god sakes. Nothing else. I promise.”

  I sat there contemplating whether or not to go. Olivia and Harry were attending some benefit dinner tonight, so I would be home all alone, sitting and thinking about my family. Having dinner with him would be a distraction from all that.

  “Fine. I’ll have dinner with you.”

  “Excellent. I’ll pick you up at seven.”

  “I can just meet you.”

  “I said I’ll pick you up at seven. By the way, did you finish those motions?”

  “Yes. I handed them to Spencer already.”

  “Well done and rather quickly. Impressive. Looks like I made the right choice in hiring you.” He looked at his Rolex, which sat proudly on his wrist. “I have to get to court. I’ll see you later.”

  Chapter Eight

  Luca

  I smiled all the way out of the building because she agreed to meet me tonight. Dinner was just the beginning. In a matter of time, I’d have her rolling around in my bed while I fucked her every way possible. She desired it. I could tell by the way she looked at me. But she was cautious and I wanted to know why. I still didn’t know anything about her except that she was beautiful and from Boston. Her eyes told me that she was hiding something
or perhaps running from something. It was a feeling and my feelings were never wrong. No job lined up. No permanent place to live. Impulse move. All the facts pointed to her running from something or someone in Boston.

  After court, I headed home to change clothes and then climbed into the Bentley to pick up Ariana. From the moment I laid eyes on her, I was mesmerized. And when she spoke, I felt a connection. It was as if everything around me stood still. Time stopped and the only person I saw was her. I took the elevator up to her apartment and knocked on the door. When she opened it, I silently gasped at the low cut, above-the-knee, form-fitting black dress she was wearing.

  “You look lovely.” I smiled.

  “Thanks. Come on in. I just have to grab my shoes.”

  I stood in the living room and looked around. Olivia had worked for me for three years and I’d never been to her place before. There was no need to. But now, I had a reason. A beautiful reason.

  “I’m ready.” She smiled as she emerged from the bedroom.

  “I hope you like Italian,” I spoke as I opened the door and we both walked out.

  “I do. It happens to be one of my favorites.”

  “Good. I’ve made reservations at La Masseria over on West 48th Street.”

  Jeffery stood next to the Bentley with the door open and Ariana climbed in.

  “Fancy car, Mr. Russo.”

  “Thank you. It’s one of many I own. I’ll have to show you my others next time.”

  We arrived at the restaurant and were immediately seated at a table in the corner for two.

  “Good evening, Mr. Russo,” the dark-haired woman spoke as she walked over.

  “Good evening, Hilary. We’ll have a bottle of champagne. Champagne is okay with you, right?” My eyes met Ariana’s.

  “Champagne is fine,” she replied as she placed her napkin in her lap.

  After our champagne was served, we placed our dinner order and Ariana and I both reached for the breadbasket at the same time, our fingers lightly brushing against each other’s. Just enough to send my cock into a spastic fit.