Adored (Masters and Mercenaries #8.5)(13)

Laurel was good. She was happy.

“Mitch? Are you going to go in?”

He took a deep breath before turning and facing the one person he didn’t want to face. He’d been ducking Will Daley’s calls for ten days, ever since he’d gotten back from Chicago. The demise of his relationship with Laurel was almost certainly the end of his friendship with Will, and damn but he would miss the guy. He turned and shook his head. “No. I was just checking in. I won’t bother her.”

He’d tried to bother her. He’d called and sent her e-mails, and all he’d gotten back was one terse reply.



Thank you for you concern, Mr. Bradford. I’m quite well, but under the circumstances, I think it would be best for both of us if I quit. I’m attaching the resumes of two paralegals who would do quite well in my place. Please know I don’t blame you. You were never anything less than honest with me. I was only fooling myself. I beg your forgiveness for quitting in such a cowardly way, but find I can’t meet with you again. Also, you don’t have to worry about meeting up with me again in a social fashion. I’ve let Mr. Taggart know I’m no longer interested in his club.



Yours,





LD


An e-mail. He’d gotten an e-mail from her. He had to guess that was better than the divorce papers he’d gotten from his last two women.

“I’m having lunch with my sisters, but I can call and tell them I’m running later than usual if you need to talk. I could buy you a drink.” Will gestured to the bar across the street. It looked like exactly the type of seedy place that fit in this part of town. Legal Defense Aid wasn’t exactly a money-making venture, so their building wasn’t in an upscale neighborhood.

He didn’t like to think about Laurel here at night, but he doubted she would care that he was worried. And Will didn’t have to worry either. “No need, buddy. I should get back to the office. She looks like she’s settling in nicely. Like I said, I won’t bother her again.”

He turned to go, but Will stuck to his side like glue. “Yes, you said that. Tell me something. Did she finally push you too far and you fired her? What did she do? Go behind your back and change your lunch order? Because she’s so good at that.”

He’d had two weeks of getting to eat whatever he wanted. Two weeks of no one bugging him about his cholesterol or working too long.

It kind of sucked.

“She quit. She decided I was too surly to deal with.” He was surprised she hadn’t told her brother, but now that he thought about it, maybe he shouldn’t be. She wouldn’t want him to know any more than Mitch did. He wasn’t about to tell his best friend that Laurel had taken exception to his lack of romantic tendencies.

He definitely wasn’t going to tell anyone that he’d shown up on Monday morning and placed a dozen red roses and a box of her favorite Danishes on her desk.

And then waited. And waited. And at ten o’clock, he finally found her letter of resignation in his inbox.

No. He’d go to the grave with that information.

“Did something happen between the two of you?” Will asked. His voice was deceptively soft.

Mitch knew him well enough though. “I told you I didn’t think a relationship between Laurel and I would work. I think she finally understood that I was serious and she chose to cut her losses.”

And he would go to his grave remembering the feel of her wrapped around him. He would remember that for a moment he’d been bigger than himself, larger than he’d been before he’d taken her. For that one moment he’d been a part of her, and it had been the single most intimate episode of his life.

It had terrified him.

Will put a hand on his back as they made it to Mitch’s SUV. “I told you she could be tenacious but once she’s done, she’s done. So you shouldn’t have to worry about her any more.”

“I like your sister, Will. I’m going to miss her.” He already did. He felt alone without her. He was a man who craved solitude, but over the months Laurel had taught him he wanted a partner in his self-imposed bubble. He wanted her.

He simply shouldn’t.

“Laurel is amazing, but she’s so young. She’s just starting out. I think you made the right choice. Mitch, you’ve done so much for her. She never would have gone back to school if it hadn’t been for you. She’s found a real passion and it shows. I don’t think she ever would have found out how much she loves legal work without you.”

“She would be a good lawyer. Encourage her to give law school a try.” He had his keys in hand, ready to make a swift getaway, but he couldn’t seem to help himself. “Are they paying her at the new place?”

Will chuckled. “Not much, but she’s one of the few paid positions. She’s doing a ton of the up-front work so the lawyers who are working pro bono don’t have to.”

A good paralegal like Laurel could do a lot of legal work all on her own. “That’s good. If she ever wants to move back into a more lucrative position I can ask around, maybe find her a job.”

“I’ll keep that in mind. So where have you been hiding? You going to Sanctum tonight? It’s the last weekend before the big reveal. I don’t know if you’ve been working on it lately, but Big Tag has got some crazy shit in the new Sanctum. Did you know he put in a human hamster wheel? I’m a little afraid that’s not for subs. I heard him saying something about shoving Adam Miles in it when he pisses Big Tag off.”