The Intern (The Dalton Family #4)(30)

Several minutes passed before he grumbled, “You asked me not to treat you like a Dalton, so I’m not.”

Did he feel remorse?

Was his conscience actually kicking in?

“That’s right,” I said as I faced him again. “I want you to treat me like I’m any other intern.”

He wiped his lips, although he hadn’t eaten anything. “Then, you need to understand something. We have four months together. The last thing I need is you hovering in my fucking office like you’re a goddamn child.”

That’s what he thinks I’m doing?

Hovering?

My eyes widened as I tried to fill my lungs. “Okay—”

“I need you to tell me you understand what I’m saying.” His hand stayed by his chin as he took me in like I was his patient. “I need to hear you say yes, Hannah.”

It took everything in me to nod and whisper, “Yes.”

“Good.” He pointed toward the area where I had set my purse and the few personal items I’d brought to the office. “Now, get your things and go find a different place to work. My office is no longer your girl cave.”





NINE





DECLAN





I couldn’t get over how much Hannah and her twin brother, Camden, looked alike. They had identical eyes and mouths, dark chocolate hair. They even fucking laughed the same.

I also couldn’t get over that he was sitting across from me at the bar. No matter how hard I tried, something was always reminding me of her.

At work, it was her presence.

After hours, it was thoughts of our one night together.

Now, it was her fucking brother.

“I can’t believe there’s two of you,” I groaned.

I’d already given him plenty of shit tonight about his sister. Another remark shouldn’t surprise him.

It didn’t seem to as he stared at me, laughing. “You’re saying I look like her?”

I nodded. “Spitting image.”

“I would hope so. We are twins.”

This was the first time Camden had tagged along for one of our guys’ nights. He lived in New York and was finishing up his last year of law school. He told me once he graduated, he’d be moving back to LA to work for the family’s firm.

I hoped to hell that, once he returned permanently, his attendance for our nights out wouldn’t become a regular thing.

The more Daltons didn’t necessarily mean the better.

I clapped his shoulder. “I’m sorry you have to bear that burden.”

“It’s a good thing I have no interest in being a litigator.” He ran his hand over his beard. “I have a feeling you and I would go twelve rounds on the daily.”

I pulled my hand back, chuckling. “Listen, if you’re self-sufficient and you don’t require a pacifier or an afternoon nap and you don’t need your bottle warmed, then we’ll get along just fine.” I rolled my eyes, making sure Dominick saw. “Your other half needs all those things.”

“He’s on fire tonight,” Dominick said to Camden, referring to me.

“I’m only speaking the truth.” I glanced around the table at all their faces but eventually landed on Dominick. “And since I’m in the middle of saving your client the millions he’s being sued for after breaching his contract, I’d think you’d be a little more sensitive to my needs.”

The brothers still hadn’t listened.

They still hadn’t reassigned her.

“You mean, the case in which Hannah found the perfect precedent?” Jenner asked. “The one you’re going to win because of her?” He eyed me down. “I think you owe some of the credit to our cousin, my friend.”

I shook my head, trying to force her name out of my mind. “I would have won without it.”

“You haven’t even gone to trial yet,” Dominick countered.

“I’m telling you”—I ground my teeth—“we would have won without it.”

I would have done everything in my fucking power, but I did question if that would have been enough to persuade the jury. Hannah’s findings certainly made it easier, and now, I wouldn’t have to work so hard.

That changed nothing.

I wasn’t going to give her a goddamn medal for snooping through my files and bringing something to my attention that I would have figured out at some point anyway.

I brought the tumbler of scotch up to my lips. “Reassign her, I beg you.”

“Dude, relax.” Jenner rubbed my shoulder like he was a masseur. “You’ll survive, I promise.”

Dominick looked at Camden and added, “He’s been chirping since the moment we even mentioned he was getting an intern. If it wasn’t Hannah, he’d be bitching about someone else.”

“Not true.” I sighed. “She’s going to be the death of me.”

“I spent eighteen years under the same roof as her,” Camden said, checking out a group of girls walking by our table. “I’m not saying my sister’s the easiest. We both have quite a mouth on us. But you just haven’t figured her out yet.”

“Elaborate.”

“She’ll end up surprising you,” he continued. “Just you wait and see.”