Rowdy (Marked Men #5)(53)
On Monday he wanted me to go hiking with him. Over the last few months I was realizing the way he kept his impressive physique without stepping foot inside a gym—ever—was by doing really strenuous outdoor activity every chance he got. He liked to pick up a football game at the park. He liked to put Jimbo on his leash and go running. He liked to go tromp around in the mountains. He liked to kayak on all the different lakes and rivers that were scattered over the mountains. I, on the other hand, didn’t want to do any of that even if it meant I got to watch him get all sweaty and run around shirtless. I was happy being a little round and enjoyed being curved rather than straight up and down.
I told him to ask one of the guys to go with him and rolled my eyes when he grumbled about it. I think he wanted the opportunity to watch me sweat and get all grimy and hot along with him for once, but I was a lady—well, sort of a lady—and that wasn’t a look that was good on me. Besides I already had something I really wanted to do before going back to work on Tuesday and it would work a whole lot better for me if he was out of the way and off in the mountains somewhere while I did it.
He rallied Nash and Rome for the venture and was out the door with my dog without even asking if it was okay that he took Jimbo with him while I was still getting dressed and moving a little more slowly than normal thanks to his relentless and amorous attention the day before. Who would’ve ever thought the sweet little boy from next door would turn into a demon in the sack? He had moves I had never seen before and the addition of that metal cross on the tip of his impressive package kicked things up to a mind-melting level. Even more so without a layer of latex between it and me. Just thinking about it was enough to have me blushing and fanning a hand in front of my face.
I put my hair in a simple braid and opted for a getup that was pretty plain for me. A tight, black skirt and a ruffled top that looked like something an old-time Spanish saloon girl would wear that perfectly matched the red streak in my hair. I put on some fierce red pumps because there was no way you could go into battle with another woman and not have on footwear that wasn’t as impressive as your adversary’s and still feel confident. I gave myself one last look over in the mirror and headed down to LoDo.
LoDo was pretty quiet on Mondays, which was one of the reasons the shop was closed on that day. It took me a second to find the law building where Sayer worked because she had never actually given me the exact location, and when I found it I was a little stunned and admittedly intimidated to go inside the elegant brass-and-wood doors.
This was no tiny law practice. This was a giant operation with multiple partners, and everything screamed wealth and opulence as soon as I hit the lobby. There was a security guard at the desk that gave me a curious look when I asked if I could see Sayer.
“Do you have an appointment?”
Did I look like I had an appointment? I bit back a sarcastic comment and smiled, making sure all of my teeth showed.
“No. But if you tell her Salem is here to see her, I bet she’ll have you send me to her office.”
He shook his head and turned back to the monitor in front of him. “No one goes up without an appointment.”
I wanted to growl at him and I was considering just going to the coffee shop and stalking her until she showed up like she seemed in the habit of doing, when I heard my name called from somewhere behind the guard and his massive desk.
I took a few steps back and noticed Sayer coming out of the elevator with a young woman that was in tears. Sayer was telling her everything would be fine, that she just had to trust her, but her soft words seemed to have little effect. The woman had mascara running all over her face and was oblivious to the scene she was causing, but she repeatedly told Sayer “thank you” and accepted her hug on the way out the lavish front doors.
Sayer made her way over to where I was standing and I noticed she twisted her hands together. Good. I was glad I made her nervous.
“Do you have a minute?” I made sure that my tone indicated even if she didn’t, she better find one for me real quick like.
She nodded. “My next client isn’t until one but I have a conference call with opposing counsel for a divorce I’m working on that I have to make before then.”
“I won’t take up too much of your time.” I would take as much time as I needed to tell her what I had come to say to her.
She nodded again and walked over to the desk and smiled kindly at the security guard. “Marvin, can you sign in Salem Cruz for me and give her a visitor’s pass?”
The guard obviously had a soft spot for her because he didn’t grill her about who I was or why I was there, he just did what she asked and soon I was following her to the elevator. We took an uncomfortable ride up to the top floor and I realized belatedly that Sayer wasn’t just a lawyer, she was a partner in this well-established firm and her very classy and plush office reflected that.
“You’re kind of a big deal? Aren’t you?”
I settled myself in one of the leather wingback chairs across from her mahogany desk and declined her offer to grab me a cup of coffee or some water.
“My dad was one of the founding partners. I was grandfathered in. They do a lot of pro bono work and tend to be really active in the different communities the firm sets up offices in.”
“How influential were you in getting them to branch out to Denver?”
She flushed a little and leaned back in her chair. “When the proposal to open a new office came up I might have suggested Denver as a location, but there is a board that has to vote, so they could have picked Santa Fe or Phoenix, which were the other two options on the table.”