Justice Falling (Falling #3)(16)
“Justice baby. Don’t be shy. Show the men those gold coins,” the DJ spoke. There was a man standing just out of sight at the corner of the stage, his face in shadow. I opened the corset and revealed my size D breasts to the crowd. I had pasted gold coins over the pink tips of my nipples. The man in shadow moved closer, just his face now outside the light as I cupped the large globes offering them to him, swaying my hips along with the music. He held out what looked like a hundred dollar bill but could easily have been a one. From the looks of his crisp dark suit, I knew he had money to burn. I sauntered over giving all the men around the stage a good show. Bills floated to the stage like raindrops. When I got close enough for the man to put the hundred in my g-string, his face entered the light, and my world imploded.
Tyler.
***
Every speck of my skin tingled as swirls of cool water sluiced along my body. The movement soothed me, sliding along my back, ribs and thighs, down to my toes. Every stroke pushed me closer to my goal. Once I reached the other side, I sank, flipped like a fish and pressed hard off the plaster wall, rocketing through the shallow end. Nothing gave me such peace, serenity, and connection with my inner self like swimming did. Today I needed it.
Thoughts of a tall, curvy brunette with a jaded upbringing kept spilling into my head, convoluting my thought processes as I tried to defend my client this afternoon. Thank God my brother, Collier, had been there to back me up. He stepped right in like the gentleman he was. Fucking wanker. Now I owed him one.
Thinking back to lunch, I remembered how green Camille’s eyes became when she spoke of becoming a teacher. She must love children to want a job where you were surrounded by twenty or thirty of the little rug rats in close quarters each day. I liked kids. What I knew of them. Really hadn’t had much exposure to children over the last few years.
Sucking in a bout of air, I plunged my head back into the water face down and let my arms lead me to the edge. As I was about to push off, a hand tapped my head throwing me back.
“I’ve been calling your name for the last few minutes, mate!” Collier stood alongside the pool, still wearing his suit from court. He pulled the button of his suit jacket at the waist letting the sides open. He ruffled a hand through his hair.
As a modern man, I could honestly say that my brother was a good looking bloke. In the looks department, the most we had in common were the Armani suits we wore. Collier was blond and brown-eyed like our mother. I was the dark horse who took after my father. Dark hair, tanned skin I didn’t have to maintain, and light eyes. The exact opposite of my elder bro.
“Hey Colly. How goes it?” I slicked back my wet hair.
Collier pulled up a sun lounger and sat, hands clasped between his knees. “You tell me? What happened in court today? You were doing a bodge job defending our client until I stepped in.”
I yanked myself out of the water and grabbed the towel next to him taking that precious few moments to compile my thoughts. Once I dried off a bit, I wrapped it around my hips and sat.
“So?”
“I don’t know. My mind was somewhere else, I guess.” Purposely avoiding his eyes, I slid my t-shirt over my damp torso. A couple of women on the other side of the pool had watched me swim. One of them frowned as I covered up. I shook my head and smiled, not really able to avoid flirting with them. It was part of my nature. You didn’t just turn that off after one day of being with someone incredible. For Camille, I think I could give it a try.
“Your mind was somewhere else? You half-wit, that was a two hundred thousand dollar commission we could have lost had I not stepped in. Our client was clearly wronged and you almost gave it away. You’ve always been able to set aside your shite. So what has your trousers in a twist? And where were you at lunch? We were supposed to go over our notes before court.”
I stood up and paced a bit trying to unleash the nervous energy. “I was on a date.”
Collier’s voice was tight. “You blew off our lunch meeting for a piece of arse?”
In two steps I was in front of my brother, the lapels of his suit coat clutched in a death grip. “Camille’s not like that. Don’t you ever talk about her that way. Got it!” I growled through my teeth then shoved him. He caught himself on the lounger then stood. Pacing in a circle I came back, realizing how much of a daft bastard I was. When I turned around to apologize, Collier had the biggest shite eating grin on his face.
“What?”
“You’re smitten with a bird.”
“Am not!” I defended, but my heart wasn’t in it. Camille’s sweet face and innocent smile ran through my vision.
“You are. You’re arse over tit for a girl. Bloody hell.” Collier smacked his knee, tipped his head back and laughed. “I never thought I would see the day where the great ladies’ man would fall for a woman. We must celebrate. Where is this lovely bird?”
“Her name is Camille, and it’s not what you think.”
“Isn’t it?” Collier retorted.
“No, it’s not,” I knew my face fell into a scowl.
“And why not?” His gaze narrowed.
“Because I’ve just found her, okay. She’s Hank’s secretary.” His eyebrows rose at that information. “I took her out today, but she frightens easily. She’s sweet this one. I’m not sure how to handle sweet. The women I’m used to know what they are getting in to.” Miserable, I sat and put my head in my hands to rub my temples.