Total pages in book: 31
Estimated words: 29192 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 146(@200wpm)___ 117(@250wpm)___ 97(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 29192 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 146(@200wpm)___ 117(@250wpm)___ 97(@300wpm)
“I don’t know if you’re knit-worthy yet, Graham. I’ll let you know.” Not everyone is worth the time it takes to knit a sweater, but Natalie definitely is.
Chapter Sixteen
NATALIE
“This is why we’re best friends,” I tell Frankie when I open my front door and see her there with a bag from my favorite Chinese restaurant.
“Thought you might need this when I caught a glimpse of you on the news.” Lovely, I hadn’t seen that yet.
I’m sure no one else will recognize me anyway. They must have snapped the pictures or video when we exited the courthouse. Being a lawyer often involves more than just winning a case; it can also involve winning a public relations battle. Especially when you have difficult clients like Morris who hurt their cases every time they open their mouths.
Honestly, keeping the public relations under control is going to be damn hard, but I’m more worried about keeping this arrest out of my case with Morris. He’s been charged with sexual assault. His story is that he entered the wrong restroom at the bar while intoxicated and ended up grabbing a girl's breasts when he fell down. It doesn’t even sound believable to my own ears.
The victim's story is completely different, and the look on Morris’s face on the surveillance cameras when he slipped into that bathroom made it clear to me he was making sure no one was witnessing him go in. Except a camera caught it all.
It took me an hour to talk him out of trying to press charges against her because she busted his drunk ass in the face. He’s got a lovely shiner coming in. This is not why I became a lawyer. It has me questioning so many things, like why did I? Dylan has me asking myself why I stay if I dislike it so much. He's walking away from it, but he has the financial means to do so.
I open my door wider so that Frankie can enter my apartment, and shut and lock the door behind her. She is already in my kitchen grabbing plates for us.
“Wait, did someone cook in here?”
“What the hell?” I ask, knowing I’m busted. Everyone knows I’m far from a cook. I love to eat but can’t make a meal to save my life. I once burned a pan of boiling water, which set off the smoke alarm and the fire department had to come. “How do you know that?” Frankie points to the spatula and pan that are clean next to my sink but not put away. Dylan left them there to dry after he washed them. Yes, he both cooked and cleaned up. “Maybe you should have been a detective instead.”
“Nah, I like being on this side of the table.” She hands me one of the plates. “You brought his ass home last night.”
“It just kind of happened.” I shrug.
“Hey, I’m not judging.” She rips open the bag and starts pulling out the containers. “I went to Kaden’s place.”
“What!” I almost drop the container the lo mein noodles are in, but Frankie is quick and saves them.
“I went and then turned around and left.” She sounds disappointed.
“What happened?” I am still trying to wrap my mind around Frankie going on a date. I mean, is it a date if you go to their place? But what is more shocking is that she went to his home.
“I just wanted to see his place and then, get this. He’s a State Raider.” I stare at her, having no idea what she’s talking about.
“Is that some crazy political or religious group?”
“Nat! Come on. We went to University Wolves. The Raiders are our rivals!”
“Right, and we hate those Raiders.”
“Exactly. Now you’re getting it.” I wish I was, but I’m not. I never paid attention to any of that stuff in college. Frankie piles her plate full of food.
“So we are going to pretend this is about rival teams, and I let it go or…” I trail off, letting her fill in.
“I’m just not that girl, okay?” Frankie shoves a whole dumpling in her mouth.
“Frankie, you’ve always been whatever the hell you wanted.” It’s one of the things I love about her. She could be a bull in a china shop, but she does what she wants.
“He’s too hot, too rich, too charming, and too damn talented.” She points her chopsticks at me.
“All terrible things. Got it.” I shove a whole dumpling into my mouth. Frankie rolls her eyes.
"Those football players date Victoria's Secret models. I’m not going to fall for a man and have to worry about him. He’s just into me because he thinks he can’t have me. I didn’t drop to his feet immediately, but once I do, he’ll be on to the next. Might as well cut that shit off now.” She has some valid concerns about the whole fame thing with Kaden, but I’m not going to voice that because it will just fuel her resistance.