Page 4 of Lies You Told
“Mr. Hill, Ms. Lawson.” My assistant says, closing the door behind her.
My eyes move away from the screen, and I see the Ice Princess in the flesh. I guess they weren't wrong. She doesn’t look any different in the almost decade that I last saw her. She knows how to make a pantsuit look sexy as hell, though. I look behind her and see she’s come alone. Interesting!
She was always easy on the eye, though.
She’s always been the enemy, too.
“Mr. Hill,” she says.
“Chloe, come on, I think we can do this on a first-name basis.”
“Jaxson Hill. Last I heard, you were on the West Coast. Had your fill of plastic, brainless bimbos?”
“Didn’t know you cared enough to keep tabs on me.” I flash her my boyish smile that usually works with the ladies.
She laughs. “Just a google search after my client told me you were the opposing lawyer on this case.”
Interesting. She knew about me before today. I’m interested to see her in the courtroom. To see if she can handle the pressure. The guys in the office told me the lawyer for Huntington Media Corp was an Ice Queen, so I’m guessing her reputation is still what it was in college. Only there she was sleeping with the Professor for grades–so the legend has it.
“Jaxson, you know this is a losing case. I’m actually surprised you took it on.”
She’s not wrong. I wasn’t happy to be shoved into this position. Going up against my old school nemesis is not how I wanted to lose this case either. I’m not about to tell her I had no choice in the matter.
Her eyes lower as she looks down at her clasped hands on her knees. She looks so submissive like this. Not the Chloe I know. What am I thinking? I don’t know Chloe Lawson any more than I knew her in college. Nobody knew her except for Franchesca. Franchesca Huntington, so that’s how she got the job? Is she fucking Huntington now?
“Jaxson,” she shouts.
I must have zoned out somewhere there. No way she got such a high-profile job without lying on her back or falling to her knees.
The rest of the meeting goes by uneventfully, and I’m reminded of just what a sharp brain she has. Could she have gotten where she was without knowing what she was talking about? I need to stop, re-group, and not underestimate Chloe Lawson! She plays to win, just like I do.
3
CHLOE
Iwalk out of Jaxson’s office building and onto the busy New York street, feeling out of my element. Jaxson Hill has always had this way of getting under my skin. I hated the guy after he started spreading rumors about me in sophomore year, and we competed with each other every day after. The annoying thing is he got better looking over the last almost decade. I wanted to scream when he zoned in on my breasts before the meeting had even started. He’s a jackass, and I can’t wait to wipe the floor with him.
Even though my heels are not walking shoes, I walk to a coffee shop nearby. Some of this energy needs to be burned off. I open the app on my phone and book into the members-only club I’m a part of. I hope that tonight I can still get in. The club is still relatively small, but it’s elite, and I can let go for a couple of hours. No strings attached. I can just submit to my basic desires.
My name gets called by the Barista, and I grab my coffee to go.
HS: Confirmation accepted.
I put my phone back in my purse, feeling happier. Knowing tonight, I can let go.
I head back to the office. Ready to start the rest of my day. Spending the last hour with Jaxson has pushed me to be even more determined than I already was.
Iwalk into the office, and Adam meets me at the reception desk on our floor. That’s never a good sign. The receptionist types away on her keyboard, giving me a weak smile.
“How did your meeting go?”
“As expected. Mr. Hill is going to look over our agreement.”
“You think he’ll settle?”
“I hope so. It’s the best deal his client will get, and he knows it.” The Jaxson I knew would settle. He hates to lose as much as I do. He’s not going to want this loss. This is what I tell myself. He’s a good lawyer, though I’d never in a million years tell him that to his face.
We get to my office, and one of the Senior Partners is waiting on my couch.
