Free A Little Wild by Kate St. James

“It can’t.”
    “Okay. I’ll accept that.”
    “Will you?”
    “I just said I would.”
    “I know, but do you truly accept it?”
    “Yes.” Temporarily, anyway.
    Relief flooded her face. “Thank you.” Her clasped hands loosened, drawing his attention to her long, glossy fingernails. A delicate ring a shade richer than her light purple suit adorned her right hand.
    Time to address business. “What I was talking about is scratching your back and having you scratch mine. You want to make an impact on L.G.? I can help you. I have a lot of contacts, Tess. I’m not talking my father’s contacts, either. L.G. already has those sewn tight. But I do have several acquaintances on their way up. People with money and the urge to do something with it.”
    Her head tipped, her wavy hair playing on her shoulders. “You mean potential clients?” She peered at him as if he were Attila the Hun extending an olive branch. “For me?”
    “Of course for you. Do you see another lawyer in here? Although I could call in Renfrew.” He pushed off the desk.
    “No! Not Phil.”
    Zach sat on the desk again. “Didn’t think so.”
    She retrieved her fountain pen and uncapped it. “I don’t get it. Why give me referrals? What do I have to do?”
    “That’s simple, Tess. I need a lawyer. And I want to hire you.”
    “You need a lawyer? Not your father?”
    “You got it.”
    “This has nothing to do with Halliday Enterprises?”
    “There you go showing your IQ again. Not a thing.”
    She shook her head. “But there are hundreds of lawyers in Vancouver. Why me?”
    “Why not you?”
    Tossing the pen onto the desk, she rose and paced to the office window. Her back to him, she twirled the wand to open the blinds. She gazed out at the sun-washed cityscape for several moments. Then she faced him.
    “I don’t know, Zach. There has to be a reason. After how we met and…our phone call Saturday, and then everything that’s happened since the meeting, why would you want to hire me? I’m only a junior associate,” she rushed on without allowing him a chance to reply. “The truth is, I’d love to fatten my client list, but through you? Even if you wanted to stay with the firm, Lawrence or Virginia would be happy to take you on. Unless there’s a conflict of interest. Or are you pulling my leg? You probably don’t need counsel at all. You already have a cushy thing going with your father.”
    Zach supposed he should feel insulted, but she had a point. To a casual observer, it would look like he had it made. Maybe he’d even agree with that assessment if working at Halliday Enterprises didn’t bore him to death.
    Like his father, he needed to be his own boss.
    “It’s a good thing you’re not a trial lawyer, Tess. You have a million questions, and they’re excellent ones, but you’d never let the witness answer.”
    “Sorry. This isn’t like me. I can’t seem to stop being rude to you.”
    “I bring out the worst in you, huh? Wait, don’t answer that. Let’s do this right. You agree to hear me out, and then, if you still have a hankering to fry my butt in butter, I’ll leave and never bother you again. I don’t make a habit of dropping into Danver’s, so it’s not likely we’ll meet again there. The only way I can see us bumping into each other is if my father guilts me into attending another Crockett’s meeting, which I don’t want to do, I assure you. I’ll rip up your phone number—”
    “The real one?”
    “The one your friend gave me. The fake one, too, although I’d rather not. The coaster’s a cute memento. But I’ll sacrifice it if I have to.”
    For the first time since he’d encountered her in the conference room, the corners of her mouth curved up. “I don’t care about the fake number, Zach.”
    “Great. Then I’ll keep it.”
    She slid him a suspicious glance. “What’s to stop you from finding my real number again in the phone book?”
    “Nothing. I can gaze at your real number in