Page 37 of Take the Bait
She snapped, “I heard you talking with one of the partners at the WMP cocktail party. He told you they hired women like me especially to throw at guys like you.”
“Jesus.” He shoved a hand through his hair. “You heard that?”
He didn’t deny having had the conversation.
She squeezed her eyes shut in mortification. She hadn’t misheard it. And she hadn’t misinterpreted what she’d heard. Somewhere deep inside her, she’d held out some small hope that she’d been wrong about what she’d heard that night.
Odd. She’d expected rage from herself when she finally got him to confess to talking with Raspy Voice about her. But she hadn’t expected this soul-stealing, achingly awful, feeling of betrayal and emptiness that hurt all the way down to the bottom of her heart.
If only the two of them hadn’t had such a great time at dinner. If only she hadn’t glimpsed the really decent guy he was capable of being.
She reached for her purse, which she’d set on the bar, rummaging through it for her cell phone as she blinked away a haze of threatening tears.
“What are you doing?” Cam asked cautiously.
“Worried I’m going to whip out a gun and shoot your balls off?” she popped off.
He took a quick step toward her, his expression concerned.
“I’m looking for my phone to order a ride home,” she managed to choke out without her voice breaking on a sob.
“Come here.” Big hands closed on her upper arms, turning her around to face him. He wrapped his powerful arms around her in a comforting and completely platonic hug that she had a hard time squaring with the jerk who’d barged into a ladies’ room to give her a tonsillectomy with his tongue.
“Listen to me, Dani. I don’t sleep with lawyers. Ever. I never want to end up across the aisle from an ex. Everybody who knows me knows that about me.”
She sniffed against his soft wool suit. “There’s got to be a punch line in there somewhere, but I’m too upset to think of it, right now.”
Cam’s arms loosened a little and he leaned back. She felt him looking down at the top of her head, but she wasn’t feeling brave enough or composed enough to look him in the eyes.
His finger gently tipped her chin up, lifting her unwilling gaze to his. He said quietly, “Jerks like that guy at WMP say dumb shit to me all the time in their efforts to steal me away from the D.A.’s office.”
“You didn’t tell him to stuff it when he offered me to you as a…job incentive.”
Cam sighed. “I’m the first person to admit I slept around a lot for a while after law school. I’m embarrassed to say I’ve still got a reputation in certain circles in this town for being a...” He searched for a word.
“Fuck boy?” she offered.
He winced but didn’t contradict her.
She would’ve stepped back, out of his arms, but the bar was behind her blocking any potential retreat.
Cam said more urgently, “I repeat, I don’t sleep with attorneys or anyone who might end up in court with me. I would never, ever, let some law firm throw women at me and then actually sleep with them. That’s just…”
“Disgusting?” she supplied.
“Yes.” He said that firmly, without hesitation. He added with conviction, “And grossly unethical.”
“Well…hell,” she declared fervently.
She didn’t know if she was more disappointed to hear he wasn’t the born-again bastard she’d thought he was or that she had no chance whatsoever of ending up in his bed.
He stared quizzically at her. “Care to expand on that expletive, counselor?”
“Umm, not particularly.”
“What the hell’s going on over at WMP, anyway?” he burst out. “Where does a partner get off throwing young women of any kind at male attorneys as if that’s all women are good for?”
She shook her head, mutely refusing to answer.
