Bear's Match (Bear Heat Book 6) by Natalie Kristen

CHAPTER
ONE

    Nicole pushed into the small
bar at the end of the street and slid into her usual spot at the
corner of the bar counter. “Hey, Ed. The usual please.”
She put down her briefcase and nodded at the bartender.
    “Long day?” Ed
drawled, sliding a gin and tonic in front of her as she checked her
email on her phone.
    “Long enough. Thanks.”
Nicole managed a smile and put down her phone firmly with a sigh.
She wasn't going to reply to any more emails tonight. Clients
expected her to be at their beck and call, and she usually made
herself readily available and contactable but hey, she was their
lawyer, not their slave. She would represent them, negotiate for
them, protect their interests and fight for their rights. She would
work late into the night and burn her weekends for them, but now she
just wanted to drink in peace. It was nine o'clock on a Thursday
night, for Chrissake. Waaay after office hours.
    Ed nodded and went back to
serving the other customers. If a customer wanted to talk, Ed would
listen. He could shoot the crap with the best of them, but he also
knew when someone wanted to be left alone. Ed was the quintessential
bartender—observant, friendly and efficient.
    Nicole sipped her drink and
glanced around the bar. The Sandpit was a tiny, cozy bar at the
corner of the street where she worked. It was her old boss who had
brought her to The Sandpit on her first day at Morgann Hill, one of
the largest law firms in the city. She remembered her first day as a
young, bright-eyed legal associate. Mr Robert Watkins was one of the
senior partners in the firm and she had been so nervous on her first
day. Mr Watkins had appeared austere and imposing during the
interview but he turned out to be a patient, grandfatherly gentleman.
He was a good boss and a wonderful mentor, and the firm threw a big
party for him when he retired last year.
    Nicole smiled wistfully as
she thought of her old boss. Robert had just sent her a photo last
week through her phone. He and his wife were in their bathing suits
with their arms around their grinning grandchildren. “With the
grandkids at Splash Waterpark” was the caption.
    Her phone vibrated on the
counter. Nicole saw that it was yet another email from the same
impatient client. She picked her phone up but instead of opening the
email, she dumped her phone into her handbag and zipped up her bag
with a flourish.
    There. Now she could drink
in peace.
    She was a good lawyer. She
was fast, hardworking, efficient, and she gave her clients the best
legal service their money could buy. Yes, they were paying her big
bucks, but they were only paying her for her legal services and
expertise. They didn't own her life. Not that she had much of a
social life. She worked long hours and sometimes over the weekends
as well. She thought about the men she'd dated and sucked in a
breath. They were all lawyers as well. She had met them through
work, at a conference, a seminar and an inter-firm party. She had
dated a fellow lawyer in Morgann Hill a few months back, but he'd
left for greener pastures.
    Nicole took a big gulp of her
gin and tonic and winced. She really had no life. It was just all
work and no play for her. Not that she was complaining. She had now
a junior partner in the firm. She had been promoted on her birthday.
What a birthday present, eh? She had spent her thirty-first
birthday working till midnight. With the promotion came a bigger
workload, and she was determined to hit the ground running as a
junior partner.
    Catching her reflection in
the mirror behind the bar, she studied herself critically. Her brown
hair was pulled back in a low, sleek ponytail and her cream-colored
jacket still looked smart, spotless and sharp after a long day. At a
glance, she looked professional and...pretty, she supposed. But on
closer inspection, she could see those pesky dark circles and eye
bags that she tried to cover up with thick concealer.
    Nicole blew out a breath.
Boy, she really