He’d clearly been expecting Katie to be some kind of pushover. He didn’t know how to behave when a woman outsmarted him. I’d told him she was good at her job—maybe now he’d believe me.
“Er, yeah,” he said. “The media are playing ball at the moment, but there’s only so long I can pay them to keep quiet. Wrexler’s lucky he had such a dire season. If he’d been up to his usual standards, there wouldn’t be enough money in the world to keep the paps quiet about this.”
Katie folded her hands over her documents. “Of course, I understand. The most important thing is that this doesn’t make it onto any more TV channels or websites. We’ll do everything in our power to make sure Harrison’s sponsorship deal with Adidas won’t be blighted by this. Galiema’s already had a few injunctions put in place.”
Galiema was holding her face in a neutral expression, but I could tell that even she was shocked by Katie’s demeanor.
“Other than that,” Katie added, “we’ll be fighting hard with the prosecutor tomorrow to find a way of keeping this out of court. They’ll be arguing for jail time, but don’t worry, we’ll make sure we Harrison doesn’t ever set foot inside a prison again.” Katie smiled, looking every inch the professional, accomplished lawyer. “Now, is there anything else you’d like to discuss, Mr. Johnson?”
Brent looked like a naughty schoolboy caught whispering in class. “No, I, er, can’t think of anything in particular....”
“No concerns about my availability over the weekend?” Katie pressed. “I admit I’ve been a little distracted by matters out of my hands. And I know being called to a case at midnight on a Friday night is no excuse, but I do hope you understand how hard I’m working for Mr. Wrexler in rather difficult circumstances and with a lightning fast turnaround. We’d usually spend months on a case like this, so the forty-eight-hour turnaround time is quite the challenge.” She lowered her head and smiled. “But I do like a challenge.”
I smirked to myself. Katie was kicking Brent’s ass, and he thoroughly deserved it.
Brent shook his head, completely tongue-tied. “No, I appreciate what you guys are doing here,” he said, looking at Galiema as though he couldn’t quite bring himself to make eye contact with Katie.
“That’s good to know,” Katie added. “Especially after I picked up that voice-mail conversation you and Mr. Wrexler accidentally left on my answering machine.”
My face turned suddenly cold. Katie had heard our conversation? I wracked my brain, trying to remember what I’d said. Had I defended her to Brent, or had I sat back passively as he’d insulted her?
“You called me some rather colorful names,” she continued. “So I’m pleased to hear that you’re now completely confident in my ability to represent Mr. Wrexler.”
Brent swallowed. “Completely confident,” he muttered.
A small smile flickered across Galiema’s lips.
“Great,” Katie said. “In that case, we’ll be in touch.”
She stood and offered her hand to Brent. The meeting was over, and it had all been on Katie’s terms. Brent stood and shook Katie’s hand, then Galiema’s in turn. I’d never seen him look so flustered. Yet despite having his ass well and truly whooped by Katie, his eyes still skimmed over her body, still widened at the extraordinary sight of her in her skintight crimson dress. It made me seethe.
He nodded to me, then left.
“Well, that went well,” Galiema said as soon as Brent had gone.
Katie smiled. But her confident facade had slipped somewhat, and whatever was troubling her made doubt creep across her features.
“Are you okay?” I said gently.
Katie looked at me properly for the first time since she’d gotten here. She looked startled, almost as though she’d forgotten I was there. Or maybe because she’d suddenly remembered what we’d been up to earlier that morning.
“I’m fine,” she
“Er, yeah,” he said. “The media are playing ball at the moment, but there’s only so long I can pay them to keep quiet. Wrexler’s lucky he had such a dire season. If he’d been up to his usual standards, there wouldn’t be enough money in the world to keep the paps quiet about this.”
Katie folded her hands over her documents. “Of course, I understand. The most important thing is that this doesn’t make it onto any more TV channels or websites. We’ll do everything in our power to make sure Harrison’s sponsorship deal with Adidas won’t be blighted by this. Galiema’s already had a few injunctions put in place.”
Galiema was holding her face in a neutral expression, but I could tell that even she was shocked by Katie’s demeanor.
“Other than that,” Katie added, “we’ll be fighting hard with the prosecutor tomorrow to find a way of keeping this out of court. They’ll be arguing for jail time, but don’t worry, we’ll make sure we Harrison doesn’t ever set foot inside a prison again.” Katie smiled, looking every inch the professional, accomplished lawyer. “Now, is there anything else you’d like to discuss, Mr. Johnson?”
Brent looked like a naughty schoolboy caught whispering in class. “No, I, er, can’t think of anything in particular....”
“No concerns about my availability over the weekend?” Katie pressed. “I admit I’ve been a little distracted by matters out of my hands. And I know being called to a case at midnight on a Friday night is no excuse, but I do hope you understand how hard I’m working for Mr. Wrexler in rather difficult circumstances and with a lightning fast turnaround. We’d usually spend months on a case like this, so the forty-eight-hour turnaround time is quite the challenge.” She lowered her head and smiled. “But I do like a challenge.”
I smirked to myself. Katie was kicking Brent’s ass, and he thoroughly deserved it.
Brent shook his head, completely tongue-tied. “No, I appreciate what you guys are doing here,” he said, looking at Galiema as though he couldn’t quite bring himself to make eye contact with Katie.
“That’s good to know,” Katie added. “Especially after I picked up that voice-mail conversation you and Mr. Wrexler accidentally left on my answering machine.”
My face turned suddenly cold. Katie had heard our conversation? I wracked my brain, trying to remember what I’d said. Had I defended her to Brent, or had I sat back passively as he’d insulted her?
“You called me some rather colorful names,” she continued. “So I’m pleased to hear that you’re now completely confident in my ability to represent Mr. Wrexler.”
Brent swallowed. “Completely confident,” he muttered.
A small smile flickered across Galiema’s lips.
“Great,” Katie said. “In that case, we’ll be in touch.”
She stood and offered her hand to Brent. The meeting was over, and it had all been on Katie’s terms. Brent stood and shook Katie’s hand, then Galiema’s in turn. I’d never seen him look so flustered. Yet despite having his ass well and truly whooped by Katie, his eyes still skimmed over her body, still widened at the extraordinary sight of her in her skintight crimson dress. It made me seethe.
He nodded to me, then left.
“Well, that went well,” Galiema said as soon as Brent had gone.
Katie smiled. But her confident facade had slipped somewhat, and whatever was troubling her made doubt creep across her features.
“Are you okay?” I said gently.
Katie looked at me properly for the first time since she’d gotten here. She looked startled, almost as though she’d forgotten I was there. Or maybe because she’d suddenly remembered what we’d been up to earlier that morning.
“I’m fine,” she
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