Notorious by Michele Martinez Page A

conference room, righted a few binders that had toppled over, and turned to leave.
    â€œWhere are you going?” Jennifer Lamont asked, alarmed.
    Shekeya put her hands on her hips. “It’s after six and I was here half the night last night. I don’t spend two nights in a row away from my kids. I’m going home.”
    â€œBut Diamond hasn’t shown up yet to get the discovery.”
    â€œHe’ll show eventually. You got to wait.”
    â€œDon’t leave me here by myself. I’ve never done this before.”
    â€œWhat’s to do? Make him sign the sheet before you give him the binders, that’s all. You went to law school, right? I think you can handle that.”
    â€œWhat if he has questions?”
    â€œTell him to call Melanie or Susan. That’s what I’d do.”
    Jennifer stood in the middle of the floor, looking helpless.
    â€œLook, you can’t screw this one up,” Shekeya said, and despite the exasperated look on her face, her tone was not unkind. “The onlyscrewing up you in danger of doing is pissing off the support staff, you feel me?”
    â€œYes.”
    â€œGood, then we understand each other. Have a nice night.”
    The door clicked closed behind Shekeya. Jennifer stood there for a moment, uncertain of what to do next. Her mouth was dry. She thought about making the trip to the vending machine for a Diet Coke, but she was afraid to leave the room. What if Evan Diamond came by while she was gone, and thought she’d left for the night? Not only would she get in trouble for not doing her job, she’d lose her chance to see him in the flesh.
    That Diamond was a man to be both feared and admired Jennifer had believed for some time. About a year ago, he’d done a gun-running trial before the judge she was clerking for, and she’d watched him in action. He was handsome and quick, yes, but it was another quality entirely that attracted her attention. Diamond had power over people. He got them to do and say and agree to things that they shouldn’t have done or said or agreed to, things in direct conflict with their own best interests. She didn’t know how he achieved his ends, and she didn’t care. To Jennifer, the power was compelling no matter how he came by it. She was a timid person—an unsuitable quality in a lawyer and one she despised in herself—who aspired to influence people. Influencing people was something Diamond did like nobody else.
    Daydreaming about an unattainable man like Evan Diamond helped fill the gaping hole in Jennifer’s love life. She hadn’t had a steady boyfriend in years. Plenty of guys asked her out, but it was the same story every time. They seemed like Mr. Right, so she slept with them, but then they didn’t call. So she’d call them, and they wouldn’t call back. Then she’d call a few more times, and they’d leave a message telling her to stop calling. But she’d ignore it, and they’d decide she was a psycho. She saw the vicious cycle. She really did, but itwas hard to stop. Therapy didn’t help. The only thing therapists ever wanted to talk about was the ugly stuff that had happened when she was a kid, and Jennifer had absolutely no interest in dredging up all that crap.
    The phone rang, and she jumped.
    â€œConference room.”
    â€œIs this Jennifer?”
    â€œYes.”
    â€œThis is Al out front. I got a Mr. Diamond here for you.”
    â€œOh, yes. Send him in.”
    â€œSend him in? No way, hon, you come get him. We don’t let defense attorneys wander around unescorted. Didn’t they tell you that?”
    Jerk, she thought. “Fine. I’ll be right out.”
    At the end of the hall, Jennifer opened the bulletproof door and poked her head out. Diamond was in the process of peeling the back off a visitor’s pass and sticking it to his suit jacket. She drew a sharp breath. He was even more gorgeous than