Caught Crossing the Line (2 page)

I knew I was being mean to Sophia this morning, for no other reason than I wanted to possess her and fuck my cum into her, so I decided to be nice. There were a few cases we gave them, but one of them had been difficult, so I made it my prerogative to help her.

Half an hour later, Jackson came into my office with a look of anxiety and dread. I teased him about the jailbait, but I wasn’t in any better of a position with the only woman to get me hard just from hearing her name.

He begged me to take the case for him because he was interested in the stepdaughter and it could compromise the case. I agreed to take it, but I didn’t want to do it. The broad screamed gold digging whore.

~~~~~~

Finally going home for the night, I saw Sophia get in a taxi and before I could say anything, Ryder got into the same car. I took down the taxi number then headed to my truck. I made a call to Duke, our computer security tech; I wanted to know where the cab was going.

“Sure, Cal. Give me a moment,” Duke said before hanging up. He called me back a minute later.

It was then that I learned they were both staying at the Presidential Hotel in downtown Seattle. Like an asshole, it just dawned on me that since neither were from Seattle, Jackson and Kristen set up their living arrangements until they could find places of their own.

Jealousy was eating me up, so my ass was at my gym in a matter of minutes. Fury burned in my head so badly that I needed to spar, or at least knock the shit out of a bag until I could think straight again. The moment I stepped into the building, Joe the owner and trainer saw me.

“Oh, no. What’s up, Caleb? This makes two weeks in a row, and the look on your face tells me it’s not going to be a peaceful night,” Joe asked nervously. I’d been a little aggressive in my sparring lately.

“I want to spar,” I growled.

“Sorry, buddy, but there isn’t a guy around that wants to go a round in the ring with you. You’ve sent two of them to the hospital this week.”

“It was only one, and it was just a broken nose,” I said dismissively.

“Caleb, it’s called sparring for a reason. You scare our professionals with your fists. Really, you need to get laid or something. You could kill a man with all that testosterone you’ve got coursing through your veins. I’m glad you don’t juice.”

“Oh, how I would love to kill a man,” I grumbled as I shifted my gym bag on my shoulder.

“Oh. So now I get what this is about. It’s about a woman; someone else’s woman,” Joe said knowingly.

“She’s my woman, no one else’s,” I snarled.

“Then do something about it. How about you go a few rounds with the bag tonight and then you take your pathetic ass home, grow some balls make the girl yours,” Joe wasn’t afraid of my temper. He’d been dealing with hot heads his entire career; first as a former MMA fighter then as a trainer.

“Fuck off. I’m going to get ready. Just remember, if anyone is looking for a broken jaw or ribs, I’m really feeling it tonight,” I hissed.

“Noted, Cal. Now go get your ass ready.”

Coming to the gym to box wasn’t something I did all the time; usually it was only once or twice a week. But since she stepped into the building, I’d needed to blow off some steam. The more I fought with my morals and ethics, the harder I boxed. Despite my words to Joe, I was sorry I’d broken Franklin’s nose. This time was worse than when my parent’s died. I didn’t know how to handle wanting a woman so desperately that I couldn’t think straight.

My parents had died in a car accident over five months ago, and it destroyed Malcolm and me. I joined the gym here and boxed my frustration and pain away, but I was a bigger mess now than I was back then.

With my hands wrapped, I went out and started knocking around the heavy bag. “Integrity,” I gritted through closed teeth, chanting to myself as a reminder of how I’d lived my life. I had been going at it for about an hour before I began to get tired. Calling it a day, I stopped by the side of the boxing ring where Joe stood observing his fighters.

He turned to me and reminded me that I was a beast. “None of these guys are going to spar with you. You know, if you ever wanted to change careers or give being a lawyer a break, you could be fighting for a title.”

“I’m not looking for a fight tonight, and I love my job. Knocking the bag around helped, though. I wanted to thank you because I was ready to murder a man,” I said sincerely.

“You’re not the first man to lose his head over a woman, and you won’t be the last. Good luck, Cal,” Joe said as he slapped my back.

After washing up, I headed home, but not before refilling my liquor cabinet. I poured myself a stiff drink and looked over the Homan file like Jackson asked. By the time I was done with it, I knew we had needed to drop her as a client altogether. She was lying and scandalous. We didn’t need that kind of press.

I was in deep shit. Caleb James was the most attractive man I’d ever seen, and I’d seen many. Coming from Salerno, Italy, there were so many men that carried the same charisma he has, and yet, I was able to avoid their charms.

Caleb hardly said a word to me that day I applied, and I was ready to drop to my knees and do whatever he demanded of me. He was six-foot-three and muscular. I didn’t expect it, but it wouldn’t have mattered if he was slender, the man’s face was hard to dismiss. His chiseled jaw with a little bit of scruff called to me. His hair was dark brown, cut short, almost to the scalp, but it was so sexy on him. I watched him throughout the interview, and he was tense the whole time. Jackson was nice to me, but Caleb didn’t seem to like me at all.

When he shook my hand he flinched away from me, and I thought maybe he could smell the coffee on my breath or something, but the feeling of his hand was electrifying for me. I left the building both thrilled and confused. I didn’t need rumors going around that I was sleeping with the boss again, but this time I wouldn’t mind if they weren’t just rumors.

I got back to my hotel and twenty minutes later Kristen James, the office manager and Caleb’s assistant and apparent wife, sent me a memo, along with hotel room keys and a stipend to help me with the transition. Wow, they were more than generous.

The next day, I moved into the Presidential Hotel and met my future co-worker, Matthew Ryder. He was also handsome, nothing compared to Caleb, but Caleb was married already, so he was off limits.

I thought about him all week, and I wanted to smack myself every time. He had a beautiful, nice wife who was carrying his baby. I hated that I still couldn’t get him out of my head.  

On my first morning, I walked into the elevator and Matthew was there. “Wow, Sophia, you’re stunning.”

“Thanks, Matthew,” I said sardonically, twisting my lips.

“I didn’t mean anything by it, but it’s just nice to see someone who is smart and beautiful. It’s kind of refreshing and a bit distracting. How about you and I get dinner tonight?”

“Sure, I don’t know anyone here. How about we come back here after work, change, and go to that hot dog stand down the street from here?” I needed to get rid of my fantasies of Caleb; Matt would be perfect for the job.

“Great, sounds awesome,” he said with a smile.

We shared a cab and talked the entire way to work. He was so funny, smart, and handsome. Hopefully, I’d be able to rid myself of this lusty feeling for a married man.

We were escorted to the bank of elevators leading to the executive floor, for a walk-through with Kristen. Panic struck at the thought of seeing
him
again. Kristen met us as soon at the doors opened. Everything about her appearance screamed efficiency, but her smile spoke kindness. I hated that I was fantasizing about her man.

“Welcome, Matthew, Sophia. It’s great to see that you are here earlier than expected. The men expect timeliness.”

I didn’t flinch at her words, but they did pack a sting. She took us around to meet some of the lawyers then took us to my office to set up my login information. I almost hyperventilated when she said I needed to go see Caleb to get my pass codes.

I couldn’t refuse, so I walked down to his office and knocked. He took his time answering the door, and all the while, I was nervous. The moment he saw me his face went through several expressions before returning to the first, anger.

He handed me my code, and I noticed that he didn’t have a wedding ring, but Kristen did. Caleb instantly gave me attitude, and his distrust was seeping from his pores.

I got into the office early to meet with Jackson and sure enough, getting off the case was our game plan. Laney Homan spelled trouble and so did Jackson’s feelings for Elizabeth. He was already making his move on her while we got rid of her stepmother.

The moment I’d gotten him out of my office, I turned on the security screen to watch Sophia arrive, and without fail, she had her tail. They walked in and he’d been whispering into her ear. I growled and huffed out of my office. Once she got out of the elevator, I grabbed her arm and walked her quickly into my office.

“Do well to remember the men here see you as fair game. You don’t want a repeat of your last employer.” I knew it was a cruel thing to say, but I needed her to stay away from Ryder.

“Mr. James, I get that you don’t really care for me and that you obviously didn’t believe me, but I’ve done nothing to make myself cause for speculation. Dating someone of my same ranking doesn’t constitute a breach of ethics.”

“You two are dating?” My mind froze on that thought.

“That’s not your business, sir,” she hissed. “I’m just a distraction to your men here. Sorry, they have no self-control, but I was hired to do a job. Excuse me. I have to prepare for the meeting this morning,” she sneered before storming out.

“It’s not that I don’t believe you,” I murmured as she left. I hated the pained look in her eyes that I caused.

I let her leave without saying a word. Sophia fucked with my head too much to think straight. I let my jealousy get the better of me, but I needed to cool it down.

I walked into the meeting room, and Sophia and Matt entered the room together. I was about to fucking blow a gasket. She refused to move away from him. Jackson took the lead in the meeting because I didn’t want to handle it. After they had filed out, I walked back to my office to get ready for Mrs. Homan. Before I had worked for five minutes, Kristen let me that she was here.

We called her out on her bullshit, and she decided to drop us as her lawyers. It was our pleasure to lose her, but she pissed me off when she threw water on my favorite tie.

I rushed out of the conference room to dry it off before it was ruined and walked right into Sophia and her hot coffee.

“Oh, my God! Mr. James. I’m so sorry,” she cried out and immediately tried to wipe my shirt with the napkins in her hands. I stopped her and looked her in the eyes.

“Stop,” I growled. I dragged her into the nearest room which was the kitchen.

“I’m so sorry,” she muttered again.

“I said, stop. It’s not your fault. It’s mine. Shit, are you burnt Sophia?” I looked at her hands that were wet and red from the hot coffee.

“Nothing serious,” she said dismissively.

I dragged her to the sink and tried to rinse her hands, but the moment I touched her time stood still. I looked up into her eyes and was mesmerized by her beauty. Her chocolate eyes were wide and called to me.

“I’m fine, Mr. James,” she argued, pulling me from her siren call.

“It’s Caleb.” I didn’t like her calling me by my first name because I wanted her to save it for when she was screaming it while I fucked into her, but everyone called each other by our first names. We saved the impersonal for our clients.

“Caleb…I’m okay,” she continued to plead.

“I’ll be the judge of that.” I grabbed the first aid kit and the burn cream. Shit her skin was red, and I didn’t like that at all. That stupid bitch, Laney. It was all her fault.

She looked up into my eyes with a slight smirk. “You’re the one with the fully covered shirt.”

“It’s okay. I’m alright. I have extra shirts in my office just for instances like this,” I said.

“I feel so awful,” she said as she innocently placed a hand on my arm. My eyes met hers, and I desired to tell her that there were plenty of ways she could make it up to me.

Ryder chose that moment to walk in; I didn’t know if it was a blessing or not. I wanted more time alone with her, and I sure as hell didn’t want her to spend more time with Ryder, but I needed to stay away.

“Oh shit, Soph, what happened?” Ryder snatched her hand that I just bandaged from mine. I looked at him like he had a death wish, but his eyes were solely focused on my Sophia.

“Matt, it’s nothing. I accidentally rushed into Mr. James, spilling my coffee on us,” she said sweetly while smiling into his eyes.

“Are you going to be okay to go to that movie tonight?” The fucktard was going on a date with her.

“Of course. I said it wasn’t a big deal,” she replied still smiling up at him.

I growled lowly. They were going on a date. They both turned to look at me like I was some oddity. I was pissed, and they recognized it.

“Well, I’m sorry, again. Excuse me, Matt, Mr. James.” She scurried away before either of us could stop her.

We just stared at each other and before I realized it, I had an audience. A Lee and Everett walked into the kitchen to catch our stare off. I returned to my office feeling volatile. Stripping off my wet, hot shirt, I just realized that I let those in the kitchen see my interest in her. Fuck. I hoped to fuck no one started talking shit about her because I’d have to kick come serious ass.

There was something I needed to do once I was cleaned up and got my plan together. She wasn’t going to go on a date with Ryder and that’s for damn sure. An hour later, I pulled a file off my brother’s docket, walked into Ryder’s office and handed the case to him.

Taking the file from me, with suspicion in his eyes, he asked, “What’s this?”

“Since you’ve got so much time on your hands, I’m giving you this civil lawsuit case. It’s on Malcolm’s list, but he’s in court for the next two days and the client is a very important one,” I stated. I was bullshitting through my justification, but I didn’t want him anywhere near my woman.

“You know, if this is about Sophia, I can step back. I saw the way both of you were looking at each other before I walked in. She’s hot and smart, but I’m not looking for forever with her. I need to establish myself first. I’ll take this case because I want to make partner one day, so you can just relax.”

“It’s not about Sophia,” I grumbled, lying through my teeth.

“Yes, sir. If you say so…” he said with a fucking smirk on his handsome face.

“Just stay away from her,” I ordered.

“Okay…not interested, sir.” He laughed and shook his head as he opened the file. I walked out of his office and focused on my caseload. With him away from her, I was feeling calm again. Now I needed to make a decision, stay away or make her mine. The first option wasn’t looking like a plan at all. She was mine in my dreams and in my every waking thought. Tomorrow, I was making my move.

~~~~~~

I couldn’t believe I just dumped my hot coffee on the boss. Well, luckily, I’d been in the kitchen for five minutes cleaning up a mess one of the other lawyers had made so the coffee wasn’t burning hot. The person who dropped his lunch helped me clean it up, but some of the other guys thought it was my job. Kristen came in and snapped on them. “Are you a bunch of school girls or a group of unemployed lawyers? If I hear one more sexist comment from any of your mouths, you’ll be written up. Do you talk to your mama that way?”

The men were silent and looked afraid of her. Damn, she was a badass. I could take a lesson or two from her. They shut their mouths fast.

Just as I walked out in an annoyed huff, I crashed right into the man I’d love to submit to.
Damn it, get it together, Sophia! Dio mio, the man is married.
He marched us back into the kitchen and my mind was lost to the simple, innocent touch. He refused to listen to the fact that I wasn’t hurt; my coffee wasn’t that hot. I was more concerned about him and the fact that the majority of the spill landed on him.

In the kitchen, I could have sworn the look in his eyes said he was tempted to kiss me. Then he nearly pounced on Matt like he was pissed that we were sort of dating. Oh my! I was going to have to quit. My career as a lawyer was at an end. I stayed in my office the rest of the day and avoided the bastard. Just as I was about to leave for the day, Matt came to see me.

I lifted my head from the file and asked cheerfully, “What’s up, Matt?”

The look on his face told me that he didn’t come here with good news. “Um…I don’t think we should see each other anymore. It isn’t conducive to a productive working environment.”

“Wow. Um…okay.” I didn’t really know what to say.

“I’m sorry, Sophia. You’re smart and beautiful, but the truth is I’m only interested in being naked with you. I still have a career to build before I settle down.” He was trying to sound like a prick and that wasn’t like him. I bet this had to do with the boss.

“Well, Matt, your loss,” I said with a shrug. I tried not to be offended, but I was. He was ending our relationship before it even started. “If you don’t mind, I’m trying to finish this case file before I get out of here.” I tilted my head to the door.

“Please, don’t hate me. I couldn’t deal with that. Don’t get me wrong, I like you, it’s just…well, the boss man doesn’t like it.” The vulnerable, sweet, and kind Matt was back. 

“So you haven’t grown a backbone yet. You better get one before you actually have to go to court and face a jury.” I was feeling spiteful and it was all Caleb’s fault. The married asshole had a problem with us dating. If it were against policy, he should have put it in the handbook.