Page 56 of The Grand Duel

THIRTEEN

Charlie

Lissie blisters past me when I hold the door open for her, heading down the street in her heels as if it’s a pair of running shoes on her feet.

I sigh and follow her out.

She was quiet after I made an ass of myself in her office earlier, barely uttering a word in the car over here.

And then I snapped at her.

I should have let her fall on her face. Touching her certainly wasn’t the right idea. My hand felt like it was on fire, likeshewas the fire, and I was a just a victim of its scalding flame.

I snapped at her. And not because she knocked over the water. I snapped at her because being in the same room as her when she has no idea I’ve touched and seen parts of her that still make me ache at the mere thought makes me fucking crazy.

“Lissie,” I call before she can reach the car.

She ignores me and climbs in.

And I don’t like it all that much.

I straighten my tie and climb in myself, not daring a glance at her.

“Hannah’s case,” she says once I’m seated and we’re in motion. “It’s not something you usually take on, is it?” she states, her words shaky. “You list certain cases on your website, and I never saw anything like this.”

When my eyes fall on her, I find her turned towards the window.

I frown, trying to get a gauge on her and why she’d ask about the case. “I deal with cases like this all the time. It’s just not high profile, public, or something I feel is needed to be shared with the world.” I think about the little girl. “She’s been through enough without some asshole lawyer asking to share her story with the world just to make himself look good.”

She nods, still not facing me.

I want to tell her everything. Get it over with right here and now. Maybe she’ll quit. Maybe that’s a good thing. But with Scott in the car, although I’ve known him for years and trust him, it wouldn’t be right for me to bring it up.

With Lissie quiet and not feeling like I need a shield between us, I leave my laptop in my bag and rest my head back on the seat, taking a moment.

I have two more meetings before my day is done, and I need to get my head in the game.

Get my head off of her.

I’d normally go to the club to let off steam after a week like this one is shaping up, but I can’t. I have no idea what Lissie’s shifts are, and it would be fucking stupid of me to go there tonight after telling her everything later.

I sigh.

Telling her is going to be a fucking disaster. Especially after the way I just treated her in front of all those people.

“Sorry, can you stop the car?”

I snap my head towards her, her panicked voice making my gut coil.

Scott looks at me in the mirror, and I nod before snatching my eyes right back to her. “What is it?”

“I-I’ll be back after lunch.” The second the car is stopped, she has the door thrown open and is walking down the pavement in the direction we’d just come from.

I scoot across the seat and out of the car, following her.

She’s a little way ahead of me, but I catch up to her quickly, not letting myself walk alongside her but close enough you’d know we’re together.

She comes to a stop eventually, and I turn to look up at the shop.