Say Nothing... (The Speak Series Book 2) (19 page)

A lazy Sunday is exactly what I needed the day before starting my internship. I didn't admit it to her yesterday, but her muttering about my uncle the other night made me uneasy. I was hoping the morning run would work it out of my system, but the question kept looming like a black cloud. Her answer surprised me; I laughed it off, but the more I thought about it, I don't like the fact he makes her uncomfortable. If he decides to be around more, it's something I'll definitely have to figure out.

Ari enters the room freshly showered. She pulls the towel from her head and uses it to hand dry her long locks. I watch her through the mirror as she finally takes sight of me. Her eyes widen in appreciation, and she releases a low whistle.

"Looking damn fine this morning, Mr. Rodriguez." I turn to face her, nervously tugging at my tie.

"Yeah?" I ask.

She closes the distance between us and presses her hands to my chest.

"Oh, yeah," she says before tilting her head up and pressing a kiss to my lips. My hand fists a handful of her damp hair, and I deepen it. She moans, and it takes all I have to restrain myself from ripping the towel off her naked body and throwing her on the bed.

"You're going to be late," she says pulling away breathless. I rest my forehead on hers and inhale her essence in an attempt to calm myself.

"You don't have to be nervous. You're going to be great," she says as her hands smooth over the lapels of my suit jacket. "Now, get out of here before I wrinkle your suit." She presses another kiss to my lips before disappearing into her closet to dress.

"Okay, babe, I'm gonna head out."

"Okay, and I love you too," she says coming out of her closet half dressed in just her pants. I've been writing notes in the steam of the glass when she showers. Today's note was another simple I love you.

An hour later, I pull into the parking structure of The Law Offices of Loya, Rudd, and Rummel. Ari wasn't lying about how bad morning traffic could be, and I'm glad I took her advice and left extra early. I head into the lobby of the large Beverly Hills office building and take another deep breath. Two large security officers sit at a desk in front of the bank of elevators.

"Name, sir?" asks the man whose badge says Steve.

"Benjamin Rodriguez." He looks through the list of names and stops to write something down.

"Okay. Mr. Rodriguez, after you put this on, you're going to take the elevators behind me and go to the eighteenth floor." I take the visitor’s badge he hands me and stick it to the lapel of my jacket.

"Thank you," I say heading back.

"Have a good day, sir."

I find myself fidgeting with my cufflinks as I wait for the elevator to stop on my floor. The car stops, and the doors open up to a large waiting area. A dark maple desk seats two receptionists in the center of the room. A rock waterfall wall sits behind them dividing the room from the offices.

It's a quarter to eight and the room is already buzzing. The phones are ringing off the hook, and a flurry of men and women walk the halls. I step up to the reception desk, and the red-haired woman sitting behind it puts a finger up gesturing for me to give her a moment. I nod while she wraps up her call. No sooner than she hangs up does another line ring. She picks it up, puts it on hold, and finally gives me her attention.

"Good morning. How can I help you?"

"I'm Ben Rodriguez. I'm one of the new summer interns." She puts three more calls on hold before being able to give me instructions.

"Sorry, it's Monday," she says apologetically. "I'll let Mr. Rudd know that you are here. Please take a seat, and he'll be out shortly."

"Thank you." She nods in acknowledgment, the incessant ringing unable to let her give a response.

I grab a seat as three people exit the elevator. They look just as lost and nervous as I do. I overhear the receptionist tell them the same thing she told me. They turn in my direction and take a seat. The only female in the group fidgets with the hem of her skirt and her leg begins to do a nervous bounce reminding me of Ari.

"Are you guys interns too?" I ask, deciding to break the tension.

Three sets of eyes meet mine. "Yeah, you too?" the guy sitting across from me asks.

"Yeah, I'm Ben," I say offering my hand.

"I'm Carlos," he says shaking it.

"This is Jennifer and that's Phillip," he says pointing to his left and right. They smile in greeting.

"So did you guys know each other already?" I ask.

"We went to UCLA together and recognized each other from class. We really just met downstairs."

"So you're saying I'm outnumbered here," I say chuckling. They all look at me confused.

"Rivals," is all I have to say before it clicks.

"Aww, man. USC, really?" Carlos says, chuckling.

"Wait, you were their star running back?" he says, with recognition in his eyes.

"I don't know about all that, but yeah, I played."

"I may not be a fan of your school, but I'm a football fan, and you kicked some ass on the field."

"Thanks, man."

The elevator doors open and a petite blonde on the verge of tears runs out catching our attention.

"She's probably with us," Jennifer whispers. We nod in agreement.

The redhead, whose name I think is Sandra from all of the morning phone greetings, points in our direction and tells her to take a seat.

She does as she's told and smiles nervously at the four of us. Carlos is the first to introduce himself, and we all wave at her in greeting. She takes the seat next to Jennifer and introduces herself.

"Hi, I'm Catherine."

"Ben needs some reinforcements here, Catherine. What school did you go to?"

"Loyola Marymount," she says blushing.

An older brunette woman makes her way to us a minute later.

"Hello, I'm Shelly. Are you the summer interns?"

"Yes,” we answer in unison.

"Follow me. Mr. Rudd is waiting for you in the conference room."

Larry Rudd was my dad's business partner. He and his wife, Sharon, were always over at the house while I was growing up, so when he heard I was studying law, he offered me an internship in the firm. I told Larry I was interested but did not want any special treatment. I went through the application and interview process just like everyone else. It's surreal to be working for someone who meant so much to my father.

Shelly opens the glass door of the conference room, and Larry stands to greet us.

"Welcome, I'm Larry Rudd. Please take a seat."

Seeing Ben dressed in a suit is not a bad way to start my work week. Keeping my hands off him is already a struggle but something about him in a suit does ungodly things to my libido.

I get to my desk prepared to start packing when the door of the conference room opens. Mr. Benton and Mr. Warner walk out and trailing behind them is the one and only Jalen Jeffrey. I can curse my choice in clothing today. My bosses assured me we wouldn't be seeing any clients this week and to dress comfortably since we would be spending most of the time packing and moving. I guess I missed the memo.

All three of them step in front of my desk, and I'm willing my brain to tell my jaw to close.

"Mr. Jeffrey, this is our assistant Ari Muñoz. Ari, this is Mr. Jeffrey." Like he needs an introduction. He's even more handsome in person. He gives me a knowing smile, and I finally gain my bearings and remember where I'm at.

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Jeffrey," I say offering my hand.

"Likewise, Miss Muñoz. My sincerest thanks for getting me in touch with these two gents," he says giving my hand a squeeze. Amos must have told him about me, and I war with my feelings of both disgust and giddiness.

"Ari, we're stepping out. You can let the calls go to the answering service and just get started on the packing. We'll be back in about an hour."

"No problem." They walk as a group toward the front door.

"Thanks again, luv," Jalen says before entering the waiting area. I smile and offer a small wave before going into total fangirl mode. I'm short of breath and have to tamp down the urge to clap my hands and jump up and down. I sit at my desk and dig through my purse for my cell. Calling Vonne and sharing this news is probably a better idea than squealing like an idiot to myself. I scroll through contacts and remember she also started her internship today.
Dammit!

I type out a quick text telling Vonne to call me as soon as she has a moment and use my excited energy to get packing.

My cell phone rings a few hours later. I see Vonne's name across my screen and am thankful my bosses haven't made it back yet.

"You're gonna die when I tell you who I met today," I answer in a sing-song voice instead of my usual hello.

"Hello to you too, sunshine. I'm intrigued by your excitement. Who did you meet?"

"Jalen . . . Jeffrey,” I whisper as two of the other firm’s attorneys pass my desk.

"What?" she shrieks. I pull the phone away from my ear to avoid hearing loss.

"I don't think the receptionist heard you, you freak," I say with a laugh.

"Holy shit, Ari. What was he wearing? Did he talk to you? What did he say?"

"I don't remember what the hell he was wearing. I was in shock. I had just gotten to work when my bosses came out of the conference room with him. Yes, I talked to him. He thanked me and called me luv before leaving the office." This time, I let out a small squeal.

"I'm dying over here, you lucky bitch. He is a bad boy if he's in your office. Do I even want to know what he did?"

"Can't tell you."

"Oh, you'll tell me. I'll beat it out of you."

"Well, then I guess I'm luck- Hold on a sec." The sight of Hilda approaching my desk with a huge bouquet of flowers distracts me from my train of thought.

"These came for you, hon," Hilda says placing the bouquet on my desk.

“Thanks,” I mouth to her before getting back on the line with Vonne. "Okay, sorry."

"What was that about?" Vonne asks.

"Someone sent me flowers. Hilda just set them down on my desk."

"Is there a card?"

"Let me see." I dig through the gigantic arrangement of Gerbera daisies and find the white envelope with my name on it.

"Did you find it yet?" she asks impatiently.

"Yes, geez keep your hair on." I pull out the small card that has colorful thank-yous written around the border. The note reads
Thank you for your help—Amos
. I sit in my chair unable to process this emotion.

"So who are they from?" Vonne asks, startling me.

"Oh sorry. Um . . . they're from Amos," I say hesitantly.

"Amos? Who’s Am-? Wait, Ben's uncle, Amos? Why is he sending you flowers?" she asks confused. She repeats my thoughts exactly.

"He needed help finding representation for Jalen. I referred him to my firm. I guess he wanted to thank me." I keep my voice as steady as possible; any waver in my pitch will have her asking more questions.

"Listen, I better go. My other lines are starting to ring. I can't wait to hear about your first day. I'll call you later, okay?" I hate lying to her, but I'm still a little shell-shocked from all of today's excitement.

"Sure thing. I'll give you a call tonight. I want some selfies next time you see that hottie."

"I'll try," I say before ending the call.

My first instinct is to toss the whole arrangement in the trash. It's beautiful, but the longer I stare at it, the angrier I get at myself for helping him. I've opened the door, and now, I have to pay the price. I do the next best thing and get them out of my sight.

I make my way past Hilda's desk, and she stops me.

"Something wrong with the flowers, hon?"
Shit.

"No. My allergies are acting up this week, and I figured with all the packing and moving of boxes and things, they’ll just get in the way. I'm going to put them out in the waiting area."

"That's nice, sweetie. They're very pretty. Are they from that hot man of yours?"

"No. Just a thank-you from a client,” I say walking away.

Making it back to my desk without any more questions from Hilda, I shake off the funk that flower delivery put me in and get back to packing away my file cabinet.