“Look who’s talking.” I stared at her pointedly.
Heather laughed but nodded her head. “Touche, old friend. Come on; I want to hear you say it.”
I blushed, remembering James saying almost those exact same words to me not so long ago. Dammit. Why did everything have to come back to him these days? “Say what?”
“Say, ‘Heather, I will take the bar exam with you in one month.’ You know you want to.”
She was right. I did want to. Now that I’d made up my mind to take the exam, I wanted to get it done. Not have it hanging over my head for months on end.
“Okay, I’ll say it. Heather, I think that I will take the exam with you in one month.” My lips curled into a smile. It felt good to say it out loud. I pushed all the nerves about confronting James away. This was a time to celebrate.
“Sold!” Anna cried joyously. “To the lady in the black cape.”
“I wish it were a proper cape. I’m going to need superpowers to survive this month.” I was ready for it, though.
“You are both going to knock that exam out of the park. Mark my words.” Anna insisted.
“How do you know? You’ve known us for all of about an hour.” I hated to point out the obvious, but Anna’s complete faith in us astonished me.
“I know because I know people. Women like you are go-getters. You won’t let anything stand in your way, and you’ll work hard to get what you want.” It was a matter-of-fact statement. There was no doubt in Anna’s voice.
Heather beamed. “You’re right. We have worked hard. We’re going to own this exam.”
“Yeah, we are.” I thought we would, anyway, but I wasn’t about to be the doubting downer.
“These are the only capes that I keep around here, unfortunately. I do have champagne, though. That should give you the self-confidence of a superhero.” Anna smirked and motioned to a girl carrying a tray of champagne flutes.
Heather and I each accepted a glass and sipped in silence as Anna snipped and sprayed and clipped around us. She moved a bit like a ninja. It was quite something to behold.
“So, on to other things that you want. You promise you’ll tell the mystery man soon?” Heather asked quietly, her eyes searching mine like she knew something was holding me back.
“Yeah, I will.” It was a promise that I intended to keep.
“Good. I want to meet him. When do I get to meet him?” Heather’s eyes lit up. “And does he have any hot, single friends?”
I laughed. Heather was beautiful, intelligent, and driven. No man had been able to keep up so far. Although, the same might have been said for me until not so long ago. I would ask James about it.
“I think he does, but I’ll have to ask. You will meet him, though. I don’t know when yet, but I have a feeling that he’s going to be around for a while. So you definitely will.”
Hope flooded my veins. I wanted James to be around for a long while. I wondered if he wanted the same thing.
Chapter Twenty-Five
James
I was walking on fucking sunshine when I arrived at Richard’s office that morning. I actually whistled as I headed in. A few friendly faces greeted me, but I didn’t stop to talk. I felt invincible as I walked the hallways, like nothing could stop me now.
Richard had to postpone his first meeting with me, but he’d called as soon as he’d gotten back to town to reschedule, still sounding entirely confident that I would love the terms of my new contract.
In under an hour, I was going to have everything that I’d ever wanted and more. My team, my big payday, and my baby’s future secured.
I also had Gabrielle, for now, anyway. An added bonus that I hadn’t expected but who made the experience so much more rewarding. I couldn’t wait to tell her that I’d accepted her father’s counteroffer. That I would be staying in Miami.
I couldn’t wait to celebrate my dreams coming true with her that evening and to make her scream my name louder than the fans would when we finally won the fucking Super Bowl.
The thought spurred me on. I would call her as soon as I got out of this office with the ink drying in place on my shiny new contract.
Olivia fixed me with a bright smile when I entered Richard’s reception area.