Forever Blake (Once Upon a Player Book 3) by Elena Matthews (motivational novels for students .txt) 📕

be if I brought you anything else in the morning?” I say as I set the cup in front of her.

“Pretty damn stupid.” Kimberley picks up her morning delight in both hands. “God, I love you,” she says to her coffee. Her eyes flick up to mine, a sly smile on her face. “I was talking to the coffee.”

“I guessed so, Kiki.”

She glares at me. “What have I said about calling me Kiki? You make me sound like a lap dancer.”

Ignoring her question, I watch her with amusement as she brings the latte to her lips, and her eyes drift closed as she devours her first sip. It’s actually a little erotic; all this moment is missing is a bit of Kenny G.

“Damn, this is better than sex.”

I cock a brow, appalled that Kimberley thinks anything is better than sex. “You’re obviously not having the right kind of sex with your husband ’cause, trust me, sex is up there with the ability to breathe in oxygen and the Cowboys winning the Super Bowl.”

“Well, that sounds as disappointing as a guy with a three-inch dick trying to reach the G-spot since the Cowboys haven’t won the Super Bowl since 1996.”

Pulling her under my scrutiny, I say, “For someone who claims she hates football, you sure know a lot about it.”

“It’s not my fault that I have an awesome memory. It means I have knowledge of even the most useless of shit.”

Shaking my head, I say, “Tell me again, why are you my assistant when you could be a brain surgeon or a rocket scientist with that incredible brain of yours?”

“One, I don’t like blood, and two, I’d rather stick pins in my eyes than be a rocket scientist. Plus, if I wasn’t your assistant, who else would wipe your goddamn ass, little boy?”

I scoff. “Little boy? I’m only twelve months younger than you.”

She flutters her lashes at me, plastering on a smile. “Do you know what time your first meeting is today and who it’s with?”

I stare at her blankly. I really don’t have a clue.

“My point exactly.”

“Well, as of today, I’m paying you even more to wipe my butt, and I’m okay with that if it means I get to be a kick-ass lawyer.”

She takes a leisurely gaze down at me, smiling appreciatively at me. “You’redefinitely looking the part.”

“I know,” I boast arrogantly. Lifting up the two remaining coffees, I say, “I’m going to say morning to the boss man. Come into my office in twenty minutes, so we can go through today’s schedule.”

“Sure thing, junior partner.”

I let out an animated shiver with a childlike grin on my face. “That sounds so damn good.”

Kimberley laughs as I turn on my feet and walk confidently toward the man whose name hangs proudly along the walls of this company while saying a friendly hello to fellow colleagues. As I step through the threshold of the managing partner’s office, I see Edwin Sullivan sitting in his usual spot on the sofa, reading through the morning paper.

He immediately senses my presence as he peers over the frame of his glasses. “Well, if it isn’t my newest junior partner. New suit?” he asks while setting down his newspaper and standing to his feet.

“Of course. It’s not every day I become a junior partner at a law firm. I had to dress the part.”

“Armani?”

I shake my head. “Nope, I upgraded to Gucci.”

“You’ve definitely gone up in the world. Long gone are your days of purchasing your suits from Walmart.”

“Hey, you have to start somewhere,” I argue before backtracking. “And FYI, I have never bought a suit from Walmart in my life.”

“Could have fooled me.”

I cock up a brow. “Do you want me to give your coffee to the mailroom guy?” I toss out.

“Not if you want me to fire your ass less than five minutes of you being junior partner.”

I chuckle as I hand him his coffee.

“You know, I have an assistant who can get me coffee. In fact, you have an assistant who can get you your coffee.”

“Well, how else am I supposed to show off my Porsche?” I say with a sparkle in my eye, taking a drink of my coffee.

He throws back a rough laugh. “I was just like you at your age. One hell of an arrogant motherfucker.”

“I like to think I’m confident, but you have to be to work in corporate law. You can’t let anyone think you’re anything less—”

“Or they’ll think you can’t get the job done,” we say at the same time before laughing.

“I can’t believe you remember that line,” he says with a wistful tone to his voice.

“It was the first thing you taught me, Edwin. I’d gone to law school, thinking I knew everything, but the minute I met you, I realized I knew jack shit.”

Sipping his coffee, he wanders over to his desk and takes a seat. I follow suit and take the chair opposite him, unfastening the button of my jacket.

A few moments pass before he speaks again, “Talking about first days. You remember I told you my daughter was going to intern for us?”

I nod, remembering the conversation. “Yeah, Reagan? She just finished her undergraduate degree at Stanford, right?” I ask before taking several gulps of my coffee.

“That’s right, and it seems she’s taking after her old man in the law department.” He smiles, obviously proud that she’s following in his footsteps. “Though, it’s hard to believe my twenty-two-year-old daughter is finally grown up. It only seems like yesterday when I was changing her shitty diapers.” He chuckles as he reminisces. “Anyway, she’s starting her summer internship here this morning. In fact”—he glances down at his watch—“she should be here any minute.” He returns his focus back to me. “I know the last thing you want is an intern shadowing you…but I think she could learn a lot from you, my newest junior partner. She’ll be working alongside the associates most of the time, but I’d like her to have a solid mentor during