The Intern: Enemies To Lovers

I couldn’t take my fucking eyes off her.

But once her ass was in that chair, I forced myself to glance away, and I went to the center of the room, the scent of her hitting me in the damn face. I didn’t let it deter me. I didn’t lose myself in thoughts, wondering if her pussy smelled just as sweet. Instead, I took inventory of the students while I raised my hands in the air and clapped.

“Congratulate her,” I told them. “That’s how it’s done.”

Professor Ward joined me, waiting for the room to quiet before she said, “I would like to thank Mr. Shaw for taking the time to join us today.” There was a round of applause. “As I’ve said to you all before, he’s become one of the most successful lawyers to ever graduate from USC, and as one of his professors, I would like to think I had something to do with that.” She squeezed my arm. “For a select group of you-more specifically the top six performers in today’s class-Mr. Shaw has graciously agreed to chat with you one-on-one, giving you an opportunity to ask him questions and discuss his experience.”

There was a loud rumble among the group.

“Mr. Shaw, who would you like to pick for this evening’s meetup?” Professor Ward asked.

Three women. Three men. That was the only fair way to do it.

The top performers were clear in my mind.

I mulled over the jury, where many of the students were sitting, and pointed to three familiar faces. Then, I shifted toward the back of the classroom, where the rest were standing, and I chose two more.

I finally landed in front of Hannah’s desk.

Her scent was the strongest over here.Published by Nôv'elD/rama.Org.

It was more than just vanilla.

It was like a fucking cake.

Something I wanted to eat.

Savor.

Ravage.

“And you, Hannah,” I said. “The rest of you who weren’t chosen can leave. The ones who were, please hang back, and I’ll give you instructions on where we’re going to meet.” I waited until everyone was gone, except for Professor Ward and the six winners, and said, “I’d like to go to a place that’s a little less formal than the classroom. Where we can relax and speak freely.” If I was going to spend more time with Hannah, I wanted to do that with a scotch in my hand. “When I was a student here, Nikki’s was my favorite bar. Let’s meet there in twenty minutes.”

While the six students shuffled out of the room, I grabbed my briefcase from one of the desks and turned toward Professor Ward. “Will you be joining us?”

“I’m afraid not.” She coughed, her voice scratchy from age. “I think it’ll be good for the students to have some time alone with you. A chance to speak without being surrounded by academia.”

“I understand.”

Her hand returned to my arm-a place she had never touched when she was my professor. “I appreciate you doing this, Declan. I know today didn’t incur any billable hours, but it’ll go a long way in their eyes.”

I gripped the leather handle, feeling the slickness on my palm.

Anticipation.

That was what grew there.

The thought of seeing Hannah outside of a school setting, if she would be as enthralling when she wasn’t standing before a jury.

“I’m happy to do it,” I replied. “I just hope they learned something today.”

“I assure you, every second you spent with them was invaluable.” She lowered her hand toward mine, a grip that was so motherly. “How are things at Smith & Klein? You’ve been there since you graduated. I assume all is well?”

“They recruited me during my first year of law school with an offer I couldn’t refuse. But I’ll be honest, Professor; Smith & Klein had promised to make me partner, which should have happened almost a year ago, but they have made no move to do so. I’ve been dodging offers for years, but it might be time to entertain some.”

She raised her finger and grinned. “Nothing wrong with dipping your toes in the shark tank.”

“I think you’re forgetting I’m a great white.”

Her grin widened. “From the very beginning, I knew you were going to be something special, Declan.” Her long gray hair fell into her eyes. She moved it away from her face before she looped her arm through mine. “Wherever you end up, they’re going to be very lucky to have you.”

I winked at her. “You’re right about that.”

She walked me to the door. “Be good to those kids tonight. Except for one, they weren’t born with your sharpness or charisma. They could most definitely stand to learn a lot from you.”

I couldn’t help myself.

I had to know.

“Who’s the exception?”

Her smile was warm and deliberate. “I think we both know that answer.” She patted me on the shoulder as we reached the doorway, her arm leaving mine. “I’ll see you next semester, Declan.”

She wasn’t asking.

I gave her a gentle nod and went down the hallway, exiting the double doors at the end, leaving the building that I had countless memories of, where I’d spent all three years of law school.

Rather than getting into my seventeen-year-old Toyota, like I once had all those years ago, I slid into the driver’s seat of my McLaren 720S.

As I shifted into first gear, quickly leaving my parking spot, a call came through my Bluetooth. The center screen on the dashboard showed a name that made me chuckle.

Dominick Dalton.

Dominick along with his two younger brothers and parents were the owners of the largest law firm in California.

He also happened to be a good friend of mine.

There were only two reasons that motherfucker would be calling me at this hour.

Something in my gut told me it wasn’t to meet up for drinks since requests like that usually came through a text.

That left option B, which meant things were about to get very interesting.

“Dominick,” I said as I connected the call. “How can I help you, my man?”

“You can come work for me.”

Damn, I was good-and always right.

I turned at the light, not needing to hide my smile since he couldn’t see it. “Do you treat your girlfriend the same way? Not giving her even a second of foreplay, just sticking it right in, hoping she’s wet?”

“You sick bastard.” He laughed. “Don’t act like this is the first time I’ve asked. Hell, I’ve done everything but fucking beg you to come join my team. What else could you possibly want, Declan?”

I wanted him to sweat.

There was no question Dominick’s firm was the best. With the wealth of clients they represented and the different areas of law, it would be a litigator’s dream to work there. They had several on their team, but what they lacked was a fucking pit bull. Dominick knew that. That was why he’d been recruiting me for years.

“I don’t hear the need in your voice,” I teased. “And I don’t have a contract in my hand with a number that’s going to make me hard.”

“It’s in your email.”