Legal Affairs - Mitigation: Legal Affairs Serial Romance Read online

  Besides, it’s not like I had anything better to do. I mean… who was I kidding? When I walked out of the office yesterday morning, telling myself the only way to get rid of Matt Connover from my existence was to screw someone else, I was living in a dream world. I just didn’t have it in me to use rebound sex as a means of forgetting. I was stuck depending on the only true cure… time.

  Yesterday, I worked from home making the changes that Matt demanded on my document. I emailed them to him with a short note saying, “Here are the changes requested.”

  He immediately fired back an email, clearly not even having bothered to read the attached document. It said, “Are you okay? Miss Anders said you were taking a few sick days.”

  I actually laughed out loud at that. I mean, how dare he act concerned? He told me just a few hours before to get on my knees—a thought that actually had me slightly horny and greatly embarrassed that it made me horny.

  Bastard.

  I didn’t even bother replying, and he never sent me another email.

  Macy walks out of the kitchen with her hand stuffed down a bag of Cheetos. She plops on the couch next to me, daintily nibbling on the end of one. “So, what movie do you want to watch first?”

  Leaning over, I pick up the DVDs I rented. “Let’s see… we have Thor, Captain America, Iron Man, or The Avengers.”

  “Hmmmm. I’m sensing a theme here,” she muses. “Why the need for super-hero action?”

  Shrugging my shoulders, I grumble, “I just need to see some hot men in tight clothing to distract me.”

  Macy leans over and pats me on the knee. She knows exactly what happened with Matt on Thursday and has been babying me a bit since then. I suspect that’s why she’s with me now on “junk” night rather than hooking up with some random.

  Grabbing Thor, because let’s face it… he’s the yummiest of the choices, I put it in the DVD player and head back to the couch. Just as I’m sitting down, my phone buzzes, indicating I have a text. Picking it up, I feel a zap of electricity course through me when I see Matt’s name.

  The text merely says, I’m sorry.

  “It’s from Matt,” I say to Macy, and she leans over my shoulder to look at it.

  I immediately write back, For what?

  Because if he’s going to apologize sincerely, I want to make him work for it.

  A few minutes pass and nothing comes through. Macy and I exchange looks, and then I set my phone down so I can start the movie. Just before I can hit the “Play” button, I get another text.

  Fot ebwryrhing

  “He’s a terrible texter,” Macy comments.

  “And he clearly has his auto-correct turned off,” I add.

  I text him back. ?????

  For evwtthimf

  I start to text back another, “?????” when another message comes through.

  Fuck

  Macy snickers and I start to text something, but then the phone starts ringing. It’s Matt.

  I answer it and press speakerphone so Macy can hear. “You’re a terrible texter.”

  Matt doesn’t say anything, but I can hear a lot of background noise. Loud music and people talking, some yelling, some laughing.

  “Matt?”

  “H-e-e-e-e-y Mac,” Matt practically sings into the phone, his voice happy and carefree. “Didja get my text?”

  “Are you drunk?”

  “Abso-fucking-lutely,” he says, and then he yells at someone, “You missed… drink, motherfucker.”

  There’s a lot of laughter and then some cheering. I’m glad he’s having such a great time while I’m eating junk food and letting my belly hang out in my yoga pants.

  “I don’t have time for this shit. Call me when you’re sober.”

  I start to hang up, but Matt says, “Wait! I need to tell you something.”

  “What?” I ask in exasperation.

  “I just… it’s just… Aw, fuck. I just miss you, McKayla.”

  I suck in a quick breath, my heartbeat tripling with his proclamation. Glancing over at Macy, she just sadly shakes her head. She’s thinking the same thing I am… drunks have no inhibitions, and he probably won’t remember a damn word of this tomorrow.

  Which pisses me off. I’m getting sentimental and sappy by his claim that he misses me, and come tomorrow, when he’s sober, he probably won’t remember it, and if he does, he’ll probably push it deep down and become the cold-hearted bastard I’ve recently come to know.

  “I’m hanging up, Matt. Don’t call back.”

  Again, I start to disconnect when Matt says quietly, “I lied, McKayla.”

  Macy tries to grab the phone, startling me. I grab it out of her reach and mouth the word, “What?” to her.

  She whispers, “Hang up… you don’t need to listen to his bullshit.”

  But I can’t… because he might say words that I have been longing to hear, and although they may be drunk words, I will take whatever I can at this point.

  “What did you lie about?” I ask him.

  “I didn’t use One Night Only again. I just couldn’t go through with it.”

  “Why not?” I whisper.

  He’s silent for a moment, and all I can hear are the noises of the bar that he’s in. Then he says, “Because I can’t stop thinking about you. You’re all I want.”

  I’m all he wants? My heart flutters in response and my hopes that Matt and I could truly be something start to rise.

  But then Matt causes me to come crashing back down again, because he says, “It’s why I left work at two o’clock today and hit a bar to get shitfaced. So I could drown you out of my mind… even if only briefly. You’re a blessing, Mac… but you’re also my curse.”

  I’m stunned speechless and, before I can even say anything back to him, he disconnects and the line goes dead.

  I wish there was a magic pill I could take that would ease my heartache. And another pill that would magically ease the way my body still aches for Matt.

  This fucking sucks.

  All weekend I stewed over his call on Friday night. I vacillated amongst a variety of emotions, trying to decide how to handle the situation.

  When I was pissed, I would work myself up and decide to put in my resignation. I even sat at my computer on Saturday and typed it up. It was simple.

  Dear Matt,

  I hereby tender my resignation effective immediately.

  You suck, and I hate you.

  Sincerely,

  McKayla P. Dawson

  But there were moments when I would get overwhelmed with sadness for Matt. He’s a man that is clearly struggling, and I don’t know how to help him. During those moments, I wanted to do nothing more than go into work tomorrow, crawl onto his lap, and hug the hurt out of him.

  And finally, there were my moments of weakness. When I thought about what he told me on the phone, that I was all he wanted, it would cause pleasure to fire hotly through my veins. My memory would pulse and flash with images of Matt and me together… naked, writhing on the bed, and moaning in pleasure.

  It was at those times that I wanted to be in Matt’s office bright and early tomorrow, lying naked across his desk when he walked in. His eyes would darken heavy with lust, and he would take me fast and hard. Just the mere thought of it caused me to shiver.

  Then I’d get pissed all over again, because Matt has such a hold over my sensuality that I want to give in to him just because my body demands it.

  My heart doesn’t stay quiet though, and it reminds me that it doesn’t want to get shredded in the process.

  The buzzer in the kitchen goes off, and I walk in to take the cookies out of the oven. It’s a compulsion of mine… baking when I’m sad, confused, angry, or whatever. Bottom line—every emotion that Matt is making me feel right now calls for massive amounts of chocolate chip cookies.

  Setting the hot pan on top of the stove, I scoop a cookie up with my spatula and then grab it with my hand. It’s hot as hell so I toss it from hand to hand, little bits of boiling
chocolate sticking to my skin. I take a tiny bite—burning the hell out of my tongue and top of my mouth—and drop my cookie on the floor, but not before I am rewarded by a big dribble of chocolate down my chin and onto my t-shirt.

  Of course, that is when the doorbell decides to ring.

  Licking my fingertips, I walk into the living room and look through the peephole. Matt stands there gazing at the floor, looking so very perfect with his hair windblown and his sun-kissed skin. He’s casual in a navy blue t-shirt, faded jeans, and black Chuck-Ts. He looks young and edible.

  I open the door, and he glances up. I amend my earlier statement. He actually looks like shit. His eyes are bloodshot, and he hasn’t shaved in several days. Dark circles hover just under his eyes.

  “You have chocolate on your chin,” he says as he steps up to me and wipes it off with his thumb. He then sticks said thumb in his mouth and sucks the chocolate off.

  No matter how mad I am at Matt, that simple act practically causes me to moan.

  “Can I come in?” he asks.

  Nodding, I turn to walk into the kitchen and he follows. As I stoop to the floor to pick up my dropped cookie, he says, “Is Macy here?”

  “No. She’s at the gym,” I respond, tossing the cookie carnage in the garbage. I make myself busy by taking the remaining cookies off the sheet with a spatula and placing them on a plate.

  When I’m done, I turn to him and cross my arms over my chest. “You look like hell, Matt. Did you go on a bender or something?”

  A guilty look flashes across his face. “Actually… I did. I never drink like that, but I pretty much stayed drunk Friday and Saturday.”

  “Did it help?”

  “No,” he says quietly. “It didn’t help at all. I can’t get you out of my mind.”

  Matt sounds so forlorn that I can’t help but be moved. “I’m sorry.”

  His eyebrows shoot up. “Sorry? You have nothing to be sorry for. I’m the asshole. I have so much to apologize for that I don’t even know where to begin.”

  My hope starts building again. Here is Matt… standing in my apartment and telling me he’s sorry. This is a man that rarely apologizes… for anything. I feel the burning need to let him off the hook quickly, my evil plans to make him grovel completely abandoned.

  “Matt,” I say gently. “It’s okay. I understand what was driving you.”

  I actually get a little dizzy when Matt walks up to me, standing toe to toe. He smells so good, and his eyes are glowing golden. Both of his hands come up to frame my face, his long fingers circling to the back of my head to hold me in place… to make sure my eyes stay on him.

  “No, it’s not okay, Mac. I have to make up for this, and I’m hoping that I haven’t messed things up so badly that you won’t let me start over by taking you out on a date. I want to give you what you want. At least, I want to try to give it to you… if you’ll let me.”

  I can literally feel the burden of sadness and frustration lift from my shoulders, while a thrill of hope and excitement fills my body. My skin is even a little tingly.

  “A date?” I ask in wonder, my wildest fantasies—not involving Matt naked—are coming true. “What made you change your mind?”

  Matt’s eyes are deep pools of regret and sadness. His voice is quietly calm, but resolved. “I finally started realizing that the pain of loneliness is much worse than the pain of betrayal and heartbreak that I was trying to avoid.”

  The power of his words and what they mean slam into me so hard, I have to close my eyes to savor them. He is saying he’s lonely without me, and for someone that has shunned relationships and emotional bonds, that is saying a lot. He’s also saying that he’s ready to take a risk.

  He’s ready to step out onto the ledge and risk it all.

  When I open my eyes, he’s smiling at me. It’s a tentative smile, because I still haven’t given him an answer. I smile back and nod. “I’d love to go on a date with you.”

  Relief floods Matt’s face, and the haggard look he’s been sporting suddenly lifts. Leaning in, he whispers his lips over mine gently… just a ghost of a kiss. When he pulls back, he says with a low voice, “I’m probably going to be really bad at this dating thing… I hope you have patience with me.”

  Grinning at him, I say, “I’m sure you’ll do just fine.”

  Chuckling, he leans in and kisses me on the forehead. Giving me one last look of longing, he turns toward the door to leave.

  “Wait! Where are you going?” I ask, confused as to why he’s leaving so soon. I had maybe sort of hoped he’d continue to kiss me, and then we could just jump right into the make-up sex.

  He doesn’t even look back at me as he opens my door, but he does call out over his shoulder. “I’m going home so I can call you and ask you out all nice and proper.”

  “But… but…” My words trail off, but it doesn’t matter.

  Matt has already walked out and closed my door behind him.

  Turning back toward my cookies, I give out a squeal of excitement and pump my fist into the air. Glancing at my watch, I see that I can get one more batch of cookies done before Matt calls me.

  If you enjoyed Legal Affairs - Mitigation as much as I enjoyed writing it, it would mean a lot for you to give me a review.

  Stay tuned for upcoming volumes that will be releasing. There are only six volumes in this series.

  Legal Affairs – Objection

  releasing January 10, 2014

  Legal Affairs – Stipulation

  releasing January 24, 2014

  Legal Affairs – Violation

  releasing February 7, 2014

  Legal Affairs – Mitigation

  releasing February 21, 2014

  Legal Affairs – Reparation

  releasing March 7, 2014

  Legal Affairs – Affirmation

  releasing March 21, 2014

  Connect with Sawyer online:

  www.sawyerbennett.com

  www.twitter.com/bennettbooks

  www.facebook.com/bennettbooks

  The Off Series

  New Adult Contemporary Romance

  Off Sides

  Off Limits

  Off The Record

  Off Course

  Off Chance

  The Forever Land Chronicles

  New Adult Paranormal Romance

  Forever Young

  Stand Alone Titles

  If I Return – New Adult Christmas Novella

  Serial Romance

  Legal Affairs – Objection

  Legal Affairs – Stipulation

  releasing January 24, 2014

  Legal Affairs – Violation

  releasing February 7, 2014

  Legal Affairs – Mitigation

  releasing February 21, 2014

  Legal Affairs – Reparation

  releasing March 7, 2014

  Legal Affairs – Affirmation

  releasing March 21, 2014

  Last Call Series

  On The Rocks

  Make It A Double

  Publication Date To Be Determined

  Sugar On The Edge

  Publication Date To Be Determined

  Shaken Not Stirred

  Publication Date To Be Determined

  With A Twist

  Publication Date To Be Determined

  About the Author

  USA Today Best-Selling author, Sawyer Bennett is a native North Carolinian and practicing lawyer. When not trying to save the world from injustice, she spends her time trying to get the stories she accumulates in her head down on paper. She lives in North Carolina with her husband, Shawn, and their three big dogs, Piper, Atticus and Scout.

  THE END

 

 

 
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