Pride & Precedents (The Park Brothers #2)

11. Henry

Chapter eleven

Henry

I read her text for the tenth time and try to ignore the sheen of sweat dampening the back of my dress shirt. That could not have gone worse. Please, God, don't let me lose the best paralegal in the firm over a harmless kiss!

I lean back in my chair, close my eyes, and remember the way it felt to pull her against me. The pleasant give of her hips in my hands. How my mouth watered when I felt her nipples tighten through her shirt. The sexy whimpers that raised the hairs on my arms. Harmless, my ass . That kiss was hotter than some sex I've had. And now that I've felt her, I can't un-feel her. I'll always be thinking about it, especially if she's going to keep stomping around here, making her perfect ass shake sensually. Deep breaths, Henry.

I would've followed her. Maybe I should have. Despite her impressive poker face, I knew she was upset, but the lead pipe in my pants meant I had to stay seated. Bits and pieces of my dream—of what happened between us—kept flashing in my head, even while she was glaring at me, and I doubt chasing after her with a divining rod pointed right at her would've helped my "let's keep things professional" argument. Letting her run out of here and pretending I bought the sick excuse was definitely for the best. But s he wouldn't stay out tomorrow too, would she?

I pretend I can't see the mounting emails in my inbox and press the first button on my speed dial.

"Henry Park, Jr., attorney at law, calling his baby brother during work hours? Did someone die?"

My God, Noah is a smug bastard.

"You're younger by six minutes, dick. Cut the 'baby brother' bullshit." He'd said something similar at the bar, and it rubbed me the wrong way then, too.

"One sec."

On the other side of the phone, I can hear him rustling papers on his desk. Once he's back on the line, his tone is much more sincere.

"So, based on your agitated tone and the unheard-of midday call, I'm guessing something really is wrong. Is it Mom or Dad? Is it Mom and Dad? Jesus, tell me the rest of brothers are OK."

"Noah!" I interrupt. He's spiraling. "Calm down and stop guessing. Mom and Dad are fine. It's nothing family-related."

I hear the distinct squeak of an office chair as he leans back. Smug Noah has returned.

"So if it's not family, and since you've never called me about work before, this means it's personal. Is it romantic?"

I don't answer right away. Kissing Camila was nice. Scratch that; it was hot . But it was lust, not romance . I rake my fingers through my hair.

"Not romantic, no. I just…When you left, Camila and I…" I can barely say it. What kind of scum crosses the line with his subordinate? The kind that wants to fuck her , Evil Jiminy Cricket whispers in the back of my head. On the other end of the line, Noah gasps.

"Y'all hooked up?! Congrats, bro! I knew she was feeling you. I gave her my best lines and got nothing."

I feel the tension in my shoulders ratchet higher.

"You were never going to get anything. Save your tired lines for someone else," I growl. Noah laughs in response.

"Hooking up with hot paralegals and getting jealous? Am I speaking to Henry? Blink twice if you've been body snatched."

I roll my eyes.

"First off, you couldn't see me even if I did blink. Second, Camila and I didn't hook up. We just…made out a little. I may have felt her up…slightly. I sent her home alone and spent the night at Mom and Dad's."

Noah goes from teasing to bored in 0.5 seconds flat.

"Please tell me you didn't interrupt prep for my meeting with Yeon Woo-jin to talk about a kiss. What's next? Are you gonna pass her a note during study hall? Leave a rose in her locker? Just take the woman out to dinner like a man."

I let out an exasperated breath. It's going to take two hours on the treadmill to wind down tonight.

"You know I can't do that, Noah. She works for me. I told her it couldn't happen again, and then she stormed off. She sent me a text saying she's sick, but I know that's bullshit. What am I going to do?"

I can practically picture him shrugging in response to my borderline whine. Noah Park, the very picture of empathy.

"You've got me, bro. Let's conference in Adam and Cory. Maybe they've got experience with this sort of thing."

Before I can stop him, he clicks over to add the calls. After two minutes, Noah's back on the line with Cory.

"So you got your secretary pregnant, man? That's a bold move."

I nearly choke on my tongue.

"What?!" I sputter. "Is that what Noah told you?"

"Close enough," Cory drawls.

Another minute later and Noah is back with Adam.

"This better be good, guys. Maya and I were just about to—"

Adam breaks off abruptly, and Cory and Noah both laugh knowingly. Even I crack a smile. Ever since Adam popped the question to Maya, they've been joined at the hip. Disappearing upstairs at every family dinner. Coming back downstairs with inside-out clothes and missing buttons. It's so sweet I could vomit.

"Anyway," Adam says awkwardly.

"So why did you call this Council of the Bros, Noah? I gotta be back at work in ten minutes." Cory's always been one to cut straight to the point.

"Junior here made out with his hot paralegal and now he's worried she's going to call HR on him," Noah responds.

Cory's laugh fills the line.

" Perfect Henry, Jr. broke a cardinal rule of the bachelor pact? You pushed 'don't shit where you eat' more than any of us, man. How ironic."

"Seems to me like he was trying to keep exactly this from happening," Adam teases. I am not amused.

"Look, guys. You can make fun of me later. Right now, I need to know what to do. She basically ran out of here with just a text on her way out the door. I don't even know if she's coming back in tomorrow."

Adam whistles.

"Damn. She sounds pretty mad. You sure all you did was make out?"

I hear Adam's phone jostle before Maya's warm voice comes on the line.

"Hey, boys."

"Hello, Maya," we all chorus in response.

"What's this I hear about 'making out'?"

"Apparently Henry, Jr. made out with his assistant," Adam offers from beside Maya. She must have switched to speaker phone.

"Wow. 'Mr. Straight and Narrow' is breaking the rules, huh? Be careful. First you kiss your assistant and next you'll be turning to a life of crime." I can hear the humor in her voice.

Et tu, Brute? Just for that, she and Adam are only getting a set of dish towels from their registry.

"Camila's not my assistant; she's my paralegal," I explain. If I'm welcoming my entire family into my personal life, they should at least have the facts straight. "We had a few too many drinks celebrating with Noah and kissed a little. No big deal."

From Maya's squeal, I can tell she's making it a big deal.

"Ooh! Making out with the boss. That is so hot."

"Maya, babe. Please don't use the word 'hot' in any context that includes my brother."

"Oh stop, Adam. I'm just saying, interoffice romances can be pretty…" She chooses her next words carefully. "Appealing. At least for some."

"'Appealing' is definitely not the word I would use for something that opens me up to a sexual harassment lawsuit."

"Oh, boo!" Cory shouts into the phone.

"Do you really think she would do that, Henry?" Maya asks. Thank God someone on this call has a little compassion.

"Honestly, I don't know. But it was a stupid mistake. Even if she doesn't call HR, it's probably going to impact our work dynamic."

"Boo!" Cory shouts again, louder this time.

"You've worked with this woman for what? Five years?" Six, but who's counting? "I doubt she's going to narc on you after a little kiss. She probably already thought about it before it happened." Cory might be a bit of a dick, but he's making sense. Has Camila wanted to get together this whole time?

"Man, this is getting good, but do you think you guys can wrap this call up in the next ten minutes? I'm under a tight deadline for some bridesmaid totes, and I really need Adam's help with the silk screen."

"Yes, ma'am," we chorus again. Adam takes his phone off speaker.

"You heard her. I can't keep the lady waiting," Adam says. "So what do you need, Henry?"

I furrow my brow in thought. What do I need? They can't erase what happened last Friday. I wouldn't want them to. But they are right. You don't shit where you eat. I sigh.

"I don't really know that anything can be done. Just keep your fingers crossed that I'm not in HR by the end of the week."

"Or," Cory chimes in. "You can play extra nice at work, and maybe she'll drop the whole thing."

"Extra nice?" I question skeptically. "I'm her boss. I'm not there to be nice."

Adam chuckles.

"Those sound like the words of someone about to get written up. I agree with Cory. Don't harass her or anything. Just be nicer."

"We all know you can be a bit stiff, bro," adds Noah. "Loosen up, play nice, and hopefully, this all blows over."

I hope to God they're right. I don't have time to hire and train someone new right now. I'm right in the middle of Naomi's case and I can't screw up with a VIP. Loosen up. Play nice. That's going to be my motto until things cool down.

"Maybe I'll stop keeping her so late? Bring in some donuts or something?"

Noah laughs.

"Hearing you figure out how to be nice is like watching monkeys try to use tools."

I hang up at the sound of my brothers' laughter. I can tell I'm never going to live this conversation down.