Odd Woman Out (Book 4 of The Triad Series)

9. It's A Date Date

Emily was determined to give it a try. The longer she thought about it—and really thought about it—she knew she was making the right decision.

She only had to let Leo and Sofia that she was completely in it. She felt she'd given them some pretty halfhearted waffling the previous Friday, but over the course of the weekend and the past couple of workdays, something had clicked. You'd think that someone like her with the family she had grown up with would have struggled less with a decision such as this. Emily had never been one to bend to the status quo her brothers and parents had set and was usually happy with the occasional boyfriend throughout high school and college. After that, she'd end up dating Dean, who had moved to town her sophomore year of college. When she was living back with her parents after graduating, the two had met at a Starbucks near Heavenly Village.

One of the things she'd like about Dean was that he didn't make a big deal out of dating someone with her family's background. It wasn't surprising. He'd moved from Utah where a lot of his acquaintances were children of sister wives from the Mormon religion. Having a girlfriend with two dads was a cakewalk in comparison. Still, he said he couldn't imagine having a dozen or so mothers and a hundred siblings and half-siblings.

Emily did want to tell Sofia and Leo about her family—their eccentricities, the drama, the everything. They had a casual date set for Friday night, so she figured she'd bring it up after that. Maybe not on the first date, but sometime later. Emily hardly thought they'd have anything negative to say—they didn't seem that type—but it wasn't something she planned on announcing off the bat either. She usually worked up to the whole I have two dads notifications gradually. It was habit if nothing else.

Nothing was so awkward as scaring a first date away with that information. She'd made that mistake once her freshman year of college and never again. The first impression she tried to give was always overshadowed when she came out guns blazing and waving the polyamorous love flag.

They should really make a polyamorous love flag, she thought. It's a completely overlooked s****l preference with a lot of stigmas behind it.

She'd gone on a date once with a guy named Will her junior year of college that had been curious about the polyamorous lifestyle. He'd been under the impression that polyamorous was synonymous with swinging, and he'd seemed fascinated by her explanation. They'd ended up going their separate ways, though it had nothing to do with an aversion to her unusual family dynamic.

At least Emily didn't think so.

It was just as well. Will was a little too good for her. Holding hands and kissing was as far as they'd gotten after four dates, and he ended up going steady with an Alpha Delta Chi sister, a religious sorority at UC Berkeley. If things had progressed any further, she was afraid she'd be pulled into a confessional booth at some point, probably after they'd gotten just past second base.

"Em, do you have the transcript for the Clemens case? I can't seem to find my copy," Beck called from behind his desk. He seemed to be crawling behind it with only his back showing, parallel to the desktop.

"You told me to make copies," she reminded him. "They're on my desk and already collated. I'll bring one in."

Beckett always had her copy in triplicate. One for the filing cabinet, one for his desk when he was working a case, and one for those just in case situations. Once in a blue moon, the senior partner, Mr. Clay, got a hair up his ass about some legal something or other and asked for a copy before sending it back a couple days later, ringing with coffee stains and looking like it had gone through a hay baler—several times over. She didn't know if it was a little light reading for his morning cups of coffe or if the man had a serious caffeine addiction, but he always ended up having to shred the third copy in the end.

Emily laid the clean sheets on his desk before stepping away to head back to her desk. It was a Wednesday afternoon, and her cooling latte was calling her name like nobody's business.

She hadn't had the best sleep lately, but that was only because she'd been anticipating going out with Sof and Leo on Friday. It would be her first date as a trio, and she was completely unsure of what to expect. Thoughts of it filled her belly with a swarm of nervous butterflies, but she was truly looking forward to it now that she'd had a little time to get used to the idea.

"Em, before you head out for the day, can you see me in my office?" Beckett asked before she could exit.

"Something wrong?" Her feet halted as she turned to look back at her boss.

"No, no! Nothing at all. Just wanted to run something by you before you left for the day. It's inconsequential, I assure you."

His dashing smile always made her both blush and feel uneasy. It should have charmed her as it would many other women, but there was always something more behind it—something so hidden and unknown to her that she wasn't even sure it was there.

Perhaps her last boyfriend had really put her off on the more charming yet subtle men she sometimes came across that always tended to unsettle her. Sometimes you couldn't trust the person behind the smile—not unless they stared you straight in the face and got to the point of what they wanted from you. It was what she preferred, and probably was why it was so easy to trust Sofia and Leo. They were both guileless, and she appreciated their openness beyond any masterfully artful come-ons by anyone she'd shunted into the possible predator file in her head.

If occasional accomplished evasiveness was a lawyer's best friend, Beckett Palmer had it in spades.

Emily eventually forgot that Beck wanted her to meet with her before leaving and was just pulling her crossbody purse over her head when he called out.

"Em? Before you go?"

"Oh, right." Her smile faltered as her heart plunged into the pit of her stomach. "I almost forgot. I was so busy with the notes on Clemens that you gave me."

"Oh, yeah. How did that go, by the way? Anything I miss in the interview?"

He occasionally asked for her opinion. People were human, after all, and he was certain even the most prestigious and articulate lawyer could fumble the legal ball every once in a while. Plus, he seemed to appreciate Emily's input when he asked.

"It seemed fine, though his answer about the prenup seemed a little flaky to me," she remarked. "Like he couldn't remember what the exact verbiage was, you know?"

He ran a hand restlessly through his short-cropped hair. "Yeah, I had that impression too, but we'll see as soon as he hands over the document. The lawyer he used to sign the contract had some bad luck the past few years. First his secretary, who knew where everything is, died tragically. Then the damn lawyer gets diagnosed with dementia. I think the poor guy has his old partners searching his files for him, so hopefully it will be cleared up before court next month."

"I was surprised you didn't say, if only they'd store things electronically..." She smiled. It was something he often alluded to, and the old lawyer he was talking about seemed pretty lax on his filing methods.

"The old bastard's probably still using Morse code to send messages and wondering whatever happened with that fancy new telegraph thing." Beck's lips quirked up. "Anyway, enough of that. Poor guy can't remember what toilet paper's for, so I'm liable to feel sorrier for him than be condescending about not jumping into the 21st century with both feet and finally breaking down and purchasing a copier-scanner before he retired."

He seemed buried in thoughts as more questions piled up behind his eyes.

"Beck?"

"Hmm?" He seemed to still be thinking, and Emily just wanted to start her journey home.

"You wanted to see me about something?"

"Right, sorry. I was just wool-gathering, I guess." He cleared his throat. "I was actually wondering if you'd have dinner with me on Saturday night."

"Oh!" Her brows furrowed. Beck usually didn't do a lot of business on the weekends, so it was going to be a little unsettling seeing him then. "Are you meeting with the soon-to-be late Mrs. Royce again? I told you she was a cougar, and twice you age, too." She tried to temper her disquiet with a small smile.

"God, no. Mrs. Royce is years beyond what I would find attractive, in any case. She'd probably eat me alive before spitting me back out. Like a black widow or praying mantis." He reflected her expression with a soft quirk of his lips. "But actually, this dinner would be just you and me."

"What—like a date?" Her eyes grew minutely wider as she struggled to contain her surprise. Her heart jumped up from her gut and into her throat to beat a frantic rhythm that literally made her neck muscles jump.

He grinned, wide and easy and way too accommodating. "Yes, like a date."

"I—"

Oh God. Think fast.

"I'm actually kind of seeing someone right now." Plural someone, but same difference, right? "I'd like to see how that goes, and, while flattering, I think it would probably be a bad idea if we went out seeing as how I'm your secretary. I know it's not exactly against the rules here, but it's probably still not a wise move on either of our parts to become involved outside of work. If you weren't my boss—"

He held up his hands as if giving up. "I get it, Em. I was just thinking that with Nimowitz retiring soon and me possibly being made partner, I'd probably end up with a senior legal secretary and it wouldn't be seen as so forbidden then. No dirty secrets—just two coworkers seeing each other that don't actually work together anymore. It's probably too soon since I don't know if I would get the position, but I wanted to ask before someone snatched you up." His grin returned, This time a little softer. "I see I'm too late, but that's okay. If things don't work out and I make partner..."

Her lips were tight when she tried to move them into a smile. "I suppose that wouldn't be seen as that bad then, so long as we weren't working so closely together. Still—"

"I got. You're happy with where you're at now, but if anything should change, you know where to find me."

She nodded once, the smile coming easier as she slid her cell phone into her purse and removed her transit card from the small front compartment. "Thanks, Beck. I'll see you tomorrow."

She tried to make her steps even so she wasn't racing out of the office. When her feet hit the sidewalk outside on Market Street, she released a breath that seemed to relax every muscle in her body, right down to her toes. She hadn't noticed that she'd been holding her breath or that every muscle was tensed, so she took a few moments to regain her emotional equilibrium.

"Em? You alright? What's wrong?"

She looked over at Kiara, who was also leaving the building but had made the smart decision of placing sneakers on her feet instead of keeping her heels on.

"What? Oh, I'm cool. Everything's peachy. Like, yeah—I'm good. Just eager to get home." She blinked, trying out a smile before finding it lacking and feeling more like a ghoulish grimace.

"Oh, God, that face." Kia's whole expression soured before she looped her arm through Emily's. "The last time I saw that expression on you was when we went shopping at Westfield Mall and you stepped in that crackhead's pile of s**t by the BART escalators. I hope you threw out them pumps, by the way. I swore the smell only intensified after you scraped the majority of the foulness off on a sewer grate. So gross."

Kia patted her arm and started to move her down the sidewalk toward the expensive chocolate shop a couple of doors down. The A-frame sign outside stated that their ice cream flavor of the week was cherry bourbon.

After crossing Van Ness Avenue, Kia pulled her to into All Star Café and insisted on buying her the caffeine jolt of her choice. It wasn't much, but she decided on tea instead of coffee, mint-flavored, and they walked over toward the Walgreen's so they could wait for Kia's bus.

"So, what happened? Did Clay have a personality swap and check out your fabulous rack finally? I always thought he was a little too straitlaced not to be a complete perv when he wanted to be."

"Beck asked me out."

Kiara blinked and jerked her head to her after making sure the passing screaming homeless lady didn't knock her out with the backpack she was swinging as she cussed up a storm. "What, like on a date? A date date?"

"No, he asked me to accompany him to his late mother's viewing. Of course a date, Kia. Why else would I look like I was about to both pass out and piss all over the sidewalk at the same time? He asked me to stay after work for a moment to go over something. At first, I thought it was merely work-related—like a business dinner, but he said it was for pleasure."

Emily went on to explain the scene with Beck's, but Kia could only smile when she heard that she'd made up her mind about starting something up with Leo and Sofia.

"First off, congrats on the whole Leo and Sofia thing." Her grin widened as she playfully swatted at her friend's shoulder. "Look at you, all getting that p***y and s**t, girl. And honestly, if Leo came with that package—"

"I know, I know...the duo is enough to turn you out. Christ, I don't think they heard you at the War Memorial, Kia. Say it a little louder next time. Maybe we can get St. Mary's to ring their bells to try to drown out the sound of your glee."

"Oh hush, woman. Like that crazy old coot down the road yelling about killing democrats is any less of a shock? Honestly, I'm just glad you're getting out there, even if you're charging full-steam ahead and shocking the s**t outta me. Girl, when you do something, you gotta do it right. You, Leo, and Sofia getting together is so right right now, that I'm wanting to live vicariously through you just to see what it feels like." She literally squealed before her whole facial expression changed to one of stern dismay. "But this whole thing with Beckett asking you out...girl, he's had more secretaries in the past few years than all the partners combined. He goes through them like a temp agency goes through employees. All pretty little females just like you, and they all quit without any prior notification. It's pretty sketchy, and if you ask me, I wouldn't trust him."

"Well, he took it well. Better than I am, to be honest. Didn't even seem fazed when I declined. I'm sure it's nothing."

Kiara looked at her askance, her mouth mashed into a straight line. "If you say so, but I'd keep on your toes around him. He has a dubious reputation when I spoke to his last few secretaries before you. They never came out and said it, but I have a feeling he made them uncomfortable. If that's why they left, then so be it, but if it's more..." She shook her head as she saw the 49 bus pulling up on the opposite side of Market Street.

"I'll be careful," Emily agreed. "But, again, I'm sure it's nothing."

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